I have slowly been gathering supplies to start reloading for the last year and I'm getting close to getting started rolling my own 223 rounds for my ar. So far I have a gallon bag of mixed lc, pmc, winchester and hornady brass (90% have been fired out of my rifle), some cci #41 primers, and some hornady 55gr fmjs and a 223 lee classic loader. I'm still waiting for walmart to get some powder in stock.

I know people say you can't use the lee loader to reload for a semi auto because it only neck sizes the brass. My question is if I get a case trimmer will I be able to use the brass that wasn't fired through my rifle and will I be able to make reliable ammo?

I know that its not going to be exactly fast but I'm ok with that I'm just trying to make some accurate loads and not have to pay a dollar a round or more for them.

The problem is that the body is not going to get re-sized (squished down) back to original size. Because of that, you may have feeding problems. Trimming the neck down to size is not going to change that at all.

This /\ and you'll compound the problem with range pick-up brass.

Thanks for all the replies. Like I said almost all the brass i have was fired through the rifle I'm loading for so they should work as long as they chamber right?

I have been reading up on reloading a lot and Im looking at the lee loader like a cheap learning tool.

I am still planning on getting a press of some kind down the road once I get a better understanding of what i need. I'm thinking about a lee turret press kit and just upgrading what I need from there as I go.

If the lee loader does work out it would work good for working up loads without running back and forth to my shooting spot and the price and portability factor is nice too.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I'm going to have to check them the old school way.