I was given a reloading set (RCBS Rock Chucker) and dies and am trying to get it set up so I can make some dud rounds.
I stopped by the gun shop in Mason City today and he showed me basically how to set the length of the seating die.
He also mentioned "Full Length" and "Small Base" dies and I think  he said that I want the small base to use for an AR15.
Of course, mine are the full length.
What is the diff?
And can I use what I have?

Especially just to make some duds.
I have about 2 dozen cases that I have drilled holes through and want to resize and deprime them, then seat a bullet to the correct depth/length.
Might even go so far as to add some weight to bring them up to average loaded round weight.

Thoughts?

Greg

Also would like to get some .30-06 dies to reload for a Garand that I do not yet have.
Anything I should look to get or to avoid in those dies?

I use a the normal full length case die on 223 and 300 blk. I would try it and see if you have any issues. The full length die will be better on the brass and the small base will stretch it more.

Thanks Bob!
He mentioned the full length not feeding and possibly having an out of battery firing.
???????

As stated the small base die sizes more of the brass. Only downside is possible premature wearing of the brass. I use all full length dies for pistol and rifle.

Small base can be needed when resizing ammo shot out of full auto firearms. I have some .308 mil surp brass that was fired out of a full auto firearm and unless I use a small base sizer I can't close the bolt on my R700. However it's fine in other's AR10.

As for making duds I just skip the powder and primer stages. If you want you could slowly mount a "spent" primer in upside down to really help identify your duds.

On the Garand make sure you read up on that one. I've heard they are touchy. That's all I've heard.

Just so you know out of battery is not possible on the ar15. The firing pin wont advance till the lugs completely rotate and lock into the chamber. I really don't see how you will have issues just using a full length die. Just take your time and trim the brass to the correct length and resize. It seems daunting, but once you dive in it makes much more sense.



 

When you get around to loading for a Garand you want to make sure you use the right powder and by that I mean you need the right pressure range  so as not to damage the operating rod.  Memory might be bad but I'm thinking 4064 is a recommended powder for one of them.  Unlikely you'd need small base resizing die unless like someone said your brass had been fired in a full auto weapon.

In a few words small base dies are not needed in the AR15 chamber. The only exception might be in very tight special match chambers. I reload for both Nato and Wylde chambers in multiple rifles and use standard Lee and Hornady dies with absolutely no problems. All that will happen using small base dies is that you will shorten case life by overworking the brass. You already will get fewer reloads from your brass out of a semi auto chamber so why shorten it even more. If you do have a problem with brass not seating in your chamber it will most likely be that you have not set the headspace of the die correctly. A case gauge is an excellent way to keep this from happening.

What exactly does a full auto do differently to the brass, when compared to brass from a semi of the same style?

The #1 enemy of full auto guns is heat and they get very hot very fast.  Chamber dimensions on these guns must be increased slightly to compensate for the heat problem.  Therefore, the spent casings that come from full auto guns will be slightly bigger/longer than spent casings from a semi auto gun.

4895 too, and I have no problems with a standard full length Lee die. I run my powder charge a couple grains below the recommended "M2 ball duplicate" charge. Still accurate and SLIGHTLY less pressure.