223 Options

[rbwillnj]

OK, Manuel, George, and Tom,    You guys have inspired me to get off my butt and take some pictures.   I have had the long term goal to develop a means of loading 223 on a Star, but since I don't actually own a .223 it hasn't been a real high priority.   None the less, I have been researching it whenever I can, and picking up parts whenever the opportunity presented itself.

I was able to pick up a number of what I believe are Super Star parts a couple years back.   Most of them came from a guy who purchased them in a gun shop in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Its always been in my head that these parts were never part of a complete Super Star kit, but rather were the parts that Mike Dillon had left over when he stopped selling the Super Star kit.  I say that because the original owner had several duplicate sets of some of the parts.  I picked up the 5/8" adjustable charge bar on ebay.   It looks just like the one that Dillon had pictured in his advertisement.

According to Dillons website,  Mike Dillon said "So I went to a machinist and cut down an RCBS die, ground the hardcoat off of the outside and had him thread it to the weird thread size that Star dies used "

As you can see, the sizing die is just a neck sizing die.  I have heard elsewere that Dillon recommended that the .223 cases be full length sized before being reloaded on the Star.  I do not have the expander or the powder spout that go with the set.  TABranch's posts have helped answer some of my questions in that area, but I don't think the expander he has will work with the powder slide housing that I have.

[rbwillnj]

I purchase a couple of Star Reloaders and a couple of Phelps reloaders earlier this year, and among the booty was this tool head set up for .223   It is two of the holes are drilled and tapped for 7/8-14 dies  (RCBS dies were included).  Also note how the holes for the 7/8-14 dies are countersunk to allow the dies to be adjusted further down.   The tool head also came with a very interesting spring loaded powder spout that I will show in the next post.

[rbwillnj]

I think the pictures speak for themselves, but let me know if you have any questions.   Since I don't actually load .223 yet, I don't know how well it works, but I have cycled cases through it and it seems to function mechanically.   Like the Dillon Powder Spout described by TABranch, this spout has a narrow tube piece that seems to be swagged into the powder slide housing.   There is a spring loaded collar that fits over the neck of the case and rests on the shoulder.   Also, note the spacer that goes between the powder slide housing and the tool head.  This provides needed clearance.  Without it, cases get crunched.

[rbwillnj]

Finally, just to show the difference, pictured below are three .380/223 Shell Plates,

From left to right, Star, Dillon, Phelps

[333OKH]

Thanks for your information Bruce, George.

[Manuel]

Thanks for saying something about the recommendation to resize the cartridge prior to loading on the Star.  To size 223 on my Star setup (described in another post under my name) , I lube the case and even bevel the neck and use a inside neck lube  (I left the expander ball in the sizing die) to reduce friction sufficiently for a smooth (and very firm) handle throw.  I have a Forster neck bump die cut to fit the Star in the sizer position and the throw pressure is much lighter with it. I will have to find out if one or the other or both (full lenght or neck only sizing) feeds reasonably in which type rifle.  Thus far I've been using a Wilson cartridge case gage to determine proper setup of the dies and haven't gotton as far as field testing of a completed round.  I hope to have my entire machine going over the next couple weeks.

It was great to see the pictures of the spring loaded powder spout assembly.  I've heard about it before and this is the first time it has made sense to me.



 

Manuel