I found a good deal on new SS109 bullets but the seller says they need to be sized (are currently .223-.226). For blasting ammo, is this even necessary? Any dangers? What is needed to “size” projectiles? Any and all info appreciated.

Are we’re sure the seller knows what he’s talking about? I see them on the web, reviews are very good, no mention about ‘resizing‘ any bullets.

https://www.evergladesammo.com...tml#customer-reviews

I don’t see how they could be for real, and not of the proper size already?

Yeah, I’d never heard of it but evidently these are new military projectiles and he’s adamant about them needing resized; even goes so far as to tell people not to buy them if they don’t know what he’s talking about. I guess the big question would be is it safe to shoot bullets up to .226 and would there be any chambering issues?

I've got a couple Lee bullet sizer kits (.430 & .452), but never tried it for jacketed, only for lead. They work well.

They do offer one in .224 size , but I don't know if that would work or not.

Odd that the new mil-spec stuff would need to be sized.

^^^^
Only thing I can figure is that they’re mass produced for squad autos that don’t need tight tolerances but I can’t imagine why they’d be any easier to manufacture than making them .224. $75 per 1000 seems like a good deal
To me so I’ll probably get them and play around with them. If I have chambering issues, then I’ll pick up a resizing die.

I've bought and reloaded many pulled .223 and 30 caliber bullets as well as 50 BMG pulled bullets. I prefer to size all pulled bullets. Some are air pulled with no bad pull marks and some are mechanically pulled that leaves raised burrs and some are even slightly squeezed out of round. There's no question that firing them down your bore will iron out any marks and would probably cause no issues. However, loading slightly our of round bullets makes slightly out of round necks and pull marks will leave a high spot on the neck and possibly effecting bullet tension. I use Lee's Bullet Sizing Dies for .223 and 30 caliber. Pushing the bullets through the die will not make them perfectly round and not exactly .224 diameter but it makes them close to size. Only costs $20.00 for the Lee sizer if you can find one in stock. I recommend sizing badly damaged pulled bullets. Lots shoot them as is though without any dangerous outcomes.

These are not pulls, but are supposed to be new projectiles. My assumption is that they won’t be out of round, or have burrs- I cannot imagine why they would be varied in size. Here is an excerpt from the go auction-

“Up for bid/sale is a lot of 1000 new production Lake City SS109 "Green Tip" bullets as shown. THE DIAMETER MEASURES IN ANYWHERE FROM .223-.226, SO THESE BULLETS NEED RESIZED LIKE YOU WOULD A PULLED BULLET. Green tip bullets are painted green after they have been loaded, which is why these don't have the paint.”

I ordered some after reading some online posts of people loading and blasting without any side effects. I’ll do the same and report back, but I cannot imagine a difference of .002 in oversized diameter having any effect on safety. Accuracy perhaps with .001 under, but we’ll see. If I run into chambering issues, I’ll simply order the sizing die.

Yeah, get a few then carefully measure yourself. As mentioned, reviews from other reloaders averaged rather high.

If it was just an average ‘burr’ on a few, no worries. Even a properly sized bullet ‘appears’ tight to the bore as you try fit by hand.

I think there is a small variation that’s acceptable. A case in point is the Metric K31 loaded with .308” bullets.

I also harken back to the adage, some things work for some, but not others.

Just paid for 2000 of these; the deal at $75 per 1000 for SS109/M855 projectiles was just too good to pass up. The guy I spoke to verified that these are brand new bullets, not pulls. When they arrive, I'll throw a few together and try them out and report back.

The 2000 SS109’s arrived today. They pass the magnetic test and look new- no pull marks. Here is a random sampling of sizes and weights:

Size/weight
.223 62.7
.223 62.7
.223 62.7
.223 62.8
.223 62.5
.225 62.9
.224 62.7
.223 62.7
.224 62.7
.223 63.0

I’m guessing that a majority will be .223 if this is any indicator. I doubt it will provide match grade accuracy but should make for some suitable blasting ammo and at $75 per 1K, is as cheap as any Weight FMJ you’ll find, if not cheaper.