DIES, Lee vs. RCBS vs ?

[pgabdo]

Please look into Lee`s Factory Crimp Die.

 

[Mikej]

As I read, he may not have loaded any .357 yet using the .38/.357 die. Lee supplies a spacer ring that you just add for the longer cartridge. Some say you don't even need to readjust the die locknut but that's never been my experience.

As for crimping, I'm a major fan of the Lee Factory Crimp die. Yes, it does add another step but the results are often worth it. It makes the process a lot more simple and the cost is minimal.

An added note, most people don't trim pistol cases but in the case of the .38 and .357, the uniformity of the crimp from round to round will depend on a uniform case length. Trimming is a good idea if you are fussy about the finished crimp.

Good point on case length. All the .38 cases I've loaded so far have been factory once fired. I've only checked random cases and they have all been within .004, so I've not worried about triming. I guess I should start looking closer at case length in the future though.

Edit: Just measured 20 ready to prime/load .38 cases and they all came in at less than .004 difference.

Mike

 

[SPU]

As I read, he may not have loaded any .357 yet using the .38/.357 die. Lee supplies a spacer ring that you just add for the longer cartridge. Some say you don't even need to readjust the die locknut but that's never been my experience.

Interesting, my Lee Carbide .38/.357 die came with no spacer ring. I'm loading .357 magnum loads with the die after some adjustment. They fit in my size guage and Ruger GP100 without issues. I noticed some cases have an extremely slight bulge near the head, but no issues. I went to the Lee site and looked up all the replacement parts for the die, and don't see a spacer ring. What have I missed?

I also crimp on a seperate step and love the FCD.

 

[MarkAd]

What I am not sure about is the feel/sound when the case goes into the crimp die. It seems like it is snagging a tiny bit when it first goes into the die.

I ran a small (27) batch of 38's. My SW 686 ran then just fine. I Just shot into the berm for testing the loads.
next batch will be for accuracy testing.

 

[orygun]

Interesting, my Lee Carbide .38/.357 die came with no spacer ring. What have I missed?

My Lee 38/357 set is pretty old. It has no spacer ring. I also have a set of Lee 38 Special carbide dies that I used to use for 38, 357 Mag and .357 Max. The only issue was backing the seating die far enough out of the press to seat the 357 Max.

I just set up today to load 357 Mags on my Dillon. Since I have a couple of sets of dies, I decided to use a die for seating and a die for crimping. Since the Lee seater matched the bullet well I used it for the seating since it's the easiest to adjust seating depth with. I used a RCBS without a seating stem to do the crimping. No other dies I've had are as easy to adjust bullet seating depth as the Lee.

 

[deadshot2]

I went to the Lee site and looked up all the replacement parts for the die, and don't see a spacer ring. What have I missed?

I also crimp on a seperate step and love the FCD.

Mu die set dates back to the 70's. I hated using the ring because I still had to adjust the die anyway. I think I used it as a spacer in another project back in the 80's.

I don't see anyone listing the "ring" anymore either. I also have to admit that the die set may have been an RCBS. I don't load for either .38 or .357 anymore so I don't even know where the dies are. Darn, I sure miss that S&W 686 though.

 

[MarkAd]

I love my 686.