Not reloading yet, but have a question

Allfat · Mar 19, 2012

Hey guys,

I have looking into doing some reloading. I mostly shoot 9mm, but also go through a fair amount of 38, 357, and 380ACP. I saw one press that came with everything for 38/357, I am assuming that it is just a slight adjustment to switch between the two. Changing the depth of the dies.

Is this possible to do the same with 9mm/380ACP? I read somewhere that 380 and 9mm are the same diameter, but 380 is just shorter. Is it possible to reload 380 with a slight adjustment on a setup for 9mm?

Blitzkrieg · Mar 19, 2012

No, 380 is a completely different caliber/case and requires 380 dies.. 9MM is a tapered case, 380 is straight walled

Allfat · Mar 19, 2012

Good to know, thanks a lot for the quick answer!

AMProducts · Mar 20, 2012

You can do this for the other dies... for 1050 setups, I made a set of bushings that adjust the height each part got held at. But this only works for calibers that are close to one another. So .44Colt/Russian/Special/Magnum were all loaded on the same head. For .380/9mm you have to swap a fair number of the dies but they're close. If you are short on heads you could set the powder die for 9mm and then have a bushing that would make it work for .380 without adjusting it.