[Fumbler]

I got reloading equipment for xmas and one of the things I got was a Lee deluxe die set for 9mm.
The set had two expanding dies and was missing the bullet seating die.
I also recieved a .357mag/38 Special die set (which had all the components).
Before I go spending $7 just to ship the 9mm set back I'd like to know if I can use my .357 bullet seating die to seat 9mm bullets.

thanks for the help in advance.

[Jim Watson]

The only way to know for sure is to try. With a dummy round - no powder or primer - for safety's sake.

Don't be surprised if it doesn't work.
The .38 case is a lot longer than 9mm and the die may not have enough adjustment to reach the bullet in the 9mm brass. The .38 case is smaller diameter than the 9mm near the head and the 9mm might not go all the way in the die.

Spend the $7 and exchange the die. You will want to be able to leave dies adjusted for the caliber and not have to mess with them at every turn anyhow.

[Fumbler]

That's what I figured.
I'm not gonna even try it (because i don't have bullets anyway haha)

Thanks for the reply, I will be shipping my dies back.

[Bandit01]

No offense but, why would you load a 9mm.
For me, I can't justify the cost

[griz]

Even if the die can seat the bullet deep enough, I doubt it remove whatever bell you put on the case.

Does Lee want YOU to pay the shipping? I was a little surprized about their policy on fixing broken decapping pins, but at least that was broken. In your case you never got what you already paid for.

[Grump]

Your .38 die is likely to be too short for 9mm. If the seating stem adjusts down far enough (maybe) you could seat okay, but you'd need to mill off the bottom of the die to bring the crimp/take out the belling area down where that short 9mm case will hit it.

OR...you could just load those odd full-metal case (like no exposed lead) 147-gr bullets CCI uses in its Blazer ammo and not do any belling/flaring--those bullet is boat-tails and will slip right in.

[Fumbler]

Well, I asked for reloading equipment for xmas, and got it even though I didn't really expect to get it.

I shoot three centerfire cartridges, .308win, .357mag, and 9mm.
I told my girlfriend that loading 9mm myself isn't cheap enough to justify the cost/time, but she bought the dies (all three sets) for me anyway (I'm completely grateful of course).

I didn't return the dies to Lee, I shipped them back to Midwayusa.com
Turns out it only cost me $4 to ship, so thats not too bad for broke a$$ college students like me.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

[Hkmp5sd]

No offense but, why would you load a 9mm.
For special applications. One of the loads I do uses a 147gr 9mm bullet to create a .380 ACP round for use in my suppressed Walther PPK.

Don't reload just to try saving money, do some experimenting. If can be a lot of fun.