Running loaded rounds through sizing die

You can run the ammo through the seating/crimp die again to add more crimp, that won't hurt anything. Don't run it through the resizing die after it's been loaded.

Next time go through your brass and find the shortest one, seat a bullet in it and use it to set up your crimp die and the die will correctly crimp all the brass from that point on.
Chance are you got ahold of a longer case when you set up your dies.

Think of it this way, the press strokes the same every time so the only variable is the length of the cases, so you can either find the shortest case to set up your crimp or trim all your brass to the same length.

I prefer to find the original problem and correct it. That's why I have never needed a Factory Crimp Carbide die.

The 380 has no real taper to the case body. I would try a little more taper crimp.

EDIT- The problem is,the Lee seat die is applying a roll crimp. See my last post.

If the OD of the case body measures larger then .373" its an ammo problem.

If OD is under .372" , it a gun chamber that to tight.

File this under For What it's Worth :

Factory HB wadcutter rounds were sized after loading.

After charging the unsized cases, the HBWC was dropped in. The cannelure on the case prevented the bullet from dropping too far into the case.

After inserting the bullet, the round was sized.

It is perfectly safe to size the diameter after loading.

Is it suitable for your needs ? That's another question entirely.

Hockey7711 said:

I was talking about the case mouth.

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We generally call altering the case mouth, after sizing, flaring the mouth, charge and seating the bullet, the “crimp” and yes you should do that to remove the flare.

I don’t use the size die to do this though and wouldn’t suggest it.

I have a lee 3 die set for the 380. It didn't come with a crimp die.

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It did, it’s just hidden in the instructions that came with it. Their “Factory Crimp die” allows you to seat, then crimp in two stations. Adjusting either independent of the other, which is nice but not necessary. Many people combine seat and crimp, takes a little more time to setup but you only have to do that once.



This little fixture makes it a breeze to adjust any die a precise and known amount. You are adjusting the “body” of the die for the crimp and the knurled aluminum knob on top for bullet seating depth but I did it for decades just trial and error, in steps.

Hooda Thunkit said:

File this under For What it's Worth :

Factory HB wadcutter rounds were sized after loading.

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But not with the same die that formed the case the size it is.

The Lee factory crimp die (#7 above) is technically a “size” die, just not the same ID as the size/decap die. This is why they don’t destroy accuracy. Two dies with different ID’s.

A quick way to see if you are swaging the bullet to a different, smaller diameter, than the way you bought them, is to pull one when your done. If they are swaged down like the ones in #25, expect less accuracy than properly crimped ammunition.

Hockey7711 said:

Is it ok to do a final resizing after a cartridge is loaded? One of my 380 pistols has difficulty chambering some of my reloads. My other 380 doesn't have a problem.

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Meh, basically what a FCD does. Take a look at your crimp set up. If you are seating/crimping in same step, if your adjustment is off, you'll get that slight bulge at the crimp. Also caused by over crimping, and flaring too much. With itty bitty bullets, it can sometimes be a fine line when seating/crimping in same step...you have a very narrow window where it's right.

As @jmorris posted, your seating die can be set as the crimp die.

That said, when using the seating die as a crimp die, as designed. I watch for different headstamps that may vary in wall thickness. Near the end of seating a bullet, the crimping starts. If you are set up for say a wall thickness of .008", and a case comes in with wall thickness of .012", it has happened to me, you could get a crumpled case. As there becomes a tighter fit than what the die is set for.

Just thought I would throw that into the mix.

jmorris said:

Yep. Lead is pretty much dead soft. Brass is much more “springy”. This is why dies to size brass are “under” dimension, to accommodate for spring back.

So you squeeze the case back down, and the bullet inside it and the case springs back larger but the bullet stayed the smaller diameter. Now you are worse off than before.

Even if you roll crimped them so it could “grab” vs using neck tension, you would most certainly have changed the diameter enough to destroy accuracy.

People that know better than to turn out crummy products, sell the damaged projectiles as “pulled” bullets. The marketing department keeps them from calling them, “fell out during post load tumbling”, bullets.

View attachment 1075341

They are a deal because they are as accurate from your firearm as they would be thrown by hand, by the fist full.

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Yeah , those same bullets would no longer accept a crimp as they were rendered permanently undersize in the critical area.

As a beginning reloader I used to size, bell my .38 reloads with and old .357 die set, then after loading, run the loaded round back into the .357 die just enough to remove the bell. Worked well with my 3 grains of Bullseye load.

Hooda Thunkit said:

File this under For What it's Worth :

Factory HB wadcutter rounds were sized after loading.

After charging the unsized cases, the HBWC was dropped in. The cannelure on the case prevented the bullet from dropping too far into the case.

After inserting the bullet, the round was sized.

It is perfectly safe to size the diameter after loading.

Is it suitable for your needs ? That's another question entirely.

Click to expand...

Well now, that would explain the cannelure that I've wondered about forever.

Learn something new every day!

Walkalong said:

That’s not an apples to apples comparison.

Safe? Sure, it’s not going to blow anything up, but it will ruin neck tension on most reloaded rounds.

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To be fair, I never claimed it was a good idea.

Just that it was safe.

This info. about sizing the case after dropping bullet into it,
where did this info. come from?
Please quote a source of the knowledge.

jaguarxk120 said:

This info. about sizing the case after dropping bullet into it,
where did this info. come from?
Please quote a source of the knowledge.

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I'm not going to do your research. Believe me or don't - your choice.

How's about you prove me wrong ?

So what you say about the loading of 38 Special wad cutters came out of
no where! If you can't back it up it didn't happen!

Walkalong said:

Not really, the carbide ring in the FCD is sized differently for that purpose.

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You do realize that "basically" implies "similar"? I will be clearer next time, just to make sure that "basically what an FCD does" doesn't unintentionally get translated by some folks as "a sizing die is exactly like an FCD and should be used the same way", which obviously I clearly didn't say...but some folks certainly won't miss an opportunity to push their glasses up on their nose and say "well actually...."

Not a lot of reason to argue about it.

Just yank your decapping pin and size a round that’s already loaded and ready to be fired (can be a factory round if that’s all you have) and see if it’s still as good as it was before you began your scientific study…

You’ll be an instant expert.

jmorris said:

Not a lot of reason to argue about it.

Just yank your decapping pin and size a round that’s already loaded and ready to be fired (can be a factory round if that’s all you have) and see if it’s still as good as it was before you began your scientific study…

You’ll be an instant expert.

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I think I know what happens, although I've never tried it.

I don't like taking my dies apart every time I need to do something I can buy another die to do.

But if you just like the practice of adjusting dies then you should do that to your hearts content.

That's the great thing about handloading. You can work as much or as little as you want and feel good about it.