357/38 reloading die question

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tcanthonyii

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Picked up in a trade today, a JP Sauer and Sohns Chief Marshal colt single action army clone. I've been poking around looking at what I need to buy to reload for it. I'll be buying Lee dies. For many reasons I prefer them on my LCT. From what it said I can use the 38 dies to do 357 or 38 but the 357 dies only do 357. So how many of you have dedicated dies for each and how many of you just use 38 dies? I'm torn. I probably won't shoot this thing a ton but probably a couple hundred rounds a year and my guess is a mix of 38 and 357, but then again I don't really know. I could probably just shoot light 357 loads when I want softer shooting.

Thoughts/Ideas/Advice?

Thanks

T.C.
 
Get the .38 dies.
They will do both.

But I might be mistaken cause I thought Lee only sold 38/357 dies that do both?

Regardless, it's a simple matter to adjust the seating die for proper crimp with either one.
 
Get dies that are labeled 38/357. Exclusive .357 mag die sets will resize 38, but the crimp die won't reach the case mouths on 38. In fact, I doubt the powder die would reach the mouths for belling them, as well. I'm basing that on a Lee 10mm die I tried to load .40 cal with, those were the problems I ran into.

GS
 
I use dedicated dies for each caliber but only because they're set up in turret heads for my Lee press. As Gamestalker suggested, just get the ones marked 38/357. It's all you need.
 
I have 38 Special dies, I have 357 magnum dies I have 38 Special/357 Mag dies, I have 38 Special/357 Mag dies that have the primer punch on the expander die, I also have the case expander die that is aluminum from RCBS.

I also have Carbide dies with the spacer. I should mention, all are RCBS.

The primer punch on the expander die not/does not work on a progressive press when the primer system is set up on the number one position. For whatever reason? The aluminum die body expander would 'fix' that.

F. Guffey
 
Lee 357 dies will crimp and seat 38 but will not drop powder or expand enough for lead for 38. Ask me how I know!
 
On my Mach I have two tool heads one for each size,,but yes the dies will do both..
 
If you're getting the 4 die set then it'll do both. Going from 1 caliber to the other requires resetting 3 of the dies, powder thru expanding die, bullet seater, and the crimp die. Not a big hassle. The Lee instructions tell you how to set up for 38, then it gives a paragraph size instruction for how many turns to back off for the 357, then you fine tune it from there. :)
 
I use the Lee dies for both, I have the 4 die set. Just ordered a washer so I can use it for when I setup for .357. But I load both 38's and 357's in my dies.
 
I have a set of R.C.B.S. .38/.357 (labeled on box) that I've used for YEARS to load both cartridges with no problems.
A few years back though. a fellow employee came up with a Dillon Progressive at a bargain price that I now use for my .38's.
 
Thanks guys. I was leaning towards the 38 dies as they do both but didn't know if anyone had a good reason to buy both. Depending on what brass I can find I'll probably just load 357 light loads and skip much 38 unless I find a lot of 38 brass. I guess I do have about 20 pieces of 38 right now from a friend anyway.

I do have a guy selling me a set of pacific's tonight for 10 bucks. They are cheap enough I'll dink around with them. but they still aren't exactly what I want as I'll need a shell holder and powder through die, unless I rig up my rifle charging die.

Thanks again guys!
 
tcanthonyii said:
Thanks guys. I was leaning towards the 38 dies as they do both but didn't know if anyone had a good reason to buy both. Depending on what brass I can find I'll probably just load 357 light loads and skip much 38 unless I find a lot of 38 brass. I guess I do have about 20 pieces of 38 right now from a friend anyway.

I do have a guy selling me a set of pacific's tonight for 10 bucks. They are cheap enough I'll dink around with them. but they still aren't exactly what I want as I'll need a shell holder and powder through die, unless I rig up my rifle charging die.

Thanks again guys!
Click to expand...
Spending $10 on an old set of dies which are Steel without a Carbide insert is a complete waste of money. You will have to lube the brass to use them and then remove the lube when done.

I have and use a set of the 38Spl/357Mag/357Max dies and for many years I loaded both .38 Special and .357 Magnum ammo with them and the work very well. A few years back when Lee was discontinuing the dedicated .357 Magnum 4 die sets I decided to buy a set because they were on DEEP discount for liquidation. I set them up on a turret and now have a set for each but only because they were so cheap for a new set of dies... I'm lazy and decided for the low price of the dies I no longer had to change setting to do each. (again, only because of the extreme low price at the time)

If I were buying my first set of 38 dies it would still be the the 38Spl/357Mag/357Max dies because in reality changing the setting when going from 38's and 357's doesn't take any time at all.
 
I use RCBS 38/357 dies. You can adjust them if you want to load 38 and the use a washer/spacer that came from them to load 357 without any die adjustment assuming you are using the same bullet.
 
Spending $10 on an old set of dies which are Steel without a Carbide insert is a complete waste of money. You will have to lube the brass to use them and then remove the lube when done.
Click to expand...

If they load anything like 44 mag does I'll be lubing them anyway.
 
I have a set of each, and a set for my maximum. I don't like to constantly adjust my dies. I have separate seater dies for rn, hp, wc etc. I started out with a set of 38 RCBS dies. I upgraded to a carbide sizer in .38, it fits all three. But as everyone has said, 38 special will load all three.
 
I'll bite SMOLVO, so I would guess you have a Lee .357 die that works fine for both?

I was only basing my opinion on the Lee 10mm dies that wouldn't reach the mouths of .40 cal. to bell, or crimp. So I figured it's possible that a dedicated Lee .357 mag die would exhibit the same dimensional characteristics.

GS
 
gamestalker said:
I'll bite SMOLVO, so I would guess you have a Lee .357 die that works fine for both?

I was only basing my opinion on the Lee 10mm dies that wouldn't reach the mouths of .40 cal. to bell, or crimp. So I figured it's possible that a dedicated Lee .357 mag die would exhibit the same dimensional characteristics.

GS
Click to expand...
No GS, you are correct!

Dedicated 10mm dies don't do 40 S&W well.
Dedicated 357 Mag dies don't do .38 Specials well.
Dedicated 44 Mag dies don't do 44 Specials well.
If they exist dedicated 460 Mags don't do 454 Casull and dedicated 454 Casull don't do 45 Colt well.

Like you said, they won't reach the case mouth to bell or crimp correctly. They aren't designed to.
 
Anthony, you can use the 10 dollar die as a seater for any 38/357 depending on which stem it has. Say, if it is a WC stem, make it your dedicated Wadcutter seater. If it has a good Hollow point stem, use it for your HP's. It will work with both 38 and 357 depending on how it is adjusted. Or, you can use it just as a crimp die, with the seater removed. Win Win situation for a ten spot.
 
As stated by BYJO4
I use RCBS 38/357 dies. You can adjust them if you want to load 38 and the use a washer/spacer that came from them to load 357 without any die adjustment assuming you are using the same bullet.

10,000 and more perfect handloads later still perfect.
 
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