.357 Sig full length sizing die recommendations

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shovel66

shovel66

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Hello,

I just read several outstanding threads here on THR about loading for .357 Sig. Lost of valuable information.

I stopped loading .357 Sig about 9 years ago due to the problems I was having with achieving a consistent finished product. I recently decided to give it a chance again. One of my first problems is the sizing the brass to fit the chamber. I have a set of Dillon carbide dies for both the .40S&W and the .357Sig. Neither sizing die will do a good job of sizing the brass down so it will fit in the Lone Wolf barrel chamber (for Glock 33) I am using as a case gauge.

Is there a better die for sizing the brass down a little better that would work with the shellplate system of the Dillon 550B? I'm not looking for a "push through" method like the Lee Bulge Buster kit. I'm looking for a good recommendation for a quality die that works well with sizing the brass before I size the shoulder with the 357 sizing die.

Thanks in advance for any help, opinions, or other questions that may help.
 
The Lone Wolf most likely is a tighter chamber than the factory Glock ... Since you say the 40 S&W die will not sized it down enough ...I would assume it is the "diameter" of the sized case ... but If the "length" of the sized brass is the problem ...You may have to take a little off the bottom of the die .. I know of no one that makes a "small base" die for the 357 SIG ....

I will be glad to measure the finished diameter of some of my brass with a set of RCBS Steel Dies ...

I know you siad you don't want a push thru ... but I do use a Redding G-Rx 40 S&W die before running my brass through the 357 SIG Steel sizer ... That may be your problem that the very bottom of the brass is not being sized ... the G-Rx will take care of that ... probably not going to work on the Dillon press though... because you have to push the brass all the way through the G-Rx dies ... sometime a fellow got to do what a fellow has to do ... or not ...
 
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Thanks for your input, JimKirk. I believe you to be absolutely correct that it's the "base" of the brass that is not getting completely sized. What is strange to me is that I have also loaded thousands of .40S&W rounds and shot through Lone Wolf barrels (3 different ones) and have not had this problem. Almost all of my .357 brass is the nickel brass from Speer and my .40 is yellow brass. I wonder if that may have something to do with it. Does the nickel brass "spring back into shape" once sized? Just a crazy idea. I may have to rig something up to be able to utilize a "push through" method of sizing. I currently do not have a single stage press.
 
I don't know about the nickel being much different ... I have a thousand or so of Speer Nickel and the only thing is the tiny primer flash hole ... I had to sand my primer pin down a little to get it to fit the hole with out pulling out ...

As I said ... I just run all my brass nickel/brass thru the G-Rx ... so I notice no difference ...

I know nothing about the Dillon 550 ... can you use it in any fashion as a single stage? I had to modify the push rod on the G-Rx so it would fit my Forster Co-Ax ... I put it in the drill press and filed it down to .473"/ .30/06 case head size ... you could do that IF your press could be used as a single stage .... or you may be able to put it in the very first hole and use instead of the 40 S&W die ... then the 357 SIG die ...
 
Dillon dies have a more generous entry radius than some other sizing dies so they may not resize as well for tight chambers.
I have been using a steel Hornady die set, which requires lube, and have had zero problems.
I do not flare or bell the case mouth, nor do I crimp. Instead, I chamfer the case mouth and only use neck tension to hold the bullet in place. I have never had any setback issues.
I have not noticed any difference in nickel plated vs yellow brass.
 
I also believe in the push through type debulger. I use the Lee 40s&w FCD as my debulger and push all my 357sig cases through it. When using it, you can definitely feel the difference between the cases when pushing them through. You have to use a little lube when using the push through debulger. If you don't want to use a debulger, then JimKirk's recommendation to try a small base die is probably the way to go. I have seen some suggestions to take a little bit off the top of the shell holder, but that would push the shoulder also a bit back. Probably not what you want.
 
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It looks like I may be faced with ordering a single stage press sometime soon. I have been looking at the Rock Chucker Supreme for $126.99 and free shipping. Is there any better options around that price range? Once I get a single stage, I'm sure I could easily find many more uses for it than just re-sizing .357 Sig cases.
 
I don't think any body makes a Small base die in 357 SIG ... Here is a photo with the modifications I made to the Redding G-Rx pusher rod so it would fit the auto shell holder on my CoAx .... you could bring the rod end down to 357 SIG/40 S&W rim size so it would work in the shellholder plate .... that push rod normally is the same size as a regular shellholder .... the photo is .473" ...

But ...everybody needs a single stage ....

 
When I started loading 357sig, I had similar issues with brass I received. My 357sig sizer actually created a ridge at the bottom of the case, also showing where the sizing stops. After I started using the debulger, the issues I had went away. This picture shows the results from the 357sig sizer on brass that needed debulging.

357sig_resize.png
 
shovel66 said:
Rock Chucker Supreme for $126.99 and free shipping. Is there any better options around that price range?
Click to expand...
I've chose the Lee Classic Cast over the RCBS. It is cleaner if you decide to deprime on it

It is available on Amazon for $10 less and free shipping if you are a Prime member; same price at WalMart and they'll ship it to your local store for free
 
9mmepiphany said:
I've chose the Lee Classic Cast over the RCBS. It is cleaner if you decide to deprime on it

It is available on Amazon for $10 less and free shipping if you are a Prime member; same price at WalMart and they'll ship it to your local store for free
Click to expand...
I agree, the Lee Classic Cast single stage press just as strong as the Rockchucker but handles the, spent primers much better. The LEe press costing less is a bonus.
 
Get a quality SS press and what ever method you choose to "bulge bust" the brass (Lee or the GRX). Then run it through that process first on the single stage press instead of using the 40 S&W die first in the tool head. You can skip 40 S&W sizing step then and just deprime/size with the 357 Sig die. I do it and it is lots simpler. As mentioned above making the expander ball/button smaller will help with neck tension if needed. I have not noticed any difference with plated brass other than it is easier to clean when I tumble.
 
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