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.380 auto dies

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bensdad

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I was about to order RCBS Carbide dies for .380 from Midway. I noticed on the comments section that someone had to modify one of the dies to make it work. I think the problem was that the seater/crimper die didn't go down far enough - had to have some of the bottom milled off.

Anyone heard of this? Is there something I should know before I order this tool and reload this round?

TIA for info.
 
I also have a small problem with the RCBS .380 Auto dies.

I like to seat the bullet using the RCBS seater die, and then crimp using a Lee factory crimp die. Unfortunately, if I set the RCBS seater die so that no crimping occurs, the seater plug runs out of adjustment with a .960" col when using the Hornady 100gr FMJ-Encapsulated bullet. Luckily, both of my .380 Auto pistols function fine at that length with the Hornady. But if they needed a shorter col, I'd be out of luck...
 
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if I set the RCBS seater die so that no crimping occurs, the seater plug runs out of adjustment with a .960" col
Click to expand...

O.K., That's exactly what they were talking about. One more compound question, then I'll be outa your hair...

If I use the TC seater/crimp die (RCBS) to crimp AND seat, will it go down far enough for pretty much any seating? Or should I just get the Lee dies?
 
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My old RCBS .380 dies worked just fine. I don't load .380 these days though. :)
 
You cannot use Lee 9mm dies to load .380. The case sizes are different enough to cause problems. I can't say for other brands.
 
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