Lee .38 Special dies for .357 Magnum

armoredman

armoredman

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Like the title says, I have been loading 38 Special for some time, but it looks VERY likely, (when I pay off the layaway), I will have a 357 back in the stable, a caliber I haven't owned since before I started reloading. Yes, I know I can shoot 38 Special out of it, no problem, but I might want to load some rip-snorting 357 mag ammo for it, too. 😁So, the dumb question of the day, can my 15 year old Lee .38 Special Deluxe Die Set do the job with .357 Magnum, (which I highly suspect it will), and has anyone had any issues using Lee 38 Spl dies for the 357 I might want to know about? I just don't feel like ordering a duplicate die set if I don't need to.
Thank you for your replies, much appreciated.
 
The answer is maybe.
Just a couple thoughts,

Will the .357 case go up in the 38 spl resizing die far enough to size the entire case or does it hit something up inside the die.
The other two dies can be raised up in the press to accommodate the longer .357 case.

The only other thing that comes to mind is if the seating stem has a round profile for the old soft lead RN bullets.
You may want a seating stem that will work for hard cast SWC for .357 since they seem to be the most common lead bullet used.
 
armoredman said:
Like the title says, I have been loading 38 Special for some time, but it looks VERY likely, (when I pay off the layaway), I will have a 357 back in the stable, a caliber I haven't owned since before I started reloading. Yes, I know I can shoot 38 Special out of it, no problem, but I might want to load some rip-snorting 357 mag ammo for it, too. 😁So, the dumb question of the day, can my 15 year old Lee .38 Special Deluxe Die Set do the job with .357 Magnum, (which I highly suspect it will), and has anyone had any issues using Lee 38 Spl dies for the 357 I might want to know about? I just don't feel like ordering a duplicate die set if I don't need to.
Thank you for your replies, much appreciated.
Click to expand...
The sizer is no problem. I don’t even have to adjust mine. I have an older PTX from a .38/.357 set I bought years ago and it is fine, too but it does take some adjusting. I suggest either making a spacer or learning to appreciate the simple Lee lock ring. Depending on how long the bullet you want to use in the .357 you may need to get a new seating die. I did and it was a good investment. Adjusting the PTX between batches is pretty simple - I haven’t made a trumpet yet - but doing the same for a seating die can be frustrating. HTH.
 
For the cost of a set of dies, I would leave the 38's set for that and get a set to set for 357. Costs a little $$ but if you're going back and forth much (and if you're like me) that will take time, maybe require some bullets to be pulled, etc which adds up over time to much more than the cost of a dedicated set of dies.

Now, if you're only going to change them once a year and do a pile of loading before you go back, then one set will be fine and should do both.
 
Do you still have the instructions for the dies? My 38 Lee dies have instructions for 357 too. I don’t swap from 38 to 357 much. I just leave it on 357. The sizing die doesn’t change. The expander and seating dies thread into the lock ring deeper for 38. Other than that, they run the same.
 
Does it seem like we’re having a run of, “Will these Special dies work for Magnums…?” and vice-versa type questions? I’m going to stick with, “Buy more dies,” for now. Even though that might not always be necessary it really never is wrong.
 
armoredman said:
can my 15 year old Lee .38 Special Deluxe Die Set do the job with .357 Magnum
Click to expand...
Yes. They will work just fine.
After several years of adjusting my dies back and forth between .38 and 357 I decided to just buy another die set and another turret for my LCT. Now I have a dedicated setup for each.
This is totally unnecessary and done just as a convenience.
 
Your dies are fine for both. Your biggest time saver and making life better move is making a dummy round for each case and bullet combination you load frequently. If you cast that could be as little as one of each 38_357.
 
IIRC; my Lee die set was marketed as 38 Special/357Magnum. Since I got this set (? years ago. mebbe 30) I have used this set for thousands of rounds of 38 and 357. I've added Redding Profile Crimp die for .357 Magnum..
 
Last edited:
My Lee 38 dies will also do 357, but I am lazy so bought two sets of dies mounted in separate turret plates, rather than adjust them every time.

Lee Precision, Inc.. Handgun Carbide and Steel Reloading Die Sets

Lee Handgun die sets includes Carbide Full Length Sizing Die, Bullet Seating Die, Powder Thru Expanding Die, Universal Shell Holder, Powder Dipper and Instructions/Load Data
leeprecision.com leeprecision.com
 
Rule3 said:
My Lee 38 dies will also do 357, but I am lazy so bought two sets of dies mounted in separate turret plates, rather than adjust them every time.

Lee Precision, Inc.. Handgun Carbide and Steel Reloading Die Sets

Lee Handgun die sets includes Carbide Full Length Sizing Die, Bullet Seating Die, Powder Thru Expanding Die, Universal Shell Holder, Powder Dipper and Instructions/Load Data
leeprecision.com leeprecision.com
Click to expand...
Most of us end up with two sets eventually.

I use the same sizer for both, separate expanders, the same seater for both, and separate roll and taper crimp dies.
38 & 357 Die Sets Pic 1 @ 75%.jpg
 
Thank you all - I can't look at what the die set says right now, 12 hour shifts don't give you much free time. I will look it up when I get the chance, even though I can't find 357 brass right now, but have LOTS of 38 Special brass. I can just run 38s while I build up some Magnum brass, and then check it out like you guys suggest. Thank you for your replies!
 
armoredman said:
Thank you all - I can't look at what the die set says right now, 12 hour shifts don't give you much free time. I will look it up when I get the chance, even though I can't find 357 brass right now, but have LOTS of 38 Special brass. I can just run 38s while I build up some Magnum brass, and then check it out like you guys suggest. Thank you for your replies!
Click to expand...
Here ya go.....................

 
armoredman said:
Thank you all - I can't look at what the die set says right now, 12 hour shifts don't give you much free time. I will look it up when I get the chance, even though I can't find 357 brass right now, but have LOTS of 38 Special brass. I can just run 38s while I build up some Magnum brass, and then check it out like you guys suggest. Thank you for your replies!
Click to expand...
None if you must drive very far
 
Yes !, but....

Your dies will need to be re-set for the longer magnum length cases. If you do not care to go through the time and trouble of readjusting your dies twice, then you might consider these 0.135" shims that are placed under the dies. They offset the die the correct distance increase so that readjustment is minimized.

These not only work between 38Spcl and 357Mag, but several other "twin" calibers.

www.midwayusa.com

Redding Die Spacer .135 Height (38 Special 357 Mag)

Redding Die Spacers allow for quick compensation for case length, partial resizing, or to make a no-crimp adjustment without the need to move the...
www.midwayusa.com www.midwayusa.com
 
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