Which die set for .380?

[Wayne02]

Recently received an LCP and need to get a die set for this caliber that will work well on the LNL AP press.

All of my current die sets are Hornady. The Hornady dies have worked ok I suppose, although I think the fit and finish is below that of the old Pacific die sets I've used in a previous life.

I'm not tied to Hornady, just need a die set that works well with the LNL in .380 caliber.

Also, what is the general consensus on using something like the Lee FCD die on this caliber?

Thanks

 

[Walkalong]

RCBS. No FCD die.

 

[rcmodel]

Same here.

RCBS dies.
No FCD die.

They are not needed if you do everything else right to start with.

rc

 

[Dave B]

I bought a Lee set for my LCP. They work fine. They're cheap, and come with a shell holder too.

 

[swiftak]

I have a set from RCBS and Lee, They both work equally well.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Agreed with RC. I stopped using the FCD for 45 acp and 380 auto since it was resizing my lead bullets. It got really irritating to put in a .356 bullet and get back out a .353 bullet, to say nothing it was doing about the accuracy.

Neat idea, I bought them early on, but now they just sit in the "extra's box" along with my other learning experiences.

 

[RidgwayCO]

RCBS... no FCD... +1

Also, when you get the RCBS dies think seriously about ordering a custom bullet seater plug from RCBS for the bullets you'll use the most. They don't cost that much, and they really work well. In the .380 Auto, I purchased custom bullet seater plugs for the Speer 90gr GDHP and the Hornady 100gr FMJ-Encapsulated to avoid damaging the bullets' noses when seating them. Of course, the custom plugs also work well when seating these bullets in the 9mm Luger (RCBS dies there too).

 

[ants]

I have RCBS for 380auto, but wouldn't hesitate to use Lee carbide.


Never tried the FCD for this cartridge. Never even gave it consideration.

 

[Otto]

It doesn't make a whole lot of difference. No one shoots bullseye with a LCP.

 

[Wayne02]

Thanks for the replies. On the Lee dies, do they work ok in the LNL? I ask because I seem to recall when I was researching the LNL a couple years ago there was something about the LEE dies maybe not having enough die body length for proper adjustment in the LNL? (This press has the retrofitted ez-ject if that makes any difference)

Thanks

 

[Walkalong]

In my retrofitted EZ-Ject I have had some problem with some dies in the LNL as far as having enough threads. At least two that I remember did not have enough threads, but I made it work. The Lee sizers have given me problems. I was fortunate on the Lee .44 sizer. I was able to run a Redding lock ring all the way up off the threads until it stopped and tightened the LNL bushing against it. The lock ring is not on any threads. So far I have been able to use all my various dies with the bushing, but several have only half the lock ring holding threads. All of my RCBS dies have worked, even if the lock ring was not fully on the threads.

Lee .44 Sizer - The lock ring is not on any threads.

RCBS Seater - Used as a crimper - Note the lock ring is up off the threads some.

 

[Walkalong]

Another pics of various dies in LNL bushings.

Left to right. Lee sizer, Redding expander, RCBS expander, RCBS sizer.

 

[alfack]

I never had any problems with the Dillon carbide 3 die set. IDK if it will work on the Hornady press, though. I use their separate taper crimp die as the last station on my 550.

 

[sixgun MAK]

RCBS

 

[newrugersafan]

RCBS...... go slow with the expander die. Mine will only give a slight bell before starting to collapse the case. It bells enough but is finicky to adjust.

Mike

 

[slamfirev10]

i have been using the lee set for a couple of years in 380 (much longer in other calibers) and always liked the fcd

is the consensus now that the fcd is a nono or just with lead bullets?

if just a lead issue, how about with plated (ranier) bullets?

tia

 

[Roccobro]

I chose to buy Hornady brand, but use LEE. Only because I had the lees in my hand MONTHS before I could find Horn that weren't in stock and not DOUBLE the original price. And the "bacvk in stock" notice just got to me a week shy of 4 months. lol

Justin

 

[delta5]

I reload .380 with the Lee set using the FCD. Those rounds functioned fine in my hungarian FEG pistol. I cant say that about some of the foreign made 380...

 

[Walkalong]

i have been using the lee set for a couple of years in 380 (much longer in other calibers) and always liked the fcd

is the consensus now that the fcd is a nono or just with lead bullets?

if just a lead issue, how about with plated (ranier) bullets?

tia

It can be very bad for lead, it is a waste of time with jacketed or plated, and can be bad for them. It simply isn't needed unless your bullets are oversized. Then you damage the bullet when using it. Your call, but the best bet is to learn to load so that you don't need it.

 

[Wayne02]

Thanks for the replies, I shall set off in search of some dies.

 

[Zcarp2]

Hmm - Never needed 380 dies.
Use .223 sizer - puts a good taper crimp on them. Uses the same shell holder in the 550.
9mm seater and expander
back to the .223 to iron out the expanded section for the bullet seating. Just a touch.

Do you have .223 dies?

 

[slamfirev10]

t can be very bad for lead, it is a waste of time with jacketed or plated, and can be bad for them. It simply isn't needed unless your bullets are oversized. Then you damage the bullet when using it. Your call, but the best bet is to learn to load so that you don't need it.

thanks for the reply Walkalong,

just so i know for sure, it is the post re-sizing that is the issue or the type of crimp the fcd applies?

the main reason i use the fcd (especially when i used to shoot a lot of 45acp) is as Lee says: "Trim length is not critical."

i've fired x000's of hardcast 45's loaded with the fcd and did not notice any problems, but was shooting mostly steel not paper, so not sure about finer accuracy

again, thanks for any reply

 

[Walkalong]

"Trim length is not critical" = Advertising ploy

Trim length for taper crimps in any auto caliber is not critical. I never trim auto brass, and use standard tape crimp dies.

Many folks say they never trim revolver brass either, so it must not be very critical there, to some, either.

I trim all my revolver brass so if I am roll crimping it will be very consistent.

The Lee FCD sizer portion of the die floats on an o-ring, so it can give a little, or "adjust" I suppose, but I would rather do that myself.

For folks who just want their rounds to fit, feed and hit a chunk of steal, and do not want to bother gauging their ammo, the FCD seems to be a good choice.

For folks who are real picky about their reloads, not so much.

I believe that, unfortunately, and probably unintentionally, that the FCD provides a crutch to new reloaders that keeps them from learning the craft better. The squish their problems to fit, and are happy. It's a solution for a non problem 99% of the time.

This is just my opinion, and while many agree, many others disagree.

The OP asked for opinions. My opinion for the LNL, as the question was phrased, was RCBS, no FCD.

 

[rfwobbly]

RCBS tries to center their decapping shaft on several threaded parts, which is asking for trouble. The last RCBS die set I bought had one of those threaded parts made wrong and it took me forever to figure out why I couldn't hit the primer hole in a repeatable fashion. RCBS did make it good when I called, but the design is overly complicated to this design engineer.

I personally prefer the way the taper collet system centers the decapping rod in Hornady & Lee sizing dies. The way Lee does it is simply brilliant in that the rod is held on dead center, AND given the right adjustment, will slip upward rather than break a decapping pin if it can't find the primer hole.

All that being said, I still prefer the Hornady. #1 reason is the free bullets !! #2 reason is that the carbide ring seems to sit lower in the die. #3 reason is that Hornady gives you 2 different bullet anvils (FP and RN) to insure the most consistent OAL.

 

[showmebob]

Wayne02
I have a LNL AP and use Lee dies with no problems. I'm fairly new to reloading (1 yr) and I used the FCD at first to make sure I didn't have any mistakes. Now I use it to crimp separately from the seating operation in station 4. This works well for me.
If my 380 usage was greater I would have bought dies other than Lee.