Reloading 357 with lee .38/357 dies

jimmyc

jimmyc

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Looking to reload for my dan Wesson 8" 357 mag.

I have a 4 die Lee .38 special/.357 set

Anyone have experience on how to set the dies up for .357?

Will be using HS6, speer 158gr LSWC, federal mag small pistol primers and 1f federal brass that has been stainless tumbled.

I am loading single stage with a lee press.
 
lee would likely have instructions on how to reload with their dies..

the sizing die will stay the same, the flaring/powder charge die will sit higher in the press vs 38spl, same goes for the bullet seat/crimp die and the factory crimp die.

have another read through your reloading manual.

for the last 3 dies unscrew them until they just barely touch the brass in it's various stages of being reloaded, then simply screw them in the press more and more until you achieve the desired case mouth flaring/bullet seating (do this once you have your crimp set)/crimp.

since you have the 4 die set you can use the 3rd die (bullet seat/crimp) to only seat the bullet then use the factory crimp die to crimp. otherwise use the 3rd die to get the bullet to the desired OAL, then back off the bullet seating stem/knob. after that screw in the die until you have a nice crimp then screw in the bullet seating stem until it touches the bullet.
 
Thanks Spawn!

The lee die set only tells you how to set up for .38spl.

I figured I just needed to back the dies out for the longer357 cases... Just wanted to double check though!
 
On the instruction sheet I have it states "Backout Bullet Seating & Expanding Di 1 3/4 Turns to Load For The 357 magnum"

Front Page bottom right corner.

This does work by the way.
 
Backing the last three dies out as stated gets you into the ball park. You still need to use a couple of samples of brass to fine tune the flare, seat and crimp to more exacting results just as you had to do for the .38Spl brass.
 
BCRider said:
Backing the last three dies out as stated gets you into the ball park. You still need to use a couple of samples of brass to fine tune the flare, seat and crimp to more exacting results just as you had to do for the .38Spl brass.
Click to expand...

True except you only have to back out the 2 dies
 
Except he posted that he's got the four die set. That implies a factory crimp final die if he needs it for jacketed bullets. So we're both right depending on what bullets he's loading.
 
BCRider said:
Except he posted that he's got the four die set. That implies a factory crimp final die if he needs it for jacketed bullets. So we're both right depending on what bullets he's loading.
Click to expand...

I have the 4 die set too. You don't need to back out for the crimp die.

You screw it in until it touches the shell holder and then with then with the round in the die you adjust the adjusting screw until it touches the case mouth. Then raise the handle and turn the adjusting screw in 1/2 to a full turn depending on how much crimp you want.

It's been a few months since I've reloaded any but I'm pretty sure that what I said works.
 
Better brands of dies, like RCBS, have for three quarters of a century, come with a steel ring. For 38 special don't use the ring.
For 357, use the ring, just put the dies through the ring, tighten them up and they will be proper length for the 357, without further adjustment.
 
GaryCaine said:
I have the 4 die set too. You don't need to back out for the crimp die.

You screw it in until it touches the shell holder and then with then with the round in the die you adjust the adjusting screw until it touches the case mouth. Then raise the handle and turn the adjusting screw in 1/2 to a full turn depending on how much crimp you want.

It's been a few months since I've reloaded any but I'm pretty sure that what I said works.
Click to expand...

The Lee seating dies also perform a roll crimp if the outer barrel is set low enough. If it's set so it doesn't engage on a .38Spl case it may still form the roll crimp on the longer .357 unless backed out a little extra.

The combined seat and crimp operation for this die is how it's used in a 3 die set.

So depending on how it was set it may or may not need to be backed out for use with .357.

I keep coming back with all this not to sound picky or snarky. But if the OP runs the longer cases in and they come out roll crimped when he didn't intend then it could be a head scratching moment if he doesn't realize that it's the same combo seat and crimp die as used in the 3 die set. It can do either or both functions just depending on how the outer thread and inner seater is adjusted.

Clearly the idea if he doesn't want a roll crimp is to set it so that even the longer .357 casings won't be crimped. After that there's no need to check it. But if he's only loaded .38Spl up to now it may not be far enough out to not crimp the .357's.
 
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