From .40SW to .38/.357

[natomasboy]

hi everyone,

For 2010 I loaded about 5,000 rounds. I plan on 7,000 rounds this year with the addition of my .357 revolver.

Loading the .40sw has been a dream. No fuss and issues super easy and stable with my low-med recipes using Bullseye and now favorite WSF.

I've also loaded 9mm and now moving to .38 caliber and wanted to know if there were any issues loading .38 rounds? I don't think I'll load .357 mags yet but I'm assuming the same 4-set die by Lee for .38 will work.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=309802?cm_cat=Cart&cm_pla=ProductDesc

Are there any gotchas I need to look out for in loading .38's?

Thank you in advance!

[XDRoX]

I hate Lee's 4 die sets and think the LFCD is evil and for people that don't know how to properly load. Now that I got that off my chest

The only difference is that you will roll crimp the case into the cannelure. And if you don't already use lead bullets you'll probably want to switch to lead because lead rules in 38spl. Jacketed data will be much harder to find and you'll have to stick with higher end loads.

With lead your options will be unlimited. Personally I like Missouri Bullet Company. Great products for a great price. WC's are a blast to shoot at paper and make neat little holes. I just loaded up 100 last night in under 15 minutes start to finish.

Trail Boss is a great powder and so is WST and Unique. For full power magnum loads 2400 is king.

Hope this helps.

[natomasboy]

2 questions:

1) will the same set of dies work for both 38 and 357 rounds?

2) Why oh why are the LFCD are of the devil?

Yes all I shoot are cast lead from Dardas Bullets.

[XDRoX]

2 questions:

1) will the same set of dies work for both 38 and 357 rounds?

2) Why oh why are the LFCD are of the devil?

Yes all I shoot are cast lead from Dardas Bullets.

Yep, the same dies for both.

Sorry didn't mean to turn your thread into a LFCD war. No one has ever been able to cleary explain to me what the die is suppose to do. The best I can gather is that it can correct some mistakes made during the reloading process. I have loaded a lot of rounds without a LFCD and don't see what it would do.

There are a lot of documented cases where using the die has hurt accuracy especially with lead bullets. With lead bullets the die has the tendency to re-size the bullet. The last thing you want is an under sized lead bullet as it would cause leading.

I agree that the LFCD probably doesn't hurt much when using jacketed, but for lead I would strongly suggest staying away from using it.

[Chief-7700]

2 questions:

1) will the same set of dies work for both 38 and 357 rounds?

2) Why oh why are the LFCD are of the devil?

Yes all I shoot are cast lead from Dardas Bullets.

1. Yes

2. With properly adjusted dies you do not need the useless LFCD. Look at this way if the LFCD is so wonderful why don't the rest of die makers make one.

[sequoia_nomad]

.38 Special is probably the simplest, most forgiving round to begin loading. You can use the same dies for .38 and .357, just back out the expander and seating dies as needed. Rcbs dies come with a spacer for that purpose, and also have actual lockrings that will hold your settings, contrary to what I've heard about Lee dies.

[SixPointEight]

Sorry didn't mean to turn your thread into a LFCD war. No one has ever been able to cleary explain to me what the die is suppose to do. The best I can gather is that it can correct some mistakes made during the reloading process. I have loaded a lot of rounds without a LFCD and don't see what it would do.

The die crimps rounds, without needing cases to be the same length to get a consistent crimp. In handgun calibers, it "post sizes" the cases, meaning if for some reason a bulged case got through your sizer, it will be swaged into spec when inserted into the FCD

1. Yes

2. With properly adjusted dies you do not need the useless LFCD. Look at this way if the LFCD is so wonderful why don't the rest of die makers make one.

Unless you like to taper crimp and not have to trim your cases to uniform length.

Lee makes a wonderful turret press, not many other people make that. Why is that?

You two sound like a couple people who were able to spend a large sum of money getting into reloading, read online that lee is terrible, and avoided lee products. And since you drank of the blue/green/other red coolaid, you feel it necessary to bash lee products. CowboyT reload exclusively on lee products from what I can tell. I load almost exclusively on lee. Mif Slim uses almost exclusively Lee. Are you insinuating our ammo is inferior to yours?

Op, lee makes great stuff for people just getting into a new caliber. I haven't had any problems with it. Oh yea, and your decapping pin won't break or bend. If a flash hole is off-center or obstructed, the pin will push up out of the way, no need to stock up on those.

[Chief-7700]

The die crimps rounds, without needing cases to be the same length to get a consistent crimp. In handgun calibers, it "post sizes" the cases, meaning if for some reason a bulged case got through your sizer, it will be swaged into spec when inserted into the FCD



Unless you like to taper crimp and not have to trim your cases to uniform length.

Lee makes a wonderful turret press, not many other people make that. Why is that?

You two sound like a couple people who were able to spend a large sum of money getting into reloading, read online that lee is terrible, and avoided lee products. And since you drank of the blue/green/other red coolaid, you feel it necessary to bash lee products. CowboyT reload exclusively on lee products from what I can tell. I load almost exclusively on lee. Mif Slim uses almost exclusively Lee. Are you insinuating our ammo is inferior to yours?

Op, lee makes great stuff for people just getting into a new caliber. I haven't had any problems with it. Oh yea, and your decapping pin won't break or bend. If a flash hole is off-center or obstructed, the pin will push up out of the way, no need to stock up on those.

Well being one of the other people and having used Dillon equipment since the mid 1980's. Guess I just don't drink Richard Lee's stuff about how great his Factory Crimp Die is. Will not get into a pissing contest on who's reloading dies are better. Blue works for me and it sounds like Lee works for you!
Your entitled to your opinion just like I'm entitled to mine, So let's play in the sandbox nicely.
Chief

[Cowboy T]

I've also loaded 9mm and now moving to .38 caliber and wanted to know if there were any issues loading .38 rounds? I don't think I'll load .357 mags yet but I'm assuming the same 4-set die by Lee for .38 will work.

I use that exact same 4-die set (Lee's .38 Spl). It works great on both .38 Spl and .357 Mag. After a lot of quality time with them, I've learned that the 3-die set is quite sufficient. The LFCD is not necessary if you have two things:

1.) properly adjusted dies (as Chief-7700 pointed out), and
2.) properly sized boolits.

The only time I've ever needed to use the FCD was when I had a cast boolit that I'd forgotten to size down, thus making the round too fat to chamber. That's happened maybe 5 times so far...out of over 20,000 rounds. So, I'd suggest the 3-die set.

The combo seating/crimping die is probably the most complex of the three to adjust properly, but it's not that bad. I've got some videos that show how to do this.

Are there any gotchas I need to look out for in loading .38's?

Thank you in advance!

Not really. .38 Special is probably the easiest cartridge on Earth to reload. Hmm...actually, pretty much every other revolver cartridge is really easy to reload.

One thing: if/when you do change from .38 Spl cases to .357 Mag cases, you will need to readjust your dies for the longer cartridge.

[XDRoX]

The die crimps rounds, without needing cases to be the same length to get a consistent crimp. In handgun calibers, it "post sizes" the cases, meaning if for some reason a bulged case got through your sizer, it will be swaged into spec when inserted into the FCD



Unless you like to taper crimp and not have to trim your cases to uniform length.

Lee makes a wonderful turret press, not many other people make that. Why is that?

You two sound like a couple people who were able to spend a large sum of money getting into reloading, read online that lee is terrible, and avoided lee products. And since you drank of the blue/green/other red coolaid, you feel it necessary to bash lee products. CowboyT reload exclusively on lee products from what I can tell. I load almost exclusively on lee. Mif Slim uses almost exclusively Lee. Are you insinuating our ammo is inferior to yours?

Op, lee makes great stuff for people just getting into a new caliber. I haven't had any problems with it. Oh yea, and your decapping pin won't break or bend. If a flash hole is off-center or obstructed, the pin will push up out of the way, no need to stock up on those.

Didn't mean to make it sound like I didn't like Lee. I only hate the LFCD. I own lots of 3 die sets by Lee and think they're great. I also own a Lee Classic Turret and think it's great. I only hate the LFCD and think it's a crutch that enables piss poor hand loading techniques to slip by.

Come on, people have been hand loading reliable ammo for over a hundred years without this magic die, and now suddenly Lee invents what they would like people to believe is something that is needed when it's not.

I like Lee for a less expensive alternative just not the LFCD.

[XDRoX]

I use that exact same 4-die set (Lee's .38 Spl). It works great on both .38 Spl and .357 Mag. After a lot of quality time with them, I've learned that the 3-die set is quite sufficient. The LFCD is not necessary if you have two things:

1.) properly adjusted dies (as Chief-7700 pointed out), and
2.) properly sized boolits.

The only time I've ever needed to use the FCD was when I had a cast boolit that I'd forgotten to size down, thus making the round too fat to chamber. That's happened maybe 5 times so far...out of over 20,000 rounds. So, I'd suggest the 3-die set.

The combo seating/crimping die is probably the most complex of the three to adjust properly, but it's not that bad. I've got some videos that show how to do this.



Not really. .38 Special is probably the easiest cartridge on Earth to reload. Hmm...actually, pretty much every other revolver cartridge is really easy to reload.

One thing: if/when you do change from .38 Spl cases to .357 Mag cases, you will need to readjust your dies for the longer cartridge.

See, Cowboy didn't get all butt hurt when we talked bad about the LFCD

As always, good post Cowboy.

[Cowboy T]

Chief and JT1989, both of you, let's play nice and not threadjack. This Lee vs. Dillon thing has gone on far too much even in my short time on this forum. Let's all stick to helping the OP out here.

- T

[Chief-7700]

JT1989 sorry that I reacted to your post in a negative way. Cowboy T is right we need to be helping out our new reloaders in a positive way, even though we use different equipment to achieved the same results.
Chief

[BigBronco]

Hallelujah. Lets keep it to the point and stop bashing based on color. IE Red or Blue or Green. All makers gear does most of what it should. That is make ammo. Some times some is better than others for specific purposes. But what is best for match grade ammo is not great for the pocket book. Personally I could not care if one brand cranks out 15 or 150 rounds more her hour.

PS. My gear is the best! LOL

[Chief-7700]

Hallelujah. Lets keep it to the point and stop bashing based on color. IE Red or Blue or Green. All makers gear does most of what it should. That is make ammo. Some times some is better than others for specific purposes. But what is best for match grade ammo is not great for the pocket book. Personally I could not care if one brand cranks out 15 or 150 rounds more her hour.

PS. My gear is the best! LOL

Ok! Not taking the bait