Crimp die for using 9mm with .38spl or 357 mag?

[HDS]

OK so I got a pair of 38/357 guns coming to me from uberti and I'm really gonna be on a budget from now on, ain't gonna afford no more molds or stuff anymore now that I'm buying property & building a house etc.

So with that in mind I wanted to reuse my mihec 147gr mold, it drops at .359" so it's nice and fat for 38spl applications. I'm not sure what crimp would be suitable for it however when it has no crimp groove. Would it require a taper crimp? Lee has a custom collet style crimp, I dunno if that would be suitable for this type of bullet?

[Calamity Jake]

I taper crimp all my 38/357 loads, makes no difference what boolit/bullet I am using.
I have that same mold.

[HDS]

What die do you use?

[bobthenailer]

For loads from around 1,050fps or slower i use a taper crimp for 38 special , 357 mag , 44 mag , 45lc, and 454 casull with excellent results for the past 30 years.

[jonp]

I taper crimp them unless I am loading max 357, 44 or 45lc loads for hunting. I have had no problems so far

[fecmech]

I taper crimp everything including max .357 loads. The bullet pull is sufficient to hold 173 gr "Keith" bullets in place during recoil. If you have 9MM dies to go with that bullet you already have a taper crimper you can use with your .357. Just adjust it properly and it will work fine with the .357.

[GabbyM]

Sounds like you already load for 9mm. So use the seat crimp die from the 9mm set. You need to crimp in a separate operation for best results anyway. Trick is to not swag bullet diameter down. Taper crimp dies often can and will swag bullet diameter if adjusted to far down. Or the case neck wall thickness is on the fat side. Always need to pull a bullet and check diameter. Then check all dimensions when you switch case brands. You'll make a crimp grove in the boolit. My advise is use a light crimp so as not to over do it. More is not better.

[mdi]

No cannalure/crimp groove = taper crimp...

[hunter74]

I set them deep and roll crimp over the edge/shoulder of the 140 Mihec boolit I use. Works fine in 357 Mag in my revolver. I' ll guess it could work for you also.

[gunoil]

My pistol is dillon crimper-diddle.

[HDS]

Yeah I have a set of dillon 9mm dies, I guess I could use the crimp die from there and complete it with a 3 die set from Lee. Gonna load these with my hand press and c-frame most likely.

I was wondering if Lee's custom collet style crimp die could be used to give a light taper like crimp too?
http://leeprecision.com/357-mag-custom-factory-crimp-die.html

I would be using it with .38spl cases if that matters.

[rockshooter]

The lee collet type die will do a great job, but probably won't work on .38sp cases. Why not use .357 cases? This sounds like a good project.
Loren

[HDS]

.38 cases are much more plentiful and cheaper here. The thinner 38 walls will also be better I think for black powder shooting (in the long run I want a biglube BP bullet for this caliber).

Also my guns finally arrived last night:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7430/9193045077_f3c0ea93cb_c.jpg

[ku4hx]

I set up my 38 Special and 357 Magnum dies in 1970; I don't recall ever changing them. At that time I set them both for the crimps I prefer: light roll crimp on 38 and heavier roll crimp on 357 Magnum. Actually I don't think I had a choice at that time or at least I was too much of a novice to know about taper crimping. The seating/crimping die was roll type crimp so that's what I used. Since I've always crimped separately in the final operation, all I had to do was adjust the seating stem as was needed so when it came to crimping time, the bullet/boolit was where it needed to be.

Way back in the "olden days" of strictly single stage press loading, I'd spin a spare lock ring onto the seating/crimping die so there'd be no crimping going on and seat all the boolits/bullets. Remove the ring, run the die down into the press, back the seating stem way out and crimp the rounds.

For a time I didn't have a spare die lock ring so I'd position a couple of nickels 180º apart under the seating/crimping die's ring. Worked well but just looked rather bad.

Taper crimping is, for me, a semi auto thing. Lyman preached roll crimp to me in their brand spanking new manual I bought along with my original equipment purchase so that's what I did ... and do. On heavy recoiling magnums, I want the case to actually grab the bullet/boolit and not just give it a hug.

[HDS]

Well I just bought a Lyman carbide die set. I wanted to save money and get a Lee one but everything is outta stock so I got what I found even if it wasn't the cheapest but it comes with their two step expander and that's a nice thing to have. Did come with a roll crimp die however.

My question now is, can you use a light roll crimp with bullets lacking a crimp groove? Or should I use the 9mm die off my dillon conversion in this case too?

Whatever the answers are I'm gonna try it both ways though.

[Shiloh]

I taper crimp everything. Usually just close the bell. on .357 loads, I taper a bit more into the crimp groove.

Shiloh

[GabbyM]

You'll just have to try your roll crimp die out. Some have steeper angles than others. Chances are it will work fine on the 9mm boolits.