38/357

[abunaitoo]

What shells would you use to make 38/357 swagged bullets????

[hardcase54]

9's, .380, or cut down .223.

[Sasquatch-1]

I don't swage for jacketed 357 but it seems the 32 auto is what people like to use. A friend has used 9mm and has to draw down the diameter.

[rancher1913]

I use 380 drawn through a 223 die then the 357 die, the cut down 223 would save a draw step but add a cutting step. the 9 would require a lot of press to size down. waiting to see what others use.

[clodhopper]

I use 9mm and .380.
380s make bullets in the 150 grain range. 9mm make bullets in the 175 grain range.
.32 auto would be nice, but pretty rare around here.

[ReloaderFred]

I use .32 acp, .380 acp and 9x19 brass for making .38/.357 bullets. I tend to use more .32 acp and .380 acp, though.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[abunaitoo]

32acp is hard to find here.
I have 380 brass.
I'll give it a try.

[rancher1913]

make sure you anneal it and I just use my rockchucker to size them

[abunaitoo]

What weight and diameter lead slugg would I need for the .380 shell??????.
Never tried it before, but they look cool.

[rancher1913]

I have an adjustable core mold, took a bunch of trial and error to get the core perfect. I will try and weigh some when I get a chance

[just bill]

If you have a round over die, you can get 2 jackets from a .223, I started to play around with the round over die, however I've been sidetracked by the .308 round nose from 5.7 cases.
Bill

[Sasquatch-1]

If you are going to get a set of dies that has a core forming die your core slug would have to be a diameter that will fit in the die. Something that would give you a finished bullet near the weight you want and just a tad over. You bleed off the excess lead in your core forming die. For .44 cal I use a .31 cal rifle bullet mold. I believe my core forming die takes it to .370 and then it gets expanded to the final dimension with the jacket.

What weight and diameter lead slugg would I need for the .380 shell??????.
Never tried it before, but they look cool.

[ReloaderFred]

What weight and diameter lead slugg would I need for the .380 shell??????.
Never tried it before, but they look cool.

I use .32 caliber cast bullets for my cores, and since I've got several different weight bullet molds in that caliber, I just weigh the case and find the core (bullet) that matches what I'm looking for in a finished bullet.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[abunaitoo]

I have a 38/357 CH die set.
I hope to use 9mm shells.
I'm thinking I'd need to size the shells.
What size would they need to be?????
Hope i can use a full length die from something I have on hand.

[tiger762]

You're going to have to reduce it from 0.394" down to 0.355". That is going to take a lot of @$$ to do that. Probably will need to do it in two steps a that's almost a full millimeter difference in diameter. A lot of metal getting pushed around.

I have a 458 draw die for my Walnut Hill press that I use to size 45acp (0.473") down to 0.455" and even that is a bear. Gets it done with one die BUT requires three pulls of the press handle. The first starts the brass (@$$ end up) into the die sufficient to knock down the rim. Then, withdraw the ram and I use a 3/8" steel ball bearing to now make the ram 3/8" longer. Now the base of the 45acp gets sized down. I withdraw the ram, put the ball bearing off the the side and use a 1.5" steel dowel pin to push the brass through the die. I tried once to let the next brass push through the previous one, like we do for sizing down 22LR to make 22cal jackets, but that just mangled the brass. Three pulls of the press handle. The first two requiring effort. The third being an easy one. A hydraulic press would be wonderful

[Meatpuppet]

I use 9mm brass and draw it down to .355 in two steps using a Sea Girt press. Then I use a Lee 311-93 cast bullet core for 153gr bullets (fully jacketed) Hollowpoints, Lee 309-120 and Accurate Molds 32-120C for 180gr JHP, Truncated Cone and 6S Ogive (exposed lead tip) and several other 309 to 320 molds for weights up to 300gr in the .357 Maximum (supersonic and suppressed). Lots of options with the 9mm for a jacket.

I also take 9mm 147gr JHP projectiles (.355 dia) and run them into the 357 point form dies to bump up for .357 use. They are cheap plinking projectiles but will literally blow up at .357 Magnum rifle or .357 Maximum velocities. The 9mm swaged jackets are much tougher and stand up to the 2300fps velocity of the .357 Maximum in a rifle length barrel.

Hat tip to BTSniper for his awesome point form dies.

Edit to add: You can also use 38 Super and 38 Supercomp brass for completely jacketed heavyweight bullets.