380 Brass too large?

[44MAG#1]

Evidentally you need a smaller size die. As I have said many times none of this is rocket science.
Most of us make things harder than they need to be. Me included.

[DonMountain]

I pulled a jacketed bullet out of a new, WaLmart bought box of PMC 380 ammunition, and the bullet measures from 0.354" to 0.355" in diameter as I rotate it and measure in several places. And the loaded factory ammunition measures 0.372" in diameter across the mouth of the factory case, which drops right in to the barrel with no restrictions. My reloads with the Lee 102 grain cast bullet sized in an RCBS 355 sizing die measure 0.373" for RP cases and they drop into the barrel but with no play. The Blazer cases measure 0.375" and don't fit in the chamber. My sized cast lead bullets measure 0.3565" or so. And that is out of the RCBS 355 die. All measurements taken with an old fashioned 1" micrometer that my machinist father gave to me maybe 30 years ago. And I checked them against a gauge block and they are right on to the thousandth.

[44MAG#1]

As I said it looks to me you need a smaller size die as I said in post #41.

[DonMountain]

As I said it looks to me you need a smaller size die as I said in post #41.

That is what I believe also. The problem for me is, I thought this was the solution a long time ago and purchased the RCBS 355 sizer die to get a 0.355" diameter sized bullet. And instead this die produces 0.3565" diameters that still don't fit just like the purchased powder coated bullets of the same size. But now comes the predicament for me. Do I assume that RCBS 355 sizing die is not marked properly and buy another 355 sizing die from them? Or purchase a 354 sizing die and see if it produces sized 0.354" sized bullets? Or will it produce 0.356" bullets? Or should I order a 355 sizing die from Lyman?

[44MAG#1]

"Do I assume that RCBS 355 sizing die is not marked properly and buy another 355 sizing die from them? Or purchase a 354 sizing die and see if it produces sized 0.354" sized bullets? Or will it produce 0.356" bullets? Or should I order a 355 sizing die from Lyman? "

I am a simpleton. I would get the .354". Try it and if the bullets are too small I would polish it it out. WaaLaa, problem solved.

[Dusty Bannister]

Problem solved for the size of the bullet, but now you will need to deal with the lube leaking around the push out rod in the die.

He could use the existing die to lube and size as he has been doing and then try to find a push through die of the diameter he actually needs. Problem is, he might have a loose barrel groove diameter and a tight chamber and then he is sort of stuck. So one more time, slug the barrel with a soft lead slug a couple of times and measure the slugs with the micrometer to verify the minimum diameter of the bullet needed to fill the groove diameter. Then he can try the cast bullets that will be on the way Monday and see if they will chamber properly as loaded and then shoot some to see if the bullet works or leads.

For a non-standard push through die, you may have to go with a custom order die.
Dusty

[44MAG#1]

There is going to be many sounding alarms. Get yourself a .354" die and see. There wont be enough leakage of lube around the push to make a difference if you do have to enlarge the die some. KISS.

[Echo]

I have the 102gr as well. I just use Liquid Alox TL on the bullets...and the LEE push through sizer die. I never have any leading with the 380. Its such a short barrel and lower velocity, I don't believe there is a need for a hard or grease lube. I just don't think you need to spend all that time filling the lube groove...Tumble Lube is so easy you can get a batch of 250-500 done in about 10-20 minutes (lining them up on wax paper to dry overnight) I drop a 1/2 teaspoon of powdered mica in my container and shake for the storage to take care of the LA stickiness.

It works for me.

redhawk

Plus One - do it all the time.

[DonMountain]

There is going to be many sounding alarms. Get yourself a .354" die and see. There wont be enough leakage of lube around the push to make a difference if you do have to enlarge the die some. KISS.

Should I buy another RCBS 354 die or a Lyman 354 die? Or, worse yet, should I buy tooling for my mini-lathe and start making all of my sizing dies myself? No, that sounds like too much effort! It would be easier to just go over to Walmart and buy boxes of ammo. . . . .

[reloader28]

You need to readjust your crimp.
I size all at boolits .358 and even the GFL brass work fine. They measure .374 at the mouth.
I'm using the Ranch Dog boolit and 130gr RF (Lee 125-358). These all work fine in 10 different .380's

[DonMountain]

You need to readjust your crimp.
I size all at boolits .358 and even the GFL brass work fine. They measure .374 at the mouth.
I'm using the Ranch Dog boolit and 130gr RF (Lee 125-358). These all work fine in 10 different .380's

So, you are suggesting that I just size my boolits at the crimp stage to fit in my gun's chamber rather than doing it in my lube sizer so the boolets fit properly along with the brass in my overly-tight chamber? My bet is this gun was just produced in the really old days between the two world wars with worn out chamber cutting tools, making the chamber too tight by a couple of thousandths. And I have already tried crimping them harder to the point where the brass is pushed down, making a wrinkle just below the bullet so that it doesn't fit in the chamber there. So, the only solution seems to be a small sizing die in the Lube/Sizer. I also size 9mm Luger bullets and don't have any such trouble using a 0.356" sizing die for them.

[44MAG#1]

Get yourself a .354" size die.