Ejumikate me on .38/.357 dies.

[samwithacolt]

I have a .357 revolver on the way, and I want to shoot cast for both .38 special
and .357 magnum. I believe I can use .38 spl dies for both, am I mistaken?
Can I flare the case mouth on both, and get roll crimp on seating?
Also, wondering if I should bother if the mold is for GC or not, does it matter
in a revolver ar 15-1600 fps?

[Beagle333]

I recommend these. I have tried several and have settled on these as my favorites. The nitride is nice, no lube necessary, and the best feature is the bullet alignment sleeve that will hold the bullet in perfect alignment with the case all the way through the seating process. I have had some trouble in the past with a boolit occasionally getting started just a little crooked and shaving a teeny sliver of lead off one side until it righted itself and these will not allow that to happen.http://www.midwayusa.com/product/498432/hornady-custom-grade-new-dimension-nitride-3-die-set-38-special-357-magnum-357-maximum
I would use GC's with a 1600fps round, unless I was powdercoating. :cool:

[NSB]

You can use the sizing die for both but the flair die will be too short if it's for 38 used on the 357 or too long if vise versa. Same for the crimp die. Close but no cigar. At least on my sets of dies.

[captaint]

My set of .38/.357 dies (RCBS) came with a washer that goes between the 38 die and the press to make it sit up "higher" for the .357 brass. Works for the flair die also. I do have 4 different Hornady seater dies for the various boolit types. That way, I'm not constantly adjusting for seating depth. Just use the correct seater die. Those Hornady dies are beautiful, by the way. Mike

[dbosman]

.357 mag. case is .1" longer than .38 special.
Many die sets shipped with (I can't speak for current production) a .1" thick washer so you could set your dies and change back and forth.

[samwithacolt]

I just read on the lee website that the .38 spl
die just needs to be backed out a bit for .357, which
seems to make sense.

[44Vaquero]

All 5 of the major manufactures current .38 special/ .357 dies sets are capable of reloading either cartridge! Lee, RCBS, Lyman, Hornady and Redding. Redding sells the spacers that allow switching between the .38/.357 without adjusting seating and belling dies. The same is true for .44 mag/Special and .32 .s&w long/.32 mag etc.

Why this question comes up from time to time I will never understand? A visit to Midway's web site shows all the dies sets are clearly marked as such.

[NSB]

I'm going to have to break down and replace my thirty-something year old dies! Back in the day (way back) I just bought two sets.

[375supermag]

My set of .38/.357 dies (RCBS) came with a washer that goes between the 38 die and the press to make it sit up "higher" for the .357 brass. Works for the flair die also. I do have 4 different Hornady seater dies for the various boolit types. That way, I'm not constantly adjusting for seating depth. Just use the correct seater die. Those Hornady dies are beautiful, by the way. Mike

My sets of RCBS .38/357 dies are exactly the same.
I never used the spacer washer...I just bought another set of dies for .38Spl.

I also always buy another bullet seating die for each weight/style of bullet in most any caliber that I reload for.
It saves an awful lot of adjusting time and effort. It is a bit expensive, but my time is worth the money.

[MtGun44]

Current Hornady dies have an alignment sleeve to keep the boolit straight at it
is pushed into the case. All other makers charge a bunch extra for this feature
and call it their "benchrest" dies.
I recommend them Hornady dies.

Bill