Hello fellow forum members,
I have been reloading for 18 years. 90% rifle case reloading, with a few 45acp & 480 ruger mixed in.
I'm get a smith and wesson 686 plus soon as I pay it off. I'm the mean time I've been loading up some .357 magnum ammo. Tonight I started in on the .38 specials. When I got to the crimp stage ..I then realized ( if I'm correct) one can not crimp .38 special on a .357- .38 crimp die.
I use redding dies and purchased the .357 / .38 -3 die set. Am I doing something wrong here? The .357 crimped just fine. Lol..
What die should I get for a dedicated .38 special crimp die...
Please be forgiving to my mental laps.. Believe it or not I make superb rifle ammo..

The crimp die in the set is for both cartridges. RCBS dies come with a spacer that is the exact difference in the lengths, so set the crimp for the 38 and lock the nut to the case. Then reset the die with the ring under the nut and you're go to go. This arrangement works for 44 special/mag also.

Personally I have several sets sitting around, that I set up one for 357 and one set up for 38 special on the tool heads for the progressive and a set loose for the small batch that might come up. 38/357 dies come up for sale used all the time, just buy a second set when it is reasonable. Ivan

Thank you for your reply. The set I have is the redding brand. There is no such spacer.
After seating all the bullets I remove the seated plug and set die to desired crimp. Worked great on .357 mag , went through the same process with the .38 special and the case isn't long enough to reach the crimp shoulder in the die..

A .38 SPL die set will crimp both .38 and .357.

__________________
Old paratrooper in NC

I would suggest you get This one

To add to the above-- when I first started reloading I had a set of Lee dies for 38spl-- when I began loading this round, on a single stage Lee press it would not crimp-- NOTHING I could do would work, and I tried everything-- I finally took just the crimp die back to the dealer and exchange it-- presto-- all went well and perfect. it loaded many thousands of rounds before I moved up to redding.

YES INDEED!!!!!!

Jepp2,
Thank you and everyone else for there comments. I will order that die soon as its in stock. I believe that a call is in order to redding tec. Perhaps my die is out of specs. I do not see why I am unable to get a crimp with this die. I have it threaded down till it bottoms out and is hitting my shell holder when the press is in the full top of stroke. I wanted to run the issue past some one else before I bother the good people at redding.
I'm not always the sharpest knife in the drawer,lol

I am editing this post..
I found my problem..its me, not Redding..( if you plan on reloading both .357 magnum and .38 special be sure you don't buy just one caliber dedicated dies) like I did

This is a common mistake among reloaders. The Magnum crimp die doesn't work on the Special case, BUT the Special die set will work on the Magnum case.

I suggest this crimp die: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/251...ProductFinding

Lee is not the quality of Redding but for crimping, this die is excellent for 38 / 357 with an easy adjustment.

__________________
S&WHF 366

I'm another who will endorse the Lee Factory Crimp Die. When I experimented with a combined Seat/Crimp operation in 357 Magnum I ended up with about 15 cases that were buckled badly enough they wouldn't chamber in my 357 Magnum handguns or rifles. By re-adjusting my Lee FCD I was able to use this die to resize those buckled cases to the correct diameter for chambering. Because the Lee FCD features a sizing ring that is sized to the maximum case diameter specification for the caliber. As a result any ammunition crimped with one of these dies will ALWAYS fit a SAAMI specification chamber, even if the case is wrinkled a bit from being buckled. BTW, the loads that were buckled were Accuracy loads for my 1892 Winchester and were NOT even close to maximum pressure, so no worry about the cases blowing out and fire forming removed all traces of them being buckled.

Personally I now have two Lee FCD's. Because I have a bad habit of forgetting that spacer ring when crimping or flaring 357 Magnums so I now have die sets dedicated and set up for 357 Magnum and 38 special.

As for accuracy and bullets being swaged by the Lee FCD, IMO that is more Urban Myth than fact. I've actually taken the time to pull bullets in various calibers and check for this and the maximum change in size to a bullet was only 0.0006 inch. I also checked for the change in size due to simply inserting a bullet in a sized case and the neck tension of the case reduced the bullet diameter in 45 ACP by 0.00025 inch. So, worst case using the Lee FCD was a bullet was 0.0012 inch LARGER than the SAAMI specified Groove Diameter for the caliber.

Waayyy back when I was a kid..or close...I got a set of RCBS 357 Mag dies. Had the same problem. Actually figured it out. Took the die into school to the Ag shop. They had a lathe in there..Had the shop teacher cut'r down on the lathe..he did a pretty job too. About 2 yrs back I found a Redding crimp die for 38/357 in a junk box for a dollar at a gun show... Darn thing works great..And although I am not a big fan of Lee..I do use the FCDs...at least on some. My 45 auto I use the Redding taper crimps. Personally Although more expensive than others I really think the Redding dies are the best you can buy..although on my Dillon 1050s I do use the Dillon dies. In fact I am going to sell my CH Mark IV cause I just got a 1050 in 38/357. The ol CH works fine..but it is a tinker kinda press. The 1050s work really well once adjusted correctly.

I too would recommend the Redding Profile Crimp die. There is no reason to use a Lee FCD on revolver rounds (actually no handgun ammo), just adjust the dies correctly. The FCD I owned, that caused leading in my .44 Magnum, now resides in a land fill somewhere in Southern Oregon...

I went to the hardware store an picked up a large washer with
a .95" hole and .15" thick to place under my die set for a 38 special.
Just the correct height for .357 cases.

However a .357 die should be used on the longer cases in order to
achieve a full length sizing for a better/correct fit in a revolver's chamber.

Good loading.

1967, buying first set of dies, wanted 357 magnum, shop owner sold me 38 special and explained why they were more useful than the set marked 357 magnum. Found a washer at hardware store to use as a shim. RCBS sold a bunch of dies to the unknowing who wanted to load both. I'm glad that old man was around to help me get started then...no forums to ask questions on.
The OP's dies are "vintage" like mine. Having two dedicated sets is good, but back then money was tight and handloaders were frugal.
Gary