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  #1  
Old 02-28-2021, 04:47 PM
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mojave30cal mojave30cal is offline
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Default Getting back into reloading 38 special

I have all the items except the reloading dies. I have a RCBS
Rock Chucker press, and wanted a die set with a carbide sizer.
I have 500 hard cast lead 158 gr. SWC bullets. Do I need a
RCBS carbide die set specifically for SWC bullets in order to
reload? It's been a good 4 decades since I did reloading.
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Old 02-28-2021, 04:51 PM
Chubbs103 Chubbs103 is offline
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Most 3 die sets for .38SPCL / .357 Mag come with a seater plug for RN and one for SWC.

Buy the brand of your choice (we all have opinions here).
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Old 02-28-2021, 05:08 PM
Chubbs103 Chubbs103 is offline
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Frustrating.

I just went on a quick virtual shopping trip. Manufacturers and sellers alike neglect to tell the purchaser what (if any) seater plug comes with their product.
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Old 02-28-2021, 05:15 PM
Sevens Sevens is offline
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These days many of the brands have a universal seater plug that works quite well for MOST.

I have and use die sets in 25+ calibers, I use Lee, RCBS, Hornady, Redding, old Pacific and Lyman and my #1 preference over all of them is Lee. They are what I like most and it’s where I find the most value.
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Old 02-28-2021, 05:15 PM
Rpg Rpg is offline
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The carbide die is for sizing the case. The variety of projectile (SWC, wc, round nose etc) is irrelevant as far as the sizing die.

I use the same seating plug for all shapes of projectiles without issue.

Last edited by Rpg; 03-01-2021 at 01:49 PM.
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Old 02-28-2021, 05:49 PM
vinn vinn is offline
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will you be shooting any lead ? I think It needs to be sized and greased. lee has a sizing plate as opposed to a press set up. I foolishly bought lots lead bullets, and have lots of printing lead also. if the gun shows ever return, i'll be selling the lead. lead vin
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Old 02-28-2021, 05:52 PM
STORMINORMAN STORMINORMAN is offline
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A carbide resizing die makes lubricating the cases unnecessary... Pretty much everything else is unchanged from 40 years past.

Frankly I was surprised at the scarcity and current price$ for die $et$!

A good used carbide set might be well worth looking for...?

Good Luck!
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Old 02-28-2021, 06:26 PM
GypsmJim GypsmJim is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vinn View Post
will you be shooting any lead ? I think It needs to be sized and greased. lee has a sizing plate as opposed to a press set up. I foolishly bought lots lead bullets, and have lots of printing lead also. if the gun shows ever return, i'll be selling the lead. lead vin
If you buy a Lee mold for "Tumble Lube Bullets", they don't need to be sized....easy peasy.

If you lube (grease) bullets with Lee liquid alox its a painless process...easy peasy.

Lee's press mounted boolit sizing die is inexpensive any works well.....another easy peasy.

My Dad was a printer and he was my source for lead boolits over 50 years ago. I miss him every day. He got me started shooting lead boolits and it was simply the best way to go out and shoot at the time, and still is to this day.
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Old 02-28-2021, 06:56 PM
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Hey, 30, load a few with no powder or primer and see if they chamber OK. If OK, you're GTG. .38s, lead and loading is the best.
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Old 03-01-2021, 01:44 PM
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I started using Lee 38 Special dies in around '72 and I probably still have the set in my shop, somewhere in my die drawer (my die sets sometimes cross the "color line" and become multi-manufacturer combinations, but my Lee 38 set remains Lee). I have seated nearly all bullet shapes with the Lee seater (not an FCD) and jacketed to dead soft cast. Never any problems. IIRC there were some soft HBWC that had the shoulder slightly rounded and some very soft RN bullets that had a slight ring (which I fixed with some emery paper on the stem). Any OAL variations I got were from the bullet's varying dimensions...

Reloading lead bullets differ from jacketed reloading, but minor differences. One item is the case mouth needs to be flared a bit more for lead bullets to prevent "shaving" the bullet. Bullet to gun fit is very important so measuring the bullets is a good idea. Since you already have the cast bullets there isn't much that can be done now, but they should be a minimum of .357", but .358"+ is better. Too small, too hard bullets will deposit lead in the barrel. Not the end of the world, but can be a pain to clean and accuracy may suffer. Since you will be getting a reloading manual, I'd suggest Lyman's 50th (or 49th) Reloading Handbook which has a lot of info on lead bullet reloading, and load data (which differs from jacketed bullet data). Also go here for tons of various info on all aspects of lead bullets; Cast Boolits

I've been reloading and casting for quite a while and don't know what a sizing "plate" is. Be careful of the info you see on a forum as some posters may be a little misinformed. This is Lee's bullet sizing tools. Bullet Sizing Kit - Lee Precision

Last edited by mikld; 03-01-2021 at 02:12 PM.
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Old 03-01-2021, 02:11 PM
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If you can't find a Carbide set but can find a steel set ... buy it for now and use Lee Case Sizing Lube untill after the panic ... you can buy a carbide sizer later . I bought a carbide sizer after 25 or so years of loading with a steel sizer ... I went back to the steel die because the Carbide over sized the cases... fine for jacketed bullets but not worth a hoot with larger cast lead . My RCBS die set stated SWC seater on the box and that's what the seating stem was .
If you have a RN stem ... fill it with epoxy and make a flat seating stem... flat stems will seat any bullet with a flat spot on it ... I use one for WC , SWC , TC , RF and Flat Nose ... they will in a pinch seat a RN if you flare the case mouth and start the bullet in nice and straight .
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Old 03-01-2021, 03:07 PM
nbedford nbedford is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GypsmJim View Post
If you buy a Lee mold for "Tumble Lube Bullets", they don't need to be sized....easy peasy.

If you lube (grease) bullets with Lee liquid alox its a painless process...easy peasy.

Lee's press mounted boolit sizing die is inexpensive any works well.....another easy peasy.

My Dad was a printer and he was my source for lead boolits over 50 years ago. I miss him every day. He got me started shooting lead boolits and it was simply the best way to go out and shoot at the time, and still is to this day.
My Lee wadcutter double cavity mold throws a .358" wad cutter, and since many sizing dies size down to .358" there just ain't much need to resize unless you just really want to. I also tumble lube my bullets, and use Lee Liquid Alox, but use a 50-50 mix of LLA and mineral spirits. I ain't had any leading at all with standard target loads.

Last edited by nbedford; 03-01-2021 at 03:09 PM.
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