i just started reloading and i got the lee 50th breach lock kit and loaded 100 rounds of hornady xtp 158gr hollow points with 3.8 gr of hp 38 powder. 38 special cases. do i need to crimp it says optional in my lee 357 die kit instructions. also i wanna cast my own bullets when are gas checks needed and why? do i need lee bullet lube ? alox ? i havent shot my first one hundred rounds yet and i was told i sould crimp if i make 357 magnu . why dosent lee have crimp die included more money for them .... thanks

Yes, crimp lightly in the crimp groove.

This is an excellent source of info on cast bullets:

From Ingot to Target: A Cast Bullet Guide For Handgunners, Table of Contents - Fryxell/Applegate

yup...crimp 38sp..

__________________
SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

why does it say optional and why arent die sets a set if it has no crimp . lee has a taper crimp built in but i cant tell?????????

Gas checks become useful at much higher pressures/velocities you will encounter with your 38 Special
(even if you load it all the way up to +P levels!)

__________________
-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

where can you get real cheap reloading stuff

there is so much stuff to reloading it has now become more expensive . brass is as much as whole cartridges . i got a bunch of reloading stuff for guns i dont have.anyone in maryland wanna trade tell me i need 38,357 ,40s&w,223, 30-30,7.62x54r . i have 44mag ,45,308,243 ,270

Take it one step at time, learn to load your own before trying to cast and reload. Cheap reloading supplies are sold across the street from the fountain of youth.

All Lee dies have a roll crimper built in to the bullet seating die. The "set" is complete as is. Follow the directions and you'll get a crimp.

If you only load bullets with a crimping groove thats all you need. If you load jacketed bullets you should have bought the optional set with the taper crimp die included. Or, you can always buy one separately.

The beauty of Lee dies is you only have to buy what you need.

it says you can adjust the roll crimp i cant see any or adjustment it just seats bullet deeper when i try to adjust

The seating die has a shoulder inside the die. Unscrew the bullet seating screw and screw down the die until it contacts the top of the case. Screwing down from there dictates how much crimp you get. Then screw in the seating depth piece to get final cartridge overall length.

Reloading is a great hobby. I've been loading since 2004 on a Hornady LnL. It takes a while to pay off the investment in equipment and brass, but it does pay off.

I'm paying .065 for 158 gr lswc. .03 for primers. Less than .01 for powder. Cases recycle so often that they are free. .11 per round, $11 per hundred. My amount of recoil and the best round for the gun.

I've loaded over 160,000 rounds, mostly pistol.

Take your time, read some manuals. Hang out on the reloading forums. Ask questions, we all want to help.

so put empty shell in bullet seating die with screw all the way out then bring whole die down and tighten screw only and i can see neck of brass case start to roll in?

Basically, yes. Before you prime and powder a case, just resize and flare a couple to use as dummies. I adjust the seating screw far enough down to seat a bullet at the desired depth without crimping the case also, then back out the seating screw all the way and then tighten the die down until the crimping ring inside contacts the case mouth and then maybe an eighth of a turn more or until I get the crimp I want, then lock the die in place and screw the seating screw back in until it contacts the nose of the bullet. Once you've got it adjusted thusly, you can load another dummy round or two to tweak the seating and crimping to get it exact. I don't reload very often, so I always load a dummy or two before beginning a session just to be sure everything is still in adjustment.

thanks ill try tommorow i didnt see a difference in flaring for the bullet or crimping i had flare die all the way in and no difference in pressing bullet and crimp all the way screwed in and no difference in case neck so ill try again . so should you see no more crimp grove on bullet i left a little bit of crimp grove showing and thought that was sufficient .the directions give you maximum length not minimal length depending on bullet type . and does 3.8 gr of 3.8 of hp 38 sound right for a 158 gr hornady xpt in 38 special with cci 500 small pistol primers . i also have a bunch of magnum primers can i use them up and what do i change im already at suggested started load.

So the groove around the bullet is called the cannelure. The XTP has one, and that will dictate the overall length of the cartridge. You want the lip of the case to round slightly into that groove. The die is designed so that the crimp doesn't occur until the bullet is almost fully seated. The bullet is going down the neck until it is just about home and then the crimp ring comes into play. Depending on your die you can put some serious roll crimp on your cartridges. I crimp pretty tight with stout .45 colt and all .357. The idea is that we do not want our bullets in the other chambers sneaking back in the case from recoil as we shoot.

The amount of space in the case is important for most loads. Less space and more powder leads to more pressure. Too much pressure blows up the gun.

The load data published in the official manuals, in print or on line, has been verified with testing equipment to determine how much pressure is being generated. If you use the load data for the max powder, then shorten the load by seating your bullet to deep you can have trouble. we do not want the bullets to creep in while in the gun.

Most loads will stay put with a good taper crimp, that's why often the roll crimp is optional.

Magnum primers are a bit hotter than regular primers. Winchester large pistol primers are rated for both magnum and standard. I have used magnum primers for regular loads, I just reduce the powder a smidge. Technical term for a tenth of a grain or so.

When I start out with a new load I usually start at the lowest level to see if it will shoot reliably and accurately with the minimum of recoil. I then move up by .2 grains or so to 90% of the max load. I'm usually done to my satisfaction before I get to that level. Anywhere around half way between the minimum and max loads is a good safe place to be.

I'm fortunate to live semi-rural. I have an acre with a 200 acre grass seed farm next door. I can step out the door to my shop and shoot at a steel plate about 25 yards away. I tried out some loads today working on a .45 auto rim for my 25-2s.

There really are only two real mistakes with the reloads. A squib doesn't have enough juice to clear the barrel. A wooden dowel and a small hammer in the range bag fixes they. A double charge or a load that far exceeds max results in a kaboom. Surgery is often required to some of the use of the hand back. I like the dowel/hammer fix better if I'm going to make a mistake.

ALL handgun ammo should be crimped. In a revolver if you don't crimp your bullet it's possible the bullet will jump and if it pulls enough the bullet can stop the cylinder from turning rendering the revolver useless. In a semi-auto the opposite can happen where the bullet will set back into the case and the danger there is excessively high pressures.

I would not shoot those .357 Magnum rounds without crimping them first. What powder did you use in the .357 Magnum rounds?

You do have a reloading manual, right? If you're loading in a .38 Special case that charge of 3.8gr HP-38/W231 is the starting charge recommended by Hodgdon so you should be fine. Too light a charge weight can be a problem. With a jacketed bullet you can stick the jacket in the barrel and when you fire the next round, well, lets say things will get very interesting very quickly.

__________________
Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

No, with ram up screw the die in until it hits the shell holder. Then back it out X no. of turns. For a set of .38 Spl dies, X=5 for .38 and 3 for 357. But don't believe those numbers - my Lee dies are 40 years old. If you have new dies, X may be different.

Turn the die in from this zero point to get a crimp. 1/2 turn 1 turn or whatever. But every time you make a change to the die, make an equal but opposite direction change to the bullet seating rod. That way the OAL will stay the same.

it dosent say that opposite turn in die instructions , so the die itself is the crimp adjust and the screw on top is seating depth, now it makes sense