9mm neck expansion die for 380?

[KenFromNY]

Just for background: 380 dies are nowhere to be found right now. I load 9mm and 38/357 and wanted to start reloading 380 ACP. I am partial to the Lee carbide die sets and would be happy to buy a set if anyone knows a place that is selling.

My question is whether my 9mm dies could be used for neck expansion and bullet seating on a 380 cartridge? I know this question has been asked before, but most of the answers were related to the different case dimensions between 9mm and 380. I have fresh brass so I shouldn't need to perform an initial resize. And if I can get my hands on a Lee 380 factory crimp die for an accurate taper crimp and proper neck tension, do you think my Lee 9mm case mouth expansion and bullet seating dies would be close enough for 380? If I'm reading the SAAMI specs correctly, the neck diameter difference between 9mm and 380 is .007 inches. Certainly not insignificant, but maybe close enough?

 

[mdi]

Flaring is all that is needed to aid bullet seating. I have flared cases with chisel heads, a tapered brass rod and Lee Loader flaring tools, I even flared some cases by pushing a 30-06 case into a 38 Special case mouth to flare it. I'd try the 9mm flaring tool or a universal flaring tool, you may be able to lower the die enough to flare the 380 case...

https://www.titanreloading.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=universal expanding die "in stock"...

 

[reloaded_in_pa]

Just for background: 380 dies are nowhere to be found right now. I load 9mm and 38/357 and wanted to start reloading 380 ACP. I am partial to the Lee carbide die sets and would be happy to buy a set if anyone knows a place that is selling.

My question is whether my 9mm dies could be used for neck expansion and bullet seating on a 380 cartridge? I know this question has been asked before, but most of the answers were related to the different case dimensions between 9mm and 380. I have fresh brass so I shouldn't need to perform an initial resize. And if I can get my hands on a Lee 380 factory crimp die for an accurate taper crimp and proper neck tension, do you think my Lee 9mm case mouth expansion and bullet seating dies would be close enough for 380? If I'm reading the SAAMI specs correctly, the neck diameter difference between 9mm and 380 is .007 inches. Certainly not insignificant, but maybe close enough?

If you haven't already done so, sign up for the email alerts from Midway and other online retailers. You would be surprised how often die sets come back in stock. Act quickly when you get the alerts, things sell out fast.

 

[Dudedog]

Thought I found some but, Opps out of stock

 

[Hooda Thunkit]

If you haven't already done so, sign up for the email alerts from Midway and other online retailers. You would be surprised how often die sets come back in stock. Act quickly when you get the alerts, things sell out fast.

That's exactly how I came up with a set of 380 dies. Midway had them, now I do.


As for the OPs question, I would certainly try the 9mm dies for seating the bullet. If you can't get the seating stem to go down far enough, try disassembling the die and shimming the seating stem. I did that with some light 30-30 bullets, worked like a champ.

Use a ball bearing, or almost anything you can stick in there . Put the shim in between the die adjuster screw and the stem, not between the stem and the bullet.