Jgsloat Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I am switching from shooting a 38 special to 38 short colt for ease of loading in USPSA matches. I plan on buying Starline's 38 short colt. What bullet are most using? I would like to buy bulk from groups like Montanna Gold. I have seen forum post that suggest using a 38 resizing die with 9 mm expanding,bullet seating, and crimping dies. Does this sound right? Any suggestions will be appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick1981 Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 "I have seen forum post that suggest using a 38 resizing die with 9 mm expanding,bullet seating, and crimping dies". I see something like that, but actually I never tried to use 38 short, but I'm interested know if the 38/357 dies is good for expanding and crimping on a 38 LONG colt brass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westczek Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 That should work for you. I use a 38/357 sizer and 9mm for everything else. I use 358 sized 160 grn polymer coat lead bullets, Bayou Bullets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revoman Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 I am switching from shooting a 38 special to 38 short colt for ease of loading in USPSA matches. I plan on buying Starline's 38 short colt. What bullet are most using? I would like to buy bulk from groups like Montanna Gold. I have seen forum post that suggest using a 38 resizing die with 9 mm expanding,bullet seating, and crimping dies. Does this sound right? Any suggestions will be appreciated! Why not just order the 38 short colt die set from Lee? I use them on my 650 and have loaded thousands of rounds with no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtr Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 I use .357 size and 9 everything else. Starline brass with Montana Gold 142gr. Works fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jgsloat Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 I assume the bullet is the FMJ in 357. What powder at what weight? Is this a minor power factor load? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlockCanMan Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 I am loading my .38 short colt w/158gr round nose Billy Bullets. I will switch to Bayou bullets when I finish shooting the 4000+ rounds that I have left in stock. I am also using the Lee short colt dies w/seperate taper crimp die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtr Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 I assume the bullet is the FMJ in 357. What powder at what weight? Is this a minor power factor load? Yes, running 4.0gr universal clays at 1.125" oal with fed spp for a minor load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSAJ19 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 I too have been using Short Colts. Loaded on Dillon 550B. Stage 1. Dillon 357/38 special resize/deprime die. Stage 2. Dillon 9mm powder/bell die. Stage 3. Dillon 9mm seating die . Stage 4. Dillon 9mm crimping die. I have not noticed any loss in accuracey, shooting through my S&W 686 revolvers, for IPSC & ICORE Revolver Divisions. Definately worth the effort with moonclips, the load is faster than 38 special cases. Using Comp III speed loaders, I need to load the Short Colts, long (135LRN) for reliability in loading. 38 Long Colt would be a better option with speed loaders, IMO. Knowing what I now know & the options with 38 Short Colt & 38 Long Colt, & 38 Special. I would not purchase a 627 in 38 Super, seeking the advantage of a shorter case for loading. Cheers, Ando. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daBear Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 (edited) I found a Lee 38 short colt 3 die set. I used two of them. The shaper/deprimer in position #1 on my Dillon 550B and the seater/crimper in position #3. I used a Dillon powder funnel in 9mm for position #2. And I installed a Lee 38 spl factory crimp die in position #4 to shape the finished round (not crimp). The final product - 38 short colt starline brass, 160 gn bayou 38 bullet, 3.0 gn VV N320, federal primers, 1.150 OAL Average velocity: 784 Std Dev: 13 Average power factor: 125.5k Joe B Edited July 3, 2012 by daBear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jgsloat Posted July 3, 2012 Author Share Posted July 3, 2012 Thanks for all the help, I 'm getting there. Got a chronograph this weekend and deciding what load will work best for me. My initial impression is heavier lead bullets with softer loads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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