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380 ACP sizing problem


tires2burn

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I need some help on this one. I have a 550B with the 380 ACP 4 die carbide Lee Die set. I have loaded in the past and have never liked the final result. All my other die sets work fine. The case sizes to .353 and after I crimp, the bullet will push into the case. I am using Hornady 95gr HP with .355 dia. It seems like I need a smaller sizing die.

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Thanks Dino,

I just ran 2 HP's and they are still loose but not near as bad as with the crimp. I also ran 2 100gr Rainier RN and they are tight as a drum. I could push on the side of my bench and the HP's went in about .020 but the RN didn't budge. Great tip. Any more advise for the HP's?

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Thanks Dino,

I just ran 2 HP's and they are still loose but not near as bad as with the crimp. I also ran 2 100gr Rainier RN and they are tight as a drum. I could push on the side of my bench and the HP's went in about .020 but the RN didn't budge. Great tip. Any more advise for the HP's?

I don't have any experience with HP bullets. So, I am no help with those. I reload Hornady 100 grain FMJ and 102 grain cast with no problem.

As MstngLX50 suggests, try a bulge buster die to size the cases down enough to crimp the HP's at the proper depth.

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Check the diameter of the internal piece of the powder die (the part that bells the case mouth) to make sure it's not too big in diameter. The sizing die may be fine, but the powder die may be opening up the case too much). I'm supposed to be getting a Lee .380 sizing die later this week...I hope that's not your (and possibly my) problem. :^)

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Thanks pyrrhic3gun, I figured that one out a long time ago and resized all my powder funnels. I run Lee dies for all my calibers and the powder funnel was making everything to big, just like you said. I called Lee and explained what the problem was and they had me send in my 380 full length sizing die so they could refit it for undersize. basically they are swapping out my standard one for a undersize die for free. Lee & Dillon are the only reloading company's I have used and I must say they are the best for customer service.

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I was going to suggest a U die but it looks like LEE already took care of that for you. Was this happening with all brass or certain ones? Some brands have thinner case walls and no matter what I tried I got set back like you until I went to the U die. Namely FC has pretty thin walls and was my main problem. Your plated bullets are a little bigger than true jacketed bullets is why they worked better. I don't think it has a thing to do with them being HP's. It has to do with them being jacketed and being smaller.

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Hey Sarge, All my powder funnels were over sizing my cases. I would mike the case out of the Lee full length sizer and then again after the powder drop and the case was bigger so I undersized all my powder funnels so there wasn't any friction on the case till it hit the bell. Solved my problems except for the 380. The USD should fix that.

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I found this every once in a while when loading heavy 9mm deep. what seemed to be happening was i was compressing the load and the pressure from the powder when it went through the crimp die would make the bullet "pop" out. did not do it all the time so i figured out it was a combo of the depth, brass, powder charge.

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I just loaded up 100 Acme 95 grain lead round nose bullets for .380. Bullets are sized .358

This was with a brand new set of Lee .380 carbide dies. I had no setback issues.

I loaded a couple of dummy rounds with Hornady 90 grain XTP/HP's and had no setback issues with them either.

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  • 5 years later...

I know it's an old thread but, I had the same problem using the lee die set and 90gr xtp bullets. All other bullets I used worked fine until I tried the xtp. I didn't think .001 difference was going to be an issue and it mentioned nothing in my Honady reloading book about any extra steps or special tools to load the 90gr xtp in the 380 acp. It's definitely the lee die. I bought a Hornady die set and have no issues at all now. I measured the ID of lee die and it is .3675, I measured the Hornady die and it is .3645. I did notice though that the Hornady sizing die leaves the case looking dull. Didn't have that issue with the lee but I'd much rather have a tight bullet then a shiny case. My OCD is in full effect over it so, I'll just run them through the polisher after sizing.  😁

Edited by Hostile2001
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  • 1 year later...

I know this is an old post, but the problem is with the sizer die being too big. I had the same problem with RCBS dies for 9mm years ago but only with jacketed bullets, not lead bullets. Went to Dillon dies for my 550 and all was solved. The bullet must be held by the CASE, not the CRIMP. You need a slight crimp on an auto caliber to get rid of the case mouth belling. If you try to overcrimp, it will deform the bullet jacket but the case will spring back slightly when  it exits the die leaving you where you started-with a bullet loose inside the case.  Dillon and Redding dies work well for .380 and 9mm.

 

Oh, and for MRVvrroomm - good luck with your .358 bullets going down a .354 bore. You are going to create excessive pressure. I am even surprised your cartridges would chamber - there usually isn't that  much slop in the chamber dimensions. Poor choice for a home defense load.

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