Can 9mm reloading dies also reload 380?

[jim Glass]

Title is self explanatory. Some people describe a .380 as a 9mm short. Are they close enough to share reloading dies?

Never mind. I Googled my question. It is not a good idea
Jim

[kyratshooter]

No.

.380 is just a hair smaller.

9mm dies will not resize .380 properly, might not crimp either.

Now just a thought, but you do have a set of .223/5.56 dies, and the case head and taper of the .223 is the same as the .380 case. I know this due to making super strong .380 cases from .223 brass.

You could resized the empty .380 in the .223 resizing die and seat the slugs with the 9mm seating die. If they are resized tight enough the slug should not need a crimp.

Or you can shell out $30 for a set of .380 dies.

One of my EDC pistols is a .380 but I have never sprung for dies. I just shoot factory out of it.

It is one of the micro guns and "training" with it is a moot point. It is a belly gun for 3'-6' ranges and the sights are not exactly for target use. No sense trying to shoot hundreds of rounds out of it, just make sure it feeds and functions on a regular basis.

Did you know that Ronald Regan owned a PPK he bought back in the 1930s in .380 and carried it while president?

[Pop Alexandra]

Unfortunately not. Had no idea about the Regan fact .

[jim Glass]

Just did some inspection work on the 2 rounds. Looks like all I would need is shell sizing die for the .380 which I could make on my
CNC lathe. The 9mm and 380 shells are way more different than I anticipated. Just thinking

[kyratshooter]

You are going to need a taper crimp die too.

I do not think you can screw the 9mm seating and crimping die far enough to touch the .380 case.

Shell sizing dies are hardened/heat treated Jim. You would need to take care of that too.

It would really be easier to pay Lee Mfg to do all that even though you do have the tooling. A .380 die set is not that expensive. You also get the carbide sizing die, which is a bonus.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/98...bide-3-die-set

BTW, the .25acp, .32acp and .380acp were all propitiatory cartridges invented and owned by John Browning. If you chambered a gun in those rounds you had to pay him. Ammo companies were also required to pay for production. The gun designers did that to insure retirement income. If their gun was a hit the ammo would be flowing for a long time.

I do not think that Browning ever considered how popular those three rounds would be in the shooting communities.

[jim Glass]

The Lee Precision reloading dies are amazing tools for the money. They run anywhere from $25 to $40 per set. At my shop rate I would probably have $1000 in my time invested and I can heat treat in my basement as well. But, if I had spare time I might tackle one die component just for fun but not two of them. I really don't understand how Lee Precision can make a set of dies for what they cost. Their process must be heavily automated.

I wanted some extra shell holders for the .223 shells. I was able to duplicate them almost perfectly. Heat treated them to. Later I discovered I could buy them for $7 each. I figure mine would cost $50 each. But I had some time and the material and never left the house that day.

[Rick]

They use flying monkeys. They work cheap. Not as cheap as pink elephants but still pretty cheap. Bananas to peanuts.

[hunter63]

I have to believe that over the years they have handled just about any request of specials....allow in the machines to just get programed and go.
Richard Lee was a shooter and made equipment for his own and buddies use..... then for others.... at a low cost.

My nephew and hunting buddy went to college with a grandson....but couldn't get me any deals....LOL

http://leeprecision.com/history.html

[kyratshooter]

Back when I was a kid there was a local outdoor show called Woods and Waters where two old geezers were hosts. Actually they were probably in the 40s but I thought they were geezers. One guy owned a hardware/sporting goods store and the other was one of the news readers for the station.

They showed the ubiquitous fishing films with running narrations since that was before the days of video cameras. Then they showed pictures of people holding up huge fish and the occasional massacre of hundreds of rabbits. Each week they had a time for products called Gimmicks.

It was on one of their gimmick segments that I saw the first Lee Loaders. That must have been when they were brand new on the market.

I thought it was amazing that a guy could assemble a shotgun shell using nothing but that little gizmo.

A few years latter I was old enough to buy one for myself. A 12 gauge. It is still in the drawer with the other die sets. I have not used it in years. I now use the Lee Load-all. Got one in 12 and 20. That was also another great idea. I also have a Mec, but never use it.

I think I also have a Lee bullet mold in every caliber from .22-.69 and about 100 sets of loading dies along with three different Lee loading presses, I think. Yea three.

9 year old me watching those two guys work that Lee Classic loading tool on TV back in 1959 never dreamed you could have this much neat stuff!

[jim Glass]

I always wanted to get into reloading shotgun shells for trap shooting. Never had the time or the money to get into reloading until I turned
65.