357 sig

[MaconGuns]

I've seen Lee for dies and using 40sw to straighten the case first?
Only carbide dies i see are Dillion at $100+?
Head spacing off shoulder not the neck?

Further info on the above is welcome. If you reload this I need Dies recommendations that you use and any tips that make it easier.

Search doesn't seem to be my friend so if you know good info posted in the ODT forum please link. Thanks

 

[Horsehat]

I've seen Lee for dies and using 40sw to straighten the case first?
Only carbide dies i see are Dillion at $100+?
Head spacing off shoulder not the neck?

Further info on the above is welcome. If you reload this I need Dies recommendations that you use and any tips that make it easier.

Search doesn't seem to be my friend so if you know good info posted in the ODT forum please link. Thanks

I have loaded for it but not in years and not highly successfully. .357 sig brass, once fired, is fairly obtainable at reasonable prices. Everglades ammo has it for $60 a thousand. At that price I don't think I would form .40. Most manuals say the cartridge head spaces on the case mouth, some say the shoulder. I believe it is the mouth but the shoulder is a critical set back for it to function properly. Can't remember what die brand I have and am too lazy to walk to the shop to look. Will check tomorrow, I am thinking Redding but could be wrong.

 

[MaconGuns]

Thanks for the info on brass. Thanks ahead of time for looking.

 

[Horsehat]

Apparently my senility has gone full bore. The .357 sig dies I own are Hornady custom and are unopened in the plastic blister wrap as in I have never loaded with them. I suppose I was thinking of my experience with the .400 Corbon, another bottle neck semi auto cartridge.
I don't plan on loading this caliber in the future, I just don't fire enough of it to be worthwhile. I also have a new caliber conversion kit for the 550. The dies sell at Midway for $44, the conversion kit is about $50. If you would be interested in these 2 items I would ship them to you for $65' pay pal, money order or check.
PM me if you are interested.
Thanks

 

[AlphaMike11]

Hopefully someone will chime in to answer the questions the OP posted.
Many of us want to learn more about reloading the .357 Sig...

I am thinking of trying it but not sure about the same stuff MaconGuns brought up.

Years ago past I reloaded 7.62x25 but i had to lube the cases.
It wasn't too bad, but a bit messy.
Also had a few problems with neck tension and set back...

 

[Old_School]

I've seen Lee for dies and using 40sw to straighten the case first?
Only carbide dies i see are Dillion at $100+?
Head spacing off shoulder not the neck?

Further info on the above is welcome. If you reload this I need Dies recommendations that you use and any tips that make it easier.

Search doesn't seem to be my friend so if you know good info posted in the ODT forum please link. Thanks

It's a bottle-necked case, so lubing will be necessary. It and the 5.7 have always seemed to be too much work for me to get interested in loading. I'll stick with straight wall cases, thank you.

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk

 

[Greybeard]

It’s been a good while since reloading these, however I did have some notes written down. I used lee dies, steel, and a factory crimp die. I ran every case thru a case gage due to head spacing was off of the shoulder, same as a bottle neck rifle.
I noted that every three times a case trim was required. Could not use 40 case or 10mm. 40s were to short and 10s came out deformed, and large primers needed to be used. Had to use 357 sig cases for all reloading.
Neck tension had to be very tight to keep bullet seated, and strong crimp was needed. Had several bullets set backs after firing. I did manage to over come this with stronger taper crimps.
I found it better to just purchase rounds for my 229, however, never had a miss fire or fte, accuracy was not the best with my reloads. Didn’t keep powder grn measurements or powder used, (I believe it was BE-86). I have a note in my manual under this cartridge for this powder.
Just a FYI, I reload almost everything, gave up on this one.
Hope this helps some.

 

[MaconGuns]

I havent reloaded anything yet but have 308, 44 and 45 dies and a lee single stage press. These are the ones I decided I would want if ammo shortages became an issue and to me 9mm is so cheap it wasnt worth my effort but I may still get 223. Ive tried to start but I need a uncluttered stress free environment and atm thats a few months in the future i hope. Mostly wanted 357 since its fairly pricey but not really if you compare it to 44 mag or even some 45. Perhaps I should just skip this one since even skilled reloaders dislike reloading it.

JMHO but I think the round itself is awesome, other than reloading, I see very little wrong with it.

 

[rosewood]

Late to the post, but I recently began loading 357 sig and here is what I do.

I use Lee dies almost exclusively. I have 40 dies that load 10mm also. Lee sells a "Bulge buster" kit to attach to the Lee Factory Crimp die that you put on the 40 crimp die. You then push the case through the die to knock off the bulge. Works on 40 and 10mm. This die has a carbide sizing ring on it. I run the 357 sig brass through this die to knock off any bulge and this full length sizes the fat part of the case. I then run the brass through the lee 357 sig sizing die and you can get away without lubing. Lubing will make it easier, but not necessary.

You can size the fat part of the 357 sig brass using the carbide 40 sizing die if you like, but it will not go down far enough to do the entire case. The bulge buster does the entire length of the case because you are pushing it through.

Be sure to order the Lee 357 sig factory crimp die also. It is different from all other brand crimp dies and even different from Lee's other pistol crimp dies. It is a collet type die and clamps down around the case to crimp the bullet. You have to keep in mind the 357 sig loads much like a bottle necked rifle round and takes more prep than straight walled pistol cartridges. However, so far, I have not had any issues loading it. Also, some of your typical 9mm bullets will not work in a 357 sig. You need bullets with a long bearing surface so the short 357 sig neck can hold it and still be short enough to fit in chamber. The 124 XTP and 125 HAP have worked well for me. I believe there are some that specifically say .357 sig in the ads.

The bulge buster kit will work on most straight walled auto pistol cases with Lee dies. 380 acp, 40/10mm, 45 acp. The 380 will even work on 223 brass if you have any with bulging issues since the base are within .002" of each other.

Rosewood

 

[MaconGuns]

Thanks, good info. What powder do you use?