old RCBS reloading dies

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Anyone have old RCBS reloading dies? I'm talking about stuff made in the early 1960s, like 1961 to be exact. I bought a 3 die set of .357 mag. dies, actually 38 spcl, but they are also OK for .357 according to the insert paper work still in the case. Anyway, my problem is I've never used the old dies that resize on a different die as depriming occures. I lubed the cases as is required with the old steel dies and the resize dies seems as thoug it is too small for the cases? I've never had this happen with any resize die before. Any suggestions?

gamestaker

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gamestalker wrote:

Anyone have old RCBS reloading dies? I'm talking about stuff made in the early 1960s, like 1961 to be exact. I bought a 3 die set of .357 mag. dies, actually 38 spcl, but they are also OK for .357 according to the insert paper work still in the case. Anyway, my problem is I've never used the old dies that resize on a different die as depriming occures. I lubed the cases as is required with the old steel dies and the resize dies seems as thoug it is too small for the cases? I've never had this happen with any resize die before. Any suggestions?

gamestaker

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Mine aren't quite that old, but I also have a three die set. Here's some things to look for:

When depriming, you may have to unlock that center pin that has the priming punch on it and back it off along with the main die to get a .357 casing to fit. That center pin, with the depriming pin, just screws into the center of the die.

Check to see if you have the correct shellholder for the .357/38. My equipment was passed on down from my dad. He was using a 'universal' shellholder to hold the cases. This shell holder wasn't holding the cases at the right spot and I was having a very tough time getting the cases lined up to go into the sizing die. RCBS has a specific shellholder that will position the case just right to go into the die.

Finally, when you adjust the sizing die for a longer casing, make sure you are unscrewing the die, making the die sit 'higher' and NOT lower in the press. I had this problem starting out as I figured that with a longer case the die should set lower in the press. The farther down I seated the press, the more problems I had. I finally figured out that ANYTIME you are setting a die in the press to fit a casing, make sure you adjust using an empty (and unprimed) case to keep your adjustment going the right way.

Hope this helps!

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Thanks anyway, but the problem is not common or related to my die set up. I might have given the impression that I'm new at this, but I've been reloading for nearly 30 years and never had this happen. I went out today and bought a set of carbides which is what I've always used and was able to jump right in and load as I've always done. The strange thing about these old RCBS dies is that the resize die is not the resize and deprime as with all of the late model dies. Being that this is the case I'm baffled still as to why the resizer is obviously much smaller than it should be for .357. I put my dial calipe to it and it is 10/1000 to small? I thought that maybe the dies were possibly mixed up but the die has the .357/38 imprinted on it. I talked to RCBS and they said it may be a custom die that someone had made for a wild cat and I'm betting they are right! Anyway, problem solved now that I bought some carbides which is what I should have done in the first place.

gamestalker

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gamestalker wrote:

Thanks anyway, but the problem is not common or related to my die set up. I might have given the impression that I'm new at this, but I've been reloading for nearly 30 years and never had this happen. I went out today and bought a set of carbides which is what I've always used and was able to jump right in and load as I've always done. The strange thing about these old RCBS dies is that the resize die is not the resize and deprime as with all of the late model dies. Being that this is the case I'm baffled still as to why the resizer is obviously much smaller than it should be for .357. I put my dial calipe to it and it is 10/1000 to small? I thought that maybe the dies were possibly mixed up but the die has the .357/38 imprinted on it. I talked to RCBS and they said it may be a custom die that someone had made for a wild cat and I'm betting they are right! Anyway, problem solved now that I bought some carbides which is what I should have done in the first place.

gamestalker

Click to expand...

Interesting! So the case diameter is smaller, how about the length? Could you fire a loaded case out of a .38/.357?

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Case length is consistent with a standard .357, just the diameter is different.

gamestalker