Duckbutter48

Which die set is my best bet for loading a 38special. I have been reloading rifles for a while but havent messed around much with pistol dies.

I have the RCBS carbide set for my 44mag but its for a rifle.

I was leaning towards getting the Lee dies(I usually buy RCBS or Redding) due to the way their crimp die is set up. I wasn't sure if I needed the 3 or 4 die set up.

I am loading for a 5 shot revolver I use for my CCW.(Ruger LCR)

I haven't decided yet on what bullet or powder to go with. I have mainly been shooting factory Blazer 158grn round nose out of it for practice.

bigcountry

I do like Lee's crimp die. But only for semi's.

I would get RCBS. I get Lee some because I have a lee progressive and need thier powder feed die. But if I didn't use that press, I would go RCBS.

Whatever you get, get carbide.

harter66

X2 carbide RCBS

I have a Lee 4 die set for 40S&W dont bother .

I read a artical about 6 or 7 years ago written by a shooting lawyer after seeing several civil suits involving hand loads and self defense go badly . I think it was in handgunner . Somehow the hand loads were more "super deadly" than factory fodder . His advice , always carry factories in town and at home save the hand loads for the range and hunting fields .

Pawildman

...........I've heard this before. Just one more bit of idiocy from our Judicial system. I guess it's OK to blow a robber's arm clear off with a factory .44 Mag. round, but if you blow it off with a spirited home-brewed .38 or .357, you're in trouble. Huh???

bigcountry

Honestly, it would be the last thing I worry about if the situation comes. Thats me.

I have heard this brought up a few times, even at shooting safety classes. But I have also seen it refuted too.

Can anyone bring up one case in this county where a reload convicted a homeowner or just someone legally carrying a firearm and had to use deadly force?

harter66

Actually it was not the jury trial that was a problem in the sighted cases the defender was ok legally and was given his/her gun and sent on thier way . It was the civil suit filed after the bad guy was in jail/dead that was the issue . The suits cost not onlt the time and legal costs but in several cases settlements in to 10s of thousands.

driftrider

I believe that it is/was Mossad Ayoob that did a write up about an actual case where the shooter, acting in self defense, got railroaded because he was shooting a 10mm Auto using handloads. Or something similar (it was awhile ago I read this and the details are fuzzy). The "problem" for this guy was that the prosecution/plaintiff argued that his choice of caliber (10mm Auto), and the ammo he used (in this case it was Winchester Black Talons I believe) intentionally made his gun somehow more lethal than other handguns, thereby implying that he intended not simply to stop the attack, but rather to kill the attacker. Therefore, by selecting said caliber and ammo he intended to use excessive force and was criminally and civilly liable for the death of the perpetrator.

Anyway, I do recall that he, with the supporting recommendation from both civil and criminal defense lawyers, concluded that the best bet of a civilian to protect themselves from legal problems after a self defense shooting was to carry the same caliber, and if possible, use the same ammo as what is used by your local law enforcement agency. The thought is that if it's not excessive force for a cop to shoot an aggressor with that caliber and type of ammo, then it's not excessive force for a civilian to do it, too.

Mike