Hello Everyone,
I'm new to reloading and I'm trying to find out what the difference is between multi-use dies and dies for only one caliber such as 45 colt and 454 casull or 38 special and 357 magnum. I have both sets of Redding dies for these calibers and was reading that you have to back off 1/8" from the shell plate for the longer calibers. My question is, would I be able to produce better more accurate ammo with just a 45 colt die or just a 38 special die or does it not even matter. I wasn;t even aware that you could get separate sets until the other day. Any info and experiences would be appreciated.

I would think that it is only the seater that is backed out. It wouldn't surprise if the 38& 357 sizers weren't the same and had different labels. I have loaded 38/357 44special/44magnum with the same dies for 30 years. I would find other things to spend my money on than 2 more sets of dies.

I just made a shin that I place under the lock ring when I seat the longer cases.

The sizer is the same, you'll have to reset the case mouth belling die, the seater die, and the crimping die (if sepperate). There will be no effect on accuracy, but if you spend alot of time swapping from one caliber to another, you might want to invest in a dedicated set of dies, as re-adjusting them every time get's real old, real fast.