[rwilson452]

Heh, it _was_ unopened. Soon as I got the box in the house, I tore it open to see what bits and pieces were in there, and there was no manual in the box. The only one is the older, 2 or 3 year out of date job I have from a no-name publisher.

So, thus far we're suggesting at least one more reloading manual, the three or four die set (four die suggested), a case holder (this is the plastic tray that holds the rounds in progress, yes? one was NOT included in my kit) and the consumables for the neccessaries?

Well I made a mistake you do need a loading block. that is the thing with the holes in it that holds the rounds in progress.

Then, with suggested additions of a length caliper and a tumbler?

I'm confused, if I don't need a case trimmer coz the .38spl doesn't "grow," what's the purpose of the Overall Length Caliper, then?

You use the caliper to check the overall length of the cartridge ( the whole loaded cartridge that includes the bullet). this length needs to be within spec.

I understand what the tumbler does, but I don't understand its neccessity. Is there something disadvantageous about a non-cleaned case? If its just a matter of "extra accuracy" or something along those lines, I'll probably skip it. If its more along the lines of "less chances of things exploding in your hand," then you've got my attention.

Loading clean cases is better on the equipment than dirty ones. should you have a case with dirt inside it can cause an overpressure situation. sometimes referred to as a "KA-BOOM". Granted not much of a chance. generally speaking clean is better than dirty for a lot of minor reasons. If your cases are shiny it makes them easier to find on the floor/ground so you loose fewer. Is it an absolutly positively a necessary item? no. Again you will be glad you did. I have been doing this for a long time and I alway run my cases thru the tumbler. including my .38 SPL and .45 ACP cases which I load on a progressive press. I will not begin to go into the extra care and attention I give to my rifle loading. most of which has to do with accuracy.


I will give you one more tidbit of information. After you drop powder in the case get the lighting set so you can see the level of the powder in all the cases. they should all be the same by eyeball. if any are not the same dump the powder out of the errant case and do it over. a case that is light in powder can cause the bullet to be stuck inthe barrel. this is a very not good thing. having a double charge of powder in the case can cause the pistol to go KA-BOOM in your face. When first starting out reloading you will have a tendancy to make mistakes double check every step.

Someone suggested a bullet puller. it's nice to recover from your mistakes but I would suggest you save them and when you have enough mistakes get a bullet puller to pull the bullets. I have two.