Hi there! I'm Joe.
I'm a last time gun loaner and first time gun owner! I've had my share of good firearm experiences and now I've purchased my first piece all my own: A Smith and Wesson Model 10-5 from approximately 1969, off of Gunbroker.com.
The finish is fairly beat up, but the internals are just great. Shot 36 rounds of PPU 130gr FMJ .38 Special through it no problem and collected all the brass. However, since I only have ONE box of .38 special with little to no chance to purchase a new box for any reasonable price, it seems to me that the best course of action is to figure out how to safely reload ammunition on a trim budget of both funds and interior space. I hope for all equipment to fit in a backpack or duffel bag, just to make sure it doesn't take too much space.
I'm looking to start reloading from just about square one. All I have is the recently shot brass in a plastic bag in the same state as it left the cylinder. I've done some research, but I'm a complete newcomer to this scene. my budget is around $300, the approximate price of 400 rounds of bulk .38 Special ammo these days.
Casting is out of the question since I live in an apartment (thankfully with a firearm friendly roommate), but I'm willing to purchase bullets from 3rd parties or larger companies. Thankfully, I live not too far from a Sporting goods store so some smaller items of reloading equipment can be conceivably be obtained without having to deal with online wait times or shipping.
Here's a short list of Items that I think I need for all of this to happen;
A reloading manual for .38 Special or more handgun cartridges. (not planning on reloading anything else for some time, hopefully brand agnostic)
Hand press OR single stage press (I want something portable and cheap. Willing to deal with a slow process)
.38 Special press dies (Unsure which ones I need, could use some help with this.)
Reloading tray (the kind to arrange ammunition in progress of assembly)
Powder funnels
Kinetic cartridge separator (one of those hammer thingys)
electronic or mechanical scale (hopefully portable)
Primer press/extractor
Pistol primers/ .38 caliber handgun bullets
Am I missing anything here? Do you have any other resources handy that I can refer to to begin my hand-loading adventures? I'm only looking to load either SWC, LRN or FMJ with standard amount of oomph to them. I don't want to damage my revolver or hurt myself for obvious reasons. I'd Rather not pay extra for hollow-points or JHP.
If you have other tips regarding all of this, let me know as well.
Thank you!