Old School 38 Special reloading...

[Char-Gar]

I like handguns and the 38 Special and 45 ACP rounds are my favorite. Not the only one, I load, but my favorites. Here is a cute little loader that produces great 38 Specials. It is a Belding and Mull 26.

Before their was Dillon and Lee, there was handloading!

[Char-Gar]

I can dance with two girls at the same party. Here is a nice pre-war Ideal No. 3 and all the dies needed to load any kind of 38/357.

[TNsailorman]

Those old "nutcracker" reloading setups were fun but at my age now-a-days, the old arthritis in my hands would make them painful to use. They did do a good job on pistol/revolver loads though. I never tried them with rifle loads but had friends tell me they were not too pleasant on full length sizing those large rifle cases. I did not own the one I used for .45 acp loads but did not find it unpleasant at all to load with it. It would make a fine traveling kit as they store real easy. I came close to buying a complete set for the 30-30 about 2 years ago but couldn't agree on price. The guy wanted to charge a collector's price for his set and I only wanted them as a loading set so we couldn't get together. I could have bought a press and a set of dies for his asking price. Still, I was very tempted. james

[Char-Gar]

The Ideal/Lyman tong tools only neck size on both rifle and handgun cases. If you want to full length size you will have to go to a press or a another type of FL sizing die.

There are lots of these tools out there, and they can be hand for a reasonable price. A good set in 38/357 or 45 ACP could be put together for between $50 and $75, as they are among the most common of calibers.

The 30-30 as well as the 30-06 are also quite common tools on the used market.