Basics needed for reloading .38 special?

[denton]

Cleaning cases---

Your cases will come out of the gun sooty. Cleaning them isn't absolutely necessary, but it does make the whole process a lot more pleasant.

The cheap way to clean is while you have the case chucked in the special holder that fits in your drill, and are trimming them to length, hold a paper towel against the casing, and rev the drill.

The other way is to get a vibratory cleaner, and let the cases take a swim in that for a while.

Yet another way is to get a bottle of Birchwood and Casey cleaner, and send your cases for a swim in some hot water with a squirt of cleaner in it. Then rinse, and allow to dry for 24 hours, or bake at 175 F for 10 minutes.

The best I have found is the B&C cleaner, plus hot water, in an ultrasonic cleaner. I stumbled into a little ultrasonic cleaner for $5, and that really does a job on them.

That brings up one other thing you'll want: A primer pocket cleaner. Figure about $4 for that.