preliminary to beginning reloading

[GeoDudeFlorida]

i thought "SiL" meant son in law. maybe i'm not smart enough for this.

Well, its like the HR people keep telling me, there's 57 genders now and you can't assume anybody's anything. You have to wait for them to tell you their pronouns.

 

[Seymour380]

https://cheycastbullets-com.3dcartstores.com/38cal_c_99.html

These folks have a good selection of coated lead bullets at very reasonable prices. I have had excellent luck with them in my 38 specials/357 magnum pistols. Welcome to handloading and the web site!

 

[stonebuster]

i know nothing at all about reloading, but i can easily imagine it in my future, all things considered. not in the next week or two, but maybe a few months from now. so what i want to know right now is about brass. basic question: at the range when you are firing and then gather up brass, do you divide it up between different brands of ammo?

last week, i fired 18 rounds of 38 special, they were all hollow points and about the same grades of ammo, but there are 2 different brands there. i don't know what brands they were, i've had them loose in a plastic bag in a cabinet for 10-15 years. so whatever those brands were, they are mixed. does this make any difference to reloading?

my SiL and i are going to do some shooting this week, he has a glock 19. i know he has some ball ammo and some hollow points. should i keep those types of 9mm brass separate?

and then - i bought a box of fiocchi. i told the guy i wanted the cheapest 38 he had to sell. is this fiocchi worth saving? is it decent to reload?

then one last question: are there other rounds beside 38 special, 38 + p, and 357 that can be safely fired in a 357 revolver?

i thank everyone for sharing your knowledge!

Save all your brass and read the manuals as suggested by others here. I spent a few years reading manuals, forums, saving brass before deciding to buy the equipment last December. I chose the Lee Classic Turret press which gives me the option of operating it single stage for decaping/priming. The LCT press has been a good choice to start with for me. The 357 & 38spl is are a good place to start and all I've loaded so far. Reloading has been an extremely rewarding and enjoyable experience for me. It adds a whole new dimension to shooting. There's a lot of good information on this forum but make sure you verify advice especially loading data. Good luck.