Corona,
The plus to the hand press is it will always be useful even after you get a bench mounted press. It's a good second operation tool, like for separate decapping before cleaning cases. More specifically, you can easily include it with your range equipment. I have a plastic toolbox I dedicated to range load development with its own tools and spare chronograph batteries and whatnot, and my hand tool lives there. I'd say the thing it does most often is seat bullets into cases I already primed charged at home. That way I can meter out load work-up charges, but by seating the bullets as I work up, if I get a pressure sign I can just stop and dump the higher charges into a powder jar, and never have to pull bullets, as I would if I'd seated the bullets at home.
For .38 Special, you can get the Lee #90180 hand press kit ($37.98 + S&H at
Lee Factory Sales, which usually has among the best prices unless you find a sale somewhere), which comes with the breech lock hand tool, one breech lock bushing, a priming tool, a powder funnel, and a tube of case lube. You will need the lube only for steel dies, though it does make even a carbide pistol sizing die run smoother. Instructions for the press are here and you should read before you buy.
You may want to get
extra breech lock bushings so you can leave them on the dies once they are adjusted to take advantage of the quick-change aspect of the breech lock system. Otherwise you will have to set up each die separately in each loading session by screwing it separately into the one bushing that comes with the kit. It's not a big deal, but rather is a question of time saving. You may prefer the practice of setting the dies up initially. Your call. The #90600 spare bushings are like the one that comes in the kit, at 2 for $6.48 or you can spend extra for the #90063 with integral locking collar at 2 for $9.98 at Factory Sales. I prefer the latter type for the better grip the lock collar provides, but it's extra money and certainly not required.
Next, to minimize expense you want a
Lee die set because they come with a shell holder and a powder scoop and a charge table of powders you can use with the scoop. This saves you having to buy a shell holder and a powder scale and powder measure (or scoop set) at the outset, as you would have to do buying other brands of dies. Though the scoop and table method of measuring powder reduces your initial investment, it is not flexible and will not let you produce maximum loads; just conservative ones. When you get to the point you want to play with different weights of a wider selection of powders, you'll want a powder measure to speed up dispensing and a scale to check the measure and help you adjust it. You just don't have to have that to start.
To complicate matters, there are
two Lee die sets available for .38 Special at two prices. A 3-die #90510 set at $27.30 from that source, and a 4-die #90964 set with separate Lee Carbide Factory Crimp die at $33.28 from that source. Both have carbide sizing dies, so you won't have to lube cases, which saves time (though it remains an option to reduce sizing effort). So, which one should you get? The four die approach is easier to set up, is a little more idiot proof for that reason, and most match shooters find that having a separate crimp die produces more slightly more accurate ammunition. The carbide ring on the crimp die ensures that rounds will fit all chambers, even if you use a slightly oversize bullet or crimp a little too enthusiastically.
However, if you don't have either problem and want to save the extra $6, you can either set the seating die up to seat and crimp simultaneously, the old way, which has the drawback of tending to shave a little lead, or you can use the seating die in two steps to gain the same accuracy advantage the separate crimp die has. To do this, in step one the die body is turned out too far to crimp but close enough to remove the flare from the expander die, and the seater stem is turned in to seat bullets to correct length. In the second step, the seater is backed out far enough not to touch the bullet or is actually removed altogether, while the seating die body is adjusted to crimp the cases on the previously seated bullets. Obviously the two-step approach does not allow for quick-change of the seating die. If you have the separate crimping die, you can leave the seater permanently set up in its own bushing as described in step one, while the separate crimping die remains set up in its own bushing, ready to pop in. Again, your call on the importance of time saving vs. money saving. Also, the fourth die, if you want to use the quick change feature, will require you to buy four spare bushings, since they come in two's, leaving you with one extra.
Usually, low pressure pistol brass like .38 Special needs no trimming for safety purposes. However, if you measure your cases with calipers and find they are different lengths, for best accuracy you may want to trim them all even so the crimps have even force on them. That requires a trimming tool and a chamfering and deburring tool. I would try without trimming first. You can also use a caliper to simply sort cases into groups by length (within a couple or three thousandths), then just use one same-length set for awhile for your best accuracy loads.
I think a digital caliper is a good investment if you don't have one already. It is useful for things other than reloading and makes it easier to check lengths and diameters. A 6" digital will run you
under $20 on sale these days and is the size many accessories are made for, like case and bullet gages, and so is the size I would get if I had to have just one.
