You're about to become a manufacturer of what are basically tiny pipe bombs, so do the coursework. Everyone's suggestions to book up are spot-on.
Get a copy of the ABCs of Reloading first.
Definitely.
This one's good, as well:
Either of them will give you a good introduction to the mechanics and sequence of handloading.
And buy every reloading manual you can find and afford, even used ones. Find 'em at gun shows, on abebooks.com, and on the Equipment Exchange. Hoard them, keep them in the bathroom, and read the sh*t out of them. The powders, charge weights, and pressure data will be out-of-date for some calibers, but the
ideas won't be. Speer & Hornady's manuals, especially, are both thick, elegantly written, and full of very useful descriptions of good handloading practice and "right thinking". My old Lyman cast bullet manual is good reading, too, even though I don't shoot much bare lead. Never hurts to hear good ideas expressed consistently and differently by two or more smart people.
When you do decide to start tooling-up, don't skimp on your caliper or your scale. Buy first-rate examples you'll want to use. Get a dial caliper you can read, and a well-built scale you can trust. I'd also put emphasis on finding a top-shelf volumetric powder measure appropriate for the charge sizes you'll be using. These things, you buy well, you buy
once.
One more thing: Presuming it's not got rust all over it, don't be afraid to buy secondhand reloading gear. I got an entire single-stage .38 & .45 pistol set-up fifteen years ago, from a guy at my pistol club who decided to leave shooting. Everything was in fine shape, and I think the only thing I've needed to upgrade was the scale. The price, in hindsight, was a ridiculous bargain. Keep your eye on the EE, and on the notice board at your local club.
Oh, yeah; that used set-up I bought came with, like,
seven manuals.
