Gadzooks Mike said:
Alright! There is NOTHING more fun than helping somebody spend their money! Ok, put this on your list - get a set of Lee dippers. I don't care what press you buy, how much you spend on scales or anything else, the guys have it all covered above. But get the dippers. One of the most handy things on the bench. And +1 for what dsv424 says about the Lee. But everyone has their favorite, get what will make you happy. You'll be using it a lot more than you think you will!
Ok, what's a Lee Dipper?
Thanks for all the thoughts and discussion on my behalf folks. I appreciate all of your input!
To address rfwobbly's point about the Lyman coming with so much more, I have to say that is part of the reason I started this thread. I understand that the Lyman comes with more, but the press itself didn't seem like it could crank out cases quite as fast, nor was it as easy to change the die-holding discs. I was not sure if the press, the base of the kit, was what I wanted in the first place, and if I got the press I thought I would rather have, if the extras were worth a crap.
As with most kits of most any nature, You buy one main thing that is bundled with accessories for a lower price than you would buy them all separately. However, a lot of the time a good amount of the accessories are such crap that no one buys them separately for full price anyhow. This is why they make the kits: to move some of the inferior product that they wouldn't sell anyway, and people will upgrade anyhow later making the company more $$$, and to make the original main product (the press in this case) seem more appealing.
I mainly wanted to get the best combination of stuff all in one shopping cart so I could make my own more complete kit, and see what needed to be replaced and what was not included to begin with.
It looks like you folks have mostly done for me, and I thank you. My current shopping cart which I will go and pick up this Thursday is in post #21 of this thread, and has been updated as comments and recommendations have come in. If there is anything in that list that isn't needed or should be something else, or if there is something missing from that list, please say so!!!
And lastly, I would like anyone concerned to know that I will be taking my time to read all the books I get and viewing some videos before I even unpack the stuff I get. I understand the gravity of potential consequences if I make a mistake. I will be mastering one step at a time before I go into mass production (which I only plan to do once the weather is less shooter-friendly in these parts), so there is plenty of time for me to practice.