I will assume the shell holders do not come with die sets?
I think JLJ is correct. Most Lee die sets come with the correct
individual shell holder. But that is not the case with RCBS, Hornady, or others.
Now, if you went with a progressive that's working with multiple cases at the same time, then those are not individual shell holders but a special shell holder that's specific to that press. That's going to be part of the additional cost we discussed earlier.
The replaceable turrets are one of the things I like about the Lee design. I understand Wobblys point about ending up with $$ in lee specific gear but outside of the additional turrets [what] will be Lee specific? Am I missing something or will the turrets take anyone's (common) dies?
99.9% of the dies made since ~1965 use a standard 7/8-14 UNC thread. So you can use anyone's "standard" die set in the Lee turret we're discussing. If you sold that press at sometime in the distant future, you'd be able to take those with you to the next machine.
Looking at the Kit from Kempfs I do not see scales, case conditioning kit or loading book listed in their kit anyone know if the kit they sell is complete or if they are building a kit missing a few fundamentals? It almost looks as though you are buying a setup for someone who is already reloading and has some of these items.
I'm not looking at the kit, just answering. Obviously, you'd want to inquire about the exact contents before ordering. However, being able to pick those 2 items for yourself is not a bad thing. If fact, it sort of plays into your hand if you want the upgraded scale.
As to case "conditioning".... Case tumbling is 99% for aesthetics. When I started reloading, back in the late Jurassic, we just wiped the brass with a clean dinosaur hide and reloaded. Tumbling didn't really catch on until the 90's. And in truth, tumbling causes as many issues as it cures. So unless you're one of those guys that waxes your car every week, then you can pass.
You gotta save something for the little lady to put on the Christmas list.And then there's "case trimming" which is only used on bottleneck rifle cartridges. That gets to be mandatory fairly fast. I'd wait until I got there, and think about that some more. You can spend anywhere from $20 to $500 trimming cases.
If so would I be better off to buy this kit and pick up a RCBS 5-0-5 scale and Lyman 49 ? what about case prep? It appears that cost wise most are within a few dollars of each other so it may far to convenience.
Mostly people like the Lee book because it has a lot of loads for lead. But lead is 1) covered in the Lyman, and 2) not where a novice wants to start reloading. You especially don't want to start out loading lead in a 9mm.
But you do need at least 1 printed manual. So if it comes with the kit, then use the Lee. If it doesn't, then get the Lyman.
I think starting with a nice scale is worth money. The Ohaus scales are more accurate, speed things up with magnetic dampening, and are generally less frustrating. And scales get busted, but don't wear out. My 505 was made in 1973 and still going strong. If you take care of them they will last forever. The best thing about starting with nice scales is your load notebook stays valid. If you got a 15yo load in your notebook and you've been through 20 cheap scales in that same time period, you don't know if it's valid. If you've only used 1 scale during that time, then there's a higher probability that it's still a good load.
Think about the end game.
Hope this helps!
