looking to get back into it, and was wondering if anyone had ever used any lyman stuff. found a kit that has more stuff than the rcbs for about 20 bucks cheaper. not looking to churn out match grade stuff, just some decent rounds to play with.

For the $20, get the RCBS. I have had diff. Lyman stuff in the past & have good things to say about their csating stuff but the other is just ok.

I use mostly RCBS and have never had not one problem with their reloading equipment. I agree with fred, if there's only a $20 difference i'd go with the RCBS. I do have a Lyman tumbler though that i got at a bargin that i couldn't pass up. So far it's worked flawlessly and i really like it.

I vote with the others, if you can, go the extra $20 and get the RCBS. If you can't the Lyman will serve you well. It is just not "bullet proof" like the RCBS.

when it comes to scales, should you go digital? when i had my stuff before, i had rcbs with a 505 scale. didnt reload enough to really get and opinion on it but have heard that most digital scales, except the really pricey ones, werent very reliable.

My 2 cents on the scale. I bought the Lyman DPS 1200 and didn't like it. It worked but, very slow. I sold it on e-Bay and bought the RCBS digital system, that's the integral electronic powder measure/scale.

quote:

Originally posted by model7LSS:
when it comes to scales, should you go digital? when i had my stuff before, i had rcbs with a 505 scale. didnt reload enough to really get and opinion on it but have heard that most digital scales, except the really pricey ones, werent very reliable.

Maybe they're better now but most digital scales are very touchy about warm up, ambient temperature changes, calibration drift, etc.

I've been using the same 5-0-5 scale for over 20 years. It's hard to beat bulletproof.

I had a Lyman kit way back when and it's good stuff for the money. You will find, as I did, that Lyman parts aren't at every storefront, but RCBS is. Keep that in mind when something breaks and rest assured something will break, it always does.

If a person could mix & match, I'd get the Redding kit and turret press, and an RCBS 10-10 scale. For a couple of x-tra bucks Redding's dies are far superior to Lyman and RCBS offerings. One would be best served by Dillon, or RCBS if they want electronic scales and power trimmers.

Buy this quality kit!
http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=000449357

I asked the same question several years back here and it appears answers haven't changed much. I went with the RCBS Rockchucker kit and haven't looked back. Rather than the handpriming unit, I purchased a bench mounted one that I prefer.

I continue to use the 5-0-5 scale that came with the kit but am now leaning towards picking up a RCBS electronic scale with AC power capability. The beam scale though is dead on accurate and I will keep it as a backup.

Good luck in your quest. I think you will find RCBS reloading equipment good quality. The only non-RCBS equipment I have is the Hornady New Dimension dies which I think are superior to anything RCBS or Lee puts out.

thanks rifleman, that site is about $40 cheaper than cabelas or midway

The RCBS Chargemaster 1500, is fast, reliable and accurate with NO warm up or slow start up program.