Hi Snozz,
Understand this can be pretty overwhelming. I also started from scratch as I didn't have a mentor to help me out at first. Did a lot of reading in the reloading manuals, researched a ton of stuff on Google, learned a lot from folks here on the board, and also learned a lot from other shooters at various competitions. One great way to learn is to join a gun club where many of the members are also bound to be reloaders. Folks there can help a lot with the many questions that will come up along the way.
Stainless steel pins refers to a brass/case cleaning technique using a rotary tumbler such as a Thumlers tumbler. Basically you fill the rotary tumbling drum with several pounds of stainless steel pins, the brass cases you want to clean, then top it off with some water, Lemishine for hard water, and Armour All polish for shiny brass. I also recommend this method for brass cleaning as it's a great way to go and produces cleaner cases than ultrasonic cleaners and there is no need to constantly replace cleaning media like vibratory tumblers.
Tumbler - Thumlers Tumbler
Media for Tumbler - Stainless Steel pins 5lbs
Case Trimmer - Forster, Sinclair, or LE Wilson
Press - See below
Digital Scale - RCBS Chargemaster is a combo digital scale and powder dispenser
Dial Calipers - Mitutoyo or Browne & Sharpe
Dies - Recommend full length sizing die set by Forster or Redding. Picking a die set is worth a whole separate thread.
Case Lube - Recommend aerosol Hornady or Royal case lube
Powder Measure - See digital scale above
Priming Tool - Don't sweat this now, just use the press to start
manual chamfer tool - actually good to have several case preparation tools:
- Primer pocket uniformer tool for consistent primer seating. Sinclair makes a really nice one for case prep.
- Flash hole deburring tool for improved powder ignition. Sinclair makes a really nice one.
- Inside case mouth chamfering tool to ease bullet seating. Sinclair makes their VLD chamfering tool.
- Inside/Outside case mouth deburring tool. LE Wilson makes a great one.
media separator - No need to spend much money, Franklin Armory makes a nice model for low price
Instructions Manual - Reloading manuals by Hornady, Speer and The Practical Guide to Reloading by Nathan Foster
Bullet Puller - Hornady Cam-Lock Bullet Puller
I would also add maybe two .308 reloading blocks to hold your rounds while reloading. No need for anything fancy here. I use Franklin Armory blue plastic reloading blocks that hold 50 rounds each.
Probably also you'll want maybe two plastic containers for transporting finished rounds to the range. MTM makes pretty good ones for a reasonable price.
For what you're talking about, a single stage press would be the ticket. Cheaper than a progressive, simpler in operation, and easier to learn on. Progressive presses are pretty ideal for high volume pistol or rifle ammo production. If you're starting on the reloading road for accurate ammo for bolt-action rifle, then a single stage is the way to go. You can always get a progressive press later for pistol or AR ammo after you cut your teeth.
Many folks make great presses: RCBS Rock Chucker, Hornady LnL single stage, Forster Co-Ax, Redding Big Boss II, and Lee presses all have their fans. This is also worth a separate thread all by itself.
Edit: I was thinking a Thumler's Tumbler may be overkill for the volume of rounds you'll probably be shooting. The whole setup for tumbler and pins is a bit spendy. An alternative option may be the Hornady ultrasonic cleaner:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/586045/hornady-lock-n-load-sonic-cleaner-2l-ultrasonic-case-cleaner-110-voltI have one of these personally for smaller rounds like 22 Hornet and 7mm BR. It would work fine for .308 low volume processing. The brass is not as shiny after cleaning but that is a minor matter.