What Do I Really Need?

[hsmith1]

I just reloaded my first 100 rounds of 308 for my Rem. 700 SPS Tactical and they seemed to work well. But several people have told me that for accuracy I must get additional tools. They are:
Concentricity gauge
Bullet comparator
Cartridge headspace gauge
OAL gauge
One person even told me that until I checked my headspace I may have a safety issue.
I am striving for accuracy but i doubt if I will ever compete. I do not anticipate shooting farther than 200 yds. Do I really need these tools or are there other suggestions?

[Unclenick]

Decide what you want the gun to do before you spend a pile on specialty tools. Also, some of them have more effect on accuracy than others.

If you properly set up your sizing die and resize only cases that were fired in your gun originally you do not need to worry that the headspace is wrong. You do need a case trimmer for safety, though. Lee has them for only about $10 all parts tolled. Use a caliper ($17 on sale at Harbor Freight for a digital one) to check when your resized case exceeds the SAAMI length limit (2.015") and needs to be trimmed again. You will also need a case chamfering and deburring tool to clean up the trimming.

As to the rest, the gauges (headspace, bullet seating, etc.) will enable you to safely get your bullets seated out near the lands to increase accuracy. Then you will have something closer to the kind of load benchrest shooters use. But you don't need all that at first, and you have to go to some expense for things like case gauge measuring tools to improve consistency. If you stay within the SAAMI 2.800" COL limit, you will be safe without measuring.

Personally, if I had to invest in just one extra piece of equipment it would be a Redding Competition Seating Die or the Forster equivalent. They genuinely do line bullets up better than standard seaters. That can be seen on the target.

If you are using ball powder instead of stick powder, a case flashhole deburring tool can improve ignition consistency and with it, accuracy in some instances. Especially where the powder does not fill the case completely.

[flashhole]

Nick - I'm surprised you didn't recommend a neck sizing die like the Lee Collet Neck Die.

hsmith1 - I don't own any of the equipment you listed and I have been making great quality accurate ammo for years. I can see value in the concentricity gauge but runout has not been a problem for me. Your fire-formed brass will head space on the cartridge shoulder so neck sizing only will make a difference in accuracy. Since I started neck turning I've seen better accuracy because the necks are more consistent and in better axial alignment with the bore in the barrel. Nick's suggestion about the seating die is a very good one, I like the Forster Ultra Seat Die better than the Redding but both are excellent.

[Unclenick]

Actually I originally did describe the collet die up where I mentioned getting close to benchrest ammo. I must have edited that sentence out with a couple of others without realizing it, so I'm glad you brought it up. It is going to pay off best when he does get into all the gauges needed to set bullets up to seat the bullets out near the lands with good consistency. But even without those, the competition seater would let him seek a seating depth sweet spot nearer the normal COL. For an accuracy seeker, you are correct that the Lee Collet Die is a great thing to get and is probably one of the best bargains in accuracy tools today.

Even if he continues only with full-length sizing (which is normal for tac rifle shooting for fast loading) he will still benefit from the competition seater. You can knock a half moa off groups from service match rifles pretty easily with one. For me, the Redding works so perfectly that I don't need to do a concentricity check afterward. If the case necks are uniform it seems to seat to under half a thousandth TIR every time with the Sierra MatchKings I usually use.

[amamnn]

What kind of rifle are you loading for? If it is a custom made competition rifle then all the above should be acquired at some point to really get the best from your rifle. If it is a standard out of the box factory rifle then ignore all that BS-- it's just a waste of money, since your bolt face is undoubtedly more out of true than any fancy schmancy seating die can fix , and the most concentric ammo seated by the finest die will not shoot any better if the chamber is sloppy, which it has to be in order to accommodate ALL types of factory ammo.

To get the best you can from a factory rifle you might want to get the Lee collet neck sizing die and possibly a factory crimp die to go with it. There is a bit of learning and practice required to get these dies to make a difference.

Most of the time I agree with what Nick posts but this time I think he's going to cost you money with no chance of improvement in your ammo. Of course we all have our own opinions and different experiences to go on. I use the Redding die he mentioned to load 6mmBR ammo in a custom made BR rifle and it works great. I would not consider it for use in my Model 70 Winchester hunting rifle-- no point. The chamber just is not tight and concentric enough to benefit from the closer tolerances of the Redding die. I think Richard Lee said it best when he was describing the dead length seater--something like-- the finest seating die in the world will not help you one iota if the case/chamber is out of alignment-- Another quote from an unknown soldier may help explain why people continue to buy dies like the Redding for factory rifles---If a shooter thinks it will help--it will.