Which dies & powder thrower?

[LowBoost]

Newbie here. I want to start reloading .308 and decided to go with a single stage instead of another S1050 (Mostly for accuracy/consistency purposes). I decided to go with a Forster Co-Ax, but I have some questions regarding some dies I am looking at and which ones should I get. I am also looking for a really accurate/consistent powder thrower. Any input on a Harrell Premium Powder Measure?

These are the ones I am looking at:

Lee Universal Depriming & Decapping Die 

Lee Factory Crimp Die .308

Redding Competition Seater .308 Winchester - I have this one for 9mm and it is great. Most likely I will get this one as my seater.

Redding Micro-Adjustable Taper Crimp Die

Forster Bench Rest Full Length Sizer Die

Redding Competition Bushing Neck Sizer Die

While reading the specs and reviews, I got somewhat confused. What is the difference between the regular Forster Full Length Sizer vs Redding Competition Bushing Neck Sizer? (Besides the obvious micrometer)

I read that using a bushing neck sizer, the Lee Factory Crimp die should not be used? Is this accurate?, I have read the Redding micro-adjustable taper crimp die is not as efficient as the Lee

Besides the powder thrower, I am missing a swager (Most likely the Dillon one unless suggested otherwise) and trimmer (I am set on a Giraud). Am I missing anything else?

Thanks!

Edited December 4, 2016 by LowBoost

[Absocold]

Harrell's are a ton of money, I find very similar results with the Lee Perfect Powder Measure, Lee Auto-Disk (not the Pro) with micrometer insert and the Hornady barrel measure (too lazy to find the name of it). Those three run neck and neck depending on day of the week manufactured and powder used. I prefer the Lee Auto-Disk, it handles stick powders better than the other two, is stupidly cheap and takes up less space.

 

As to the difference between full length and neck sizing, a proper answer would require writing a novel. Google is your friend, there's tons of information to be gained. But the very short answer is that neck sizing is for single-loading rounds that were previously fire-formed in your gun's chamber and full length sizing with FCD is for everything else.

[LowBoost]

Thanks. I will get the Forster Bench Rest Full Length Sizer and the Lee Factory Crimp Die then.

Doing more research on the power thrower before I decide.

[warpspeed]

What powder are you thinking and what kind of precision and accuracy are you looking for ?

I've found with the stick powders, nothing is really any good but some are better than others if you are OK with + / -  0.1 gr.

For precision stuff, I've gone to a Lee cheap powder measure and a tuned beam scale - throw & trickle ever charge.

 

  

[Absocold]

I used to under-throw the powder and then trickle up to perfect weight. Got tired of that and bought a Chargemaster to do it for me. Going back over load developments I realized that for 308 loads, a powder error of +/- .2 grains (.4 grains total variance) was less than one percent of total charge weight and the results of such an error could not be reliably measured over a chrono or on paper. Sold the Chargemaster and now just throw the full charge directly into the case like a dirty heathen.

[LowBoost]

I will be using Aliant AR Comp, CFE223, H335 or Benchmark mostly. (55gr, 77gr, 168gr, 175gr). I would like to achieve a perfect weight. I don't mind any additional step / time consuming aspect it may require. I don't plan to load a ton of 308 ammo, however, I want the charge and OAL to be as spot on as possible.

I have been reading / watching a lot of videos about rifle reloading. Seems many people have various preferences and that contributes to my confusion about what would be the proper one I should use for my intended purposes. I am willing to spend the $$$ in the proper equipment as long as I can achieve that perfect weight and consistency. Is the Hornady Lock n Load powder measure or Lyman any good?

I currently use a GemPro-250 Digital scale purchased from Brian Eno's store. It is accurate to .02 

Edited December 4, 2016 by LowBoost

[Absocold]

You want to make perfect rifle ammo? Alrighty then, buckle up and bring a snack, this is a very long ride.

 

Well, never mind. I was writing out a response and realized it was going to be a feature-length novel that would simply cause a lot of argument and debate. To heck with all that. Go here, read this: http://www.6mmbr.com/JGcaseprep.html Case prep is the hard part and this is a decent guide.

 

A side note: An electronic scale that is as accurate and repeatable as a decent beam scale will be hideously expensive. At tenths of a grain a digital scale is fine. For more precise measurements, get a beam.

[LowBoost]

Thank you for the link and the help. 

 

Edited December 4, 2016 by LowBoost