I've stopped reloading rifle rounds for several years now and just been reloading pistol rounds. I would like to get back into rifle reloading on a single stage press for some lower volume, bolt action shooting.
The single-stage press is an ideal way to produce great quality rifle cartridges, and the bolt-action rifle is an excellent way to shoot them. Focus on quality rather than quantity.
I'm not talking about PRS accuracy, but if I could get 1/2 to 3/4 MOA out of my reloads I would be happy.
In my experience, the group size is predominantly a function of the rifle and not so much the cartridges. It's possible to screw-up the cartridge so as to ruin the group size of a good rifle. It's not practical at all to expect that by doting on the cartridges that it will result in 1/2 MOA groups from a rifle that shoots 1.5 MOA with factory ammo. I simply would not expect a big improvement from my handloads over what I could get from premium factory cartridges. Others more accomplished in reloading for rifle might relate more.
I've used Lee dies in the past because funds were limited and they got the job done, but I'm wondering if maybe I should slowly start replacing some of my Lee rifle dies with ones from another brand?
Lee dies can be quite good indeed. The most compelling reason to consider other dies are features. Lee offers features that other makers don't and vice versa. I like the Redding Type-S full-length bushing dies with Short Action Custom (SAC) bushings for bolt-action rifles. Some people follow sizing the neck with the bushing with expanding it with a mandrel. Bushings and mandrels allow for control over how much the brass is worked and the resulting interference fit of the bullet into the neck or "neck tension." It can reduce the work hardening of the brass neck and produce tension more consistent with the desired specification. It might be something you want to fiddle with, but reloading this way for a large number of calibers would call for a substantial acquisition of bushings and mandrels -- entirely unnecessary.
I also like the Redding Competition seating dies. I use them for handgun and larger quantity rifle (223). For seating smaller quantities of rifle bullets like I might do for a magnum hunting rifle, I think it's hard to beat the LE Wilson chamber-type seating dies used in an arbor press. Unlike the Redding dies, the LE Wilson seaters are not costly, yet they deliver the best results possible.
I also have a set of digital calipers, but now it seems like everyone on YouTube is using bullet comparators on their calipers?
There are bullet comparators and case comparators. The purpose is to measure the base of the bullet or case to a datum on the ogive or shoulder.
I'd never heard of such a thing before and have no idea what they do or why they're necessary. I've always just measured my rounds from the tip of the bullet to the bottom of the case. Is that something I need to invest in?
You can measure base to bullet tip to get the overall length. The most compelling use is for the case comparator. With it, you can measure from the base of the case to a datum on the shoulder. Because headspace on a bottleneck rifle case is on the shoulder not the mouth of the case. It's useful to set your resizing die so that it is resizing the case the desired amount. You don't need an expensive comparator set. It was pointed out to me that a suitable size socket from a socket set can be used -- any cylinder that will fit over the neck and rest on the shoulder. I bought a Chinese copy of the Hornady case comparator set. Midway has the Hornady set for $43.99 and the copies sell for about half that.
You don't necessarily need these to set your die to bump or size the shoulder the desired amount. You could just adjust the die incrementally while checking brass in the chamber. It's less tedious to close the stripped bolt on a case while adding tape to the head of the case until there is drag when dropping the stripped bolt's handle. These comparators can then be used to measure the dimension of the taped base to the shoulder datum which should be reduced to the dimension that does not cause drag. That's the dimension the sizing die can be set for and validated using these comparators on subsequently sized cases. This is the "bolt-close" method, which you can read more about if it's not familiar.
I already have a vibratory tumbler I'm content with continuing to use. It has a lid and that keeps dust down to hardly none.
I'm a wet-tumbling proponent, but I'm sure you've heard it.
I don't have anything very good quality to trim brass with either. In the past, I'd used Lee Quick Trim dies but I'm not entirely sold on that method and it wasn't really the easiest or most consistent if I remember right. Not sure if there are better trimming systems or methods these days.
I enjoy using the LE Wilson trimmer. It's precise and it trims square. With the Q-type shell holder, I even use it to trim a fair quantity of 357 brass. It's not the fastest, but I've not seen a finer trimmer.
Essentially just looking for some advice on what the absolute necessities are and then what are those tools that maybe cost a little bit extra, but make the process so much easier.
Other things I can think of:
For priming small quantities, the RCBS hand primer, the non-universal one that requires shell holders is excellent. For decapping and priming large quantities, I use a Lee Deluxe APP. Like many of Lee's more complex contraptions, it's genius but demands its user match its wits.
Using good quality brass is essential. Reloading range scrap has its place though I never practice it myself. My bolt action rifles are hunting-oriented, plain and practical. They're neither junk nor exquisite extravagance. I wouldn't waste their barrel life using mixed and odd brass. I shoot a single headstamp for each cartridge. Mine are either Starline or Nosler as a result of the cartridges. Lapua doesn't make brass for what I shoot, but it would be another good choice. I would rather start with good brass and use Lee dies than have poor quality brass and use the best or most expensive dies.
For deburring and chamfering case mouths, I have the RCBS carbide tools. I use the RCBS for the outside, but for the inside, I prefer the Sinclair carbide VLD tool.
You'll want a good way to measure powder charges. You must already have a method but it may or may not be suitable for rifle. If you should choose to use extruded powders, you can either trickle them onto a scale or use an automatic dispenser like an RCBS Chargemaster. I trickle larger cartridges onto a beam scale. I drop 223 ball powder charges with a volumetric powder measure. If you use a powder measure now, realize that you'll want to trickle every charge for rifle, get an automatic dispenser, or limit yourself to ball powders or suitably short-cut stick powders in the measure.
