Was looking at reloading dies. What shell holder do you use for this animal >> I like Redding dies mostly ??
I would avoid Redding in this case. I started with Redding dies. They are not vented at the shoulder. I could not find a balance between the amount of lube needed to keep cases from sticking vs having so much the shoulders got oil dents. I wound up screwing up some brass, then tearing a case rim off as I reduced the lube amount. I replaced the Redding dies and shellholder with RCBS. Problems **ended**. I like Redding, but in this case the RCBS dies were markedly better and the RCBS shellholder was also a lot better making contact on more of the rim for a stronger "grip."
Regarding the 6.5 PRC overall, I was unable to get good, consistent accuracy from my 6.5 PRC, a Christensen Ridgeline. I shot it with factory 143 grain ELD-X ammo .. 1.5 - 2 MOA. I put some hundreds of rounds of handloads through it with Nosler LRABs, both 129s and 142s. I tried conventional tests, tried ladder tests. Jacked with OAL a lot. I used powders from H4831 to IMR 7828, RL 25 and 26, and Retumbo. Just no accuracy to be had at least not at the level I wanted, so I sold it. The one bright spot was the factory 147 grain ELD match ammo, however, the 147 grain ELDs were not available when I was load testing so I was unable to do any work up with them. Also, I did not try spherical powders or magnum primers. So I guess there were some "hail mary" possibilities left on the table. All in all, though, I was pretty disappointed.
Tom
