Best 6.5 PRC Die set!

bdb.hunting

bdb.hunting

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Alright so my other post did great and I received allot of info on reloading gear. Where to start and what to look for.

So now I am starting to decide what Die I should be getting. I am doing research and trying to sort out which would be best.

Does anyone have 6.5 PRC dies and what do you like or not like about them ?

Are you neck or fl sizing ?

Info about other cartridge's are fine so long as the die review is solid.

With so many options its hard to pick a starting point.

The rifle is a hunting rifle but will be shot on a regular basis at the range as well. Going to be getting a chassis for it to be dropped in for out of hunting season practice so ammo quality is important. Also my hope is to move towards monolithic bullets as they get easier to find.

All opinions and suggestions welcome.

Duelin-Reloading-Dies-770.jpg
 
I just ordered a set of Hornady dies fr North Pro Sports, they cost $80.
They had a 3 die set there ,they were double the price.
I think Hornady,RBCS,Redding will all load sub MOA ammo, if you do your part.

I trim my brass, use all same headstamp, anneal and that’s it.
Drop the last bit of powder with a trickler.
 
45C said:
I just ordered a set of Hornady dies fr North Pro Sports, they cost $80.
They had a 3 die set there ,they were double the price.
I think Hornady,RBCS,Redding will all load sub MOA ammo, if you do your part.

I trim my brass, use all same headstamp, anneal and that’s it.
Drop the last bit of powder with a trickler.
Click to expand...

Custom grade dies ?
 
bdb.hunting said:
Custom grade dies ?
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Yes , Hornady Custom Grade dies $80
The Other set included a third neck sizing die at double the cost.

I’ve used neck dies and found no difference in my groups, maybe it’s just me.

Now if you can only find the brass.. lol
 
45C said:
Yes , Hornady Custom Grade dies $80
The Other set included a third neck sizing die at double the cost.

I’ve used neck dies and found no difference in my groups, maybe it’s just me.

Now if you can only find the brass.. lol
Click to expand...

I have brass thankfully been hoarding and collecting. just building my kit over a few months.

adamg said:
Whidden dies are pretty nice.
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I have heard they make great dies but not sure its worth the expense for what I do.
 
I went with Lee dies and added a Forster bushing bump neck die, so far pretty solid results. I use a Hornaday seater from my 6.5CM.
 
I’m pretty sure there are no top shooters in the world that use a neck die anymore. Most of them have given up on it years ago. Almost everybody that knows what they’re doing full length size bumps.
 
I’ve bought a lot of die sets in the past couple years. All for precision rifle.
I sent back several sets of whidden dies and had horrible luck with whidden neck bushings.
I will definitely be steering clear of whidden from now on.
I really like the design of the Forster fl die, where the sizing button is located in comparison to other dies. I just bought two used sets (one in 6.5 prc) and one new set for 6.5 creedmoor. The new set I had to polish the inside as it was scaring up the brass really bad.
If I had to recommend the best die set for precision it would be the Redding fl type s. In my experience Redding has the best quality control and the dimensions of the dies are spot on. An example of this is, I had a whidden fl bushing die that would size the neck-body junction down over .005” where the type s Redding was .001”. Perfect!
If you don’t want to get into bushings, which is a pain.
Forster fl sizing die, Redding or Forster inline seater.
I’m not a huge fan of the Hornady seater because it doesn’t support the whole case and I’ve had runout issues with them. And there fl dies are just a conventional type.
Joe
 
Killbillc68 said:
I’m pretty sure there are no top shooters in the world that use a neck die anymore. Most of them have given up on it years ago. Almost everybody that knows what they’re doing full length size bumps.
Click to expand...

Thats good to know I will head towards a FL sizing die then.

joehunt said:
I’ve bought a lot of die sets in the past couple years. All for precision rifle.
I sent back several sets of whidden dies and had horrible luck with whidden neck bushings.
I will definitely be steering clear of whidden from now on.
I really like the design of the Forster fl die, where the sizing button is located in comparison to other dies. I just bought two used sets (one in 6.5 prc) and one new set for 6.5 creedmoor. The new set I had to polish the inside as it was scaring up the brass really bad.
If I had to recommend the best die set for precision it would be the Redding fl type s. In my experience Redding has the best quality control and the dimensions of the dies are spot on. An example of this is, I had a whidden fl bushing die that would size the neck-body junction down over .005” where the type s Redding was .001”. Perfect!
If you don’t want to get into bushings, which is a pain.
Forster fl sizing die, Redding or Forster inline seater.
I’m not a huge fan of the Hornady seater because it doesn’t support the whole case and I’ve had runout issues with them. And there fl dies are just a conventional type.
Joe
Click to expand...

Joe thankyou for the info. I have been looking at the bench rest forster die set so thats good info to have. all this helps me out allot.
 
Killbillc68 said:
I’m pretty sure there are no top shooters in the world that use a neck die anymore. Most of them have given up on it years ago. Almost everybody that knows what they’re doing full length size bumps.
Click to expand...

I'm not competing with anyone except myself.
Neck sizing dies save me time and save me buying extra gear, makes my brass last a long time with zero risk of head seperation, and produces good enough accuracy for my needs.
I have Forster BR seating dies, they do not support the whole cartridge during seating, it's not possible with production dies for production chambers, too much variation.
Here's how my 6.5CM shoots with FL vs NS, group on the left is with FL 120's, rifle does not like them. Middle is FL with Nosler 140's, right is NS with exact same load. Seated with a Hornady seating die.
Yes, all the talk is FL size, 2 thou bump, but that requires extra gear, extra time, bit of a crap shoot with production barrels/dies, and I'm not sure it's going to gain me anything. Ideally, since we are referring to "top shooters" who FL size only, they use custom barrels and custom dies, cut with the same reamer most of the time, that is the way to do it, no guess work, no measuring or set up, you FL size and the case fits like neck sized brass in the chamber, tight and concentric.
For me, neck sizing works just fine, and I have no reason to change that up.
20200816-181204.jpg
 
stubblejumper said:
I like the Redding Type S match die set, so I can adjust neck tension, and can precisely adjust bullet seating depth.
Click to expand...

I have heard about those and will look into them thankyou.

Hitzy said:
I'm not competing with anyone except myself.
Neck sizing dies save me time and save me buying extra gear, makes my brass last a long time with zero risk of head seperation, and produces good enough accuracy for my needs.
I have Forster BR seating dies, they do not support the whole cartridge during seating, it's not possible with production dies for production chambers, too much variation.
Here's how my 6.5CM shoots with FL vs NS, group on the left is with FL 120's, rifle does not like them. Middle is FL with Nosler 140's, right is NS with exact same load. Seated with a Hornady seating die.
Yes, all the talk is FL size, 2 thou bump, but that requires extra gear, extra time, bit of a crap shoot with production barrels/dies, and I'm not sure it's going to gain me anything. Ideally, since we are referring to "top shooters" who FL size only, they use custom barrels and custom dies, cut with the same reamer most of the time, that is the way to do it, no guess work, no measuring or set up, you FL size and the case fits like neck sized brass in the chamber, tight and concentric.
For me, neck sizing works just fine, and I have no reason to change that up.
20200816-181204.jpg
Click to expand...

This is some good info. I like the comparison with identical loads. I might start with neck or fl but I think it would be beneficial to eventually get both and compare myself to see what my rifle likes.
 
It would be difficult to calculate how many top shooters use Forster neck bump dies but it is a large number. They work just fine.
 
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I've used the standard Hornady set and now use the Hornady Match Grade in 6.5 PRC, both made great ammo. I like the micrometer seater on the match die and using a bushing to control neck tension on the sizing
 
I just picked up a "lightly" used Redding Deluxe Die set for a reasonable $. I have a Forster press and dies, however I've been told Redding is good stuff?
 
Absolute best? Probably SAC. Warner Tools makes a very top quality die as well.

I happen to use Whidden for all my reloading. They make great stuff. The click adjustable FL sizer is absolutely awesome.
 
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