If you are in to precision rifle shooting, you most likely have a respect for high quality equipment and gear. Recently, when discussing the Turban CNC Präzipress with the inventor Thomas Turban, I was made aware of a lineup of ultra-precision dies that like the Präzipress are made in Germany. The dies I’m talking about are made by a company called Triebel Guntools, and in this article, I’ll show them to you first-hand!

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About Triebel Reloading Dies

From the Triebel Website (English Translation):

6.5 PRC Triebel Dies Overview

Above: Triebel dies I have on hand for 6.5 PRC, from left to right:

• Triebel 6.5 PRC Bullet Seater Die: Standard bullet seating die with swappable bullet seater plugs (punches), and selectable crimp/no-crimp modes.
• Triebel 6.5 PRC Full-Length Sizer Die: Sizes neck, pushes back shoulder, and sizes case body.
• Triebel 6.5 PRC Neck-Only Sizer Die: Sizes neck only, utilizes sliding sleeve to keep case perfectly aligned during neck sizing process.

In addition to the types of dies shown above, Triebel also offers these die models:

• Bench Rest Bullet Seater Die
• Star-Crimp Ammo Die (for making blanks)

6.5 PRC Precision Reloads Start-to-Finish

I don’t like to talk about products without first getting “hands-on” with them. So I decided to load some precision 6.5 PRC cartridges using these Triebel dies. Here’s a quick overview of the components, and the process.

6.5 PRC Starting Loads: Hornady 153 grain A-Tip bullets

I just got some Hornady 153 grain 6.5mm bullets in the shop, and I thought: these should be great for 6.5 PRC! And here’s the load I started with, as shown in the video:

• Cases: 1x fired Hornady 6.5 PRC
• Bullet: Hornady 153 grain A-Tip 6.5mm
• Powder: Hodgdon H-1000 (57.0 grains)
• Primer: CCI BR-2 Benchrest
• COL: 2.950″ (per Hornady load data)

Disclaimer: Use load data at your own risk. Ultimate Reloader is not responsible for errors in load data on this website. Always cross-reference load data with manufacturer’s published data.

Step 1: Annealing the Cases

After cleaning the cases, I annealed the once-fired 6.5 PRC cases using my Annealing Made Perfect Mark II Inductive Annealer.

Before annealing I ran an “Analyze pass” for the particular brass I’m reloading here, and that generates a custom code which optimizes the annealing for this lot of brass. When you anneal, you’ll get more consistent neck tension, more consistent shoulder bump, and longer brass life.

Step 2: Sizing and De-priming the Cases

I decided to full-length size the cases for this loading session, so I went about installing the full length sizer in the Area 419 Zero Press:

Above: I screwed the die down until it contacted the shell holder and used that as a starting point on die depth adjustment. Checking with a headspace comparator tool showed 0.0005″ shoulder bump, which is great for a precision reloading scenario. I then sized all 10 test cartridges!

Note: Triebel makes dies with oversize bodies for extra rigidity and precision. These dies use 1 1/4″ 12 threading (just like 50 BMG and similar dies typically do) and because of that, I made sure to have a Hybrid Turret (which has both 1 1/4″ 12 and 7/8″ 14 holes) for my Area 419 Zero press on hand. The dies I’m showing in this article use standard 7/8″ 14 threaded dies, but now I’m ready! Here’s what the Hybrid Turret looks like:

Step 3: Priming

After cleaning the lubrication off the cases, it was time for priming! I used my Competition Primer Seater (CPS) for priming, with CCI BR-2 benchrest primers:

This priming tool allows 0.001″ control of primer seating depth, and seats to the same depth regardless of how much force is applied to the handle!

Step 4: Charging

For charging I used the AutoTrickler V3 which uses the A&D FX-120i precision balance to weigh charges accurate to a single granule!

Step 5: Seating Bullets

The Triebel Bullet Seater Die has a feature that’s unlike any other seater die I’ve used: you can choose to crimp, or not to crimp by flipping an insert inside the die as shown here:

Once side is marked “Crimp”, and the other is marked “No Crimp” – very clever!

I used a reference cartridge to get close on seating depth, and dialed-in from there. Once the desired seating depth was observed, I seated the remaining bullets/cartridges:

Results

The Triebel dies are engineered with some unique features, and the top-notch quality is apparent throughout. Sizing and seating was very smooth, and setting up the dies was easy and quick. I love the fact that you can easily swap out bullet seating punches!

Measured bullet runout was impressive at about +/- 0.0005″ to +/- 0.00075″ Compare this to about +/- 0.002″ I saw on some similar factory ammunition. That will improve your groups for sure!

*Note: If you are using Triebel shell holders with the Area 419 Zero press, your shell holder cap won’t fit over the top. Area 419 will take care of this for you if you inquire!

More to Come

As I mentioned, I’ll be doing more with Triebel dies! More reloading, and a more in-depth overview of what’s offered for dies by Triebel.

Visit Triebel online: Triebel Reloading Dies (English)

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Thanks,
Gavin