Re: Brass life. Have found Winchester to have the most volume. Remington has been extremely good. Sorted and segregated by weight, properly prepared, it gave me some of the very best results ever. Had some Gold Medal Match Federal .308 cases that were simply not so hot. I was not running hot loads ... in fact the loads were relatively mild. Nevertheless, the primer pockets expanded so that primers would not stay in after the second load. Same exact load in the Remington brass would work fine... brass would last from 17 - 20 batches before I got more brass.
Have found the Greek HXP to be excellent brass for the M-1 Garand, as good as LC. Have some perfectly wonderful LC NM brass that I use in the 03 rifle I use for vintage military rifle matches at our local club. That stuff is is some of the best brass I've ever used. Still have about half of a .50 cal. can full of once-fired cases. Maybe it'll last me a few more years!
If I ever do get around to doing a 6.5, I'll have to give a good hard look at the Starline and Lapua brass. After all, if your going to put up a real good rifle that will drive tacks, you need to do everything you can to get all the advantages going your way! JMHO. Sincerely. bruce.
" Unlike most conservatives, libs have no problem exploiting dead children and dancing on their graves."