Currently seated at about 3.060 which is the longest my mag will allow. 3.086 is my coal touching the lands with the 135. I did pick up some magnum primers today, and ordered some 129 ablrs. Going to give it a go with h1000 when it’s above -4 again.
Curious how your project is progressing, since we have similar interests.
Although I lean towards higher BC (heavier) bullets such as the 147 ELDM, with an 18" to 20" suppressed barrel.
My very personal reaction (not to criticize your choice) is that if a shooter is choosing a 6.5 PRC and "chasing velocity" (don't we all), and doing so with light lower BC bullets, then that implies that the shooter is either using the rifle in calm conditions or not expecting a 400+ yard shot where wind drift is the biggest concern, or the shooter is an expert wind caller. If the rifle is destined to be used inside of 300 yards with light bullets, then isn't velocity a lot less important (because there is plenty of terminal velocity for that distance)? (again, I'm like everyone else and want as much velocity as I can get provided the rifle is accurate...).
I've been largely away from my rifle while focusing on archery for close to 15 years, but am now pivoting back to the rifle. FWIW, when I was precision reloading actively back then, the benchrest experts liked to seat bullets close(r) to the lands.
You mentioned you are almost touching the lands.
I have learned that the world of hunting / shooting rifles has changed dramatically over the last 15 years. It seems that recent guidance is that if you are touching or "almost touching" the lands then the risks of greater pressure and POI impact increase dramatically (perhaps explaining your picture showing a primer with cratering, and others without cratering). A bullet that has some jump has lower pressure and performs differently than a bullet with jam. Given variances in loads (actual length to ogive) , cartridges loaded to touch, or nearly touch, the lands are more likely to have more erratic performance. The current thinking seems to be to increase bullet jump to avoid that region of higher pressure and POI variability.
I've heard some folks now recommend jumping around 65 thousandths if the rifle / cartridge is used for competition that involves high volume shooting without cleaning. This is apparently because a hot cartridge like 6.5 PRC will erode the bore and build up carbon relatively quickly, thus changing the ballistic characteristics and point of impact. X thousands of barrel erosion might be a big deal if the bullet was initially touching the lands, but it becomes a smaller and smaller deal as the jump increases out to about 65 thousandths. That concept makes intuitive sense to me, although intuition may not have a place in relation to the rocket science of internal ballistics. Bottom line, it has been suggested that pressure variability and POI changes are minimized with more jump (within a reasonable range). This is not to say that 65 thousands jump is ideal for a benchrest gun that is cleaned more frequently and where the shooter can increase COAL during a match if necessary, or that it is the right jump for YOUR rifle and load combination. But it is something to think about, especially in relation to one or two of your cartridges showing early pressure signs.
Hope the helps or maybe just raises more questions. Again, I'm following because I have similar interest to yours and I appreciate your question and responses.