Yeah, Savage, it’s the, ‘near-misses’ that teach you to be careful. I can relate to what you say about shooting pistol brass until the cases split. (I’ll just bet that case splits have saved more pistoleros, myself included, from incipient head separation problems than anything else!) It takes too long to use a pick to scrape the inside of every pistol case before you reload it.
Let’s be honest: Speed is everything in reloading pistol, ‘range brass’. Trimming each pistol case to a consistent OCL is out of the question; so is interior scratching in order to feel for an incipient head separation. Another reloader, more clever than myself, taught me a few tricks for processing range brass quickly.
Start out by cleaning the brass first. Next begin to sort the cases. Pick up a handful of cases; shake them around in your partially closed palm; you should hear a, ‘bell-like’ sound. If you do everything is, ‘fine’; and, you can throw these cases in the loading hopper. If, however, you hear a dull, ‘clunk’ then you’ve got at least one split case in that handful. While you’re doing this, also, take a good look at what’s in your hand. If you see the same dull color, proceed. If, however, you see a bulge or shiny ring just above the head toss that case(s).
One of the things I don’t like about shooting a stock Glock pistol is the tendency for a Glock chamber to leave that enlarged ring around the base of many cases. It's just dumb luck that both of my model G-21’s don’t have much of a tendency to do this. I’ve seen Glock 9’s and 40’s that would leave me positively unsettled!
Yes, I sort all my pistol brass by 100 round lots. I mark each plastic box with the: date acquired or reloaded, the cartridge parameters, and the number of times that lot has been fired. I use a huge cloth painter’s tarp (15’x15’) when I practice that I always place on the left-hand side. When I finish emptying a 100 round pack, I’ll stop and pick up that brass. It goes into a brown paper lunch bag that is marked with the same particulars as the original plastic box. During a shooting match, I do the same thing as many other reloaders: (You know they’re all brass thieves - Don't you!)
I use a magic marker in one of several colors to distinctively mark my case heads.
I’ve finally given up trying to keep track of my brass at pistol shoots. Nicest bunch of guys you’d ever want to meet; but, if you get as much as half of your own brass back then you’ve done very well for yourself! My recent solution for group shoots comes from CCI; it’s called, ‘Blazer Aluminium’; and, if the brass thieves want it, well, it’s theirs with my compliments!
Apparently you’re using that Lee FCD in the fifth station; I use a powder checker in the third station, instead. It’s been my general experience that a powder checker die is worth more than anything else I might install. I’ve, also, noticed that it’s still possible to produce loose bullets – even if an FCD die is used. If you tighten the FCD mandrel down too much, the bullet – itself – can compress and spin loose in the case. As long as I’m getting that classic, ‘coke bottle shape’ on my straight walled cases I’m satisfied that there are no problems with the batch. My general experience has been that if the sizing die is correct and the seater/crimper is properly set up, then, the cartridges will come out right.
I have not, however, reloaded any military pistol brass. Until you mentioned it, the thought never even occurred to me. Yeah, in this situation, you may very well have good reason for using a Lee factory crimp die.
I, also, don’t shoot the 40 S&W. I’m a die hard, 45 acp, pistol shooter; and, on the one hand, I don’t want to risk mixing a 40 in with my 45 cartridges. On the other hand, I don’t need the high pressure or sharper recoil of the 40. I’m tuned to my 45 acp pistols; and, these are the recoil characteristics I’m used to. This reminds me of the old saw, ‘Start shooting with a 9mm; and, after you get used to the recoil, you can move up to a 45 acp.’ Yeah, right!
Odd thing is that the 9 kicks even, 'harder' than the 45; and the 40 is exactly the same way. It always seems to be the novice shooters who can’t distinguish the subtle recoil characteristics among these 3 rounds.
Every older shooter I’ve asked has said the same thing: 'You get a slow heavy push with the 45 acp; (That seems to be easier to control.) and a fast hard crack from, both, the 9mm and 40 S&W.' I know this has certainly been my experience; I’ll notice it every time I switch pistols with someone. Still, if I didn’t own a number of 45 acp pistols, I’d probably go with the 40 over the 9. In my opinion, it’s the: universal availability, low cost, and tremendous number of firearms chambered for this caliber that keep the 9mm going strong.
I, also, believe in reloading to, only, moderate velocities. I’m more interested in decreasing my front sight, ‘dwell time’ than I am in shooting the loudest gun on the line!
My typical 45 acp load is a Berry Manufacturing, 230 grain, plated, RN bullet over 5.0 grains of Alliant, 'Red Dot' powder, and a CCI #300 large pistol primer. The overall cartridge lengths will vary within spec. (1.270” max.) according to the brand and how many times the brass has been fired. I always run my finished rounds through a Dillon case gauge – usually while I’m watching television. (It’s all done with the fingers!)
