Hubcap52

I have two chronographs and do work up safe loads. Sounds like the optimist that fell off the Empire State Building...going by the second floor window they heard him say, "So far, so good."

I'm not as concerned about the lack of weight uniformity. I doubt there are many, if any, people who could tell the difference in accuracy with a hand-held firearm at normal pistol distances with the kinds of deviations I'm talking about here. I'm not talking about bench-rest accuracy. My concern is not the presence of the weight/capacity deviation, but the amount of deviation-- well over 10%. I don't know how much a % of change in case capacity affects pressures, only that it most certainly does. All reputable manuals advise reloaders of semi- or full-auto firearms to make sure the ammunition does not allow for bullet setback for this very reason. My concern is about the safety of the ammo, because the weight is a factor in determining case capacity, and therefore pressure, and therefore safety. If you change your powder charge by that amount, you can very quickly go from safe to unsafe (or vice versa) pressures. It's also my understanding that, because of the nature of smokeless propellants, the pressure curve can rise exponentially rather than linearly at unsuitable pressure levels (high or low).

I did a random weight check on my 40SW brass (assorted headstamps). It was cleaned and unprimed--just the brass. I checked the case length and they were all the same, but as much as 10.5 grains weight difference!!! Is that too much? I don't usually sort handgun brass, but should I?