Recently I have been reloading for my Pro Crimson Carry II (4 inch barrel) which shoots my reloads exceptionally well.   The word Crimson (Red) comes from Crimson Trace Laser that is part of the Double Diamond Rosewood Handle.  I can see the red laser in bright daylight too and can switch it on and off. For home protection it is simply the best. The laser has a button built into the grip that you can barely feel. When you squeeze the grip the laser is there and on your target. I have never owned a finer 1911 Model 45 ACP than this KImber. The bottom grip and base are made of aircraft aluminum. The slide is steel and the barrel is Match Grade steel.  Yes you pay and boy do you get! http://www.kimberamerica.com/1911/crimson-carry-ii

The brass casings are big and round, they are picked up and saved  from my shooting sessions at my Club. In one of my shooting bags I drop the brass cases to be worked on later at home, some of the brass I pick up are from other shooters too. My shooting bag gathered maybe 150 casings with some mixed head stamps and a few 9 and 10 mm picked up in error. So I sort and clean my brass to remove the 9mm and 10mm odd stuff that came with the brass I picked. You know, I have shot with some mixed head stamps in the past and they worked ok but prefer to shoot only one head stamp brand at a time if at all possible for serious consistency.

Ideally, brass should be all one brand head stamp and treated in batches but these days things are often not ideal. Just finding components such as bullets, primers and powder is a nightmare but I planned ahead.  Some of my recently purchased Blaser Brand 45 ACP ammo has small primers instead of large pistol primers. Nice brass, but in my sorting cleaning process I tossed them out with the trash so the would not be confused with large pistol primer pockets. These small pistol primer pockets can be a pain, so I recommend tossing them. By shooting in batches you can monitor the length of your brass too, so as not to exceed case length without case trimming. I clean my cases in a case cleaning machine using peanut shells mixed with liquid brass cleaner and takes a couple of hours for the machine to do the work. Cases of any kind that have not been trimmed at or below max can create variation in pressures so check them to be sure and have the correct reloading manual for the bullets you intend to load. An ounce of prevention they say is worth a pound of cure. The priming process is critical in that the primer must be flush with the case head or the round will not finish chambering.  By feeling the newly inserted case primer with your finger you can ensure that it is flush in the pocket.  It took me awhile with my single stage RCBS rock chucker press but I managed to pump out 200 finished rounds in a couple of sessions using Hornady’s new XTP hollow points that expand up to 1.5 times across a wide range of velocities. http://www.hornady.com/store/45-Cal-.451-200-gr-HP-XTP/

I cleaned and sized and flared much more than the 200 cases. I use Hodgdon TiteGroup Powder.

It works very well and meters in a volumetric powder measurer consistently and is verifiable by weight!  In 45 ACP the crimping process is called a taper crimp and does not roll a crimp in the traditional sense into a bullet cannelure but does the crimp along the body of the cartridge, snugging it to the bullet. I like the fact that you can disassemble the Kimber Pro Carry in moments and use the barrel separately to drop your finished round in, to see that it goes in easily and is flush. In the Navy during the  Vietnam era, I stood topside-watch on a Nuclear Sub with the Model 1911 45 ACP.  It was never as good as the Kimber but always worked smoothly. Have fun and be safe!