[Smokey Joe]

Try the Lee Collet Die system--it doesn't use an expander ball at all. And as a side benefit, it only works the brass once each sizing, not twice. A regular die squeezes the brass down too far (one working) then pulls the expander ball through to size correctly (two workings). A collet die sizes the brass with one squeeze on a mandrel and that's it.

I've used this kind of a die for many years in .30-'06 and the brass tends to last until it dies of old age, or the primer pockets wear too much, or some such.

No friction used in the sizing process, so brass cleanliness is not such an issue. I tumble my used brass with corncob to knock off the worst of the crud, then go ahead and reload.

Of course the brass is segregated by lot and for each rifle.

I do find that I'm getting better results both in accuracy and in reloading, by using brand-new high quality brass. Have started buying new lots of brass and using it; have mostly stopped reloading free range pick-ups, and I think the results are worth the added expense.

Still can't keep myself from scrounging brass @ the range, but now almost all of it goes for scrap brass--which sells nicely to the outfit that also buys my Al beverage cans.