I would reiterate the concern about a squib. I shoot a revolver and a squib will not stop the action. The next shot will go right into the back of the bore obstruction. A semi-automatic pistol's action is not guaranteed to stop either and you can have a dangerous situation. I have reloaded something like ten thousand in the last couple years and had one squib when I first started using wet tumbling and did not fully appreciate the need for the primer pockets to be completely dry. I had to set aside 100 cartridges to have the bullets pulled. After that, I took concrete steps to prevent a recurrence. First, I don't rush cases from the wet tumbler to the press. I let them dry for at least a day. There's lots of good drying techniques, but that's getting off-topic. The reason I was rushing it was because I simply didn't have enough cases. I bought 500 or 1000 more. I also tumble the cases in dry media before I use them. This further assures that they're dry and it has some other benefits as well.
You didn't mention the type of press you're using, but from your description it would seem to be some kind of progressive press. I use a Lee Auto Breech Lock Pro and the Lee Auto Drum powder measure, so that is what I'm familiar with. I get good results with the Auto Drum, but I had to remove the screw that is installed by the factory that makes it so the user has to press the button before every powder charge. I did not want to forget to press the button, so I took the screw out and it throws a charge every time a case is inserted.
To catch no-powder and double-powder conditions, I use an RCBS Powder Checker die. I prefer this to the Hornady Powder Cop because it stops the press from continuing when conditions are wrong. I still visually inspect every case before I place the bullet with my fingers to be seated. I have a bullet feeder, but I don't currently use it. I found the case feeder is a better time saver.
One reason for black, sooty cases not mentioned yet is the primers. I find different primers produce different amounts of soot. Since you're comparing your handloads with CCI primers to factory loads that probably have a different primer, that could be part of the explanation. I found CCI primers to be very sooty. Remington a little less so. I mostly use Fiocchi lead-free primers that produce almost no soot at all. The inside of the cases are still shiny brass color after firing. Since my comparison is made with the same powder and same charge weight, I conclude the primer can make a big difference.
