Brass sorted

[Forrest68]

So heres all my 9mm once fired brass , sorted by headstamp and cleaned

[Forrest68]

Guess when I replaced the Batteries, the date went screwy, these pics were in fact taken today, not in 2007, lol

[GJSchulze]

Are the bags in the center container different HS? If not, what's the purpose of using the bags? I sort my 9mm brass, too, but leave them in open plastic bins. Just curious.

[Forrest68]

Yes, they are different headstamps, I dont have bins yet, so the smaller batches are in Ziplocks for now, useing an ammo box for a couple hundred pieces of brass seemed overkill. The brass is cleaned and sun dried before bagging.

[GJSchulze]

I use plastic shoebox size bins that I got at Home Depot (and other places). They'll hold 1000+ 9mm cases and cost less than $2 each.

I also use small plastic pails that you can get in the paint section of Home Depot. They have several sizes. They take up less room, but cost a little more than the bins.

[Forrest68]

I will have to check them out, I try to go as low cost as possible with storage and that sounds like it woudl fit the bill nicely.

[WESHOOT2]

I store my R-T-L cases in coffee cans, the plastic kinds with tight lids.
I write right on them the brand and type of case.

I store not-R-T-L cases in metal and plastic cans (and buckets and boxes and bags and manIgottalottacases).

I drink coffee, so the cans are (otherwise) free.

[boondocker385]

I sort and store in formula containers..... lol.

[Forrest68]

My 2 coffee "cans"(plastic tubs) I use for cleanen brass. As I go threw more, I plan to save them as well. Um R-T-L ? best guess Ready To Load? Oh and boondocker if ya got um might as well use um right, nice way to recycle and store on the cheap. I also clean on the cheap usen just citric acid and dawn in my coffee can, works well gets um real clean and shiney with minimal equipment and effort.

[GJSchulze]

Sorry, but I'm a coffee snob, so no coffee from cans. My father used to save them, so I know how useful they are. Of course, shooting pistol or rifle affects how we do a lot of things and yet in so many posts the caliber isn't mentioned, so you get advice that doesn't necessarily apply. A coffee can would be too large for the 9mm headstamps that I only have a few of. I keep telling myself just keep them together in the use'em and lose'em container. OTOH, I have 5000 Speer cases, 1000 Winchester, 1000 FC, 500 Blazer. So shoebox size it is for me, which, from how rifle reloaders talk, would be too large.

[Forrest68]

Well I can't afford to be a coffee snob anymore or at least at the moment, nothing wrong with that though. as your looking at my photo, left ammo box Blazer at least 5000, far right ammo box WCC 2000+, then the bads are 1000+ of speer(2 bags), 2-300 WIN,2-300 FC, 200ppu, 200pmc, 200Ammoload, and bout 3-400RWS. most of teh blazer is what I personally fired, teh rest is pick up and from a couple lots of once fired I bought. I don't think I will need more brass for quiet a while now.

[VonFatman]

That is a nice pile of clean brass!

I'm lucky, I'm a coffee snob but the guys at work save me the plastic coffee containers. GREAT for brass and other goodies.

I have to admit though, my pistol/revolver groups don't get tighter with sorted-by-head stamp brass....mine is all mixed and kept that way until I dump them in the case feeder.

I do run a magnet over my 9mm to cull out the steel cases.

Bob

[skizzums]

hey guys, im new to this, i have loaded just over 250 9mm once fired rounds. but im doing a big batch as i type. why sort the brass by headstamp?? is there a need for that when just making plinking ammo? do different brands mean different case height??

p.s. all my rounds shot consistantly and accurately

[VonFatman]

Skizzums,
You are good. Some folks go to great lengths to clean their brass, others spend time sorting their brass by head stamp (on the bottom of each case is a stamp...."Win" Winchester, "R-P" for Remington etc.) and will only load batches of the same lot or head stamp, some of us are obsessed with clean primer pockets and clean the dickens out of them....some will even trim straight wall pistol brass to get every piece exact.

It's all personal preference. I have a number of friends who do not have a tumbler, never clean their brass, never sort a piece of brass & store their reloads in used plastic grocery sacks...guess what, their ammo is just as effective as mine or yours.

Enjoy your new hobby.

Bob

[Forrest68]

Exactly what VonFatman said, if you read long enough you will see there are those that say you must sort and sperate and ya have to tumble and polsih and blah blah blah, I sort cause thats how I am. I have shot mixed brass and found its just as accurate as when I sort and shot one headstamp. I use the cheapest and easies cleanen method I could find and see no point in going further with spenden more on a tumbler. If it works why fix it, just be safe and enjoy yourself.

[serf 'rett]

I try to go as low cost as possible

Started with Ziplocs.

Next came the coffee cans.

Followed by ammo cans.

Then went to the plastic buckets that originally had 25 pounds of cat food or 40 pounds of laundry powder.
All pistol cases are de-primed, wet tumbled with stainless steel pins, sized, expanded, sorted by headstamp, inspected and counted. Counting is quick with the use of home grown tray. Still use the ZipLocs to store; 9mm & 40S&W are 200 per sandwich bag, 45ACP are 100 pieces per bag.


Why sort by headstamp? For plinking, it may be a waste of time, but competition shooting may be a different animal. Sorting may give a tad more consistency in crimp and case capacity.

Another advantage of sorting is identification of cases which may have mil crimp. When you attempt to seat a primer in a mil crimped W-C or .FC. case, you’ll understand a reason for sorting.

[GJSchulze]

Pistol and rifle reloaders (let's abbreviate PR and RR) do things differently. In general rifle loaders go to greater lengths partially because rifle brass is necked and longer and partially for accuracy. The same can be said for bullseye pistol shooters (BPR).

When I first started reloading, I often couldn't tell the difference. Someone would give advice and if the caliber wasn't mentioned, the RR would suggest something that a PR reads that doesn't really apply. For example, trimming to length, chamfering, etc. There are exceptions; probably BPR (which I know nothing about) while PR don't do this. There are three reasons: 1) volume: PR load hundreds or thousands of rounds because they might shoot 1000 rounds/month or more (or less). RR don't reload nearly as many. 2) “Unnecessary” accuracy: at the distance that most pistol shooters shoot (BPR excepted), most of what a RR does has no effect. What creates 2" groups at 200 yards is imperceptible with a pistol at 15 yards. 3) PR assume that they will lose their brass before it needs to be trimmed or otherwise groomed or before it cracks.

Now most of us know this, but someone just starting out (as I was 1.5 years ago) won’t realize this and reads posts and articles and isn’t sure what is important. A PR might say “Don’t sort by headstamp” and a newbie RR might not realize that most RR do sort.

Which brings up the overlap. I and some other people sort pistol brass by headstamp. Others don’t. I do it because they behave differently in my progressive press and I don’t want to use the ones that keep making me stop and start. I don’t do it for accuracy. A BPR probably sorts for accuracy. They probably trim to length, chamfer, etc. Many PR don’t clean the primer pockets, some do. Some will ream out a military crimp; others just toss them or give them away.

So I’m just saying that when reading books, articles, and posts they may be suggesting things that don’t apply to your type of reloading.

[skizzums]

thanks for the info guys. i dont tumble, but i have a chlorine bucket that ive washed out, i put in vinegar, coarse salt, a drop of dawn and some listerene. add 8 cups of boiling water and i have a very soft brisled toilet brush that i stuck through the top of the bucket, so when i shake it up all the brass is running through the brush as well(hard to explain). cleans it up pretty shiny new. as for headstamps go.....whew!! im glad thats not imperative. that would be a bitch.

[skizzums]

thanks GJ, for now, im just making stuff to chuck into the woods with my girlfriend. im sure as i get more seasoned as a RR i'll be more anal about my accuracy etc. but im just happy to have any ammo right now. but so far, i have really enjoyed the hobby, i'm blown away by the difference in accuracy from my factory rounds. thanks for everyones input.

[Forrest68]

LOL, skizzums, yeah sorten can be a real pain, Im outta work so I had the time. Mostly I sorted just to see what kinda mix I had gotten from a buck brass purchase I made, before I found my other bucket of brass that I had been collecten since oct(oops), but now I probably have enough brass for teh next few years at least.

You should try the citric acid bath, takes very little time or effort, and I read somewhere it is actually good for the brass. If ya can't find it straight, I found it at the grocery store marketed as Lemi-shine, a couple of table spoons in a gallon of water(hot, codl water takes a much longer time to clean) and 15-20 minutes later its good, clean and fairly shiny. I usually end up given it a good hour long soak with a few shakes to move the brass around just cause more is better right? Oh and ya can reuse the water a few times dependen on how dirty the brass was. Normal once fired brass easy used 3 times or better. Well enjoy