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Old November 23, 2019, 11:53 PM   #1
Mr.RevolverGuy
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Speeding Up The Reloading Process

I have always looked at every opportunity to speed up reloading processes outside of operating the press. Trimming and brass sorting is very time consuming. After getting my trimming process down I started to look at brass sorting, there just had to be a better way. Low and behold there sure is.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9wAjeQMKcg
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Old November 24, 2019, 10:47 AM   #2
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This is why the sorter comes in handy, I am halfway through this mixed bucket in 6 minutes.

This is a sort with the 45ACP/44Magnum/50AE&500S&W tray. I can only see 1 piece of brass in the wrong bucket.




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Old November 24, 2019, 12:09 PM   #3
Don Fischer
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Some guy's simply like buying gadget's! I keep my brass sorted as I'm shooting! hard to believe I know but my rifle brass never hit's so much as the table top and never the ground. Come's out of the chamber and back in the box it came out of. Only have two auto load handguns and both 9mm. Those case's hit the ground and I clean them up before firing anything else. Actually I MTY a clip and clean up those fired case's right them. My 32 and 38 are both DA's and when the cylinder is MTY I eject the MTY's into my hand and put them back where I got them. Can't see what's so hard about that that anyone would need a case sorter! Not only that, but all those case's he just sorted are sorted by cartridge only. Does he now go through them all by hand and sort by brand? I read guy's get frustrated with tumbling with cob because it might stick in the flash hole. Yea some does but I clean the primer pocket after tumbling and clear flash holes at the same time. It's simply no big thing! Just amaze's me the expense some guys go through to fix a problem that shouldn't exist in the first place!
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Old November 24, 2019, 02:13 PM   #4
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Why are you mixing cases in the first place? 9mm will easily fit inside a .45 ACP case and usually refuse to come out without manual assistance. So will a .38/.357 case.
There is rarely, if ever, any need to trim pistol cases of any type either.
And 900 pixels is too big.
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Old November 24, 2019, 02:50 PM   #5
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Okay, it looks kinda cool. But from my view point, it is money spent on equipment I have never needed and still do not need; I have no problems with brass sorting. I don’t have room for it either. I have reasonably good space for loading, but that would consume my usable space with something, again, that I do not need.
I pretty much agree with all of T. O’Heir’s comments too. Only exception might be minor trimming of any range brass I find to get uniformity, but otherwise pistol brass is best left alone.
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Old November 24, 2019, 03:29 PM   #6
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Years ago I bought 2 boxes of ammo from "Atlantic arms" or "Atlanta arms" in 40 cal. Somehow when I was using those boxes to fill with reloaded ammo, I found that the holes were just large enough to let 9mm (and 380 ACP) fall through, but held on to 40 cal and up. I have since been using that as my only ammo sorter. I built up walls around it and when I need to, dump hand fulls and shake until all the 9mm falls through and then flip the rest into another place.

To skip this step, I hardly shoot 40 cal anymore and have been focusing on 9mm. When I start reloading 38 special, I'll either have to sort again or be more careful when I collect brass. Or just shoot 1 caliber at a time. But for folks who don't have easy access to a range, I'd understand wanting to shoot a little bit of everything. Neat gizmo.

Note: Looked at the gizmo. $1000 + dollars! Wow! While it would be luxurious to have, I'd probably go with the $40 sorting buckets - which I haven't bought because I feel like that would be splurging Your wife got you a nice gift.

Last edited by dyl; November 24, 2019 at 03:46 PM.
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Old November 24, 2019, 03:55 PM   #7
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Nice work. Thanks for sharing.
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Old November 24, 2019, 04:30 PM   #8
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Questions

MRG,

The first question that comes to mind is to ask if you can tell how it handles dirt and grit thus far?
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Old November 24, 2019, 04:31 PM   #9
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You can always get your range buddies to go in with you. Unless training I may have multiple calibers with me. Time is critical at anytime I can show up to the range and only have been there 5 minutes before I have to leave if my phone rings. So sorting on the range is just not an option for me.

Some say folks like gadgets and some like $2000 to $4000 dollar pistols. I guy that is part of my club has a class 3 license and a 21K rifle. I am happy for him.
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Old November 24, 2019, 04:34 PM   #10
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Unclenick,

I would say fine dirt falls right into the trashbag along with 22lr. I am being very careful not to introduce rocks to it, I do not want it all scared up from it.
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Old November 24, 2019, 04:35 PM   #11
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Range trash isn't worth putting my primers, powder and bullets in.
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Old November 24, 2019, 04:40 PM   #12
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What about recovering your own brass from the mix? Besides, it isn't all trash quality. Some shooters just don't know what they are leaving on the ground. I got several hundred once-fired Lapua 7.62×39 cases this way one day. A good deal of LC 30-06 and 7.62 for the gas guns over time, as well.
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Old November 24, 2019, 05:17 PM   #13
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Im a take my time reloader, so when the mixed caliber/brand, comes out of the tumbler, I pick up each one by hand, inspect it for damage, cracks or anything dangerous, then I sort them by caliber, brand and times fired, I guess I just have more time on my hands than others.
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Old November 24, 2019, 10:14 PM   #14
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Quote:
Im a take my time reloader, so when the mixed caliber/brand, comes out of the tumbler, I pick up each one by hand, inspect it for damage, cracks or anything dangerous, then I sort them by caliber, brand and times fired, I guess I just have more time on my hands than others.
I'd agree with this, but I sort BEFORE tumbling. I still use the corncob /walnut hull media and tumbling some combinations of cases together is simply Stupid.

smaller cases WILL be stuck inside larger ones. Larger caliber pistol cases will get stuck on bottle necked rifle brass.

All held nice and tightly jammed together by tumbler media. Sometimes so stuck pliers have a tough time getting them apart.

Plus, I'm one of those really old school types that separates by headstamp. But often I do that after first tumbling.

If you don't sort your brass, when DO you inspect them? After they're part way into the loading process?
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Old November 25, 2019, 12:31 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by 44AMP
…I sort BEFORE tumbling.
Exactly why I asked how the separator was handling dirt and grit. I don't want the tumbler to create brass matryoshka dolls. Brass cleaning is like divorce. Separation comes first.

I've been using a Berry's brass sorter/media separator with adjustable brass separating openings. I mainly just separate stainless pins with it and it is not motorized.

Long ago, a government agent commented there basically two kinds of drug dealers: those who need a forklift and those who don't. It looks like we might be heading toward a handloading analog. Loading is an addictive hobby, after all.
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Old November 25, 2019, 10:11 PM   #16
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made my living for 50 years fixing broken machinery, made me a believer in the KISS theory

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1019428676?pid=692917

and for media separation

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1016993467?pid=949347

for media separation I currently use a old cat litter pan that came with a sifter tray that the wife bought and decided she did not care for. Some 1/4 inch rat wire and a wooden frame would do just as well
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Old November 26, 2019, 09:42 AM   #17
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Quote:
Exactly why I asked how the separator was handling dirt and grit. I don't want the tumbler to create brass matryoshka dolls. Brass cleaning is like divorce. Separation comes first.
If you tumble before you sort, you are just asking for stuck nested cases.

The first collator I used for mine was of wheel/finger type and would have issues with dirt, grass, rocks and such.

A vibratory collator eliminates that problem. The OP’s machine looks to be entirely vibratory in operation so I can’t thing of anything that could get messed up as everything is stationary relative to all the other parts.

Even on the one I built debris are inconsequential and generally get dropped off into the first bin, with the .22’s and such.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFw7IcQUmgs&t=4s

I to am a fan of the keep it simple theory, that’s why I wanted a machine as close to turn on, dump in as possible.
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Old November 26, 2019, 10:40 PM   #18
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To answer the question my brass is carefully inspected after the cleaning process. Though I am looking for speed I never cut corners on safety. I feel like I have better visibility and ability to catch a piece of bad brass when it is clean vs dirty.
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Old November 26, 2019, 11:36 PM   #19
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My "media separator" is a plastic colander and a plastic bucket it fits in quite handily, bought at local grocery store for about $5, maybe...

Dump tumbler, stir...works great, and the bucket has a pour spout making pouring the media back into the tumbler pretty easy, too!

I rough sort by case size first, I will tumble 9mm, .380, ,38SPl & .357 together, they don't get stuck.

.44 & .45 brass together also ok. pistol cases and bottle necked rifle brass? No way. .35 and .44/.45 together? no way.

Yes I've had my share of those "nesting dolls" and .30 cal rifles brass rather securely "capped" with 9mm, so its worth my time to sort them first.
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Old November 27, 2019, 06:21 AM   #20
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45 GAP and 50 BMG tumbled together makes a great puzzle....
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