Sorting Brass

Keltyke · March 5, 2009, 03:04 PM

Hey guys!

Picking up range brass - got a little bit of everything in the bag. Is there an easy way to sort this stuff, besides trying to read the base of the shell for the caliber? Maybe a diameter or length gauge?

TIA!

Joat · March 5, 2009, 03:20 PM

First Link
Second Link
Third Link

Google is your friend.

Joat

**44 AMP** · March 5, 2009, 09:32 PM

I can recognise most common cases, but I also read the base. Its part of inspecting the brass. And you really only need to do it once as you sort them. You are going to closely inspect the brass before loading, right? Just do it when you sort it.

Relying on a sorting system like the plastic tubs is nice, but I'll save my money, thanks. And besides, no sorter is going to keep a berdan primed case out, only the old Mark I eyeball will do that.

Sort by caliber, sort by headstamp within caliber. You need to look at the cases to do that. Inspect for length, cracks, swelling, unusual marks, dents, etc. You need to look at each case to do that.

Call me old fashioned, but that's what works for me.

Joat · March 5, 2009, 11:53 PM

I am in agreement with you, the bucket brigade is the first step in sorting, not the be all and end all.
The plastic sorters let me segregate the cases by size so when I throw them into the vibro cleaner I don't end up with 9mm in 45 cases.
They each get hand sorted and inspected prior to moving on to the loading bench. I had to sort a 35 gallon drum of brass once, the sorters at least got the brass into "families" before going through the case cleaner. Made the job a little easier.

Joat

jmorris · March 6, 2009, 09:47 AM

I built the sorter below. It will even sort .380, 9X18 and 38 super from 9X19. The hopper is larger now and it has plastic bins underneath to catch the brass.

http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o...rterhopper.flv

kraigwy · March 6, 2009, 09:55 AM

Jmorris, that is one impressive machine.

Congrats

Now if you could come up with a brass magnet, you'd be the next Bill Gates.

madmo44mag · March 6, 2009, 10:12 AM

I taught my Trunk monkey to do it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8avOiTUcD4Y

WESHOOT2 · March 6, 2009, 10:37 AM

Touching each case when sorting allows me at least a chance of culling bad ones.

Yes, it takes forever.
Yes, it matters.
To me.....

Doby45 · March 6, 2009, 11:35 AM

I sort by caliber and by headstamp..

ragwd · March 6, 2009, 11:36 AM

Jmorris, very impressive.

PCJim · March 6, 2009, 06:09 PM

JMorris, I've seen that same device used in commercial reloading operations. Very effective. Sometimes requires brass to be rerun thru, but overall very effective.

BigJimP · March 6, 2009, 07:55 PM

the shell sorters ( the plastic shaker trays ) work really well - one of the other responders gave you a link. I'm seeing them thru Dillon and a lot of other sources now.

Inspector3711 · March 6, 2009, 10:39 PM

He's got me thinkin about a low budget bubba sorter now... Black ABS pipe for rollers and operated by a hand crank... I'll come up with something. Bet I can do it for $20..

Trunk monkey! That's a riot!

orionengnr · March 6, 2009, 11:10 PM

Quote:

First Link
Second Link
Third Link
Google is your friend.

$40 plus shipping for three glorified plastic colanders.
I think not.

cornbush · March 7, 2009, 10:31 AM

+1 to WESHOOT2, I like to sort by hand so I can throw the junk in the scrap bucket. Its not too bad until you sit there for hours on end, 500 to 1000 at a time is good. Went through about 15000 old paper shotgun hulls at my grandpas one weekend, smelled great but took forever.

Sevens · March 7, 2009, 12:20 PM

If I had access to a public range and was bringing home brass by the bucket on a regular basis, I'd probably get sick of it. Since I don't, when I do have a supply of brass, I have a blast looking through and sorting all of it.

I sort it all by caliber, then I'll mix similar calibers that are compatible in the tumbler. For example... 10mm and .40 S&W can tumble together, and .38/.357 can tumble together, but I won't tumble 9 and .40 in the same load.

Not until it comes out of the tumbler do I weed out the stuff I don't want.
I weed out anything that's Berdan primed. Then I weed out anything that's A-Merc. And I weed out anything that's not suitable for reloading.

But yeah... I do very much enjoy doing it. It's fun to find odd calibers or uncommon head stamps. I wish I could do it more often... I wish I had a continuous supply of brass to go through. (but yeah, it'd probably get old after awhile)

March 5, 2009, 03:04 PM	#1
Keltyke Junior member Join Date: April 6, 2008 Location: Spartanburg, SC Posts: 2,933	Sorting Brass Hey guys! Picking up range brass - got a little bit of everything in the bag. Is there an easy way to sort this stuff, besides trying to read the base of the shell for the caliber? Maybe a diameter or length gauge? TIA!

March 5, 2009, 03:20 PM	#2
Joat Senior Member Join Date: March 31, 2008 Location: Dayton, TX Posts: 383	First Link Second Link Third Link Google is your friend. Joat __________________ All things being equal, fat people use more soap. (I know I am one.) High speed, low drag does not even come close to describing ME.

March 5, 2009, 09:32 PM	#3
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 28,832	old fashioned guy I can recognise most common cases, but I also read the base. Its part of inspecting the brass. And you really only need to do it once as you sort them. You are going to closely inspect the brass before loading, right? Just do it when you sort it. Relying on a sorting system like the plastic tubs is nice, but I'll save my money, thanks. And besides, no sorter is going to keep a berdan primed case out, only the old Mark I eyeball will do that. Sort by caliber, sort by headstamp within caliber. You need to look at the cases to do that. Inspect for length, cracks, swelling, unusual marks, dents, etc. You need to look at each case to do that. Call me old fashioned, but that's what works for me. __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

March 5, 2009, 11:53 PM	#4
Joat Senior Member Join Date: March 31, 2008 Location: Dayton, TX Posts: 383	I am in agreement with you, the bucket brigade is the first step in sorting, not the be all and end all. The plastic sorters let me segregate the cases by size so when I throw them into the vibro cleaner I don't end up with 9mm in 45 cases. They each get hand sorted and inspected prior to moving on to the loading bench. I had to sort a 35 gallon drum of brass once, the sorters at least got the brass into "families" before going through the case cleaner. Made the job a little easier. Joat __________________ All things being equal, fat people use more soap. (I know I am one.) High speed, low drag does not even come close to describing ME.

March 6, 2009, 09:55 AM	#6
kraigwy Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2008 Location: Wyoming Posts: 11,061	Jmorris, that is one impressive machine. Congrats Now if you could come up with a brass magnet, you'd be the next Bill Gates. __________________ Kraig Stuart CPT USAR Ret USAMU Sniper School Distinguished Rifle Badge 1071

March 6, 2009, 09:47 AM	#5
jmorris Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2006 Posts: 3,077	I built the sorter below. It will even sort .380, 9X18 and 38 super from 9X19. The hopper is larger now and it has plastic bins underneath to catch the brass. http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o...rterhopper.flv

March 6, 2009, 10:12 AM	#7
madmo44mag Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2008 Location: Ft.Worth, Texas Posts: 1,522	I taught my Trunk monkey to do it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8avOiTUcD4Y __________________ Texas - Not just a state but an attitude! For monthly shooting events in DFW visit http://www.meetup.com/TexasGunOwner-DFW

March 6, 2009, 10:37 AM	#8
WESHOOT2 Senior Member Join Date: February 20, 1999 Location: home on the range; Vermont (Caspian country) Posts: 14,324	Hundreds. Of thousands. Touching each case when sorting allows me at least a chance of culling bad ones. Yes, it takes forever. Yes, it matters. To me..... __________________ . "all my ammo is mostly retired factory ammo"

March 6, 2009, 11:35 AM	#9
Doby45 Senior Member Join Date: January 19, 2009 Location: Powder Springs, GA Posts: 213	I sort by caliber and by headstamp..

March 6, 2009, 11:36 AM	#10
ragwd Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2006 Posts: 925	Jmorris, very impressive.

March 6, 2009, 06:09 PM	#11
PCJim Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2008 Location: FL Posts: 570	JMorris, I've seen that same device used in commercial reloading operations. Very effective. Sometimes requires brass to be rerun thru, but overall very effective.

March 6, 2009, 07:55 PM	#12
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	the shell sorters ( the plastic shaker trays ) work really well - one of the other responders gave you a link. I'm seeing them thru Dillon and a lot of other sources now.

March 6, 2009, 10:39 PM	#13
Inspector3711 Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2008 Location: Puget Sound Washington Posts: 1,553	He's got me thinkin about a low budget bubba sorter now... Black ABS pipe for rollers and operated by a hand crank... I'll come up with something. Bet I can do it for $20.. Trunk monkey! That's a riot! __________________ "If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." The Dalai Llama (5/15/01, The Seattle Times) "That rifle on the wall of the labourer's cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there." George Orwell

March 7, 2009, 10:31 AM	#15
cornbush Senior Member Join Date: September 29, 2008 Location: The retarded place below Idaho Posts: 1,408	+1 to WESHOOT2, I like to sort by hand so I can throw the junk in the scrap bucket. Its not too bad until you sit there for hours on end, 500 to 1000 at a time is good. Went through about 15000 old paper shotgun hulls at my grandpas one weekend, smelled great but took forever.

March 7, 2009, 12:20 PM	#16
Sevens Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 11,756	If I had access to a public range and was bringing home brass by the bucket on a regular basis, I'd probably get sick of it. Since I don't, when I do have a supply of brass, I have a blast looking through and sorting all of it. I sort it all by caliber, then I'll mix similar calibers that are compatible in the tumbler. For example... 10mm and .40 S&W can tumble together, and .38/.357 can tumble together, but I won't tumble 9 and .40 in the same load. Not until it comes out of the tumbler do I weed out the stuff I don't want. I weed out anything that's Berdan primed. Then I weed out anything that's A-Merc. And I weed out anything that's not suitable for reloading. But yeah... I do very much enjoy doing it. It's fun to find odd calibers or uncommon head stamps. I wish I could do it more often... I wish I had a continuous supply of brass to go through. (but yeah, it'd probably get old after awhile) __________________ *Attention Brass rats and other reloaders:* I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.