Sorting 9mm and 380 . . .

[Prof Young]

Short of reading every head stamp or measuring every case . . . is there an easier way to sort 9mm and 380?

I've got the progressive sorting tubs, but that nonetheless leaves you with a pile of 9mm and 380 that need to be separated.
Open to suggestions!

Life is good.
Prof Young

[totaldla]

I only buy once-fired from outfits with a good reputation of sorting or at least honest that they don't.

I don't shoot 380, but I do 9mm, 40sw and 45acp. If I'm shooting with grandkids, we police brass after each caliber change.

380 is nasty when loading 9mm on a progressive.

[44 AMP]

With cases so similar, it gets a bit tedious, but take the brass, and stand them up on the bench base down. line them up against a straight edge, (loading block, book, box of something...) and pick out all the short ones and toss them in one box and the longer ones in another box.

Then once this rough sort is finished, go through each box separately and read the headstamps. Pick out any of the wrong ones from each box and put them in with their brothers and you should be done. unless you miss something, or let the brass mingle again.

[Marco Califo]

My best solution is to not let them get mixed together in the first place. If they do, you will have to sort. I recall Lyman makes a case gauge that keys on length to aid sorting. But in 9mm vs. 380 I think lining them up would be faster.

[Recycled bullet]

https://www.shellsorter.com/products/shell-sorter

They sell plastic colanders for sorting separating brass. It looks like if you get the basic set plus the 380 you shake it over a bucket and the magic happens.

I have never used it so I will not vouch on it.

Sent from my moto g power (2022) using Tapatalk

[Prof Young]

44 AMP - I like this line em up idea. I'm going to try it.

Recycled Bullet - I have system similar to that. I does help a lot, but in the end there is still some hand sorting to do.

Life is good.
Prof Young

[Jim Watson]

The metal insert for the sorter trays works pretty well to separate 9mm from .380.

I use it in a second pass.

[tlm225]

Originally Posted by Recycled bullet

https://www.shellsorter.com/products/shell-sorter

They sell plastic colanders for sorting separating brass. It looks like if you get the basic set plus the 380 you shake it over a bucket and the magic happens.

I have never used it so I will not vouch on it.

Sent from my moto g power (2022) using Tapatalk

I use the shell sorter buckets and added the metal .380 plate to seperate the .380 brass from 9mm.

https://www.shellsorter.com/collecti...rter-380-plate

[hammie]

@Prof Young: I don't think there's an easy way, but I use "44 AMP's" method in post #3. I set the cases base down on a level table and then push them together. By bringing my nose and eyes down to a level just above the case mouths, I can look across the mass of cases and spot the ones which are 2 mm shorter....most of the time.

[44 AMP]

An alternate method is a case gauge or just a set of calipers, though it does require handling each case individually.

Set the calipers for .380 max length. If it goes through the jaws it goes in the .380 box. If not, it goes in the 9mm one.

Not 100% foolproof, but over max length .380s brass is pretty rare.

Good light, glasses if you need them, and actually reading each case headstamp is the most foolproof method, but it does take some time.

[Mike / Tx]

I've purchased several med flat rate boxes of once fired 9mm that I have sorted by hand. I use one of those articulating magnifying glasses with a light and it makes thing WAY easier to read. I can grab a handful and turn them base up and read over the in short order, spotting the 380s is a lot easier. After a few of them you can almost spot em in your hand as your turning them base up.

[Unclenick]

If forced to improvise, I would set the cases upright in a row, but with a little space between them, and press down on the row with a second board to trap the taller 9mm cases and blow the 380 cases out onto a tarp with compressed air. You could also tilt both boards with the row trapped between them so the 380s fall out. If there is too much variation between 9mm length for the board to hang on, you can use a block of styrofoam scrap.


Unfortunately, while the cases and the chamber diameters at 0.2" forward of the head have diameters that don't overlap, wide 380 Auto chambers will let a 380 Auto case get fatter than a minimum diameter new 9mm case, so slot sorting, even with precision slots, will never be 100% reliable.

[mgulino]

I usually drop them into trays saved from commercial ammo. Can quickly check 50 at once and pull the short ones.

[zeke]

another user of the metal tray insert in the plastic shell sorters. It works well, and for my purposes, 380 brass is worth saving.

[Shadow9mm]

I use the egw case gauge. You can tell a 380 from a 9mm real easy.

[Prof Young]

Thanks for all the info and ideas.

I'm a little mystified at the shell sorter 380 plate. Aren't 380 and 9mm the same diameter?

Life is good.
Prof Young

[hammie]

@prof young: It's not all that obvious, but the base/rim diameters of the .380 ACP and 9x19mm are not the same. If you're reloading and use the wrong shell holder, the difference becomes apparent pretty quickly. The rim or base diameter of the .380 ACP is 0.374 in. The rim diameter of the 9x19mm is 0.394 in.

[jetinteriorguy]

The aluminum .380ACP sorting plate works great, best thing ever if you’re just sweeping up a pile off the floor from the range. My best friend appreciates all the .380 brass I’ve given him over the years.

[Unclenick]

...Well, actually, the head diameter tolerance is - 010", so the .380 is .364" to .374", and the 9mm Luger is .384" to .394". But for the slots that cases fall through, that head diameter isn't the issue. Since the cases expand during firing, just in front of the web, they can come out of a gun the width of the chamber. The chambers at that point are 0.3809" to 0.3849" and 0.3913" to 0.3953" for the 380 and 9mm, respectively. That is a minimum difference of just 6.4 thousandths, but it is still possible to differentiate between them with a carefully made fall-through slot. Where you get into trouble is if some new 9mm cases get into the mix somehow, as they will possibly be smaller than the expanded 380 Auto.

[Metal god]

The only way I’ve done it in the past is by eye . There was a time I was sorting a lot of brass and I got quite good at seeing the difference relatively quickly . I’ve always been a visual person and have done a life time of finish construction work . I just can see small differences at a glance . Since then though , I do everything in my power not to get them mixed to the point of refusing brass even if free if 380 is in the mix .

I like UN’s idea , the only issue I see at least for me would be that in the time it takes me to stand them up and do any number of things to separate. I could just look at them and separate them that way .

[seanc]

My eyeball test is to take a handful of cases and put a known 380 case between opposite hand's index finger and thumb and pass over the cases looking for a size match. That goes pretty fast. Usually about 2 or 3 per 500 get past the eyeball test.

The ones that get past my eyeball test get caught when sizing them via the 9mm shell holder: 380 cases slip out of the shell holder and get set aside.

Depriming doesn't make any difference since I use a universal depriming die for everything. I deprime, clean, sort, then size.

[Marco Califo]

I sort 9mm by headstamp. While doing this I find any stray 380's not previously detected.

[Prof Young]

Okay, I just ordered the 380 sorter plate noted in the post above.

Will give it a try and let you all know.

Life is good.
Prof Young

[Unclenick]

Prof Young,

The 9mm Luger/x19/Parabellum (for war) has a thicker case wall at the mouth, and greater taper, widening a little over 0.01" from case mouth to the reference point 0.2" forward of the back of the head, while the 380 Auto/9mm Browning Court (Short) only fattens about 0.0009" from the narrower case mouth to that same 0.2" forward reference location on the case, so it is almost straight in the SAAMI drawing, and is perfectly straight in the CIP drawing. Additionally, neither the 9mm Luger nor the Court are exactly 9mm, with the 380 bullet being 9.04mm and the 9mm Luger being 9.02mm in the CIP drawings' and 0.3555" and 0.3545", respectively, in the SAMMI drawings after you take the usual 0.001" off the maximum diameter those drawings give. Practically speaking, they run the same 0.3550 bullets, but this still helps understanding the ideal dimensional differences.

[Prof Young]

Thanks Uncle Nick:

Have you, by chance, written books about firearms. If not, you might want to think about it.

Life is good.
Prof Young