Organizing brass?

[cs86]

How do you guys organize your brass? I've accumulated enough for different calibers with different head stamps. Then there are the number of times that they have been fired. I primarily try to sort them by caliber, head stamp, and number of times fired, then put them in baggies and take a sharpie and mark it to describe the content of the bag. Some bags I have to sort by what needs to be trimmed. All the bags are in a few totes. I'm looking for better ways to organize and distinguish easier what I have. I want to know what others do so I can get some ideas on organizing better if there are other ways to do so.

[dilly]

121048

This is helps me.

I also have a harbor freight off brand akro bin stand that I use for some things.

[Harter66]

I have moved several times more than I should have . I also have access to buy all the 30,50 cal and 20mm cans a guy could want way cheap. So the "active" pistol brass goes in 30 cal cans and the others get bagged and dumped in a 20mm can. The rifle brass gets more or less the same treatment . I'll have a cheap metal rolling bread rack as soon as I get the latest shuffle mucked back into its places and will have the cans stowed on it. I farmed out several cases of shotgun shells and have that down to 3 20mm cans. As I need other rifle brass the inactive stuff will probably be 30 cal canned.

[USAFrox]

I have a very eclectic mix of small boxes, ammo cans, tubs, bins, Tupperware, and old detergent bottles holding all of my various brass. Can't say I have a very organized "system", but it works for me.

[John Allen]

I use these. I use the corrugated boxes and write the brass name on the front. I also store all my bullets for reloading the same way.

http://www.uline.com/BL_8769/Shelf-Bin-Organizers

[Love Life]

I use these. I use the corrugated boxes and write the brass name on the front. I also store all my bullets for reloading the same way.

http://www.uline.com/BL_8769/Shelf-Bin-Organizers

I really like that!

[bangerjim]

I use those shoebox sized clear tubs with locking lids. They hold almost 1000 45LC and many more 9's, 40 S&W, and 38SPL. Tons of room and they stack well. And you can see what is in them. Just write the cal on the end with a Sharpie.

Perfectly organized, symmetric, and nice looking, too!!!!

banger

[cs86]

I like what John is using too! I have something similar on my bench but the boxes hang and I don't feel like they can withstand a lot of weight. Do you find that the Uline bins hold up to a good amount of weight or that the structure feels solid?

[cs86]

Banger, I like the box idea, and it has been something that I've started using. Only thing I didn't care about is the stacking part. When I need something on the bottom stack I have to unstack and restack. I suppose if I made a shelf for them then I'd essentially have something similar to what John is showing.

[bangerjim]

I only stack them 2 deep so getting to the bottom is very easy! 2 deep fits on the shelf under the bench perfectly. Also on the metal racks I have on 2 walls of the shop.

I too hate digging thru a stack of a lot of boxes to get to the lower ones and try to avoid that when at all possible!

banger

[Love Life]

Currently I use the clear shoe boxes like BangerJim. I think they are $.99 apiece with lid at wally world. Mine are stacked 3 deep full of brass not currently in use.

I batch all my brass. My auto loaders have a 1,000 or 2,000 pieces of brass in use, and all other brass for them is kept stored until I scrap a batch. My knockabout bolt guns have 200 pieces of brass per in use, and my match guns have 100 or so pieces in use at any time. I scrap by the batch and move a new batch into rotation.

[Sig]

Empty grapefruit containers & such.

[DHurtig]

I keep lots in bags and then store the bags in the plastic shoe boxes too.

[dragon813gt]

For bulk storage of range brass I use gallon ziploc bags inside five gallon buckets. For bulk storage of bought brass like Starline I use 50 cal ammo cans. For brass in current use I use ziplocs inside of USPS flat rate boxes. Boxes are clearly marked w/ contents and stored on the shelf. This is an old pic but you get the idea.

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa39/dragon813gt/TimeToMakeAmmo/40693A70-5818-4163-8520-D28C240B3189-5569-000003D510BCD9E8_zpsc57eb2c9.jpg (http://s198.photobucket.com/user/dragon813gt/media/TimeToMakeAmmo/40693A70-5818-4163-8520-D28C240B3189-5569-000003D510BCD9E8_zpsc57eb2c9.jpg.html)

[waco]

All my brass gets stored in Folgers coffee cans. I "try" to keep track of certain rifle brass as far as how many times it's been fired, but I'm a pretty bad record keeper.

Pistol and revolver brass just gets cleaned, reloaded, shot, and repeat.

I toss it when it splits.

I've been using the same 38 and 45acp brass for as long as 10 years.

[lead-1]

I built shelves in my garage and since I keep all the shipping boxes I get mailed to me, that's where the brass goes.
I put it in zip lock baggies, mark what they are and toss them in the boxes.

[Petrol & Powder]

Coffee cans because I have a large and constantly replenished supply ! The round cans are not ideal for storage but they're free* and hold up better than cardboard. I use a sharpie to label the plastic lid. A paper towel and some alcohol will instantly remove the ink and the lid can be re-labeled as many times as needed.

* I consider the price of the coffee to be a fixed, necessary and reoccurring expense. The cans are therefore "free" in my little well caffeinated mind. :shock:

[jwber]

Coffee Cans - Free and Stack Good.

For the main calibers I have a lot of brass for (9, 40, 45, 223) they get their own cans in different stages (dirty, cleaned, resized(223) ).

The stuff I don't have much of I have a Misc Rifle and a Misc Pistol can. I just use cheap zip locks with the different calibers in each one.

[375supermag]

Hi...

I use Akro bins, plastic storage containers and Folgers coffee containers. Size of the container depends on how many thousands per batch per caliber.

I use pistol/revolver brass until I get splits...doesn't happen very often. Pretty new to reloading rifle...haven't had to scrap any of that yet. As my son rolls through the .303Brit and 7x57Mauser we will see how long those cases last. I don't even bother reloading 7.62x39, it is so cheap.

I expect to get quite a few reloadings out of .30/30, .30/06, .25/06 and, hopefully, 7mm Magnum. I have several hundred cases of each, once fired. And only one rifle in each caliber. More rifles and calibers are planned in the future. A .308 and .223 rifle in tactical mode are next on the agenda...my son's idea.

My life is apparently going to be consumed with case prep and reloading rifle cartridges for my son for the foreseeable future.

He doesn't know it yet, but since I am doing the reloading, he is going to be buying the primers, bullets and powder. I get to buy the die sets...most of them are already here.

My expenses for reloading handguns are quite enough...he can cover the rifle reloading costs.

[dilly]

375supermag

You are being more than reasonable. Case prep is time consuming!

[Dan Cash]

I have enough trouble keeping the stuff sorted by caliber; am indifferent to head stamp, etc. except for one. I have made a number of bags from the cut off legs of discard thrift store dennim trousers and a piece of nylon seat belt material for a handle; the bottom of the bag is simply sewn shut. A patch of white latex paint on the side of the bag makes a place to mark the contents in magic marker when the paint dries. I have one for dirty brass and one for clean in each caliber. The bags are then hung on pegs near the ceiling and out of the way.


Two exceptions exist in my program. .300 Savage must be separated as I make some from .308 brass. Hence, converted brass is kept in tow coffee cans, one for dirty and one for clean while the commercial brass is in the bag system. The other exception is my .45-70 black powder brass which is kept in 2 coffee cans; one for washed and the other for polished and processed.

Brass which must be trimmed is processed at the time of polishing and is ready for loading when placed in the clean storage bag. When I trim, all the brass in a lot is run over the trimmer where it gets trimmed if too long.

[John Allen]

I like what John is using too! I have something similar on my bench but the boxes hang and I don't feel like they can withstand a lot of weight. Do you find that the Uline bins hold up to a good amount of weight or that the structure feels solid?

I tape the front and back with duct tape and have had no problems. They have been going strong for 3 years now. As for the shelves I have them fully loaded and have had no problems at all.

[paul edward]

I use the square, clear plastic, cashew containers. Like to be able to see what is inside.

We live in a container rich environment. Lots of good storage options can be diverted from the trash and recycle bins. It is especially appreciated when the labels are easy to remove.