Sorting brass is boring!

[Jim]

On my way home from SC, I stopped in Columbia to shoot with my friends at the rifle club. The club prez gave me a 5 gallon bucket full of assorted range pick-up brass. Janet is not feeling well today, so i thought it might be best to hang close. I got out the bucket of brass and am trying to sort it all out. This is one of those jobs that seems to have no end. I guess I'll get it done eventually, but I had to take a short break.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Its boring, like a few other tasks, but its gotta be done. To add to the prob we then have to sub-sort by headstamp/manufacturer or in the case of milspec brass..by date as well. Its a necessary evil because unless the brass is grouped correctly there will be differences in performance on the target. Maybe small differences, but it also depends on what your criteria is/are and what you are satisfied with on the target. I keep a good sized magnifying glass handy as trying to focus and refocus on case after case is kind of hard on the eyes and when those get tired then "nothing works" Sometimes its just better to leave the box/can of brass in a corner of the bench and work on it a bit at a time until its finished. LLS

[Jim]

Oh, there ain't no way I'm gonna spend time doin' all that. It gets sorted by caliber and sold as is off the ground. That's as far as I'm goin' with it.

[Trey45]

The worst part of sorting brass for me is getting the 9mm brass unstuck out of the 40S&W brass, or getting the 40S&W brass unstuck from the 45acp brass, sometimes a little piece of grit or something gets in there and the brass sticks inside each other.

[Maximumbob54]

They have those sorting buckets that filter out 9mm, .40, and .45... That might help you some.

http://www.midwayusa.com/Product/847836/shell-sorter-brass-sorter-9mm-luger-40-smith-and-wesson-45-acp-3-bowl-set

[P.K.]

The worst part of sorting brass for me is getting the 9mm brass unstuck out of the 40S&W brass, or getting the 40S&W brass unstuck from the 45acp brass, sometimes a little piece of grit or something gets in there and the brass sticks inside each other.

Yup, the real bummer is the .380 that ends up in the .40, flush to the end. Have some neddle nose pliers handy. ;-)

[1Shirt]

There are many parts of reloading that are repetitious and boreing the same thing can be said about life in general. Goes with the terrority.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[birdadly]

I started reloading this past spring because of the repetitious and time-consuming things involved. I find them relaxing and it keeps me off of the computer and television :) -Brad

[Hip's Ax]

I save boring repetitive reloading tasks such as brass sorting for days when nothing else is going right. Strangely pleasing on those days to have something simple to do and also to see exactly what has been accomplished when its over.

[Sonnypie]

:goodpost:

I couldn't agree more, 1shirt.

Although I never was handed a 5 gallon bucket to sort. That could be a daunting task.
Better than not having any brass at all though.

Last range trip, I was alone on the High Power Range. Bob had gone down for a bathroom break, (or whiskey, or somethin..) and told me the range was all mine.
So I said, "Cease fire, Cease Fire, Open all actions. Remove all clips, or magazines. Step back from the benches."
And then I went forward and did the chicken thing. Picking up 45 brass. I think somebody had been playing with a Thompson.
I got a large amount of 45 ACP Winchester brass and boxes.
When Bob returned I hollered down to him, "Nobody here but us Chickens pecking the ground."
He went about raking up brass behind me as I picked up as much brass as I wanted. [smilie=w:

I sort after cleaning, as I rack brass for drying and reloading. I can better pick out any cracked or damaged when it is clean. :Bright idea:

[Mk42gunner]

The worst part of sorting brass for me is getting the 9mm brass unstuck out of the 40S&W brass, or getting the 40S&W brass unstuck from the 45acp brass, sometimes a little piece of grit or something gets in there and the brass sticks inside each other.


Yup, the real bummer is the .380 that ends up in the .40, flush to the end. Have some neddle nose pliers handy. ;-)

Sorry guys, I have a (theoretical) situation that would be worse than that-- A five gallon bucket full of 9mm, .380 and 9mm Makarov cases:bigsmyl2:. That would be the most tedius grouping of fairly common cases I can think of.

Robert

[GRUMPA]

When I moved to the mountains I brought up 13-5gal buckets of brass. NO JOKE that's what I had after 10yrs of picking up brass, but most was all ready sorted by caliber. With the long ars winters we have up here and not being a real TV lover I sorted them all by headstamp. I got so bored after awhile the TV was looking real good to me. I think off and on it took me a better part of 2 years to do during the winter.

[Jim]

Sorry guys, I have a (theoretical) situation that would be worse than that-- A five gallon bucket full of 9mm, .380 and 9mm Makarov cases:bigsmyl2:. That would be the most tedius grouping of fairly common cases I can think of. Robert

Anything smaller than a S&W .40 goes in the trash. I don't have the eyes or the patience to do that.

[P.K.]

Sorry guys, I have a (theoretical) situation that would be worse than that-- A five gallon bucket full of 9mm, .380 and 9mm Makarov cases:bigsmyl2:. That would be the most tedius grouping of fairly common cases I can think of.

Robert

I'm taking my ball and goin' home....That's just plain EVIL!:kidding:

[Mossy Nugget]

Sorry guys, I have a (theoretical) situation that would be worse than that-- A five gallon bucket full of 9mm, .380 and 9mm Makarov cases:bigsmyl2:. That would be the most tedius grouping of fairly common cases I can think of.

Robert

I already sort/load/shoot the two nines! (There must be a .380 in my future!)[smilie=l:


Anything smaller than a S&W .40 goes in the trash. I don't have the eyes or the patience to do that.

Mail 'em to me!:Bright idea: probably some Macks and Lugers in there!

[Charlie Two Tracks]

Trimming brass....................... it develops patience and patience is a virtue................ I still don't like it......... just because.

[Jailer]

I'm with Charlie on this one. I'll sort brass any day rather than spend the time trimming it.

My last batch was about 4K of 223 on the RCBS trim pro. Took about 2 weeks of a few hours a day and a few all day Saturdays to get em all done. And I've still got another 5 gallon bucket to go.

[fatelk]

A five gallon bucket full of 9mm, .380 and 9mm Makarov cases. That would be the most tedius grouping of fairly common cases I can think of.
I've never had a five gallon bucket full, but I do load, shoot, and sort all three. It's a pain, but not as bad as you might think. I just set them all up on the counter and sort them by height. It goes pretty quick.

[Blacksmith]

For me it's easier if I break it down into smaller portions. Instead of working on the 5 gal bucket I'll do a coffee can or peanut butter jar a day. It is not as discouraging and eventually it's done.

Blacksmith

[MT Gianni]

In the fall of 73 I was going to school to be a diesel mechanic. The instructor that quarter poured a 5 gallon bucket of bolts onto your bench and you could not do any projects unti it was all sorted and grouped by fine, coarse and metric threads and per size. It took some doing but I have since been able to look at a small to mid size group of things and quickly see what doesn't belong Good find on the brass Jim.

[Lizard333]

I take all my pistol brass after I tumble it I lay it all out on the table and sort by height. It helps to sort the 380 out of the 9mm, the 38 from the 357, and the 10mm from the 40. Nothing worse than wrecking a perfectly good case as you crunch it in your dies. Almost hurts.

[Duckiller]

The three colored sifters that sorts out .45, .40 and 9mm helps a lot. somehow ,223 and .308 brass gets sorted out also. One person can do small quantities but Jim's 5 gal bucket needs at least two people, maybe 3. I have 3/4 of a 5 gal bucket to sort and I am not going to try until I get both sons home and willing to help. They shot a lot of it they can help sort. The sifters work but a large quantity can be overwhelming when working by yourself. Also you are going to still have to do some hand sorting of large hand gun and rifle brass. Still better than doing it all by hand.

[3006guns]

I don't consider sorting brass all that much of a chore. You see, I consider brass a form of wealth.......the more nicely sorted boxes I have, the wealthier I feel! There it sits, awaiting my next reloading whim...

Now, if you had to go out and BUY all that brass............get my point?:bigsmyl2:

It's all in the attitude.

[geargnasher]

I don't consider sorting brass all that much of a chore. You see, I consider brass a form of wealth.......the more nicely sorted boxes I have, the wealthier I feel! There it sits, awaiting my next reloading whim...

Now, if you had to go out and BUY all that brass............get my point?:bigsmyl2:

It's all in the attitude.

Exactly. When I score a bucket of brass it's pure joy sorting it all by headstamp/caliber/etc., like it was a bucket full of money.

Once I spent two weeks of evenings after work listening to Euro-trash techno on the radio and working my way through three five-gallon buckets 2/3 full of mostly .45 ACP brass I'd picked up off the ground after a local machine gun shoot. Ended up with over 20 headstamps not counting all the production years of the WCC stuff.

Stupid thing is, every time I go to a range and there's half a box of somewhat fresh .45 ACP brass on the ground I grab it up, even though I keep swearing to myself that I have so much that another handfull isn't worth stooping to pick up.

Trimming and chamfering, however, NOT fun, and very hard on the already tired and hurting hands.

Gear

[3006guns]

Trimming and chamfering, however, NOT fun, and very hard on the already tired and hurting hands.

Gear[/QUOTE]

Ah, not to worry! Be sure to read that threat in the Reloading Tools section regarding the new Lee trimmer. It's going to be available any day now....I think...maybe...I hope.

Seriously, when it comes on the market it should be a boon to "top brass" types like ourselves (that are too cheap to buy a power trimmer).

[Brasso]

It may sound wierd, but I enjoy all labors of handloading. Sorting brass is one of them.

Sam

[DLCTEX]

I need a sorting tray to separate 4064 powder from 3031.

[deltaenterprizes]

My last batch was about 4K of 223 on the RCBS trim pro. Took about 2 weeks of a few hours a day and a few all day Saturdays to get em all done. And I've still got another 5 gallon bucket to go.

That is why Dillon made his trimmer!

[Olevern]

I need a sorting tray to separate 4064 powder from 3031.

good luck with that! :?

[Olevern]

Trimming and chamfering, however, NOT fun, and very hard on the already tired and hurting hands.

Gear

Ah, not to worry! Be sure to read that threat in the Reloading Tools section regarding the new Lee trimmer. It's going to be available any day now....I think...maybe...I hope.

Seriously, when it comes on the market it should be a boon to "top brass" types like ourselves (that are too cheap to buy a power trimmer).[/QUOTE]

Try an electric RCBS trimmer, your arthritus will thank you.

[mold maker]

To all those complaining about the time and labor of sorting brass. If it's too much bother, leave it for somebody else, that has more time and patients, than money.
If it weren't for range pickup, I'd have no brass. I don't care if it's a hand full, or a tub full.
After picking up other folks leavings, for my whole shooting life, I have buckets full of sorted, cleaned, ready to load, brass for everything I use. The rest was given to newer loaders who needed it. Nothing gets scrapped unless damaged.
The same goes for lead. Even though I have much more than a lifetime supply, I don't pass up the opportunity to add to it. It's all in shiny ingots, in milk crates, waiting to be cast. I've been known to send a FR box full free, to needy newcomers to the hobby.
It's time we all learn, to conserve and protect, the resources we have to have, to further this hobby/obsession.

[thegreatdane]

I don't consider sorting brass all that much of a chore. You see, I consider brass a form of wealth.......the more nicely sorted boxes I have, the wealthier I feel! There it sits, awaiting my next reloading whim...

Now, if you had to go out and BUY all that brass............get my point?:bigsmyl2:

It's all in the attitude.

Yep. I use the sifter thingies from midway that was linked earlier. It's no chore except for the 40/10/38/357 that end up in the blue sifter. That one requires manual sorting.

[Harter66]

I don't mind the sorting so much. Our range sees all sorts of traffic. I've picked up pistol brass from 5.7 through 50AE and rifle cases from 17the Rem through 20mm. No I have no clue why there was a 20mm case there.

If I have a peeve about it there have been a couple of times I thought "SCORE" and got home to find a gob of stuf to send away. Like 30 pieces of 44 when I shoot a 45 or the time I scooped up all that 7.62x39 to find out it was 6.8. The most annoying to me is those 40/10mm cases stuck in the bottom of the Colts.

I don't even toss the damaged stuff, 06' to x57 down to 308,to Savage,to 45WM,ACP,GAP. I make 30a and 32the rem out of 30-30 then if I had 1 to 40s. 30-40s and 303 Brits get to be 460/410 cases then Colts.

I have a slew of cases on a shelf just to show new folks and even veterans this or that and for comparison.

Sorting is probably more fun a couple 100@ a time w/suprize treasures than 5the gallons of ACPs and cousins.

[ErikO]

I've got a large USPS box of 1x fired brass that was sorted, then I heard from a guy in WV about trading brass for store credit by weight...

I would ahve been better off leaving the stuff sorted and sold...now I have to decide if I want to sort it again or what.

35-ish punds of brass, I might just send him the spent Boxer primers instead. ;)

[Typecaster]

I've never minded sorting brass, even trimming it. But for the last 10 years or so I've turned over some of those repetitive chores to my dad (now 100-1/2!!!!!). He's processed buckets of .308, '06, 5.56, and .45 ACP—deprime, size, sort by headstamp, swage primer pockets, count, bag. It gave him something to do and he felt helpful…even if I don't have a .45 ACP yet. He says it reminded him of pulling '06 military bullets in his shop after WWII and commercial brass wasn't readily available.

He's been heading downhill quickly over the last 6 months, so I know I'll soon be back to doing it myself. I look at those cat litter buckets of brass and smile to myself, not because I have the supply of cases, but because they were a way we could connect. It's a pretty safe bet that they will become even more valuable to me in the future.

Richard

[Ickisrulz]

I don't consider sorting brass all that much of a chore. You see, I consider brass a form of wealth.......the more nicely sorted boxes I have, the wealthier I feel! There it sits, awaiting my next reloading whim...

Now, if you had to go out and BUY all that brass............get my point?:bigsmyl2:

It's all in the attitude.

Sometimes when I go to the range I have a hard time shooting because I'm so excited about the brass laying on the ground waiting for me to pick up.

[Harter66]

Typecaster,

I share that thought. While its split cane fly rods and not brass it is priceless to "shake the hands of the fathers" ,but I don't guess I had to tell you that did I......

[ErikO]

Sometimes when I go to the range I have a hard time shooting because I'm so excited about the brass laying on the ground waiting for me to pick up.

:) I can relate. My wife is starting to almost think that a 'brass hound' hat may be ok for me to get. I will continue to wear her down.

[Blacksmith]

DLCTEX

I need a sorting tray to separate 4064 powder from 3031.

Easy just sort it by color:bigsmyl2:

Blacksmith

[a.squibload]

Anything smaller than a S&W .40 goes in the trash. I don't have the eyes or the patience to do that.

Jim, don't throw those away, I'm sure you could trade or sell 'em here
(like, to ME!).
I don't care if they're mixed.
Wife got a 380, and I can use 9mm to swage, or for my friend with a S&W 9.

[a.squibload]

I read here that a-merc brass is worthless, can't remember what cartridge they were talking about.
Does that apply to .380 also?
I was sorting and priming, only found one of them.

Also found SAKO, MFS, S&B, Starline, 1x-something, Top Brass, PMC, CBC, PPU, GFL,
Fiocchi, a few boxer primed, etc., along with WIN, Winchester, WW, Federal, R-P,...
All these were in one small batch of brass.

[badbob454]

i have a big toolbox tray 3 ft by 3 ft with individual trays and a large area in the center dump the brass there sorting rifle and handgun separately starting with 454 casull ,45 colt, 44 mag and 44 spec 357 and 38 spec , then 45 auto and other autos i dont shoot , then 9 mm , 9mak and finally 7.62x25 in each individual tray , then i add these respectively in large folgers containers , and re sort to my liking later , i usually put on an old john wayne movie so its not so tedious

[badbob454]

I need a sorting tray to separate 4064 powder from 3031.

just lite it and put it out before the slower powder burns he he :groner:

[seetrout]

I'm thinking not nearly as boring as sorting wheel weights!

About time I made the rounds of the tire shops on my list again.

[mrbillbus]

So, I was at the range the other day to pickup some preowned lead. There was brass all over which surprised me because this place is usually pretty well picked over. So grabbed all that I saw. Not a bucket full but enough to make a pretty tinkling noise.

Then I looked in the trash can! Another pile of .308 and.223 cases.

Was I wrong to dump out the trash and take that brass? I put all the other junk back.[smilie=1:

[seetrout]

Then I looked in the trash can! Another pile of .308 and.223 cases.

Was I wrong to dump out the trash and take that brass? I put all the other junk back.[smilie=1:

I say you did a good deed.

You saved a precious resource for recycling that insensitive to the environment person was going to just send to the landfill.

You put all the trash back in the can and you did not leave a mess.

You were justly rewarded with some nice brass for your good deed. Bravo!

[fatelk]

I read here that a-merc brass is worthless, can't remember what cartridge they were talking about.
Does that apply to .380 also?
For me anything with a-merc on it goes directly into the scrap pile, all calibers. Some of it might be OK, and I used to try loading it but had so many problems with it that I don't bother any more.

[Dale in Louisiana]

On my way home from SC, I stopped in Columbia to shoot with my friends at the rifle club. The club prez gave me a 5 gallon bucket full of assorted range pick-up brass. Janet is not feeling well today, so i thought it might be best to hang close. I got out the bucket of brass and am trying to sort it all out. This is one of those jobs that seems to have no end. I guess I'll get it done eventually, but I had to take a short break.

don't sort it. If you have good press and plenty of leverage, you'll get all sorts of interesting little brass statuary for your efforts. And imagine the fun if you try to fire a .380 in your 9mm.

don't laugh. I know people who 'reload' like this.

dale in Louisiana

[trooperdan]

A-merc is the devil's leavings! If I miss one in sorting I can always detect it when it is being primed! It is pure junk!

[lbaize3]

My wife's step-son (Gary) is a fine young man. Every day, at lunch, he gets out of the office and goes to the nearby gun range and picks up brass. Today he brought me four big coffee cans full of brass and a big bag of boxed 38 spl brass that he found at the range. The wife and I spent most of the afternoon sorting and organizing the brass. Got a big bunch of 40 s&w, 45acp, 223, 9mm, 30 carbine, 308, 30-06, 44 mag, 45 colt, 38 spl, 357mag, 380 and sundry other hulls. Needless to say I was tickled pink and was glad to sort through my treasures....

[chambers]

Best way to sort brass in large volume is just dump it out and start looking for things that are the same size, done many 5 gallon buckets and just keep sorting, done this with pipe fittings/bolts/ etc, just time consuming and a pain in the --s! Best to to when you are in the mood, sorting of like cleaning( not often).

[a.squibload]

Thanks, when I find these I'll make jackets out of 'em.

[SSGOldfart]

I once got a 55gal drum of brass,still using it

[KCSO]

I use to have that problem now I get my grandkids together and we have contests to see who can find the most... 38's, 45's ect. The winner gets a treat and everyone wins something, especially Grandpa!

[Lizard333]

Picking brass is reason I have kids. I used to pick brass for my dad and uncle, now my kids pick up brass for me. It's a natural cycle.