Sorting Brass - an easier way?

[FISH4BUGS]

I am a brass junkie. I pick up all my own plus anyone else that leaves theirs behind at the range.
I have two 5 gallon buckets of brass and I have started sorting them....nothing better to do these days......plenty of ammo loaded so don't need to do that. Plenty of processed brass ready to load so I don't have to do that. I suppose I could smelt or cast, but it is too hot here in the summer to do that comfortably.
I have to say that this is B-O-R-I-N-G!
Inspect one at a time....determine caliber (easy as long as 380 and 9mm can be easily determined by eye) - 380, 9mm, 40, 45, then sort military from commercial in 9mm.
I used to think trimming was the worst....until I got a Lyman powered trimmer. Now this......
There MUST be a better way......
Any thoughts?

[Sig556r]

Get those shell sorters https://media.mwstatic.com/product-images/src/Primary/847/847836.jpg?imwidth=680

[jdfoxinc]

I got the Franklin Armory media separator/brass sorter. You adjust the openings to drop the various sizes of brass. I found that some 9x19 bulge just enough to drop only when set for .40/10mm. Lots of .40 will nest within .45, 9mm within .40, .380 within 9mm. Plus .308 30-06 drop with .45, .223 drop with 9mm. So there is still a lot of hand sorting.

[LUBEDUDE]

I hand inspect each case as I sort to cull split, bulged, steel, aluminum cases. It takes longer than using a sorter, but then it saves problems at the press.

[Mytmousemalibu]

I use the Shell Sorter basket screens, including the .380 and .38 Super plates. They work pretty well and get through brass reasonably quick and im supporting a Kansas business! Im a comp shooter so I do a lot of brass collecting and sorting. I like to minimize the time spent sorting and these allow me to sit down once in a while and do a big lot of brass at once.

[gwpercle]

It may be boring .... but your eyeballs on every case is still the best way to sort them .
Way too many things going on with brass nowdays . Primer size , step inside 9mm ,
Berdan primed , steel that look like brass , dents , cracks bulges ...human eyes and fingers is still the best .
What you have better to do...tv ? Do a little each day and soon the bucket is empty !
Gary

[FISH4BUGS]

It may be boring .... but your eyeballs on every case is still the best way to sort them .
What you have better to do...tv ? Do a little each day and soon the bucket is empty !
Gary
Gary:
This may be the simple answer. Start with the shell sorter and go manual from there.
I don't own a TV. My son and I machine gunned the TV and finished it off with a 20 ga. 30 years ago and I never had one since then.
You would be surprised at how much free time people can have when TV doesn't get in the way.
A little each day....maybe a half hour or so.....that just might do it.
I was just hoping for an easier way, that's all.
p.s. we DID clean up the mess at the range. It was liberating to murder my TV!

[Idz]

The sorting trays mentioned work quite well and are worth it if you have a lot of brass. A bonus is the shaking of the trays clears out most of the dirt and pebbles. After sorting with the trays the brass is clean enough that I process it on a Lee pro-1000 press with its case collator. A few light sprays of furniture polish provides enough lube for the Lee carbide sizing and de-priming die. The Lee press makes it easy to feel excessive resistance if a berdan or plugged-up case gets into the die. Next step is a couple of light rinses and into my pin tumbler for nice shiny cases.

[FISH4BUGS]

Get those shell sorters https://media.mwstatic.com/product-images/src/Primary/847/847836.jpg?imwidth=680

Where do these come from?

[Idz]

several outfits have the trays. here is Midwayusa
https://www.midwayusa.com/s?userSearchQuery=brass+sorter&userItemsPerPage=48

[brass410]

You've got to train your range users how to combine their activities like our range has. LEO's shoot every tues all 9mm, Game wardens shoot on thurs 40cal, ERT/SWAT shoot wed 223 /12 gauge its easy to shovel up pre sorted brass. The only time its a mess is when non-members and members in our club shoot, you might get nothing or a total free for all selection. (We lease our range out to help with insurance and up keep)

[jsizemore]

I hand sort by manufacturer. Ain't got to do it all at once. I like the brass from the police qualifications. They'll buy a few cases of the same stuff from the same lot.

[FISH4BUGS]

several outfits have the trays. here is Midwayusa
https://www.midwayusa.com/s?userSearchQuery=brass+sorter&userItemsPerPage=48
Thank you!
After 2 nights of sorting (maybe a total of 1-1.5 hours) I came up with about 600 commercial 9mm, and a hundred or more of 357 SIG, 380, 38 special, ONE 357 mag, 9mm Military, 9mm Berdan primed, (now scrap), 40, and 45 acp.
I also broke down and ordered the Midway sorter trays.
That should lighten the load a bit.
2 5 gallon buckets to go! I certainly will not want for anything to do for a while.
Thanks to all for the info.
Donald
a/k/a fish4bugs

[JimB..]

One day I was gifted some range brass in 5 gal buckets...20 of them.

Took about a year to get it all sorted, deprimed, and tumbled.

I got so tired of 45acp that I would give folks a free bucket if they’d sort one bucket for me. Sorting 45 involves getting rid of brands that I don’t like and all SPP.

I’m drifting. I used the sorting trays as a first pass. They work great for most calibers, just don’t overload them and I did wear a dust mask and ear protection.

[lightman]

I sort by hand. Its slow, boring and monotonous. I save these projects for winter time after hunting season as something to do to avoid being bored. Do a little at a time and pretty soon you're done.

I just finished sorting through two 20mm ammo cans of 9mm's. Deprimed, tumbled them, sorted by head stamp and bagged in lots of 500. I could almost swear that those little buggers reproduce!

[KCSO]

I had grandkids who loved to help grandpa! Now they are all growed up and I am back to tedious.

[FLINTNFIRE]

I spent 2 days and not just a few hours a day sorting about 3 years worth of shooting and pickups and now I do not let it accumulate more then a few months before sorting and cleaning , and I do it all by hand one at a time , it is tedious but it is a good time to sort weed and cull out the different stuff , I do have kids and grand kids so I could get them to help , but I prefer to keep them away from some of the dust and dirt of fired brass , though when they go along shooting they like picking it up and seeing who finds the most , raising brass bandits with this batch of kids .

[nelsonted1]

I bought five gallons pails of brass during weekly pistol matches. Enough to almost pay my rent for a few months. I'd dump a pail full on a church table in my friend's horse barn and sort one caliber at a time. I had books on tape with me and my lawn chair to kick back on when my back spasms got so bad I was incapacitated. I was pretty bad then. During sorting I had a rock tumbler running all the time with water in it. At my apartment I sorted and then did initial brass washing in my dishwasher. Good therapy for a broke dick. Maybe not so good for me looking back at how bad I was back then.
Ted