View Full Version : Sorting Brass - an easier way?
FISH4BUGS
08-08-2019, 08:27 AM
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
08-08-2019, 08:42 AM
Get those shell sorters https://media.mwstatic.com/product-images/src/Primary/847/847836.jpg?imwidth=680
jdfoxinc
08-08-2019, 09:02 AM
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
08-08-2019, 12:23 PM
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
08-08-2019, 12:35 PM
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
08-08-2019, 01:46 PM
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
08-08-2019, 02:24 PM
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!
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
08-08-2019, 02:39 PM
Get those shell sorters https://media.mwstatic.com/product-images/src/Primary/847/847836.jpg?imwidth=680
Where do these come from?
several outfits have the trays. here is Midwayusa
https://www.midwayusa.com/s?userSearchQuery=brass+sorter&userItemsPerPage=48
brass410
08-08-2019, 03:25 PM
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
08-08-2019, 07:58 PM
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
08-08-2019, 09:11 PM
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..
08-08-2019, 11:52 PM
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
08-09-2019, 10:01 AM
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!
I had grandkids who loved to help grandpa! Now they are all growed up and I am back to tedious.
FLINTNFIRE
08-09-2019, 11:19 AM
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
08-09-2019, 07:24 PM
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
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.