A Rude Awakening in My Range House

[BrokenolMarine]

When we moved to Oklahoma from VA, we hired a group of professionals to load the trucks as there were a number of items we knew we couldn't physically load. Heavy antiques, the gun safe, etc. When the looked at my VA range house they asked if all "the plastic buckets" went? I told them they all go, they are filled with brass for reloading.

When we unloaded the trucks, the buckets got stored in one area or another until they delivered the 10x10 building that would become the range house. I eventually moved the buckets of bulk brass to the range house along with the target frames, reactive steel, and the various targets and repair centers.

Miss T decided she was going to use buckets for nest boxes in the coop, so I told her I would buy Home Depot buckets and lids for the range house, and give her the old ones for the coop if that worked for her. the consistent size would make stacking/storage of the bulk brass easier. She was good with it.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the loaders had consolidated buckets of brass to save space. It had been sorted by caliber. There are full five gallon buckets of 38, 40 and 45, but also three mixed buckets of 38, 9mm, 40, 45, and some 223. I guess the Dillon sorting trays will get a workout in the cool mornings over the next week or so.

[Rifletom]

Opps! Apperantly they weren't handloaders. At least you still have them.

[The Wiz]

ouch!

[Cofisher]

Sounds like it’s time for a science project. Or, call McGyver. Anybody got ideas? My brother worked with industrial outfits that sorted items with compressed air blasts.

[fortyshooter]

and you know how the smaller brass likes to hide inside those big 45 cases! Wow...you have some sorting to do on a rainy or cold winter day.

[BrokenolMarine]

I made sure the buckets got loaded, but didn't realize they had dumped a bunch of them together. Three five gallon buckets mixed brass. The dillon sorting trays are very effective.

[Headhog]

Aaarg. I don't have a good suggestion to offer, hope you come up with a reasonable solution. I hate sorting brass.

[BrokenolMarine]

Aaarg. I don't have a good suggestion to offer, hope you come up with a reasonable solution. I hate sorting brass.

I break the job up into manageable shifts, do it when I'm bored. I already have plenty of sorted, cleaned, brass. This is the bulk stuff collected over years of teaching.

I gave away 15 gallons of forty, twenty of forty five, and thirty of thirty eight when we began to declutter. I think there were five gallons of two twenty three. (I don't load that anyway.) That was ten years of shooting ppc. The folks I gave the brass to were just starting and needed it.

[cooperhawk]

I just get a few empty containers and set down if front of the TV in the evening, and before too many
Martinis, sort it out. Doesn't take too long.

[BrokenolMarine]

I just get a few empty containers and set down if front of the TV in the evening, and before too many
Martinis, sort it out. Doesn't take too long.

I had mine sorted...
I'll get them back that way.
I bought one of those rollers to pick up brass from dillon, works well.
Would collect brass after each range session and toss it in the appropriate five gallon bucket. Miss Tina usually walked the firing lines while walking the dogs and picked up what I missed and left it on the deck of the range house. I'd sort that, toss it in the buckets. We kept up pretty well.
Pics later, starting on the sorting today to pass the time.

[BrokenolMarine]

I went down to the range house on the Ranger and hauled up the consolidated buckets and a small work table and chair to the garage. I originally intended to work on the brass at the range house... but this is Oklahoma and there is no power at the range house, yet. I have a fan in the garage. I don't mind sweating a little, but heat exhaustion is a little much to ask to sort brass.

I got all set up, and sat down to sort. I can tell you that the Dillon Sorting Trays worked as well as I remembered. The top Yellow tray catches my 45 brass. The second Blue tray catches the 40 and 38 brass, and the Black bottom tray traps the 223 and 9mm. The key to success here is to do the sorting in smaller batches so that you can "pan" or shake the brass. Overloading the trays don't let them do their job. You actually end up taking MORE time because you are hand sorting that brass that didn't fall thru because YOU overloaded the trays.

setup comp.jpg (144.84 KiB) Viewed 1005 times

In the above pic, you can see I have the three trays stacked in the proper order sitting in a bucket. The bucket catches the debris from the brass, as well as any stray 22 brass that might have gotten tossed in with the other brass. It also gives you a convenient working surface. I pour enough brass in to cover the bottom of the yellow tray, and a tad more... NO more than that. Then give it a shake. I shake until I can't see odd brass in the top tray. I pull the yellow tray and dump it on the table and inspect the brass. (Just me, you could dump it if you like.) I then toss that 45 brass in IT"S container.

I give the blue tray a few hard shakes, panning to make sure the 9mm and 223 falls thru. Then I dump that on the table and sort out everything not 40 caliber.

blue tray comp.jpg (167.48 KiB) Viewed 1005 times

When picking through, pull the 38 and the stuck cases of 9mm. When you are down to just 40, scan one more time looking for oddball cases, just in case. (Pun Intended.)

to just 40 comp.jpg (148.61 KiB) Viewed 1005 times

You usually find a couple.

odd balls comp.jpg (103.2 KiB) Viewed 1005 times

In the first bucket, it was mostly 40 caliber and just a few 45s and 38s, with a rare 223. I knocked that half size bucket out pretty quickly. I opened the next bucket and got started. Imagine my surprise, (NOT) when it was a different eclectic mix. This bucket leaned heavy on 45 and 38 and had very little 40. So I pulled the 40 and left the 38 for last. Whatever works. I stopped after the second bucket, since I had been using both hands, working that thumb that will need PT to get it's range of motion and strength back... just to pick up cases. NO lifting.

I can feel it now, but you have to work them or they stiffen up. Injuries, regardless.

[cooperhawk]

Well, there you go. Nicely done.

[BrokenolMarine]

I WANT to go back out and sort more brass, but my left hand aches, and I don't want to aggravate it any more. A little at a time, is probably fine, but I probably shouldn't push it. Doc takes the stitches out Wednesday. Don't want her yelling at me. Miss T already does that.

[runnin n gunnin]

Purely as a selfless act to help a brother out, I would be willing to step up and take all that brass off your hands so you don't have to deal with it !

However, if you are going to keep it all, my solution is . . . . . . put the grand kids to work sorting, my grandson loves it !

[BrokenolMarine]

My granddaughter only pushes buttons on video games and her thingee that plays music. Oh, and the microwave... Let's not forget that. The rest of them live out of state and are equally lazy. They do like presents though.

Meh, I don't mind the sorting, when you are gimpy and retired, there are only so many things you can do. I make it my policy not to look back and cry about the things I CAN'T do... I just look forward to all the things I still can do.

I'll get motivated one day, and start running the tumbler again. I'll eventually have to order media.

[BrokenolMarine]

Back out today for a couple more hours of sorting. Got another bucket done. It was almost all 38 and 40... I got that routine down. About a bucket and a half left to sort. Then this bulk extra brass goes back to the range house for storage.

[BrokenolMarine]

Got back out to finish the last of it after dinner. I'll run it down to the range house tomorrow. Went much faster than expected once I slipped into the old rhythms.