Found a Shortcut for .380 & 9mm Brass

Hondo Kid · Jun 21, 2021

I have only been reloading for about 6 months now and reload mostly .380 and 9mm. Sorting the brass has taken a little time until the "light bulb" came on this afternoon. I reload on a single stage Lee press and usually de-prime my brass all at the same time. After this weekend at the range with my daughter, we went through about 250 mixed rounds of .380 and 9mm. For some reason, I started to de-prime the .380 first and found, imagine that, the 9mm won't fit into the shell holder for the .380. Threw the 9mm in a separate bucket and de-primed the .380 and all was sorted out. I'm sure you 'ole timers have shortcuts as well but just thought I'd throw that out there for the newbies like me.

bullseye308 · Jun 21, 2021

When I’m sorting it after the range, I just stand them up on a table and look across the tops. That way I can look inside the cases and check the flash holes and make sure there is no debris in there. The short ones go into a bin till it’s full then I sell them. I don’t shoot 380, but I pick up every piece of brass that I find every chance I get. What I don’t use, I sell or trade to get what I need. Keeps the cost down.

FROGO207 · Jun 21, 2021

Hondo Kid said:
I have only been reloading for about 6 months now and reload mostly .380 and 9mm. Sorting the brass has taken a little time until the "light bulb" came on this afternoon. I reload on a single stage Lee press and usually de-prime my brass all at the same time. After this weekend at the range with my daughter, we went through about 250 mixed rounds of .380 and 9mm. For some reason, I started to de-prime the .380 first and found, imagine that, the 9mm won't fit into the shell holder for the .380. Threw the 9mm in a separate bucket and de-primed the .380 and all was sorted out. I'm sure you 'ole timers have shortcuts as well but just thought I'd throw that out there for the newbies like me.

I found if you do this in the reverse order, that is, you size the 9MM and if you get a 380 it feels like there is nothing in the die until you hit the primer. Then go back and size the 380. Been doing it this way for many years. I generally like it when you have that " hey that'll work well" moment for sure.

MFInc · Jun 22, 2021

FROGO207 said:
I found if you do this in the reverse order, that is, you size the 9MM and if you get a 380 it feels like there is nothing in the die until you hit the primer. Then go back and size the 380. Been doing it this way for many years. I generally like it when you have that " hey that'll work well" moment for sure.

I had some 380 get mixed in with my 9mm brass. It was the reason you stated I caught most most of them as there was no "feel" to it. One got by me though, but I caught it in the seating process.

Walkalong · Jun 22, 2021

FROGO207 said:
I found if you do this in the reverse order, that is, you size the 9MM and if you get a 380 it feels like there is nothing in the die until you hit the primer. Then go back and size the 380. Been doing it this way for many years. I generally like it when you have that " hey that'll work well" moment for sure.

Which is how I find any that miss the eye test when sorting, or I don't notice when I pick it up to size (Not many), but I tend to not to shoot .380 & 9MM together, just to avoid sorting them.

jdgreen · Jun 24, 2021

I stand them up and look at the height. In my early days of reloading I trimmed 9x19 into 9x18 by the hundreds (maybe thousands), so don't rely solely on the headstamp. Sort by height FIRST. You will be able to see the difference in 9x19, 9x18, and 9x17.

Skeptic13 · Jun 24, 2021

It's always nice to have one of those moments when the light bulb comes on or at least flickers.

Found a Shortcut for .380 & 9mm Brass

Hondo Kid

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bullseye308

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FROGO207

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MFInc

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Walkalong

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jdgreen

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Skeptic13

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