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What are you using for brass organizing?

Iamero

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  • Feb 14, 2017
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    1,451
    Michigan
    My brass has officially overwhelmed me. What sort of racks, bins, or containers are you using to keep your brass organized?

    I’m reloading about 10 different cartridges, and looking to keep it in fired/dirty, cleaned (I tumble my brass briefly before shoving it up my sizing die), and prepped.

    Just looking for some pictures and ideas so I can get my reloading room a little more organized.

    Below is my setup so far. To the right out of the picture is my brass trimmer and coax press. Behind me is my powder/bulletcabinet and space for shelves where I would put my brass, tumbler, media, etc.

    E005D1AB-5ADF-4780-ACAF-0D32537F2EAF.jpeg
     
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    I bought a bunch of the plastic shoe boxes and use a label maker to label all the boxes. For some of the brass that I don’t have really large quantity’s of I put a divider in the middle and put two types of brass in the box. One of the boxes will hold about 1000 pieces of 5.56 brass or 600 pieces of 6.5 Creedmoor or 308. You can get the boxes from Walmart or Home Depot for about $1 ea in the storage section. I’m not at home now but I can post some pictures of how I have mine set up when I get back.
     
    After taking a better look at the photo you have there your set up is very similar to what I used to have. Yours is a lot cleaner than mine was though. I had to do something to clean the area up and make a better use of my space. If you go check out some thrift stores you should be able to find some drawers that will fit under your bench. I took an old desk and took the banks of drawers on either side and used those. They worked out perfect. I was able to fit all my bullets, primers and priming tools in the shallower drawers. I put my powders, dies and boxes in the other drawers so I could see all the labels. If you did that it would free that shelf up for your boxed brass. Once again, I’m not home but I will send you some photos when I get back. My son went crazy with the label maker so there is never any question where something is. I just use a rolling shop stool to load from so I don’t worry about putting it under my bench. I would think you could get plenty of storage under there and still have room to slide in your chair. Or of course you can always find pneumatic shop stools fairly cheap so you can easily adjust it to the proper working height for what you are doing at the time.
     
    We too are using the "shoebox sized" clear plastic boxes with colored lids. My Lady gets the green-lid ones, and I get the blue-lid ones. Each box is clear, and actually slightly larger than the average 'shoebox'. But it does WELL for holding brass. Stacks and stacks of them are throughout "the room" also holding other important things.

    I'm actually wanting to find something similar, but considerably smaller, for holding bullets. Seeing as there are already so many different caliber's to choose from, and with most having a number of different bullets to choose from.... let's just say that "somebody's" OCD wants to have all that organized too.

    Eleventy different callibers with eleventy different makers of eleventy different styles of eleventy different weights can drive a person NUTS in the due process of "cleaning" or "organizing". I'm just saying.
     
    We too are using the "shoebox sized" clear plastic boxes with colored lids. My Lady gets the green-lid ones, and I get the blue-lid ones. Each box is clear, and actually slightly larger than the average 'shoebox'. But it does WELL for holding brass. Stacks and stacks of them are throughout "the room" also holding other important things.

    I'm actually wanting to find something similar, but considerably smaller, for holding bullets. Seeing as there are already so many different caliber's to choose from, and with most having a number of different bullets to choose from.... let's just say that "somebody's" OCD wants to have all that organized too.

    Eleventy different callibers with eleventy different makers of eleventy different styles of eleventy different weights can drive a person NUTS in the due process of "cleaning" or "organizing". I'm just saying.


    Go on Amazon and search for clear plastic jars. I order my bullets in bulk and they usually just come in bags. I started using the jars and once again the label maker to store and keep track of all of them. They stack great, seal really well so the bullets will not oxidize and you can see what’s in them. I mainly use 8 oz jars but you can get about any size you want.
     
    Last edited:
    Go on craigslist and buy or get for free, some upper kitchen cabinets.

    Slap some sheetrock on your ceiling, add proper lighting and install the cabinets.

    20170127_103954.jpg


    I've added two more lowers since this photo was taken and also doors to the die cabinet.
    Now I need to paint them to match.
    So far, including the one new cabinet, I've got about $90 tied up in them.

    I did also add three can lights above the bench. In hindsight, I should have installed five.
     
    I use ice cream buckets I have saved. One for fired and one for ready to load, for each lot. It helped me also to start keeping track of brass in larger lots rather in 50-100 round MTM case lots. Now for 223 I have several different lots of brass with 1k+ a piece that I fill ammo boxes out of. Rather than dozens of ammo boxes each being treated separately. I do the same for larger calibers also, but the amount of brass I keep for them is smaller. I only have a couple hundred pieces of 300WM and 50 pieces of .280, so i just keep the fired brass in the ammo box. My .308 I still do this way too, because I haven't worn out all my old brass from different lots, and different numbers of firings yet. Its in a bunch of 50 and 100 round MTM boxes. PIA to keep track of it all. IMO
     
    MTM cartridge boxes keep the cases together as a family and separated by make, model and number of loadings. I buy the 50rd boxes for most of the rifle stuff and that way I can keep track of batches. With the tags and cards supplied with the boxes I know how many times they've been fired, what the loads are/were and when annealing was done or due. For the machineguns the cases get tossed in 5 gal buckets to await processing. I don't keep track of them as well as for target stuff.

    Frank
     
    I use 3lb 3oz plastic Folgers coffee containers from Costco. They stack stable 3 high and hold reasonable quantities.
    I know, kind of exotic...… $9.99 each including coffee. :sneaky:
     
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    I have a bunch of these in varying sizes.

    They are perfect for brass! Also bullets.

    And finished rounds until you transfer into ammo cans.

    07F87643-F90A-4EB4-8A1C-EFEE55D912EC.jpeg


    All over eBay, but shop around as price and shipping varies wildly!!! I think I spent 300 on enough to fill up a 4x8 shelf I built for them. Cheers, Sirhr
     
    • Like
    Reactions: Iamero
    This is the empty and clean waiting to be loaded cabinet.

    Let's just say it's got a lot more in it right now than when this pic was taken.

    20180125_152142.jpg


    I'm really not sure if I could get more in it.
    I also have about 5 gallons of empty 223 that won't fit in it, and a bunch of 308.

    I also have a larger Hon cabinet than this one that's mostly full of loaded stuff.

    20180125_152238.jpg


    Isn't that a sorry state of loaded ammo?
    It's nearly full now also.

    I have a lot more 22LR now too but I need more. It doesn't take up much room and in the big scheme of things it's cheap.
     
    I have a bunch of these in varying sizes.

    They are perfect for brass! Also bullets.

    And finished rounds until you transfer into ammo cans.

    View attachment 7119816

    All over eBay, but shop around as price and shipping varies wildly!!! I think I spent 300 on enough to fill up a 4x8 shelf I built for them. Cheers, Sirhr

    I had to quit using open bins after moving down here.
    It's just corrosion waiting to happen.
    :(
     
    Like @VSP968 I'm a fan of gallon Ziploc bags as of now because I'm out of 50 cal ammo cans for my bulk brass. My fancy ADG 7mm RemMag brass which came in their own containers. Once the rounds are loaded, they go into their appropriate ammo can. A 50 cal ammo can full of 9mm is H E A V Y. LOL
     
    Yea I wish I had that luxury but I’m happy if I can keep my room at 50% during the summer in Michigan. That’s kind of what I was originally going to setup.
     
    My solution to this dilemma of the ever increasing brass pile......


    1565121279013.png
     
    Last edited:
    My brass has officially overwhelmed me. What sort of racks, bins, or containers are you using to keep your brass organized?

    I’m reloading about 10 different cartridges, and looking to keep it in fired/dirty, cleaned (I tumble my brass briefly before shoving it up my sizing die), and prepped.

    Just looking for some pictures and ideas so I can get my reloading room a little more organized.

    Below is my setup so far. To the right out of the picture is my brass trimmer and coax press. Behind me is my powder/bulletcabinet and space for shelves where I would put my brass, tumbler, media, etc.

    View attachment 7119209
    I use $2 pickle buckets from firehouse subs.
     
    Long term 5.56 brass storage is by 500 plus (Sierra packs about 505 bullets in a box of 500) in a gallon ziplock bag, 6 bags in a kitty litter bucket. Short term is clear shoe boxes. Recently I started using plastic coffee cans, they are free and I get one or two a week at work. The Coffee Mate Creamer jug with the twist top holds 500 .308 cases. You can put bullets in them and still pick them up.

    PS:. DO NOT put 1000 230 grain bullets in a Tupperware bread loaf keeper. They are too flexible.
     
    I use Folgers coffee cans, the open bins with the rack system and the clear shoe totes and Ammo Cans. im fixing to buy a shop and move all my reloading gear to it. It will be all shoe box totes after the move. They stack and store very well.