How much brass in a gallon ziplock?

[UW Mitch]

I've been wondering this for a long time, but I'm just not patient enough to fill a bag and count it out. In principle I could count some and weigh it, and then weigh the full bag and figure it out from there. Or fill a bag, and keep reloading until it's empty and figure it out based on number of bullets or number of primers I've gone through...

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but this place it such a good resource, I figured I could just ask. Specifically 9mm, 38spl, 40S&W and 45acp.

Thanks in advance!

Mitch

Edited November 10, 2007 by UW Mitch

[AikiDale]

Someone is bound to come up with this so it might as well be me. In any given caliber, each gallon ziplock bag will hold approximately one gallon of brass.

[UW Mitch]

Someone is bound to come up with this so it might as well be me. In any given caliber, each gallon ziplock bag will hold approximately one gallon of brass.

Sweet!

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but I'm sure you all know I'm looking for the NUMBER of cases that will fit in a gallon bag for a given caliber.

~Mitch

[Rabe]

for what its worth, quart size holds 400 40 s&w or 500 9mm and still will close. gallon size get too heavy and tears if handled too much..

[AikiDale]

The quart bag also holds 250 .45 cases comfortably.

[sargenv]

It's actually a floating #. The best way to measure I've found is to do it by weight. I can fit up to about 650 pieces of 223 brass in a gallon ziploc. In a 5 gallon bucket, translates to 80 pounds of 9mm, or about 8000 pieces. I know 45 acp brass weighs about 13.5 pounds per 1000, 40 brass is about 11.5 pounds, and 9mm is 10 pounds.

I simply weigh one case or an average of 5 and the multiply by 1000 for my # of pounds.

[foxtrotuniformlima]

a 1 gallon bag of 40 will hold 1000 cases but is very hard to close unless it is one of those with the slide type closure.

[jmorris]

Case weight/# of cases per lb/poundsper 1000

9mm, 59.46gr/ea, 117.7cases/#, 8.5#/1000

38spl, 68.06gr/ea, 102.8cases/#, 9.7#/1000

40s&w, 70.1gr/ea, 99.9cases/#, 10#/1000

.357mag, 78.3gr/ea, 89.4cases/#, 11.2#/1000

.45acp, 89.58gr/ea, 78.1cases/#, 12.8#/1000

.223, 95.28gr/ea , 73.5cases/#, 13.6#/1000

.44mag, 114.38gr/ea, 61.2cases/#, 16.3#/1000

50bmg, 865.26gr/ea, 8.1cases/#, 123.5#/1000

All weights are uncleaned fired cases with the primer remaining.

Individual case weights were derived using an average of mixed brass weights (except 50bmg)

So, if you picked up 8lbs of 45 brass: 8# X 78.1cases/# = 625 cases+/-

If you use 1gal ziploc freezer bags to store your brass, each (full) bag contains:

9mm, 15.6#, 1836cases

40s&w, 12.2#, 1219cases

45acp, 11.4#, 890cases

223, 11#, 809cases

[UW Mitch]

Thanks all for the replies. I my postal scale that does 1/10 oz accuracy only does up to 5#. I'm so stupid that I didn't consider figuring out (for example) how much 250 pieces of each weighs and just weighing it out 250 at a time. I appreciate all your help!

~Mitch

[aedavis]

My weights for brass match almost exactly those of 'jmorris'. The only thing I can add is that 1000 38 Super cases weigh 9.30 lbs - this is with the primer.

I don't know how many fit in a gallon Zip Lock - sorry.

[Merlin Orr]

Gallon coffee can

9mm = 1300

.40 = 1000

.223 = 600 jiggled a while

9mm = 9000 per 5 gallon bucket

.40 = 7000 " "

.223 = 3600 " "

The 5 gallon bucket hold about 7 1 gallon coffee cans full. I guess because they fit in more efficiently due to the different radius of the bucket... The bucket being filled to about 1.5 " from the top. Probably actually more than 5 gallons as the buckets are generally a little taller than an actual 5 gallon capicity..?

[Cuz]

Gallon coffee can

9mm = 1300

.40 = 1000

.223 = 600 jiggled a while

What's a "Gallon coffee can"? I don't recall ever seeing one of them?

Do you mean a 1 lb can of ground coffee?

-Cuz.

[Merlin Orr]

Gallon coffee can

9mm = 1300

.40 = 1000

.223 = 600 jiggled a while

What's a "Gallon coffee can"? I don't recall ever seeing one of them?

Do you mean a 1 lb can of ground coffee?

-Cuz.

The 1# cans don't hold near that much. The big cans hold 34.5 oz of coffee or one gallon of water. I filled one up to make sure using my wife's measuring cups.

[Cuz]

The 1# cans don't hold near that much. The big cans hold 34.5 oz of coffee or one gallon of water. I filled one up to make sure using my wife's measuring cups.

Thanks Merlin. I think I have a few of those in my loading room. Big red plastic Folgers cans that appear to be about a gallon size. I'll have to check if they are around the 34.5 oz size. If not, I know we have that size can in the coffee mess at work. I have also bee too lazy to count it all up myself.

-Cuz.

[kevin c]

From personal experience, if you cram the maximum # of whatever type of case into a ZipLok bag, you can expect it to split open and dump that # of itty bitty pieces of shiny metal all over the floor/ benchtop/car trunk/ truck bedliner/whatever. Thicker freezer bags will do the same, and it's worse the bigger the bag used.

"Download" and be happy. That, or tape the seams and over the mouth of the bag, especially if you stack the bags for any reason.

KC

splng edt

Edited November 22, 2007 by kevin c