Starline Brass: Process to Perfection | Starline Brass "The Brass Facts" Episode 1

In the first episode of The Brass Facts, Starline process manager Hunter Pilant provides a behind the scenes tour of the Starline Brass manufacturing facility in Sedalia, Missouri. Learn what goes into the manufacture of the world's finest handgun ammunition brass.

[@hughwhitledge8032]

Thank you, Starline, for opening up the plant for a videotaped tour. I was impressed by the number of manual inspection steps you include.

[@Robert82]

One of my favorite brass for the money.

[@joshuaAgross]

You know I've been waiting, patiently waiting for almost a year for the. 308 match grade brass difference is the primer pocket size... I'm waiting patiently and when I do get it I'm loading my Springfield Armory M1A/M14 with 168gr, 175gr, and 178gr match grade bullets. And O-yeah I'm saving my bench rest primers and my match grade primers just for these rounds. When I'm finished with building these match grade rounds I'm going too a Mile range and going to hit every increment up to the mile range!!! That's one on my bucket list, when I was in the US Army the range at my post didn't go that far... "THAT'S A ITCH I WANT TO SCRATCH" LOVE THE CONSTITUTION, & 2ND AMENDMENT!!!!!! Now Starline brass needs to fulfill my order, Patiently Waiting, Gross

[@SuperRamcharger]

Outstanding! I've been using your handgun brass for years and in my humble opinion, it's the best of the best in regards to concentricity, length, primer pocket size and what seems to be the perfect hardness... Not too hard, not too soft for repeated handloads without case mouth splitting... Especially with hot loads for my Ruger 44 mags and 45 Colts.... and I crimp them hard to prevent bullet creep. A close second is Federal and Sig Sauer. Thank you for making a quality product.

[@justinkipp6830]

This stuff takes one heck of a beating in my 500 and is still working great. Best brass ive come across.

[@bballer182ify]

Love every piece of Starline I've ever loaded!

[@toddy2519]

Me too! The only thing extra I do to their brass is clean up the primer flash hole to try and get a little bit more accuracy. Other then that their brass is ready to reload straight out of the package/box. Aside from the .45 Colt and .380 Auto brass I purchase from them I bought 500 casings of 357 Sig since I now have a Springfield XD in that caliber.

[@robertstonebreaker8394]

Quality control is a quality product this is why I use only the premium components for reloading Thanks star line and keeping Americans working.

[@shadowbannedagain1737]

And safe

[@Master...deBater]

And shooting!

[@MrAwsomeshot]

would be nice if you had held the brass at various stages up to the camera to see the process better.

[@EverythingisFire]

3-million cases a week & products are still back ordered :) You guys are very popular. Hoping to make my first order with Starline soon .

[@drumminghunter]

did you order?

[@scottrussell8139]

now i know why i like star line brass,,, its good stuff,,,,,, great vid,,, i have been shooting for over 25 years and realy never knew how brass was made,,, very imformative

[@BrianClarkpharmd]

Starline is the best. And they’re in my home state of Missouri!

[@johnc.westmorelandp.e.62]

Awesome. So much for me thinking I was going to try and make my own brass! Ha! But, yes, I am always happy when a new box of Starline Brass arrives. Awesome video - thanks for posting this!

[@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017]

Yeah I was thinking I might try making my own also, and it seems way too complicated and expensive to do. Reloading is a snap compared to manufacturing.

[@Don.E.63]

I love the Starline brand, i save it for all my match grade loads, its a name you can trust! Thanks guys for a great product!

[@kingfiredude]

It is excellent brass. Have used in four rifle loads. All are the same. Makes reloading a simple chore. Reload on auto pilot's. Not like other brass always looking for faults, tossing brass away. My most trusted, fail proof loads.

[@johnkinsel5027]

Great stuff! I have a 32 H&R with outstanding accuracy, mostly because I only load it with Starline brass that I bought new. I started checking the length to trim (hey, I was used to Win & RP from other calibers) and found the first 80 were exactly the same. So I just loaded the next 1420. Some are on 8 full power loadings, none have ever failed in any way.

[@ar1368]

The BEST made, period.

[@johnanderson186]

I appreciate all you guys/girls hard work. I know currently y’all are working around the clock, just to try and keep up with orders. I can imagine how busy your machines are. Demand for brass is far exceeded the production rates. Make a caliber batch, switch dies, make another batch, switch dies, etc. and seeming like you getting nowhere fast. I really really appreciate everyone’s hard work and thank you all for supplying the ammunition and reloading community. Thank you!! Now if I could only get my hands on some 44 magnum brass! Lol impatiently waiting!!

[@uralbob1]

Back in the late eighties/early 90's, Starline was one of the first companies to produce .45 Colt brass, in response to the cowboy shooting competition craze. Back then, .45 Colt brass for purchase was rare . Brass was difficult to find anywhere! When I heard about Starline, through Shooting Times Magazine (thanks, Mike Venturino), I began ordering it for producing very heavy loads for the original Ruger Vaquero and Blackhawk pistols. My load constituted a Sierra 300 gr. semi-jacketed flat nose bullet propelled by a bushel or so of W296 or H110, and a magnum Win. or CCI large pistol primer. I also used this same load in my 16 inch Win. 94. All deer taken with this load, be it rifle or pistol, dropped deer as if they were hit by a falling grand piano. If they ran at all, it was only a few yards. My longest shots were kept under 50 yds. This Starline brass handled those loads with ease. I can't even tell you how many times I reloaded those heavy loads into the same piece of brass, and I can't remember one case failure. Because of this initial success with Starline, I always go to Starline first when buying ANY brass, regardless of caliber or type. Thank you, Starline!

[@StarlineBrass]

Thank you for your business Robert!

[@MrSloika]

Yup, I've been reloading Starline .45 Colt with black powder. Starline is a very good product.

[@1GreatWhiteHunter]

It would be very interesting to have some winning Benchrest shooters chime in and hear their opinions. From everything I have heard, they all use Lapua or Norma brass. It would even more interesting to compare both factories process in great detail to examine the fine differences.

[@italianrelic]

The guy giving the your seemed so fuckin enthusiastic

[@isleofgreg]

Yeah unfortunately he is too close to the process and therefore it is boring and predictable to him. To get someone excited they would have to be an outsider or someone who invented the process itself

[@bretttingelstad7641]

Excellent product, loaded tens of thousand of their brass and consistently good stuff, feel the same about Hornady bullets. Just personal experience!

[@aplusvictoryproducts5249]

Excellent brass! Starline is the best pistol brass there is..

[@toddy2519]

True, and now they are producing rifle brass!

[@bermchasin]

@@toddy2519 my .458 socom is slightly out of spec :(

[@scottrussell6717]

I have been reloading for about 25 years and to me star line is top of the line

[@johncollins719]

Just got some Starline 458 Socom brass. Very consistent dimensions. Case lengths varied less than .001". Good stuff, can't wait to shoot it! Thanks!

[@tyronekim3506]

Amazing! 3 million cases a week translates to 4.96 cases per second, assuming no machine down time.

[@kennethgammon9303]

I have always been very pleased with Starline Brass. It's a great product.

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

This was a very good video, the only thing I think could have been improved, is that more close up insert shots of the brass and processes should have been shown at various stages in order to better illustrate the details of the process.

[@TheLake1963]

pretty cool. thanks for showing us

[@sgtokie]

AWSOME VIDEO. Starline is my go to brass for reloading.

[@adamlong54]

Love my starline brass . always top of the line when i receive it no issues. Good stuff.👍

[@Bones6987]

Love the old school punch press I ran those type machines for almost 20 years They have a rhythm to them

[@JohnGee123]

Really need to do close up shots!

[@ExploringCabinsandMines]

Wow that's quite a process !!

[@ricardocanestraro9278]

American made with pride.....we should bring our manufacturing back to America

[@saltcreekammo]

One of the reasons gun, reloading, and gear videos are success is because of close up shots of what's going on. Hard to see what's going on from 10 feet away.

[@kicker3881]

Yes and the fact that the words are in the way half the time

[@transformer889]

The most useless factory tour I have ever seen, well-rehearsed but not showing the samples

[@missourimike5150]

keep up the great work ! i love your brass great quality at a fair price. Also American made especially in my home state in Missouri!

[@joeltipton6038]

They make the best hand gun brass on the market hands down

[@concernedaussie1330]

Wow very impressive. Been using your 45 colt & 454 casull & believe my 6.5 Grendel is also star line brass . All reasonably had to come by brass in Australia .

[@randyscott990]

Basically still don't know how it's made. The video was just a walk through a factory listening to a guy when he stopped by some machines. They make quality brass though.

[@scottrussell8139]

you must have been asleep or volume down,,,, they did a good job explaining it,,, direct and to the point

[@andrewyork3869]

There is a TON that goes into making a die for brass like this. Most of these machines are purpose built.

[@badlandskid]

randy scott which is just how they want it.

[@geraldmahle9833]

yeah, totally agree. Nothing on punching the flash hole or annealing the case . Pretty lame. And i wasn't asleep etc.

[@vickers935]

That's a pretty impressive place!

[@josephcole8808]

We use the same material brass for the machines I run for eyelets, I make brass stems and ferrules for hose couplings that go on washing machines hoses. The machines they are using for the press are not the same as mine but the inspection and collection method is almost perfectly the same.

[@VitalYFZ]

Very impressive.

[@bilbo_gamers6417]

Love the double action press at 1:53. I guess the old technology is still best.

[@mrbrown3462]

Hope everyone else's experience with Starline brass is better than mine. I bought 4 different caliber cases to load and every case in all 4 calibers were under size a 1000 junk cases I'm thinking about making jewelry just to recoop some cost. 45 acp .451 cases measure .440.

[@christianpaul3303]

Interesting, but as some others have said, I'd appreciate seeing how each of those tool stations pick up brass, orient it, and do its operation. Wondering if all those stations are set up for just one caliber - and there's many stations - or if all the dies are just changed out for on the same machines for different calibers?

[@allenroblin2372]

Use to make strip brass coils of 70 30 cartridge brass and for a while use to punch out the cups that would later be pressed into a cases

[@asherdog9248]

I think starline has forgotten about the BPCR community. I haven't seen 45-70 brass abailable from them for two years now. I ordered 45-70 brass today from Rocky Mountain Cartridge. As expensive as it is, all of my future orders will be from them. Starline is a thing of the past as far as I am concerned.

[@AdventInnovative]

So much awkwardness between these guys.

[@nickg5276]

yekcoh Kim oh yeah, It's the guy that works at starline. Haha. His face when he says "inspection" is where they're going next.

[@titusdaniel]

Yeah the Hunter guy has those dead eyes, like he'd just as soon kill this dude as give him a tour. A little creepy.

[@hughwhitledge8032]

Keep in mind this is scripted and the script had to be approved by a bunch of attorneys. Hard to be spontaneous when you've got to say the lines exactly as written.

[@FoxBonly]

BWAHAHAHAHA............YES.................LOL

[@Charlton_Kekston]

Yes very awkward. As they were talking they should have gotten close ups of the brass rather then showing us the guy looking at them close up and then awkwardly back at each other, this would have kept our eyes off the awkward interaction and more on the brass and its process.

[@roninselman6772]

I could dig working there......

[@ashforkdan]

3 million a week and none in the stores. How about showing the delivery side of things.

[@user-hb8be5wb4q]

Not enough closeups to see what is actually going on.

[@deaftodd]

Imagine go through extensive quality control for EACH casting

[@barndweller4573]

That makes me feel much better about paying for Starline Brass, I know that is a lot of work and investment to make something that sells for so little each. Millions a week WOW there must me a lot of Ammo being made somewhere.

[@saltcreekammo]

Barn Dweller lots of "reman" ammo manufacturers use Star-line brass. Grizzly ammo from Oregon for example.

[@brianonthego]

Will these work nice in the 929 revolver?

[@recklesswhisper]

I prefer Starline brass in most all of my shooting endeavors! Yes! (Umm, still waiting for 22-250!) ^..^~~

[@drumminghunter]

Its the good stuff! The good stuff isn't cheap and the cheap stuff isn't any good! Buy cheap and actually pay more in the long run!

[@oceanic8424]

[01/11/21] Which calibers do y'all make brass for??

[@bigtrev761]

🇦🇺😎👍I ❤ Starline

[@Ray-ho8dw]

I wished they would make 35 Remington brass

[@killersp1974]

3 million cases a week

[@GTK3392]

What size press is that?

[@airsoftspeedy]

How about a close up in the various stages?

[@briankerr4512]

Hell … Can I have one of them buckets. Bucket O Brass.

[@RTmadnesstoo]

What was the point of the '12 point inspection' if everything except web thickness changed later? Also, isn't the initial cup punch the most important? Somebody else does it and they have no inspection of the product? Strange!!

[@aNOMaly_..]

Im curious how the rim and primer pocket are made... like from the inside of the machine

[@bermchasin]

im still have no idea how the rim is made.

[@jasonwoody8041]

its cut in with a lathe. primmer pocket and flash hole is punched in

[@aNOMaly_..]

@@jasonwoody8041 ok but why its thicker where the striking hole is? And primer pocket cant be punched in cuz then the bottom of the inside of the case would be embosse :/

[@jasonwoody8041]

@@aNOMaly_.. any time you have a punch there is a die on the die on the otherside to support and center. if you asking how it got to be so thick at the bottom to allow a spot for the primer the cups looked fairly thick to start with but as you draw the brass through the dies your displacing the brass elswhere. if your cheap like me think of how when you get to the end of the toothpaste how you squeeze the bottom of the tube and draw up whats left to the top at the opening.

[@johnsinghour5263]

It's nothing like the new updated machinery. Fast and no handling at all straight in to boxes and to the shop. Not one person touch's anything at any time.

[@Ray_Getard42069]

Does anyone know what the machine at 3:50 is called? Looks like a lathe kinda but idk what it is.

[@blastforyou]

If you think this is beyond the ability of any backwoodman to make just consider the manufacture of primers and the complex explosive compounds for primer such as lead azide and hammer anvil construction of primer. The real probem with back woods ammo manufacture is modern double base propellent(nitroglycerin,nitro cellulouse) which requires complex chemistry/manufacturing . Black powder muzzle loading loading technology was a lot simpler technology but a lot of smoke and buildup in barrel.

[@llo7816]

Who makes the original cups?

[@moncorp1]

solo

[@kevinfidler8074]

Still waiting for belted magnums! 300 wm, 7mm rm, 338 wm, 450 marlin, 458 wm to name a few

[@MrTobyjones1]

Thanks for the video. Very interesting to see what goes into making brass. The camera work left a bunch to be desired (would have liked more close up views of the process and see the people who are actually doing the work). But I would prefer you make great brass not go to film school.

[@drumminghunter]

...also, I wanted to know the specific Caliber that was being produced at each individual stop. I know that 9mm was at one point, but when they were looking at a finished product, it appeared to be 44 mag or perhaps 45 Colt?

[@toddy2519]

@@drumminghunter Agreed, I couldn't tell what caliber it was either. Appeared to be .45 Colt but who knows?

[@zaahirismail9591]

The world's best is S & B

[@TheBryanArnold]

Please do a run of 577/450

[@aaronbuckmaster7063]

I’ve used Star Line brass for many years. They typically have a much heavier web and slightly thicker walls (.001 - .002) than other cases. Much stronger cases for hunting loads and significantly longer case life especially for target or practice loads. I won’t purchase anything else.

[@shannonnunn]

Bro, been trying to get some 224 valkyrie brass for months... No luck... Hit me up

[@TheBUDDYDOG1]

All that brass and I cant find 44-40 brass...figures

[@johnb1448]

Love the Starline product but little pricy.

[@Gitfidlpickr]

how many reloads do you get with each different brand of brass. If a case cost .135 and you reload it ten times it is .0135 per load. not bad. how much difference does it make between .0135 and .0132? Starlie lasts longer (case mouth does not split) ... why? I do not know. BUT I do use "scrounged" brass too (so my overall costs is probably less than .010 per load and nothing is that cheap. The primers only get ONE load and the bullet only gets ONE load .. and the powder only gets ONE load ...so they are much more per loading than he brass.

[@larslake]

I don't think Starline is the best but I would pick them over Winchester,Remington, or Federal any day. Even Hornady brass is starting to be problematic.

[@Wabaanimkii]

Nice Fowler mics; dork.

[@djtlfox]

Hurry up

[@wetwriterrr]

I am shocked brass is made with machines because my pappy always told me brass grew in the ground at the firing range. I don't I could get up every morning to work at Starline. Thank God someone does.

[@nicbritt8803]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed the bro manse with these two, NOT lol

[@electromech7335]

Are the employees allowed to carry at work or is it a gun free zone?

[@OsceolaLongBeard]

If i worked here i would end up getting fired. Too much beautiful brass...must load it all.

[@SD-yb5fx]

Why not make sure that you are truly saved by Jesus Christ and practice this way. Remorsefully confess with your heart your sins to Jesus Christ who is God and tell Him that you right now are repenting of your sins and you want to be born again of the Spirit from above. Tell Jesus that you are remorsefully sorry for breaking His commandments and that you are begging for forgiveness from Him. Allow His blood from the cross to wash away your sins. After this is done with your heart successfully the Holy Spirit will come to live within you and He will rebuild you from the inside out. Look for signs that you are saved. Things like spreading the good news from Jesus, getting other people saved, a craving for the word of God, reading the Bible, etc… These things are known as a calling and fruit bearing. If you're not bearing fruit then keep doing it. Sometimes it takes time to get saved. Read Matthew chapter 13 from the King James Bible. God bless!

[@alsatian9130]

very good and true msg! We should never forget our source of life, our redeemer, our LORD, KING, FATHER, AND GOD. Put HIM first. All things & others second. Keep your faith strong. Keep your powder dry!

[@jamesrae5351]

This is good brass for the price but it is hardly the world's highest quality ammunition brass.

[@AmericanaWoods]

These guys looked so depressed to tour an ammo factory.

[@336jbyrd]

Man there has to be a more efficient way...

[@theworkshopmechanicchannel3296]

The machinery looks pretty damn old

[@Oculi_tui_vitare]

Quality control ? Is it a joke ? Large primer pocket in half pack of brass is too big and loosing primers

[@foragefarmer1300]

Are you kidding? They make great brass. I have been using their straight wall stuff .44 mag, .38, .45 since the early 90's. Got some .243 last year and it is on its 3rd reload and holding up perfectly. I can't remember any piece of brass not being able to be loaded. I can't say the same of some other manufacturers.

[@Blackline9114]

Perfection??? Funny, when I weighed, measured, checked internal capacity of Starline brass next to my Peterson and Alpha brass, the worst examples of my Peterson and Alpha were still better than the best examples of my Starline brass. STARLINE, its ok to be MID! Chill tf out!

[@lukepippin4781]

Bad acting xD But it told me what I was curious about.

[@larslake]

First of all Starline does not manufacture the highest quality firearm brass. Maybe handgun brass but not rifle brass.

[@Lure-Benson]

I have exclusively reloaded all my ammo since 1976 so when I bought some 224 Valkyrie starline brass then reloaded it and on the first firing the cartridges 9 out of 10 casings split the case necks . Worst cheap quality brass I have ever seen .

[@DanCarr24]

Ok when he opens that drop and all that brass drops. If your junk didn't twitch just a lil bit you ain't american.

[@sharebear8800]

Ya are awkward on camera lol

[@Idontwanttosignupist]

When I had some bad Starline brass they would not warranty it. Beware.

[@Gitfidlpickr]

I have never had any bad Starline brass. Been reloading 45 LC sine 1990 and .357 since 1988 .. I have used oh.. 5000 .357 cases and I get from 18 to 25 reloads (without annealing) from Starline (which is OK for me).. revolver is probably not as violent as semi-auto brass (extraction.ejection)

[@toddy2519]

I tend to doubt your statement that Starline won't warranty a bad batch. I've been using their brass for a long time, mostly .45 Colt and .380 Auto and never, ever having a bad experience with the Starline company. They back their products 100%!

[@patrickwalsh6240]

2:28 does "she" not have a name?

[@digitaldaydream420]

Oh here is what we do at this station. Doesent show the piece. Worst how its made tour ive ever watched.

[@SvinayaGolova]

Boring & formal blah-blah-blah. Nothing interesting.