Ethan Cord Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 Does anyone on the Wire have experience using the Double Alpha Brass Marker on dash calibers? I am wondering if it will work on 25-20, 32-20 and 38-40 cartridges. It looks like a great product and I sure would like to get more of my brass back if possible. Double Alpha Brass Marker I know there are a number of manual methods and/or tools that can be used, but a device that does the work for you as you reload sounds tempting! Thanks in advance for sharing your collective knowledge and experiences! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 Well, that's interesting. How much does it cost? Wondering if it would be cheaper to just buy more brass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan Cord Posted June 18, 2019 Author Share Posted June 18, 2019 9 minutes ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said: Well, that's interesting. How much does it cost? Wondering if it would be cheaper to just buy more brass? Abilene, the link I provided says it is $119.95. It would be cheaper to buy more brass if you shoot .38 special or .357 magnum. If you shook 38-40, 44-40 and 32-20 finding the brass is a bit more important. The 25-20 is getting more difficult to find and is real pricey when you find it. A benefit to marking the less expensive brass is getting your own back, verses getting a random mix of junk that has already been fired too many times. Or you avoid getting some yahoos small primer .45 ACP brass and setting off a large pistol primer on your Dillon 550......... Ethan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrel Cody Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 I'm going to say yes based on this different video. Looks like the markers can be position towards the base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Hangtree Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 Looks like from their ad that the smallest casing that can be marked is 9mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickel City Dude Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 I am concerned about collecting the brass once it has been striped. I have a Dillon 650 and the first catcher that feeds the machine looks like it will fit on the machine fine but once they roll out of the striper can the Dillon tray be used to catch the stripped brass? I have been unable to find a video showing it on a Dillon press, or any press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrel Cody Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 2 hours ago, Marshal Hangtree said: Looks like from their ad that the smallest casing that can be marked is 9mm. 9mm base diameter: 0.391 25-20 base diameter: .349 32-20 base diameter: .354 that's not a lot smaller, I bet they'd work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickel City Dude Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 I just ordered one, I will let you know how it turns out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan Cord Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share Posted June 19, 2019 17 hours ago, Nickel City Dude said: I just ordered one, I will let you know how it turns out. Thank you, I look forward to hearing what you learn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fast Freddy Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 Got one on order as well . I’ll be hopefully fitting it to my Dillon 650 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickel City Dude Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 Well I got one and it sort of works. It will put a stripe on the brass if you do it just right but in my opinion more trouble than it is worth. First off almost everything is plastic, even the gears. The feed for the brass is on the wrong side. When you hook it up to a Dillion 650 it is necessary to stretch it out and put it on a lower surface so the bullet will slide down the tube and into the device (and it jammed a lot at the entrance to the stripper and at the funnel on the Dillon). If the entrance for the device was on the other side one could put it on the same level as the press. If you put it on the same level as the press then you have to arrange it so the brass goes to the rear of the bench. Which is not a big problem but when trying to use the extra funnel and tube to reach a container on the floor the device has a 90* bend in the first tube and the shell will not make that turn. I tried using the bin that cam with the Dillon but I had to maneuver it so the bin would hang off the edge of some boxes I piled up and then I had to secure the device to the board so when the bin got full the whole thing would not fall over. See the picture. Next problem is the marking pens. If you don’t go at a good speed the pens will dry up and not mark the brass. If you stop to refill the primers, powder and/or brass the first 5 will not be marked and it would then be necessary to run them threw again by hand. I had trouble adjusting the pens for my 45acp cartridges but it can be done and once I had it adjusted the stripes on the brass were good, but like I said you can’t stop for long or the pens will dry up. If I put the cartridges threw the machine by hand I could keep the pens marking but when I tried to use it with the Dillon 650 if was hit and miss. One of the reasons for using this is to be able to skip the step of marking my brass when I shoot league so adding another step by doing them after I have finished a batch of 100 is counter productive. All things considered I am going to try to send it back to Double Alpha for a refund. Below are some pictures of the setup I had to do to get it to sort of work. The cartridges on the left were when I was having trouble getting the pens adjusted and when I waited too long between cartridges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutch Wheeler Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 Doubt if it would make finding your brass in the grass any easier either . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickel City Dude Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 4 minutes ago, Dutch Wheeler said: Doubt if it would make finding your brass in the grass any easier either . I got it mainly to use on my 45acp when I shoot league. I always mark my brass on the head stamp area and I figured that this might save a step and be more ovious when hunting down "my" brass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan Cord Posted June 22, 2019 Author Share Posted June 22, 2019 NCD, Thank you for providing this detailed report and photos. It looks like this product does not live up to it’s advertising which is very disappointing. Best regards, Ethan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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