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After beingformed,Starline brasshas to beannealed(heated andsoftened)since theforming process“workhardens” thebrass. Otherwisecaseswould be toobrittle.Photo: Yamil SuedA draw press turns “cups” intoelongated forms, closer to whatyou and I know of as finishedcartridge cases. Can you say“tons and tons of power?”Photo: Yamil SuedFinished cases wait their turn to be boxedand shipped. Starline and Sierra makemany of the components that help ourmilitary fight their battles, so be patient ifyour favorite bullet or brass isn’t alwaysavailable — both companies count oursoldiers as their number one customers.And we agree. Photo: Yamil SuedSome of the steps at Starline reminded us of watching bulletjackets being made at Sierra. The forming of cases is done by“drawing” out the brass from the initial cup form using severaldies — and those big machines!Some of the equipment at Starline is decades old, butthen again, nobody makes these solid iron machinesthese days. The thrum and pound of machinery is musicto your ears when you visit. Many of the machines arefrom the WWII era and earlier, and helped to makecases that won the war!Lathes are used to both trim cases tolength and to machine rims, extractiongrooves and such into cases during thecreation of finished cases at Starline.Yup, they reminded us of gold too! Here, cases arestill in the lubricant used to help during the forming process.WWW.AMERICANHANDGUNNER.COM 71