October 2026 (1) - Flipbook - Page 16
Starline Brass Heads East:
“Head East Young Man...”
By Chris Young growth by producing top notch
Courtesy of Starline Brass handgun brass. But Robert
It’s understood that the
westward expansion is core to
the average Western storyline.
The Starline Brass storyline,
however, is anything but average. Starline has found success
by looking at things a little
di昀昀erently. In one daring move,
they turned the other direction,
taking their six-shooters and
moving their operations over
1,600 miles east in the process
of becoming the makers of
America’s 昀椀nest brass for reloading ammunition.
The Starline Brass story
began in 1976 with three men,
all with ties to Sierra Bullets.
Sierra was a Santa Fe Springs,
California manufacturer of
hunting and target bullets for
ri昀氀es and handguns with a
reputation for accuracy that
carries with them to this day.
The three men – Robert Hayden
(who was Sierra’s Manager of
Operations), Frank Snow (Sierra’s previous owner), and Paul
Knepp (a former Sierra Bullets
tool and die maker) – all believed in Sierra Bullet’s continuous quest for excellence and felt
there was a demand for brass
cases made with that same commitment to high quality.
Once incorporated, they
began operations in a small
Quonset hut in Covina, California, 昀椀nding early success and
16
Hayden and his team at Sierra
Bullets would soon make a decision that would change Starline’s future.
When a strip mall and
movie theatre entrance popped
up near the end of Sierra’s underground shooting range and
testing facility, Hayden knew it
was just a matter of time before
the State would shut the range
down. With this and other factors in mind, Hayden began the
proactive and strategic process
of selecting a new location.
Hayden turned to his memories
of working for Remington in
the Kansas City, Missouri area.
Weekends would frequently 昀椀nd
him heading to Central Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks, traveling through the small city of
Sedalia, MO on the way. Something about Sedalia had always
captured Hayden’s attention,
and despite the years away, he
hadn’t forgotten it.
The Sedalia area had
many things going for it: strategic central U.S. location for e昀케cient product distribution, two
major highways, with I-70 just
20 miles north, and a knowledgeable workforce with strong
work ethics. The outstanding
hunting and 昀椀shing opportunities o昀昀ered all around Sedalia
were also appealing. By 1990,
Sierra Bullets was on its way
east, from California to Sedalia,
Missouri.
That move, though,
presented challenges for Starline Brass. With Robert moving to Sedalia with Sierra, his
wife Barbara (also the mayor
of Downey, California) and son
Robert Jr (Bobby; recently having 昀椀nished school), were left to
run the business. For Barbara
and Bobby, it was simple: they
either had to make the business
work or sell. They made a pact
to make the business work.
Bobby and Barbara
were both well prepared for the
challenge. Barbara was a skilled
businesswoman and planner.
And growing up around Starline, Bobby literally learned
the business from the ground
up, having performed every
job there was in the business
by the time he and his mother
took over. He learned about
making brass from Snow and
George Stuart (previous plant
manager), who were masters of
their trade. Many of the principles they taught to Bobby are
still evident at Starline today
– principles like overdesigning
manufacturing equipment to
allow them to meet and exceed
required tolerances while the
equipment runs e昀케ciently, day
in, and day out, 24 hours a day.
With Barbara and Bobby
at the reins, Starline continued
to thrive. But the Hayden’s,
always a close family, were now
half a country apart. About a
October, 2026, Issue #4
