April 30, 2017, 09:14 PM | #1 |
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Trash brass . . .
Loaders:
It occurs to me that, with all the shooting I do, and all the trash brass I could collect, I should keep and sell the trash brass. By trash brass I mean 22LR and 22Mag, max tech 9mm with the "shelf" inside, any brass I screw up when reloading, 45 autos with a small primer hole, and any brass that makes it's way into my range pile of a caliber I don't reload. So far I've got a five gallon bucket with a couple inches of brass in it and I've only been "collecting" for a couple months. Brass goes for as high as $1.39 a pound so my bucket will be worth a decent amount when it's full. Not much effort involved here. Life is good. Prof Young |
April 30, 2017, 09:30 PM | #2 |
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I give my scrap brass to my local range. They have a process in place where they sell it for melt value. At least, prior to this last shortage, the treasurer stated that they collect several thousands of dollars per year - helps keep our membership dues down, range maintenance, etc.
I see people who don't reload scoop up their brass and put them in the brass buckets - as they should. Then, someone comes behind them and takes it out of the bucket - not cool. Once it goes in that bucket, it's range property. Therefore, it's theft. Now I'm just venting, sorry. I digress. Point is, even if I have a large quantity of brass to dump, I'd give it to my range. One range member who sees me out there quite a bit gave me a 5gal bucket (about 80% full) of all once-fired (by him) 38 Special brass (https://thefiringline.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=584355). That was generous of him. I shoot a lot of 38 Special, so it worked out pretty good for me. I guess he doesn't put his brass in the bucket
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April 30, 2017, 09:58 PM | #3 |
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Indeed . . .
Nick:
If I shot at a club-membership-not-for-profit range I'd do that too. The range I shoot is a for profit business. Brass left on the range they gather sort and sell. Even at that I agree about brass already in the bucket. Once it's in the bucket it belongs to the range. Even when I'm cleaning up my brass I only grab what's in my lane. I was at a public range once and some clown had grabbed up one of the buckets and was sorting through it tossing what he didn't want back on the ground. Range boss gave him "heck" before I got to him. Some people! Life is good. Prof Young |
April 30, 2017, 10:48 PM | #4 |
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My range is not for profit. Members can look at the books and they report out the financials at our monthly meetings. "Extra" money goes to fund youth shooting education/progams.
So yeah, it's a little different.
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May 1, 2017, 01:42 AM | #5 |
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I pick up all brass in the action bays I shoot at, the range actually has a rule to pick up you brass, they dont so I do. I sort it, keep what I want, make piles for buddies, odds and ends get individual baggies labeled until they are worth some "trading" fodder (I usually trade for a smile) and the junk goes in a 3 gallon bucket for the recycler, I do alot of scrapping so it jist ends up another line item on the check stub.
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May 1, 2017, 02:30 AM | #6 |
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I'm a member at a non-profit range as well . All RSO are volunteers ( trained both at the range and NRA class ) . We have what's called work party's the first Saturday of every month where volunteers show up and work on the range . Everything from full on construction to pulling weeds . What ever needs to be done .
Are rule is the same . Once the brass goes into the bucket , it belongs to the range . I get all my brass from the range at a great price . It doesn't hurt we have the Navy , Coastguard and other LEO all train there and we get all that brass as well . Which is nice because you know it's once fired and if you don't just toss there brass in with all the other brass . You get LARGE lots of brass with all the same headstamp . I recently picked up 3k 9mm cases all WCC-12 headstamp for $50 I have to say I never thought of giving the range brass , Interesting
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May 2, 2017, 08:19 PM | #7 |
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I'm lucky. The for profit range I go to encourages you to pick any brass whether on the ground on in the bucket. They can't keep up with all the brass.
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May 2, 2017, 08:51 PM | #8 | |
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Quote:
I'll be there this Saturday. You only have to do one Sat per year and it knocks $50 off your annual membership.
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May 2, 2017, 10:19 PM | #9 |
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I don't reload (yet) but I collect brass for future use.
I've found most people do not sweep their lanes.. that's ok I do it for them after they leave.. anything on the ground is fair game far as Im concerned. I never take from the brass bucket though.. once's it's in there it's the ranges imo. As a individual im not sure if the recycler would take spent cases or not for free of a live round. 22lr cases can be used to swage and form .223 jackets.. so I don't consider them scrap cause I plan to get into that as well at some point. |
May 3, 2017, 05:32 AM | #10 |
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Am I the only one that saves small primer .45 for a rainy day? By rainy day I mean any kind of future shortage, whether brass or large primer? See lots of people say they trash spp .45 all the time.
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May 3, 2017, 06:51 AM | #11 |
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Just money for more reloads.
Bright shiny brass sells for more, so everything goes through the tumbler at my house. Doesn't cost anything extra, not extra work and makes inspection easier. Money comes in handy, the only tip I can give is find a salvage yard that specializes in non-ferrous, they usually pay more, up to 50 cents a pound more for bright/shinny. Rimfire brass hits the bucket, the recyclers don't care where the weight comes from. ---- Camnus, I TRADE small primer & oddball brass for something I want. Mr. Morris has an auto sorter for small primers that flips them out, or you can hand sort. Some guys around here shoot all small primer one day, then shoot all large primer another day so they don't have to sort again. I don't shoot a lot of pistol, but I can't find a difference in function or accuracy. I trade a lot of pistol brass for stuff I can use more, from brass to dies to lube, etc. Last edited by JeepHammer; May 3, 2017 at 07:00 AM. |
May 3, 2017, 07:46 AM | #12 | |
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May 3, 2017, 07:51 AM | #13 | |
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May 3, 2017, 09:43 AM | #14 | ||
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I'm a regular at my range. And although I hold no official capacity there; I do have a sense of ownership and behave as such. Hence, cleaning up after others' as needed. The place is modern and clean, but the culture is folksy and old-fashion-neighborly. https://www.lincolnrifleclub.com/
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May 3, 2017, 06:44 PM | #15 |
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It depends on RSO if left brass is up for grabs . There is nothing in the standard operation procedure ( SOP ) manual that directly addresses brass left behind . I had a fellow shooter give me his brass while he was shooting . The only condition was I had to pick it up . A new RSO came over and said I can't take it because it was on the ground and not fired by me . Seeing how I have a SOP manual at my house I know it quite well and had to question what he was saying . The lead RSO came over and confirmed I could pick up someone else's brass if it was given to me .
The only thing in writing that we have states "once it's in the bucket it belongs to the range" . So we pretty much let anybody clean up and if they take the brass so be it but there again some RSO will say something .
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May 4, 2017, 02:18 AM | #16 | ||
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I only shoot at public ranges. Quote:
First off I'd be kinda ticked because he'd be picking up my brass. 2nd of all when you say "sweeping/keeping other peoples brass" do you mean the shooters or the range? (since you consider it their property?) 1st off I don't sweep someone elses lane unless they've left and it's empty. Im in fact doing the range a favor since to much brass on the ground makes it hard to walk. 2nd of all if the person left, abandoning the brass then im not taking anyones. If I ran into a range that considered floor brass as their property I would not be back. 3rd of all I don't know about the ranges you've been to but most of them have a very small wall partition.. or often is the case outdoors.. no partition at all.. brass is migratory.. I've never been able to recover more then 80% of my own brass so who's to say what brass is who's. I won't go into a shooters lane if they're there but once they leave what's on the floor is free game and any range that disagrees with that I won't shoot at. |
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May 4, 2017, 09:18 AM | #17 | |||
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Even if they did I personally would not force someone to wait 30min for the next stoppage to go get a target . Often the second half of the day there's only a handful of shooters and a lot of the times they don't want to stop at the pre determined times . I wont call a stoppage just so someone can get there target in those cases either . Those are just a couple examples of RSO doing things they generally would/should not need to do . Quote:
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If Jesus had a gun , he'd probably still be alive ! I almost always write my posts regardless of content in a jovial manor and intent . If that's not how you took it , please try again . |
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May 4, 2017, 11:31 AM | #18 | |||
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I think I already address the fact that at best I recover maybe 80% of my brass.. brass migrates it does not stay in a nice little pile in what is usually a very small lane space. Am I expected to go thru brass piece by piece before I collect it off the floor? Hey I frankly don't have that kinda time, I sweep it up and sort it later. I've not been to a range with such a policy but if I did it would be the last time I visit. You do what you want. Quote:
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May 4, 2017, 12:46 PM | #19 |
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At an indoor range, onlookers accompanying other shooters often get overly carried away with the broom and are constantly sweeping away any and all brass within close proximity. I have more brass than good sense so do not get neurotic about that and just let it be. To try to get the message across to bypass certain brass, it becomes necessary to make a dive for your brass every 5 or 10 rounds. But doing that does tend to become neurotic, and best avoided. But the onlookers do help the range personnel by keeping the floor cleaned up. The range does not particularly care whether they or you get the brass.
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May 4, 2017, 01:25 PM | #20 |
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Every range has some kind of rule about brass. The local range is an outdoor range and brass is supposed to be picked up by the shooter. If it is left on the ground it is free for the taking. If it is on the ground after an event then the RSOs pick it up and the club sells it. We have magnetic "brooms" to pick up the steel cases that people leave on the ground and it is scrapped.
When I shoot semi-autos I have a brass catcher so I can find my brass and not lose any of it. I do a lot of prep work on my brass and I like keeping it. I also pick up "range brass" that others leave behind. It goes into a gallon freezer bag and gets sorted when I get home. If I reload it, the brass is cleaned and prepped before I reload it. The brass I don't use is separated and used to trade or give to someone who will use it. |
May 4, 2017, 01:47 PM | #21 | |
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It's rare when I go to the range with a semi-auto during busy times. But when I do shoot semi-auto, my fixation on collecting all my brass does have the unintended benefit of pacing my shooting. It gives me time to pause and collect my brass - and thoughts. I usually do a mini clean up after every 2 or 3 mags. BTW, my range is public. But there's also a membership option. Members have bench priority during busy times (which is something I have never exercised). My range gets really busy on the weekends with non-regulars. You see a lot of city-slickers with their girlfriends out there on Sat/Sun. I usually leave the range to them and spend time at home with my family. Although, sometimes I go out there on the weekends (with a revolver) - just to show 'em how it's done Hey, everyone needs an ego-stroke now-n-then, right? heh Smugness aside, I have met lots of nice people willing to learn - who I gladly help - on the weekends. It's a different crowd; but it's been my experience over the last 3+ decades that most shooters - even just the occasional ones - tend to be very nice people. Back to the brass thing: Our RSO's do clean up brass from time to time. Again, most shooters are pretty good about housekeeping, and so it's rarely an issue. I just came back from the range about an hour ago. I was shooting revolver (44 Spl/Mag). One guy left and didn't bring his target frame back - I grabbed it during a cease fire. Had I not done it, the RSO would have. Another guy left a couple stalls down from me, and his housekeeping left some to be desired. I did the sweep up (only about a dozen rounds of 9mm) and placed them in the brass bucket. Oddly, he kept the brass he did sweep; but saw fit to do a sloppy clean up job. ?? Must not be neurotic One time, I was shooting 45 ACP and a regular a few lanes down was shooting the same. He told me I could have his brass if I want to sweep it up (I don't know why he doesn't reload; but he doesn't - he likely has more money than time). I gladly agreed. As I was sweeping, I noticed they were SPP's I didn't say anything. I agreed to sweep-n-keep, so I followed through - with a smile (to address a side conversation here: I process SPP 45 ACP brass for reloading, but have never loaded any.) But yes, if someone gives you their brass that's still on the ground, that's cool.
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May 4, 2017, 01:49 PM | #22 |
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Well at least it wasn't a GI range. Lots of .762x51 fired and it all had to be picked up, and counted before we were allowed to go to mess.
Do you know how far some M14s through brass and in grass too. |
May 4, 2017, 02:39 PM | #23 | |
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If it's on private property and not yours . It does not matter who's it is , it's not yours period . I'll add as a RSO my self i would not and don't care if someone takes brass off the ground after someone else leaves . Less for me to clean up later
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If Jesus had a gun , he'd probably still be alive ! I almost always write my posts regardless of content in a jovial manor and intent . If that's not how you took it , please try again . Last edited by Metal god; May 4, 2017 at 02:50 PM. |
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May 4, 2017, 02:47 PM | #24 | ||
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May 4, 2017, 06:49 PM | #25 |
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The range I go to - public, for profit - has the RSOs sweeping up brass. They also have magnets to separate the steel case from the actual brass. I almost never have to pick up my brass; I have a Caldwell brass catcher for my AR, and I single shot my 300 win mag - catching the spent brass with my left hand when I work the bolt after firing. Amazingly that 300 win mag brass is much cooler than brass out of my .22 semi auto - that brass is hot when it gets ejected.
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