Do you scrounge brass?

[Hal]

Just curious. I see lots of range scroungers that scarf up any/every thing they see.
Myself,,I'm not above doing it if the brass looks good. Most of the stuff though is just plain nasty, and I'd have lots of second thoughts about using it. Just wondering what others' take on the idea of using unknown brass is.

[Rottweiler]

Hi, My name is Rottweiler.
I have a problem.
I am a brass rat. I pick up every piece of brass I find on the range. It doesn't matter to me if I own something in that caliber or not. IIt doesn't matter if it's split from mouth to rim or not. I pick it all up, take it home, sort it, tumble it, and put it in coffee cans in the basement.

[snuffy]

Is a pigs a** pork? Does a hobby horse have a hickory d**k? Of course I do! BUT I inspect it before taking it home and only if I or a buddy load that caliber. Why deprive the next guy of some usefull brass he may need?

My favorite method is to work the deer sight in days at the local club range. They always need volunteers to help the once a year dumbells sight in their rifles. Best source of once fired brass I've ever found! If you know the other members and arrange to take brass in your calibers, while keeping a lookout for theirs, it works even better.

Remember handloaders are the original recyclers!

[griz]

I plead guilty your honor and throw myself on the mercy of the court. And bailiff, can I have your once fired brass?

Like Snuffy I inspect it before use. What I will not take is a batch that looks like it’s been fired more than once. I assume another reloader has given up on them.
I also collect oddball headstamps so I sometimes get a sore neck from looking down all the time.

[capbuster]

I too am a brass buzzard especially when it comes to handgun brass. I inspect them when I get home and decide which to keep and which to put in the scrap bucket to later sell at the scrap yard.due to the high pressure involved and since I dont know the history on the rifle cases I dont use them.

[nwgunman]

Only my own, or if I see somebody leaving brand new factory brass behind, and I have their ok, I'll pick that up. I color all my brass to identy it. I'll a cautious sort. You have no idea how many times that "used" case laying there at the range has been fired, or to what pressures it may have been subjected. Therefore, I'll pass. But please keep your hands off my brass, thank-you kindly!Stay safe.

[Clark]

I clean up my mess, and reload many calibers, but the only other people's I look for is single pieces of a caliber I don't have.

I recently found an empty from a 7mm Weatherby. I had to bring it home to stare at it

[tonyz]

I grab any and all at the range what ever it looks like. I too only take the brass in the calibers that I load. Then I clean and Inspect. After it passes I sort and store. Range brass, once fired also by head stamp.
Have several 1000 Once fired now, in each caliber
I reload.
Tony

[morph]

i only pick up my own unless i'm shooting with a non-reloader...then i'll pick up their brass too. i spend most of my time shooting at a small practice range that's part of my local range and i'm usually the only one using it when i'm there. there usually isn't too much other brass laying around but i leave it because i don't know how long it's been sitting out or its history.

[Southla1]

I never pick up other peoples brass ............. unless they are not around, not looking, dont want it, or are too slow to get to it first.

[Steve Smith]

I only pick up my own .223 cases for my Highpower rifle, but if there's a god .45 acp case lying on the ground, it's mine, no matter the make (except Amerc, of course!)

[Joe Portale]

Please allow me to introduce myself. I am a Brass Rat. Look in the dictionary under brass rat, brass buzzard, case napper, you will see my picture.

I was once told by the owner of my local range that I have the cleanest lane out of anyone after a shooting session. I have found places around the lane, like on top of the lane barrier where errant brass likes to hide. As far as my out door range club, I am there bright and earlier Monday mornings when it opens(when possible) to help the range master clean up after after all the people who leave a mess. One monday, I picked up a 3 1/2 gallon bucket full of Lake City Match 30.06 and filled another with Federal Match in .308. No bad for a less than an hours work. And the range masters all think I am the greatest thing since sliced bread. "We wish all the members were as clean about their brass as you!"

The one concession that I do make. I will take the brass for calibers that I do not use back to the range and drop them in the brass buckets.

I am a brass rat and proud of it! Psst, hey buddy...You want your brass?...No? Leave it there, I'll get it for you.

[labgrade]

Rifle calibers, I don't bother except if it's known to be once-fired military in a caliber I can use (.308/.30-06 only - I'll pass, thank you on .223). These, I'll swag out the primer pockets & dedicate 'em to cast bullet loads soley. Known once-fired factory rifle brass gets cleaned & stashed after the once-over.

9mm, .38/.357 I scoop. Been known to go over to the public range with a wisk broom & dust pan. 1/2 a thou in a coupla minutes, sort for caliber, tumble till clean, sort & pitch the junk. Use the 9-stuff for woods plinkin' & don't even bother lookin' for it again.

Anything in "the pile" that I don't reload for, goes to those who do.

Guilty.

[Desert Dog]

I went to a completely new shooting spot yesterday and spent more time picking up all the once-fired brass that was everywhere than I did actually shooting.

Guilty as charged...

[Poodleshooter]

Yup. I pick up anything I reload for. If I already have a lot of brass for a given caliber, I'll get picky and only take well known headstamps.

[Rezdog]

Does Howdy Doody have wooden balls? You bet I pick up brass of all kinds. After picking up about 10,000 .40 S&W cases left by the local police I went out and bought a Glock 22 and a 27. I picked up several hundred 7mm Mag cases so went over to Wal-Mart and bought a Ruger M-77 in that caliber.

[Peter M. Eick]

I certainly used to, but after a few "exciting" experiences with brass that was a bit passed its prime, I am dumping it all and going to Starline for new brass. I am now only picking up my Starline and it is color coded by number of firings.

Some of my scrounged brass was starting to show its age and its "glockyness" and some of the "smiles" were a bit pushed.

Is it really worth it??? Take your $600 tax refund and you can get about 6000 rnds of starline brass in various calibers.

When it comes to a KB in MY hand, I will spend a bit more and periodically buy new.

I will say as I dump my old brass out, I have had some scroungers like you all pick it up. I warned them/you it is old, used and well tested. Becareful what you find.

[labgrade]

Good observations, Peter & I had one LC .30-06 brass fail at firing - "just" shot jets of high-pressure gas through the web area through three burnt holes which vented through the action. "Only" a cast bullet load & probably at about 1/2 normal '06 pressures. Still "an awakening."

My comments earlier make mention of known once-fired for any rifles - pistols are much easier to internally inspect for problems.

Yah, I'll scrounge, but I'm not an idiot - OK, debateable, but I'm not foolhardy - OK, but not ... well, you get the idea.

[Nukem]

I used to be a brass rat, but I only pick up my own brass now.
I don't know if it's just me, but new and once fired processed brass seems to be much cheaper and more available now than it was years ago.

I get a kick out of the rats at the one outdoor range where I shoot from time to time. They pay $8 an hour to shoot and spend most of their time picking through the grass and gravel.

[rr41mag]

I got my Dad to join the range where I shoot. He needed something to do. In the past year he has accumulated 6k 9mm brass, 3k .45 acp brass who knows how many other pistol and a couple thou in assorted rifle. Hell he's collected so much brass he bought a tumbler and a 9mm. (I load the 9mm)

[Point Blank]

I keep only my own 30-06 empties as its the only caliber i reload.If i was the only one at the range and seen some good looking 30-06 brass i would get them.Honestly, i would find it very demeaning scrounging brass,or asking another shooter if i could have his. I have seen scroungers "working" the line when its a full house...forgive me,but some of them have no pride in themselves.One time i went to throw away a empty ammo box in the trash when this rat ran over there screaming "Dont throw that good box in there,i will take it"...He was looking all crazy at me (hehe) like i was throwing away a gold watch or sumpthin!!! Sorry to offend,but i guess i watch my shooting bag,rifles,etc. much harder when a rats working the area too,even though most are probably very honest.

[labgrade]

Don't misunderstand, Point Blank. I do have my limits.

Never yet asked anyone for their brass & anytime I broke out the wisk broom & dust pan, I always wore a top hat.

Pride is at stake .....

"Class action" doesn't just apply to law suits .....

[Southla1]

When I was on the military firing teams back in the 60's at almost every match civilians would approach us and ask if we were saving our brass. They KNEW we did not. I always gracefully agreed that they could have it. That way I did not need to police my own brass .
When I wanted some for my own use I would go and fill up a pillow case on our ranges on base. The police down town once asked me for brass. I checked with my CO, and his reply was "I can't legally give it to them but if would happen to 'migrate' into your truck and then on to them, and no one sees it, it will be good for military/civilian relationships. Later that week I brought 4 USGI duffle bags full of 38 brass to them....damn those were heavy. Had to get some of the prisoners out of their cells to unload them. Thennnnn the officers took me into the "used" evidence room (cases already complete, and the room also containing certain elixirs of the sipping kind confiscated from underage kids) and said help yourself! Wheeeeeee. !

[Point Blank]

I sure hit on that "Free 30-06 Ammo in Atlanta" offer without getting embarrassed or shy didnt i?? Guess if i reloaded multiple calibers i would be fat rat...as long as i was in disguise or had a mask/headnetting on

[Fred]

Yes, I do. Great exercise!