The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old October 1, 2012, 10:35 PM   #1
45YearsShooting
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 9, 2012
Location: Colorado
Posts: 105
Is it wrong to take 40 S&W & 9mm brass to a scrapyard?

Hi Guys:

I have gathered a good bit more fired brass cases than I will ever use. I figure I can get well over brass scrap price for rifle cases and pistol brass in 44 mag, 10 mm, 45, 357, and maybe 38 special.

However, I've noticed that some people are asking close to scrap price for range pickup 9mm and 40 S&W brass. Considering the fact that I can get about $23 for 1000 40 S&W case and about $20 for 1000 9mm cases based on brass weight alone, why should I go through the trouble to sort, count, tumble, advertise and ship all that brass? At the prices I've seen here, doing all that extra work will result in me making maybe an extra $3 per thousand cases, assuming I can sell it at all!

I can just take it to my local scrap dealer and he hands me cash, which I can then use to buy more reloading supplies!

I figure it would have to sell for about $35 or $40 per thousand (plus shipping) to make it worthwhile to sell to reloaders. I know some businesses are getting that much or more, but I'm just an individual.

Is it ethically wrong for me to sell 9mm & 40 S&W brass for scrap? It is still being recycled, after all.
45YearsShooting is offline  
Old October 1, 2012, 11:01 PM   #2
mrbatchelor
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 18, 2010
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 237
Quote:
Originally Posted by 45YearsShooting View Post
Is it ethically wrong for me to sell 9mm & 40 S&W brass for scrap? It is still being recycled, after all.
No, it certainly isn't wrong. It might be a little crazy that the community isn't willing to pay enough premium to rescue it from a smelter, but the market is fickle.
mrbatchelor is offline  
Old October 1, 2012, 11:17 PM   #3
JohnKSa
Staff
 
Join Date: February 12, 2001
Location: DFW Area
Posts: 24,930
I wonder if an ammunition remanufacturer like Black Hills or Georgia Ammunition might be willing to pay enough to make it worth your while to ship them the brass as opposed to selling it for scrap value.
__________________
Do you know about the TEXAS State Rifle Association?
JohnKSa is offline  
Old October 1, 2012, 11:26 PM   #4
Marco Califo
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 4, 2011
Location: LA (Greater Los Angeles Area)
Posts: 2,586
Quote:
I wonder if an ammunition remanufacturer like Black Hills or Georgia Ammunition might be willing to pay en
If Blackhills is not selling true once fired reloads, I don't want any.
At my range 9mm are sort of like 22lr: empties that do not get picked up. There are so much 9mm range brass available for Zero cash, I do not know why anyone would pay for those. I wouldn't. But I did buy some military 9mm once fireds, which I rate far above mixed range brass.
__________________
............
Marco Califo is online now  
Old October 2, 2012, 10:31 AM   #5
iraiam
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 6, 2012
Location: Lakewood, CO
Posts: 1,057
I have done it, I pick up my brass wether I am going to reload it or not.

When I owned an M1 Garand I loaded and fired lots and lots of 30-06, when the brass would wear out I would take it down to the recycling center and get cash for it and put it towards my new brass.
__________________
NRA Lifetime Member Since 1999

"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people except for a few public officials." George Mason
iraiam is offline  
Old October 2, 2012, 11:58 AM   #6
BigJimP
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 23, 2005
Posts: 13,195
rather than sell it ...I understand you picked it up ....but you probably swept up way more brass than you shot that day ....

so why don't you offer it free to guys that are reloading - and are short of brass ?? - share it ....
BigJimP is offline  
Old October 2, 2012, 12:01 PM   #7
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
 
Join Date: June 25, 2008
Location: Austin, CO
Posts: 19,578
Ethically wrong?!

Holy smokes. There are no ethics involved with brass.
__________________
Nobody plans to screw up their lives...
...they just don't plan not to.
-Andy Stanley
Brian Pfleuger is offline  
Old October 2, 2012, 12:19 PM   #8
tkglazie
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 3, 2011
Posts: 558
Quote:
rather than sell it ...I understand you picked it up ....but you probably swept up way more brass than you shot that day ....

so why don't you offer it free to guys that are reloading - and are short of brass ?? - share it ...
Thats what I do. I clean and sort my range pickups and keep the FC/Speer/Blazer/PMC/CBC/Win/R-P and take the rest back and leave it by the brass bucket at the range. A little good karma never hurts. The way I look at it, the folks who shoot at my range are a community. I would hate it if someone took all the brass and sold it for profit, so why should I do it.

Last edited by tkglazie; October 2, 2012 at 12:57 PM.
tkglazie is offline  
Old October 2, 2012, 01:46 PM   #9
xLPlushy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 7, 2012
Location: Eastern PA
Posts: 160
I see 9mm and .40 S&W brass selling in the classified sections of various gun forums I frequent for $35 and $45 per thousand plus shipping. This is generally mixed head stamp range pick-up that hasn't been cleaned or prepped such as you are worried about wasting time with doing and losing profit. I would sell it around that price point, as is, no prep. Make $10-15 more than scrap prices and make a reloader happy. If you choose to clean it ask a slightly higher premium maybe $40 & $50 per 1000 plus shipping.

When I go to the outdoor range at the rod & club, I offer cash money on the table to those shooting the cartridges that I load for, some take the cash others say no thanks because they also load for that caliber. Generally I go by $35/1000, $45/1000, $55/1000 for 9mm,.40s&w, .45 auto, however I do not plan to reload for .40 anytime soon so I do not usually buy any.


Tapatalked via my highly abused iPhone
xLPlushy is offline  
Old October 3, 2012, 09:24 PM   #10
elroyyboy
Member
 
Join Date: August 4, 2012
Location: Missouri, The Nozarks
Posts: 27
Freedom Munitions gives $2.50/lb brass credit towards new or reman ammo.
elroyyboy is offline  
Old October 3, 2012, 09:29 PM   #11
cornbush
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 29, 2008
Location: The retarded place below Idaho
Posts: 1,408
Send it to Frankenmauser so he can make me more bullets for my 44 mag
__________________
The best shot I ever made was an accident
cornbush is offline  
Old October 3, 2012, 11:58 PM   #12
FrankenMauser
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 25, 2008
Location: In the valley above the plain
Posts: 13,402
^^^^
What he said.


Send me a PM if you'd be willing to entertain the idea of selling/shipping some as-is. I need at least 1k more cases to feel comfortable, and I have to clean and sort it myself, anyway (for the bullet swaging process).


But, if you decide scrapping it is easier, I completely understand. I have a 2.5 gallon jug 1/2 full of scratched or slightly dinged/dented 9mm cases that many reloaders would consider perfectly usable. But, I have so much already, that it isn't worth my time to mess with those cases. I just save it for the scrap man.
__________________
Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.
FrankenMauser is offline  
Old October 4, 2012, 05:20 AM   #13
spacecoast
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 14, 2009
Location: Sunshine and Keystone States
Posts: 4,461
Quote:
Holy smokes. There are no ethics involved with brass.
Actually, when you think about the resources used to melt it down and reform it into something else (maybe just pistol brass once again), it's very wasteful to scrap it rather than just cleaning and reloading it. Some folks think wastefulness is immoral / unethical.

John 6:12 - And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.”
spacecoast is offline  
Old October 6, 2012, 08:41 AM   #14
Old 454
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 15, 2011
Location: Chesterton Ind.
Posts: 822
I keep all the range brass I pick up, what I cant use I trade for what I need.

Scrap brass goes into the scrap bucket and taken to the scrap yard for cash to purchuse other reloading supplies
Old 454 is offline  
Old October 6, 2012, 11:45 AM   #15
Marco Califo
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 4, 2011
Location: LA (Greater Los Angeles Area)
Posts: 2,586
Quote:
Actually, when you think about the resources used to melt it down and reform it into something else (maybe just pistol brass once again), it's very wasteful to scrap it rather than just cleaning and reloading it. Some folks think wastefulness is immoral / unethical.

John 6:12 - And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.”
To each, his own. But, your logic would indicate that it is wasteful to recycle, and I completely disagree. For example, my range collects all spent brass, after shooters pickup their own if they want it, or, pickup someone else's if they do not. Ones that are worthwhile to reload, get picked at again by the range guys (belted magnums, 10mm, etc.). Then the range may select some and have some popular cartridges reloaded for sale at the range (223, 45 ACP, etc.). What is left is sold to a scrap buyer. These are the dirty, stepped on, 9mm and 380, and excess 223). Yes, these may end up being melted down and made into new brass or door knobs. Even so, that will use less energy than to make new brass from copper and other metals.

It is kind of like kids parent's telling them to eat their broccoli because kids in [ethiopia, botswana, niger, congo, bangladesh, etc.] are starving. Send the broccoli to THEM!

If I dont reload 380, I am not touching them. Is it immoral? If a bear farts in a forest, and no one is there to smell it, does it stink?
"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn"
__________________
............

Last edited by Marco Califo; October 8, 2012 at 10:11 PM.
Marco Califo is online now  
Old October 6, 2012, 12:25 PM   #16
mikld
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 7, 2009
Location: Southern Oregon!
Posts: 2,891
I'd say, figger out the scrap price, per 500 and 1,000, and add shipping (Post office flat rate boxes). Don't need to process the brass (just keep the steel cases out). Ask the fellers here if they want to purchase any. This would clear your concious and you'll still make a little cash. I like to keep a lot of semi-auto brass on hand and I'm down to 1 thousand 45 ACP.
__________________
My Anchor is holding fast!
I've learned how to stand on my own two knees...
mikld is offline  
Old October 6, 2012, 12:32 PM   #17
Amsdorf
Junior member
 
Join Date: July 24, 2011
Location: Saint Louis, Missouri
Posts: 849
I'd like to know what the trick is to have the scrap yard take my spent brass. Every place I call around here in the STL metro area tells me they do not take spent brass from ammo.

Huh??
Amsdorf is offline  
Old October 6, 2012, 03:03 PM   #18
FrankenMauser
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 25, 2008
Location: In the valley above the plain
Posts: 13,402
Quote:
I'd like to know what the trick is to have the scrap yard take my spent brass. Every place I call around here in the STL metro area tells me they do not take spent brass from ammo.

Huh??
The scrap yard has to assume responsibility for any live ammunition that may be mixed in with the empty cases, when they send it off to a foundry.
To avoid that liability, some places just don't take it at all.
(Even though most places, at least in my area, crush and/or shred it before shipment.)
__________________
Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.
FrankenMauser is offline  
Old October 6, 2012, 03:23 PM   #19
4runnerman
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 16, 2010
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 3,577
I seel my 9MM for 25.00 per 1000 and that is tumbled to a shine as always.
Right now im sitting on about 12000 cases. My own brass after it has reached it life span in reloads goes into a 5 gallon bucket for the scrap yard
__________________
NRA Certified RSO
NwCP- Performance Isn't Optional
4runnerman is offline  
Old October 6, 2012, 10:58 PM   #20
orionengnr
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 9, 2004
Posts: 5,172
I have given away far more 9mm, .38 Spl, .40 S&W, and .45acp brass than I have sold.

Seems as if I am always running into someone who is just starting to reload...and if I can help him, I will.

Is it wrong to take that brass to the scrap yard? If you really need the money, then no. But I could not do it.

I have had many people do kind things for me in my life. As I grow older, I try to balance that equation a bit.
orionengnr is offline  
Old October 8, 2012, 06:24 AM   #21
spacecoast
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 14, 2009
Location: Sunshine and Keystone States
Posts: 4,461
Quote:
To each, his own. But, your logic would indicate that it is wasteful to recycle, and I completely disagree.
No, that's not what I am saying at all. Of course it's better to recycle than put usable metal into a landfill. However, it's much more efficient to simply reuse it for the purpose for which it is already perfectly suited with no modification other than to simply clean it a bit.

As a family, we not only do this with brass but with other "disposable" items that can be reused over and over again... water bottles, plastic and heavy styrofoam drink cups from fast food places, sheets of aluminum foil, plastic cutlery, etc. Why throw away (or recycle) stuff that can simply be run through the dishwasher and be as good as new?
spacecoast is offline  
Old October 8, 2012, 06:57 AM   #22
Amsdorf
Junior member
 
Join Date: July 24, 2011
Location: Saint Louis, Missouri
Posts: 849
The other thing to keep in mind when these reloading discussions come up is that you do have to take into account:

(1) Investment in equipment and supplies.
(2) Time.

My time is valuable, and how I manage it is important. I'm only given 24 hours in a day and if I determine I wish to "invest" my time in a particular activity, I need to take that into account.

There is a cost, in terms of time, to reloading.

It is a great hobby, it is relaxing, it is interesting and you do "save money" if the only thing you take into account are your actual financial cost.

But it does require time..and time is money too.

At this point, I'm happy to sell my spent brass, reduce my round count, and save time by not reloading.

FWIW.
Amsdorf is offline  
Old October 8, 2012, 02:18 PM   #23
Gerry
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 24, 2010
Location: Canada
Posts: 382
Quote:
As a family, we not only do this with brass but with other "disposable" items that can be reused over and over again... water bottles, plastic and heavy styrofoam drink cups from fast food places, sheets of aluminum foil, plastic cutlery, etc. Why throw away (or recycle) stuff that can simply be run through the dishwasher and be as good as new?
Those are the exact values my parents drilled into us back before I can even remember. And thank God they did. It relates to self-sufficiency. It's a lot easier for a person to reuse something themselves than recycle it. Most folks send their crap away for recycling.

There are many folks that believe society will care for them from cradle to grave, and will care for their crap they throw out too. Just fan out a few bucks, and someone else will take care of it. They also think you'll always without exception be able to depend on Walmart for ammo to shoot, and meat grows in Styrofoam trays at the grocery store. Darwin's law may apply to them eventually.

As ironic as it is, I really relate to rich Italian and Portuguese immigrants that move into my area. They raise their own backyard chickens, grow their own wine grapes, have huge vegetable gardens, and do everything from making their own sausage, dry cured salami, to reloading ammo. And being worth multiple millions, they don't have to spend their time doing it, but they do anyway. They would never throw a plastic container in the garbage. There's a value lesson to be learned here folks. We North Americans (Canadians and Americans) are so wasteful, the rest of the world often reels in disgust.
Gerry is offline  
Old October 8, 2012, 02:23 PM   #24
Gerry
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 24, 2010
Location: Canada
Posts: 382
Quote:
But it does require time..and time is money too.
Well if one must practice heart surgery during all their working hours for income, I can understand how they would view any minute spend otherwise as time wasted. Especially if the surgeon owed money to the mob or something.

Edit: I wasn't stereotyping surgeons, because we have a few IPSC guys who shoot with us that are MDs, and they reload!
Gerry is offline  
Old October 8, 2012, 02:26 PM   #25
Amsdorf
Junior member
 
Join Date: July 24, 2011
Location: Saint Louis, Missouri
Posts: 849
If you want to spend your time reloading, more power to you. I choose not to, more power to me. I am more than well prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse.
Amsdorf is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:14 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.11302 seconds with 10 queries