What is the range etiquette for this?

[44 AMP]

I pick up "abandoned" brass. But only with permission. And NO ONE has permission to pick up my brass, unless I give it to them, personally and directly (and that ain't happening, not for anything I reload ).

I shoot some guns where the brass is uncommon (and was, even before the ammo panic), and expensive. I have some guns where the only way to get brass is for me to MAKE it.

"Once it hits the ground it's fair game".

NO, its not. If that is an actual range rule, I won't shoot there.

Some of my brass is literally $1 or more each. Wildcat cases are even more, considering the time I spend making them.

One is not finished with the shooting station when you go downrange to check and change targets. And that includes any brass on the ground. Personally, I often don't pick up my brass until I get back from downrange. This lets me scan the ground in front of the firing line, and retrieve any of my brass that got out there, before the range goes hot again. Brass behind the line, I can pick up while the range is hot, if necessary, and not delay anyone else.

If I leave it when I have packed up and drive away, its yours if you want it. But NOT until then.

[Stevie-Ray]

Every range I've belonged to has the same sign. All brass on floor is the property of range. You are allowed to police your OWN brass. Simply put, anything that's on the floor when you get there belongs to the range and you can't pick it up, other than to put it in the range's brass bucket, which is what I do if the previous shooter has left a mess. Then, anything that collects behind me is mine and I always pick it up. When another reloader shoots next to me the fun begins, Is this yours? I've actually gotten more shooting buddies that way. Never had anyone so bold as to just pick up MY brass without asking. They WOULDN'T get away with it.

[Mainah]

I think the crucial point is that the OP was there with his child. Given that the brass thief had ignored every sense of basic decent behavior I think he did the right thing. Walking away from a fight, especially when guns are involved is a good lesson IMHO.

I hope I would have done the same thing. But I'm also pretty sure that I'd be back at the same range with a trusted friend on the same day, and at the same time the following week.

[Brian Pfleuger]

I don't understand the assumption that this is a "fight" or will instantly escalate into a fight. There certainly comes a point where the issue has to be let go, at least in terms of immediate confrontation, but being ignored is not that point. There's a long ways between any reasonable assumption of someone being rude and inconsiderate and expecting that their next step is to pull out a gun and kill you and your child.

[wogpotter]

I don't understand the assumption that this is a "fight" or will instantly escalate into a fight.

Agreed, Hence my post earlier about a scaled increasing escalation. You can call a bluff without going "horse, foot & guns" all at once. IMO 99% of this bad mannered approach is bluff, if you don't call it (within reason) then you just can't be bothered to stand up for yourself. If you can't be bothered why should anyone else?

[Mainah]

So you're assuming that someone who disrespects an armed man with a child will then decide to respect a forceful and logical set of demands? Maybe. But if not then what? At best the OP's daughter has to watch a heated argument, at worst...

I think we can all agree that the brass collector was a thief, and a jerk. But is that really any worse than the behavior I chose to ignore all the time? I'm thinking about the idiots who cut me off while driving and texting for example.

[Skans]

So you're assuming that someone who disrespects an armed man with a child will then decide to respect a forceful and logical set of demands? Maybe. But if not then what? At best the OP's daughter has to watch a heated argument, at worst...

I think we can all agree that the brass collector was a thief, and a jerk. But is that really any worse than the behavior I chose to ignore all the time? I'm thinking about the idiots who cut me off while driving and texting for example.

I know I played devil's advocate a bit a few posts ago, but I too believe that stealing a person's brass is simply wrong. And, when someone is being "in-your-face" about it, how can you possibly just walk away? I couldn't. With life comes risks. There are times that you simply need to push back on someone who is bullying or taking advantage of you. Even if my daughter was present, and even if there is a remote chance that I am placing both of us in harm's way, there is no way I would let someone like what the OP described just walk away with my brass. See, for me, its much more than simply scraps of brass - it's everything I stand for.

[wogpotter]

So you're assuming that someone who disrespects an armed man with a child will then decide to respect a forceful and logical set of demands?

When did I say that? I don't recall ever saying anything remotely like that.

What I did say was that there's the possibility that it was simply a bluff on the part of the thief to see if he could "push the envelope" a bit. I suggested that calling his bluff was a worthwhile technique to try. Many B/S artists will fold once they KNOW someone will push back by calling the bluff. There was nothing about "respect" involved in any way.

I know I played devil's advocate a bit a few posts ago

I know, I was just giving something as "push back" so you had a foil.

[Dashunde]

any reasonable assumption of someone being rude and inconsiderate and expecting that their next step is to pull out a gun and kill you and your child.

True, and I didn’t mean to say that there isn't a bunch of room between not being a passive door mat and doing something that escalates to a gunfight at the range.
I'm mostly suggesting that those who were recommending the tough-guy response with their kids along is, well... silly and dumb because it could backfire bigtime... the guy could leave letting you think you've "won" and snipe you from the edge of the road 300 yards away. Its just stupid to get into any confrontation at the range that could bring anyone to their boiling point.
You dont know these people and never really know what brand of kooky your dealing with out there.
Standing your ground, being stern, or agressively defending brass may prove volatile in a very remote place.
After all, many of us carry guns because there are so many unbalanced people around...
I'm simply saying to keep the priorities straight, pick your battles in life... brass on the ground out in the sticks is really low on my list.

Its been asked a few times... When is that brass fair game for the grabbing?
I say when its owner drives away... until then, the owner is still there, free to walk back from their targets or even from their car with a bucket to gather it up... they leave, its yours.

[Chaz88]

This thread has been much more interesting than I thought it would be.

I do not think anyone that knows me would consider me a doormat.

I do not think, all things considered, this situation warranted much escalation. Daughter, guns, two other unknown adults in a remote location, some common brass lost, and I have a slow temper but when it goes it is no fun for anyone.

Mostly my daughter and I were just baffled that anyone would do it in the first place.

[wogpotter]

Sadly its another symptom of the "me above all" lifestyle being taught & learned recently.

[44 AMP]

A remote location, family, complete strangers acting quite unsociably, is quite a different situation from someone rudely shagging your brass at a organized range.

Sometimes though, brass scroungers (even when they are not thieves) get their own ..rewards...

Some folks I know of went shooting at a local spot, fired up several hundred rounds of berdan primed .30-06, and 20 rounds of LC Match, and left their brass...

A notorious local brass wh..hound, not part of their shooting/social group found out, and went out after their brass. First case he picked up was one of the Match cases, and he swarmed it all up.

Came into the local shop a couple days later, whining about the "bad" brass, and how he had broken his third decapping pin and needed to buy more. We happily sold him more pins...