Once fired brass

[greentick]

OP: Bartlett has 9mm brass

http://www.gibrass.com/brass.html

[grizmt]

I looked into shipping on a 500 lb drum of .45 from Groton to Phoenix and the quotes I got were in the $350 range. Since all the weights listed on the Gov site include the packaging and include measurements it was easy to give the shipper exact info. I did find that it saves about $60 if I have it dropped at a friends business instead of my house.
It'll be interesting to see how the next auction goes off and prices paid. This will tell me if it's even worth messing with $$$ wise.
On edit:
I notice on all of the ammo from WA the description says "has been through a heated popper". Does anyone know what that means and does it affect the reuse of the case?
My "guess" is that it's heated to discharge any unfired ammo but I don't know for certain.

[ScottRiqui]

I notice on all of the ammo from WA the description says "has been through a heated popper". Does anyone know what that means and does it affect the reuse of the case?
My "guess" is that it's heated to discharge any unfired ammo but I don't know for certain.

Yes, the heat will discharge any unfired rounds. Unfortunately, the heat may also mess with the temper of the brass, making it useless for anything other than scrap metal. In fact, a lot of brass goes through a "popper" and then a "deformer" to make it worthless for reloading so that it can be legally exported as scrap.

You can find auctions that specifically state that the brass has NOT been though a popper - I'd probably focus on those.

[grizmt]

Thank you, I figured heating like that couldn't be a good thing for our purposes.

[schmellba99]

If that is the case....

Auctions are running around $3 a pound. The one I was thinking about bidding on is 659#s. 659 pounds x 73 a pound = 48,107 pieces of brass. Drop 10% due to crushed and box weight...that gives you around 44,000 pieces of brass.

659 x $3 = $1977

44,000/$1977 = $22.25 per piece

Am I missing something? If not then no thanks.

I happen to know a guy in the commercial ammunition industry, and based on what he has told me, figure your shrinkage like this:

30% for indoor range brass
45% for outdoor range brass

Granted, he has a little bit higher threshold for acceptable because he has to not only warranty his ammunition, but it has to look commercially appealing. Even then, with military lots, I think the 45% loss would be pretty conservative - you don't know how it was handled or what type of firearm it was run through. Figure a 50% loss on useable brass.

The good news is that you can always take that brass and offset some of your costs via scrap metal.

A buddy of mine and I looked into this when I lived in AZ. Unfortunately you need cash in hand and have to either be able to take it off site right there or make arrangements for shipping, and shipping can get really expensive really quick. Commercial resellers typically win these auctions as a result.

[smuckie]

Anyone know where to get a deal on a melting pot or 9mm bullet mold