Am I Sentenced Forevermore To Brass Scrounging?

[Double-O-Dave]

I recently watched an episode of Jerry Miculek's "Shootout Lane" showing him working on his home range. He was talking about how he couldn't stand to see brass laying on the range, that it was like seeing money left on the ground, and then showed him harvesting the brass, and feeding it into a cement mixer with a shovel (his version of a tumbler). Well, if it's good enough for Jerry Miculek, who is a sponsored shooter, it's good enough for me.

Regards,

Dave

 

[fr3db3ar]

I pick up everything. I leave the rimfire in a range bucket and sort the rest. I don't reload 40 or 45 but if I ever decide too I'll have some brass to work with. I scrap the 380 and am now reloading 9. There always seems to be some extra 9 laying around so I'm good.

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[Wise_A]

Way I see it, if I don't do it, some other guy will. And the 'other guys' around here aren't bashful about it. They'll lay down a tarp before an event, and then pocket the whole thing when we're done instead of sharing it out between the guys that stayed to help clean up. For that reason, I now only shoot my sixguns when I bother to go at all.

.38 and .45, I scrounge. I never see much .38 (but have a couple boxes full), but I could always use more .45. I suppose I should start picking up 9mm in case I ever get a 929.

 

[patrickd]

For me it's like trying to pass by and not pick up a coin on the ground. I bend over to get that one casing and then spot another and another and before I know it my pockets are full. Range brass is money to me.

 

[fredj338]

I usually pass on range brass. Since I don't know for sure how many times it's been loaded I prefer to not mix it in with my stuff.

You can tell once or twice fired from multiple fired, by looking closely at the headstamp. Cases don't survive multiple firings w/o leaving indications on the case head like extractor marks.

 

[fredj338]

I recently watched an episode of Jerry Miculek's "Shootout Lane" showing him working on his home range. He was talking about how he couldn't stand to see brass laying on the range, that it was like seeing money left on the ground, Regards,

Dave

Exactly! I was at the private club I shoot Sunday. The bay was covered in 223 brass. I didn't have time to pick it up, was training a couple new shooters, but it was like leaving a range full of dimes. Now who would do that???

 

[Wee Hooker]

There is hope! I used to be like everyone else here. IE Spending as much time on my knees scooping up free range brass than actually shooting. Then at some point, I came to the realization that for the common "new shooter/non reloader" calibers like 9mm, 40 S&W and .223, I already have two lifetime supplies laid in. I now (sometimes reluctantly) leave those common calibers behind (even when it's ankle deep!)

Truthfully though, I'm not 100% cured of treasure hunting. I'll still grub around in the dirt like a deranged prospector for the occasional 45 acp or 357sig windfall when I find it.

 

[DWalt]

"I have to admit, I do the "Chicken Dance" all the time picking up brass."

Do they do the Chicken Dance in Florida? I thought that was something pretty well limited to Texans.

 

[Freischütz]

After many years I can now control my urges and not pick up 45 ACP and 9mm Par brass. I have no self control when I see 44 Mag or Special cases.

I only pick up cases that I reload or can form into something I reload. Other people will be happy to find what I don't use.

 

[Snoopz]

You can tell once or twice fired from multiple fired, by looking closely at the headstamp. Cases don't survive multiple firings w/o leaving indications on the case head like extractor marks.

this...and if it's been reloaded, the question is why did the "reloader" leave it? Just saying...

also done the "tarp" thing above when we had "pin shoots" a long time ago

-Snoopz

 

[Troystat]

No I do try and be discrete about it as the range I go to says "all brass property of the range except your own" or something to that effect. That being said I always pick up any unclaimed .38,357 and 45acp. One time not to long ago somebody left 50 once fired Federal 45 Colt brass on the bench and it was all I could do to leave it behind. I probably should have picked it up and sold it on gun broker.

 

[Wise_A]

The tarp thing aggravates me to no end. I always thought that if you showed up to an event, and helped out with the operation, picked up and such, that the reward for that was getting a fair share of the brass.

When one guy dumps it all into a bucket and whistles away merrily, I just get the impression that any effort I put into helping out wasn't appreciated.

 

[Fuddster]

I have more than I will ever need. But not only do I still pick it up, I'll buy some occasionally if it looks good and the price is reasonable. I don't load .40, but will pick it up just so it doesn't distract me from shooting. When standing, it looks like .45.

 

[fredj338]

this...and if it's been reloaded, the question is why did the "reloader" leave it? Just saying...

also done the "tarp" thing above when we had "pin shoots" a long time ago

-Snoopz

Who is to say it was reloaded & not factory?? Reload long enough, you can tell if the case hase been fired more than once. I see lots of shooters every weekend shooting 100sof rounds of factory & leaving brass.

 

[fredj338]

No I do try and be discrete about it as the range I go to says "all brass property of the range except your own" or something to that effect. That being said I always pick up any unclaimed .38,357 and 45acp. One time not to long ago somebody left 50 once fired Federal 45 Colt brass on the bench and it was all I could do to leave it behind. I probably should have picked it up and sold it on gun broker.

The aformentioned private club i shoot requires the shooters to police their brass. So anything on the bay when you get there is for the taking or the trash. I would rather take it, give it to a brass starved new reloader than see it go to the scrap yard.

 

[les.b]

Wow. You guys make me feel a lot better. I thought it was just me. Ageingstudent, I love that wooden contraption you made!! Reminds me of a pet feeder. What a cool way to store brass. I teach at a university where there are multiple offices where the workers always seem to have those large, clear pretzel jars sitting around. I have put out the word that when they are empty, that I will recycle them. I store my cleaned, used brass in these, that way I can see what is in them. I also bought large, self stick labels to tell what caliber, and other details I know. Some I sort by headstamps if I have enough.

It's easy to say you have enough, but after the last ammo famines, I try to have plenty of brass, primers, powder, bullets, lead, and factory ammo in all of the many calibers that I own and shoot. I don't ever want to be caught short again. Well, I wasn't caught very short, but I did start to get uneasy. Like when I was down to 2,500 factory rounds of .45 ACP, and several thousand empty cartridge cases, and only a couple of thousand appropriate primers.

That's what is eventually our soft underbelly. Some states are trying to tax and regulate ammunition, and if they ever succeed, we scrounges and hoarders will be thought of as the wise ones!!!

Best Regards, Les

 

[Snoopz]

Who is to say it was reloaded & not factory?? Reload long enough, you can tell if the case hase been fired more than once. I see lots of shooters every weekend shooting 100sof rounds of factory & leaving brass.

You hit the nail on the head..been reloading for 35+ years and yes there are people who leave it set, the last batch of so-called 1x 45, netted, swaged, reamed primer pockets (that didn't need it) multiple marks on the case heads, extractor marks, etc....5.56 the same way...more so..they get separated from the others... if I leave any behind it's for several reasons, can't find it, and it's life is no longer, mainly can't find it, otherwise "scrap"

about the tarp thing ...we all shared the brass..have seen some who just fold it up and dump it later.
also when we took turns mowing with a push mower (our range duties), when the blade hits it, that brass case becomes a projectile itself...it may not be that "rock" you hit... YMMV

-Snoopz

 

[SweetMK]

He was talking about how he couldn't stand to see brass laying on the range, that it was like seeing money left on the ground, and then showed him harvesting the brass, and feeding it into a cement mixer with a shovel (his version of a tumbler).

Dave

I guess it is a good thing I do not visit any range's,,, because I have the tumbler,,,

I surely do not need ANOTHER addiction,,,,

Hmmmmmmmm,,,,,,,, where can I get 100 pounds of ground corncob??

 

[otisrush]

Thanks for the stories! I love hearing 'em.

And.....they make me feel better continuing to scrounge. "One man's trash is another man's treasure."

OR

 

[Cyrano]

I scrounge all the brass I can. Now that's not so much as the Fort Bliss Rod and Gun Club has a rule that you can pick up your own brass but anything else is 'US Govenment Property".

There are some problems with range pick-ups. One of them is with 45 ACP. I like to stay with one brand of brass; it's an easy way to get a little uniformity. I like Winchester brass, for no reason. But I load a lot of 45 ACP. There are three varieties of Winchester 45 ACP brass, and they have to be sorted out.

Some Winchester 45 ACP brass has visibly larger flash holes than the others. I believe they were used with primers that containe no lead and the larger flash hole was neded because they didn't burn quite as hot as before. I've fired a few inadvertently, and didn't come to grief, but I still toss them when I find them even though I usually load pretty mild loads.

And now recently, Winchester has been putting small pistol primers in their 45 ACP brass. The first time I found one of those was when the primer wouldn't enter the case. Finally took the case out of the press and had a look. I was surprised at what I found. These got into scrap too.