[swingset]

I was at a public range not long ago shooting my Enfield, doing some fire-forming to my brass. At first I was all alone at the end of the range so I let my brass go, it was landing immediately behind me to the right. It was making a neat pile so I figured I get it when I was done. Mind you, I'm the only person within 5 benches, completely to the end of the range.

After a minute or two I notice movement out of the corner of my eye and see a guy shuffling around immediately to my left scavenging brass, mostly .223 stuff. I didn't pay him attention, figuring he could see where mine was landing.

Then, I see him to my right, bent over picking up brass as I'm still shooting. There's probably less than 20 rounds on the ground of mine, all .303 and sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the steel case 762x39 & .223 all over. I turn around to find him pocketing my brass. It's not 2 feet from my foot.

So, I said "Those are mine, I'm reloading those".

The guy looks at me like I'm nuts and says in response "This is public range man, I always pick up brass here".

I said "Yeah, I know it's a public range, but I'm not throwing that brass on the ground for ya, they're mine to reload the same as the ones in this box are mine to shoot. I'd appreciate it if you'd put them back on the ground."

So, this guy looks thoroughly disgusted and empties his pocket of my .303 brass on the ground and grumbles something I couldn't hear under his breath and walks off.

I'm not a up on range-etiquette (I usually shoot at home), so my question is am I in the wrong here? Seems like outright theft to take someone's brass without asking, right in front of them while they're still shooting. Is this considered acceptable behavior??

[Thumper]

That guy was a pinhead.

Some people deserve throttling.

[JackShandy]

I believe the unwritten rule is the brass is yours until you throw it away, or just leave (if your range doesn't require you to clean it up).

[dinosaur]

Arguing with a guy with a loaded rifle on a deserted range just proves the depth of some people`s stupidity.:banghead:

I don`t save brass but I drew the line when some dope was following me like a bird after breadcrumbs.:what:

[FJC]

Agreed, the standard rule is that you don't pick up someone's brass unless you've first asked, or they've left... Then to argue with you when you call him on it - sheesh! I guess you're lucky he's not standing right next to you with a bag trying to catch them as they're ejected. :)

I often shoot at an indoor range. The rule there is that you can pick up your own brass if it's in your lane or behind you (of course you can't pick up anything in front of the firing line). Also, you can't scrounge your own brass out of someone else's lane (while they are there at least). If you don't pick up your own brass, you're supposed to sweep it up and put it in the buckets provided by the range - it then becomes their property.

Sometimes I'm shooting away when the "helpful" person to either side of me decides to sweep up MY brass and toss it in the bucket...grrrr. Not a huge issue but it does cause me to pause and pick up my brass every few magazines, before it's all lost.

[Kharn]

Placing a small (3'x3') sheet or towel on the ground under the impact point should let everyone know that you're intending to keep your brass.

Kharn

[Lone_Gunman]

Damn, Thumper, you Texans sure believe in harsh justice...

Instead of throttling him, how about just a slap in the face??:D

[cool45auto]

OMG! Swingset the same thing happened to me one time while I was shooting my Enfield. This old guy, who I had seen at the range collecting brass before, acted like he'd hit the mother lode when I started ejecting .303 shells! I was taking my time shooting and he was constantly over my shoulder waiting for the next round to come out. I finally told him I was reloading them, even though I don't but was getting tired of him being my shadow, and started bringing the bolt back slowly and taking out each spent cartidge one by one and lying them on the towel.:rolleyes:

[Edward429451]

I don't think you were wrong. I dont think it was outright theft though, just bad manners on his part. Not a lot of people reload, somrthing on the order of 3% of shooters is what I read. So even though it felt like theft to you (I know the feeling) I think theft is the wrong word.

I scrounge brass too but I always ask first. The occasional scrounger comes for my brass sometimes and I just say "All the brass in this area is mine, I reload too", and they go scrounge the other end of the range.

[VaughnT]

Definitely one rude SOB! I would have probably smacked him with the butt end of that rifle when he decided to argue with me.

At my club, folks are always asking me if I want that brass on the floor, and I'll usually give it to them as I don't reload. They have always been careful to leave my brass be when they are gathering their own. Good folks are polite folks.

Of course, none of these guys have offered me any reloads to pay for that brass..... Turnabout's fair play, people!

[Majic]

Etiquette is to ask first, or wait till the shooter leaves it behind. I have shot on one range that had the rule that any brass that hits the floor or ground belonged to the range. I only shot there once too.

[Erich]

I agree: Observed etiquette is to ask first (just had a fellow do it on Saturday). I'm pretty much with dinosaur on this one - what an idiot. You know, generally the range is a pretty polite place . . . .

[Calanctus]

I shot a round of sporting clays Sunday with my brother and a friend, and made sure to save the Win AA hulls for reloading. The older gentleman shooting with us said, "Looks like I've got competition!" After that, I made sure he had his share of hulls before mine went into the bag. Amazing what a little courtesy will do.

In the original post's case, I would've gotten a little bit cranky too.

[Kentucky Rifle]

I don't reload. Maybe I'll start, but probably I won't. Several times, a guy has walked up, stuck out his had and introduced himself and said, "May I please have your brass if you don't need it". I always: 1) immediately clear my weapon, 2) put it down, 3) help the guy pick up the brass.
I'll admit that I have kind of a "hair trigger". I don't know exactly what I'd do if someone was rude enough to do what Swingset's guy did, but it wouldn't be pretty. And it's for damn sure I wouldn't let that saying something under his breath that I couldn't hear go by! I hate that "mumbling crapola".

KR (Yeah, yeah--I said "damn" again. I'm sorry. I'll watch it.)

[treeprof]

At the club I belong to, there's often one or more real old fellas hanging around the pistol range, shooting their guns a little, and shooting the breeze a lot. More than once, they've picked up and piled my brass for me as I shot. Gotta love southern hospitality, extraordinary courtesy, and friendly old guys with time on their hands.

[Mike Irwin]

I've had that happen, with much the same results.

"Excuse me, that's my brass. I'm not abandoning it, so put it down please, or pay me a quarter a pop."

That usually gets them to relinquish my brass.

[spacemanspiff]

myself, i dont reload, and i'm willing to let others collect whatever i leave behind. except for the mauser 8mm, i'm keeping all my brass because i will start reloading for that cartridge eventually.

but one day i was at the range, and theres this other shooter 2 lanes to my left, hes picking up most of his own brass, and after a while we start conversing, hes giving me some really good suggestions and criticisms on my shooting, and another shooter comes to the lane between us. range was getting full and there were maybe 2 other lanes open at that moment. this fresh face starts picking up the 40 and 45 brass in that lane when this guy i'm talking to yells at him for doing that without first asking.

it made me feel embarrassed for this fresh shooter to be snapped at, hes all apologetic and whatnot. hes shooting his glock that he just recieved back from being compensated. hes enlisted, doesnt get much chances to shoot his own personal weapon, and from the getgo i could tell he was uncomfortable because of this older shooter that chewed his head off. he even asked if i wanted him to take another lane when he realized his brass was pinging me, but i told him it was no big deal.

[HankB]

It would never occur to me to pick up another shooter's empty cases without asking. And it's been my experience that the overwhelming majority of shooters know this instinctively.

But there are exceptions.

Around 25 years ago a group of us were at an indoor - underground, actually - rifle range. We had the range to ourselves, and when we started the firing line had been swept - ALL the brass was ours. A small guy in his mid-50's wearing a fancy leather jacket came in and whenever we turned to shoot, we realized he was picking up our brass!

I placed myself at the door, and watched . . . sure enough, he was picking up ejected empties before they stopped rolling.

Well, after a while, he came to me and said "Move over, I'm leaving now."

I politely told him, "No, not until you empty your pockets of our brass."

He said "If you don't move, I'll move you myself."

Half his age and twice his size, I said, again politely, "No, you won't. Now empty your pockets of all our brass. It's not yours."

About this time, my buddies came up, saw the byplay, surrounded him and said words to the effect of "And there better not be any missing."

Realizing he had no choice, with poor grace and a face that shaded from red to purple, the brass thief pulled fistfulls of our cases from various pockets, handed them over, and said "I suppose you @ss*0#%s want my wallet, too."

"No, that would make us the thieves, not you. Get lost."

We told the range manager about it . . . FWIW, we never saw the jerk again.

[Skunkabilly]

I just hate it when I'm standing ready at an IPSC match and all the guys not taping are STILL hunting for their brass.... :rolleyes:

[444]

I have never had that happen to me. That would really get on my nerves. When shooting a bolt action rifle, I never just eject brass out on the ground. I put my hand over the ejection port and stop the brass right there. I don't do that because I a m afraid someone will steal my brass, I am just too lazy to pick it up expecially if I have to look for it or sort it oout from the other brass lying there. Plus landing on concrete dings it up. I shoot it, and return the empty case to the box.
I have asked people if they minded if I took their brass, but I never picked it up while they were shooting. Talk about a distraction. If somebody was standing there picking up each spent case as I ejected them, I couldn't concentrate; all I would be thinking about is what a cheap, low budget, penny pincher this $&* was. I can't stand greedy, cheap people and woun't let him have it even if I didn't want it.

Skunk, at our local IPSC and IDPA matches, the guys on deck immedately pick up the shooters brass and mags as the targets are being scored/taped/reset. I was kind of surprised when I shot out of town and nobody made any effort to help the shooter out by retrieving his gear for him. I know when I shoot, I want to walk along with the scorer and see how I did. Shooting matches where nobody wants to help sucks. And it slows down the process for everyone. People often complain about standing around and waiting for their turn to shoot. They often forget that if they helped out, it would speed things up for everyone and give them something to do.

[Hutch]

Ah, brass etiquette (sp?). Swing's shadow was an obtuse clod, and the term "thief" does come to mind, but I doubt the grand jury would true bill him. Regarding the sort Skunk' (may I call you Skunk?) points out, there's no excuse to hold up a match for the brass scrounging. Matches last long enough without delays caused by the anal-retentive sorts who simply MUST account for the last of their 9mmP brass. You know, the brass that's slightly cheaper than gravel, and about as rare.

[Jayman]

So nice to shoot IDPA, most of the guys are shooting pretty common stuff. Some of the IPSC guys shoot .38 super, and that is fairly pricey, no? I can see why they'd want to dig up their brass and reload.

The range ettiquette I see is typically just general stupidity, not brass hounding. That said, that is really irritating. Most of the stuff I shoot is non-reloadable though, so I guess that'd keep people from trying to get my stuff.

[jsalcedo]

When I'm at the range just about everyone is shooting 40 S&W and I'm shooting .45acp. So I pick up my brass after about every magazine.

I don't want it stepped on or mixed up with the 40 brass and the range master sweeps every few minutes and dumps all the brass into a 5 gal bucket. At $10 per 50 cases I am usually carefull with my brass.

If I see someone else shooting .45 I'll ask if they reload. either they give me a dirty look like "reloading is for the underprivileged" or they say they don't care.

I've actually been ridiculed for picking up brass like I was a dumpster diver
or homeless cretin

I've found if I don't pick it up it gets picked up by the and sold for
$21 per 100 of mixed headstamp in the range office.

I've never encountered another reloader in all my travels and have picked up thousands of 45-70 30-30 44mag and 357mag discarded by shooters wealthier than me. But never without asking

[veloce851]

I'd have to agree that guy was way out of line.
I've picked up other people's brass before... but from an empty lane.
Brass isn't that expensive and I don't even reload yet... I've typically picked brass up just to study the different calibers available.

But now that I have my AR-15 complete I plan to get into reloading.
At which time my brass will be important to me.
That's why I plan on getting one of these:
http://dillonprecision.com/content/image/200/i_1141.jpg
that's from BluePress kind of pricey at $40 for all it is. But I'll still get one.

[PATH]

I've never had that experience at the ranges I frequent. What annoys me is people who shoot and don't police their brass. I think as a courtesy one should ask if he can have the brass.

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

Never had a problem with someone trying to get my brass before it hits the ground. There was a guy with a .458 SOCOM at the range Sunday who had the same bag shown above catching his hulls. I imagine he'd have stretched the neck of anyone reaching for one of his empties.

I was shooting Berdan primed 7.62x54R that day; the buzzards could have any of mine they wanted.

Regards,
Rabbit

[444]

I own a .458 SOCOM and I would stretch their necks too.
That brass cost me almost $500 for 1000 pieces.
I wil spend as much time as nessessary to find every single piece of it I fire.

[illuminatus99]

I've always had people ask if they can have my brass, they pick up all my 7.62X54R and .30-30 and I pick up the big piles of .45 ACP :)

[Lancel]

Fortunately I haven't encountered a knucklehead like swingset did.
But I recall a few times that it was impossible for me to find small amounts of brass.
Figured it was just my eyesight, now I wonder what went on behind me.:confused:

If I do happen to sweep up someone else's brass in my area, I make a point of asking if they want it before deciding what to do with it. Just seems like common courtesy.

Larry

[Andrew Wyatt]

"You can take my spent .223, but you can never take my .303!"- William Wallace


i make a point of keeping my .303, since i'm going to start reloading for it.


anyone who tries to take my .303 brass gets a talking to. forcefully.

[Alan Smithiee]

one of the things we're doing at our range is buckets set out for differnt (common) calibers, if you don't want your brass dump it in the right bucket and leave it for the brass rats.

but if someone started picking up my .303 brass like they did to swing it would be "thats my property and that'll be a buck a case"

[firestar]

It WAS a public range you know! Don't you know that all your personal property becomes public property once you enter a public range?:D

[Crimper-D]

There's one character at our club that carries scrounging to it's ultimate idiocy:rolleyes: = He pops the tops off the "Dudbuckets" = 5gal cans with lids fitted and holes poked in the middle for disposal of dud rounds of all calibers from .22Short to .45ACP, and 'saves' " The Good Stuff":rolleyes: - to SHOOT! :eek: The general consensus is the fool will sooner or later "Darwinate" himself.
There are others too who will scrounge off the ground - one wonders what the devil they _DO_ with Berdan primed brass:p

[benewton]

Not fair, but I can't resist....

I just lose the occasional case in the long grass, which I should have had the "boss" mow, but then, she's on flower planting now, and you can only go so far, safely.

Come on, the Free State Project!

[saddenedcitizen]

Take a look at this idea


http://www.alpharubicon.com/leo/brasscatcher.htm

Can be made to 'fold up' with a bit of 'engineering'

May solve a 'piece' of the problem.

[Standing Wolf]

I've seen plenty of brass scavengers, but never a thief. Some people apparently have no pride.

[Poodleshooter]

I find it polite to pick up other people's brass for them, particularly if it's interfering with my prone shots in a match. Me at the last match: "Who's got the 30-06 Lake City?" or "4 pieces of .308 federal match here!"
Several times, I've had folks give me all I could carry,just for helping them out. Taking another mans brass without his permission though.... downright thievery.
I'll also admit to scrounging the outdoor rifle brass bucket, but I'll never touch that lead powder dusted handgun brass bucket on the indoor range.

[marsh]

We have a jerk at the range we USED TO shoot at. He is a self-appointed volunteer range officer and wears a little orange beanie. He says that this orange beanie entitles him to everyone's brass and he will BAN anyone from the range that he wants to and accuses people who pick up thier own brass of "stealing" jhis brass. He also picks up people's M-1 en-bloc clips threatening to ban them if they object.:cuss: Wife and I have quit going there as range management can't or won't do anything about him. He doesn't reload. He sells the brass to local commercial reloaders at gunshows.

[Backwoods]

Never had anyone try to steal my brass while I was right there and if I left the range without finding it all, someone else was welcome to it. I do try to pick up my empties for reloading though and can get a little overboard looking the more expensive varieties.

Back when I was shooting High Power rifle('90-'95) I got frustrated trying to find my brass in the range grass. Ohio Rifle & Pistol Assoc. uses the ranges at Camp Perry and any one who has shot there much can tell you the grass can be somewhat long at times. I went to Radio Shack and bought thier "kids" metal detector($19.95, bright orange, 9 volt battery) and used it to locate my errant cases. Took some ribbing from some of the other shooters over it, but also had more than a few ask where I got it.

Don in Ohio

[Phyphor]

Now, brass is bad enough, but if some self-appointed rangemaster decided he was gonna keep my en-blocs, then there'd definitely be some trouble, especially considering how expensive those things are getting....
:fire: :fire: :cuss: :barf: :fire:

[Andrew Wyatt]

magazine stealers get put to the bayonet.

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

yeah, anyone who grabs up one of my Garand clips with the intent of pocketing it finds out the bayonet is not just for the nostalgia of Iwo Jima.

Regards,
Rabbit.

[Phyphor]

Especially given how expensive they're getting AND how kooky Kalifornia's government is getting... I'm wondering how long it'll be before they're considered "High capacity feeding devices."

I dunno about bayoneting, though.... Maybe they could experience the joy of being the first to be butt-stroked with a Garand in 50 years? :evil:

(Corrected gawd-awful mispelling... )

[Snaps]

I've had people ask me if I wanted the brass (I don't reload .223 for my AR, just buy bulk) when I was shooting the AR and I've told them to take it. I've never had anybody ask about another caliber or just start taking it htough

[XLMiguel]

I'm just a pistol plinker and I don't reload, so I don't care about my brass, they're welcome to it.

However, I DO find it very annoying/distracting to have some weenie scurrying about my position while I'm shooting and have had to tell a few to get away from me, and a very few to get the H:cuss: away from me. Aside from being thoroughly inconsiderate, it ain't even safe. The good news is that it is an infrequent occurance.

[keyhole]

Well at the range I shoot at, the other shooters will help you pick up your brass, without the thought of taking it. Nice folks.
I have been out there many times, and walked the range before shooting, and picked up 50+ cases of mixed brass. Guess that's why I have so much of it at home.

On reloading, a friend once told me that since I reload, I do not really save any money in shooting. He said, that if I was to buy ammo to shoot, I would shoot 50 rounds maybe in a visit to the range. Since I reload, I will usually shoot 200+, therefore, no savings.:eek:

I hate it when he's right.

[foghornl]

Depending on what I am shooting that day, ask and you can probably have it.

Bend down to pick up without asking, and your next bend will get you a quick assist to the ground, (you don't see the rest of this line, said course of action NOT reccommended) courtesy of a butt-stroke to the back of your pointy head...

As for the orange beanie-boy, I would scratch some ID markings on an en-bloc, and when he took it, a cel-fone call to the local constabulary is in order.

[Dorrin79]

ya'll must go to different ranges than me!

I've never seen anybody scrounging for brass at the ranges I go to.

Did once see an older gentleman shooting a revolver who would dump his cylinder into a pouch of his range bag - guess he was a reloader.

Everyone else I've encoutnered just lets em' fly.

[treeprof]

To clarify my 1st post, the older gents who sometimes pick up brass for folks at my range do it while the shooter's reloading, pasting targets, etc., and not while they're in the act of shooting.

[Mike Irwin]

"I've found if I don't pick it up it gets picked up by the and sold for
$21 per 100 of mixed headstamp in the range office."

:eek: :eek: :eek:

CHRIST! That's highway robbery!

[Bullet Bob]

RE------------VOL-----------VER! Too many snakes in the fields I shoot in to be fumbling around in high grass! Plus, at my advanced age (51), I find that the brass is getting better at hiding than it used to be.

Allright, I just like revolvers - sue me.

[Mike Irwin]

"Bend down to pick up without asking, and your next bend will get you a quick assist to the ground, courtesy of a butt-stroke to the back of your pointy head..."


At which point there would be a felony arrest for assault with a deadly weapon.

A smart attorney would easily show that the person you assaulted was simply interested in what you were shooting, and wanted to identify the caliber of the firearm....

Being forced to deal with the occasional idiot doesn't mean becoming one yourself.

I agree with the enbloc thievery, though.

[foghornl]

MR. Irwin, you are correct. the way things are now, that action most likely would result in much legal hassles.

///Removing from record, " ...a butt-stroke to back of your pointy head... "

Having been the victim of violet crimes and petty to grand theft more times than I would really care to admit sometimes makes my type before thinking.

The orange beanie-boy would at least get verbally challenged.
"...You show me RIGHT NOW in the rules of this range where you are allowed to STEAL MY BRASS and sell it for your own profit..."

[Mike Irwin]

To tell you the honest to God's truth, Foghorn, I tend to agree with the sentiment, especially when it comes to something a bit more tangible than a piece of brass.

If someone cops your en bloc clips, are they really that far from snagging something out of your range bag?

Using that "range officer's" logic, ANYTHING that hits the floor, including the butt of a rifle, could be construed to be "his."

He could threaten to ban me, and may even suceed, but he would NOT get my en blocs or my brass, for that matter.

IF, however, it was a posted range rule, then it would be harder to contest him.

[Phyphor]

That says they can keep my En-blocs may merrily go to H*LL! :fire:

There may not be very many ranges here in Kali, but I'd sure as hell rather drive 50 miles more to get to the next closest one, than support a range that practiced something tantamount to magazine thievery (I know an en-bloc isn't really a magazine, but it's PART of one, as the M-1 just won't function properly without it (unless you count functioning as a single shot as "proper"))