Is Brass More Easily Scrounged Now Or Is It My Imagination?

Well if there's more brass, I haven't seen it.
Is it possible that someone who used to get there first is no longer getting the brass?

I will add this; Before 2013, I would pick up more 40s and 45 brass than I do now.

If you see me tossing brass in the bucket, leave it there.
Because it has been reloaded so many times the primer pockets are getting loose.

Toprudder said:

Yeah, the revolver guys should throw their brass on the ground like everyone else.

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Ain’t that the truth...

FROGO207 wrote:
"Heck I have seen on here even, some selling their reloading kit..."

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I'm afraid I don't understand.

Sell reloading equipment?

Who would do that?

It's to the point that every time I go to the range, I am coming back with a lot more brass than I am shooting up.

That brass is mostly 9mm, 45acp, and 223 Remington/5.56 though. There is usually a smaller amount of 380acp, 40S&W and 7.62x39 mixed in as well.

Based on what I am picking up, it is probably new shooters, or reloaders who dont think that the more common calibers are worth reloading for. Also interesting that probably at least half of the 45acp I get have the small primer pockets.

Went to the range today. Came home with a hundred extra 223 beyond what I shot and a few 9mm from two nice fellows nearby.

Not at my range - the local winos have figured out brass sells for money at the recyclers, so they run out every day. I had one "team" actually trying to scrounge mine WHILE I was shooting....that did not go over well.

At the public range i shoot at I see mostly .380 brass and 9mm brass. I see some 40 S&W brass but rarely if ever any 45 ACP brass. I have not seen a revolver cartridge case of any kind for years.

As for rifle brass, hardly any is left at the range. If there is some it's usually .223/5.56mm brass but again, rarely.

Makes me sad for sure...

Same here, almost all 9mm with just enough .380 mixed in to be a pain. I have accumulated some 45ACP, but it's always in small batches. I got tired of looking for 38 special and 357 mag and just bought new brass. Starline is cost-effective for .357 and Graf's closed out their PPU 38 special for 4.8 cents/round. I bought 500 pieces of .357 and 1000 of 38 special - likely a lifetime supply. 40S&W has dropped off so much in the last two years I ended up buying 1,000 pieces of used brass from Graf's for 3.2 cents/per when I started loading that caliber this year.

Same here. During the panic, you'd have guys waiting in there car for you to leave and then they'd scrounge the range for brass. Almost everyone took theirs with them. However, now, I'm finding a lot more on the ground. Especially 9mm, 223/5.56, etc. 380 had always been scarce, but I've found a lot more than usual lately. The other change I have also noticed is 40 S&W. I used to pick up a ton of it. Even a year or so ago the range was full of it. Now, I hardly find any. I just finished sorting some range brass today and I had less 40S&W than I did 45. I was shocked by this.

slowr1der said:

Same here. During the panic, you'd have guys waiting in there car for you to leave and then they'd scrounge the range for brass. Almost everyone took theirs with them. However, now, I'm finding a lot more on the ground. Especially 9mm, 223/5.56, etc. 380 had always been scarce, but I've found a lot more than usual lately. The other change I have also noticed is 40 S&W. I used to pick up a ton of it. Even a year or so ago the range was full of it. Now, I hardly find any. I just finished sorting some range brass today and I had less 40S&W than I did 45. I was shocked by this.

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Seems like there is a trend about the lack of 40 brass, maybe. With the FBI and others going back to the 9mm. Fewer people are sticking with the 40? Or those who do shoot the 40 are more apt to reload because of bigger cost savings.

kcofohio said:

Seems like there is a trend about the lack of 40 brass, maybe. With the FBI and others going back to the 9mm. Fewer people are sticking with the 40? Or those who do shoot the 40 are more apt to reload because of bigger cost savings.

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I believe 40 is massively less popular now. With the FBI switching back to 9mm while ammunition was hard to find and expensive even for 9mm the public got over the 40 romance in a hurry. I remember in the early 90's the gun media made it sound like you were cutting yourself short to get a 9 over a 40 - there's precious little of that rhetoric to be found these days.

I also think the thing that has driven handgun sales in recent years has been the popularity of CCW permits, with many of the newly permitted being female. I think in that market the question is usually .380 or 9, not 9 or 40.