.22LR As Scrap Brass?

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kingpin008

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If this is in the wrong section, I'll be glad to move it. Not quite a reloading question, so I figured I'd put it here.

Anyway - I shoot a fair bit of .22LR. I keep as much of the empty brass as I can, for the heck of it. I know it's not reloadable, and thus not worth much in that sense. My question is, if I were to take it to a scrap metal dealer, would they even accept it? I've never sold any scrap metal, and I don't know if they take empty brass or not. Does anyone here take empty brass to scrap dealers? Part of me thinks that they wouldn't take it due to concerns of the primers/priming compound being live or not.

That being said - if I were to start collecting my fired .22 in earnest, can I assume that the primer compound in the rim has been expended, or should I build some sort of rig that would allow me to completely flatten the rims of the cases to make sure before I take it in to a dealer? (For the rig, I'm thinking a solid metal block w/.22LR case-sized hole drilled through it, so the rim sits on the metal. Hammer hits the rim, any leftover priming compound is safely expended downwards while the metal block contains the casing)

I'm in central Maryland, so if anyone ele in the area has experience, all the better. Looking for any and all advice though, local or not.

Thanks ya'll!
 
Good Grief, I thought I was the only one who did this! I haven't accumulated enough to try and take it somewhere yet (around 1/3 of a large coffee can full), so I am interested in knowing if I'm wasting my time.
 
Yes they will accept it

Check the spot price before you go so that they don't try to rob you.
 
$1.50 per pound is what I got. Personally I wouldn't worry about the priming compound; if they are fired, it's gone. I took some brass last week, mostly scrap centerfire but some rimfire. If you want to take the time to pick up enough to add up to much, it's good brass.
 
For those who also reload,

what about decapped primers? Any problems with those? Granted they weigh next to nothing each, but over time they add up, and there's almost no airspace between them in the can, so the can gets heavier with primers than with empty cartridges alone.
 
Cool! Thanks for the replies. I'm currently doing my best to save my .45 ACP brass, and the .38 Special from my fiancee's 642 for future reloading. Not trying to start right now, but the way ammo prices are going...you know how it is.

As far as the .22 brass, I hate to just leave it sitting there. It might as well make me some money, even if it takes me awhile to accumulate enough to be worth taking to a scrap dealer. The way figure it, even if it takes me a year to get a bunch together, it's not like the prices for metals are going down any time soon! And $1.50 a Lb. is not too shabby, if you ask me.
 
Someone around year about 2 years back was pining to have a centerfire .22LR that could be handloaded.

What an idea!

Oh, and yes, we do put the .22LR into recycle. Brass is brass.
 
I think I remember someone over at rimfirecentral.com claiming to have successfully reloaded .22LR. Haven't seen any proof, of course, but it would be pretty neat.

I guess my concern over the priming compound was due to a worry I had that a dealer might not accept it due to some percieved risk of detonation.

What can I say - I like to cover my bases. :D

And where should I go to check the current "going rate" for various metals? Is there a site that I can have a look at, or do dealers set their own prices?
 
I think I remember someone over at rimfirecentral.com claiming to have successfully reloaded .22LR. Haven't seen any proof, of course, but it would be pretty neat.
Click to expand...
I've heard of rimfire cases being re primed by ironing out the firing pin indentation usin a hydralyic ram and die. Then spining in a liquid priming compound and letting it crystalyse. Not very economical and the ironed out rim can fracture due to work hardening.
I think this was done to put old Henry (maybe .41 Swiss RF) caliber guns back in action when ammo dried up, or something of that nature.


All I can tell you about .22 brass is it is so thin it burns before it melts unless heated in an oxygen free crucible. Tried melting some once to make knife hilts.

PS
Empty .22 brass is sometimes used to form jacketed .228 bullets for the .22 Hi Power by drawing it into smooth blank jackets and filling with lead then swaging to finished form.
 
I check out the scrapyard in Fredericksburg sometimes - one time I saw a dishwasher box full of crimped .223. My guess is that it was scrap from Quantico.

Roswell, I'd have tried it in an electric furnace, or at a lower temperature first.
 
yes, look for the price of "yellow brass" thats usually the price youll get... maybe slightly less... the public range i go to has a guy that comes by every night with a broom and picks up all the brass left behind to sell for scrap... :-/
 
Hi Kingpin,

Look up Linsay Books, buy the one(s) on making a charcoal foundry and mold making. Design chess sets, build the molds, pour the chessmen (pure brass for black-Aluminum for white) Sell on ebay.

If you are going to try to make money on scrap metal - make a lot of money!

Selena (muttering under her breath about men in general)
 
Hi Roswell 1847,

When my uncle used 22 rimfires for foundry brass he would compress the charge in a hydralic former made out of thick wall pipe and using a tractor cylinder. An eight ton jack would probably do as well to reduce the volume and 'swage' the walls a bit.

Selena
 
I've been collecting rimfire brass for a number of years now, I have a good friend that does brass castings. We've made all kinds of things from melted down 22lr cases. Door hinges, punch sets, screws, knife handles, hammers, and just about anything else you can think of. It's alot of fun, and we make a little extra money in the process.
 
metal price

the best way to find the current price of metals is to look in a major news paper stock page
 
Just bring the brass to the scrap-yard as it is, no crushing needed. You'll get about a $1.30 to $1.60 a pound for it right now (give or take, depending on what prices are in your area). non-reloadable centerfire brass is worth money too- 7.62x54r is like $55/ 1000 pieces.
 
I've been looking into this recently, useful thread! (I have about 30+lb of .22LR wasting space...) Wouldn't mind a bit of ammo money...

As for melting it, I've been thinking about trying it in my charcoal forge. I wonder if adding a charge of crushed charcoal to the bottom of the crucible might provide a sufficiently anaerobic environment...
 
Hi matt87

Charcoal is all well and good if you have six to ten acres of hardwood to use as raw material. If not an LP gas foundry is just as easy to make, a lot more convenient and just as cost effective in the long run.

Unless the brass is oxidized, charcoal in the crucible wouldn't do you much good. Dross is going to happen regardless of the charge or atmosphere. Your best bet is to concentrate on mold building, high value castings are the best road to profit.

Selena
 
I think I remember someone over at rimfirecentral.com claiming to have successfully reloaded .22LR. Haven't seen any proof, of course, but it would be pretty neat.
Click to expand...
That was Macongahunter who posted that. He is a close friend of mine and was the person who got me into internet forums. According to him he posted it as a BS "lets see if I can get some suckers to believe me" thread. When I joined RFC I asked him why I he didn't post anymore, he showed me that thread. He said he loaded 60gr balistic tipped .223rem bullets on top of 20 grains of powder or something like that. Needless to say, he got ripped pretty hard for his joke.
 
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