A Brass Wolf Confesses

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moxie

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I do feel guilty, so I confess I am a brass wolf.

I went to the range the other day and fired 40 rounds of .223 out of my AR. (M4gery)

Scarfed up what I could as a good wolf should.

I culled out the obvious rejects like the stepped on cases.

And ended up with 162 perfectly good cases. Which are now clean, sized, trimmed and primed, awaiting powder and bullets. Headstamps are PMC, Hornady and FC, plus Lake City. Good stuff.

Net gain: 122 for the WOLF! (aka moxie)

As someone else always says, "Life is good."
 
If others don't want to keep their brass they could at least have the decency to TRY to tidy up after themselves.... you're not taking anything someone else didn't already decide to leave on the ground like garbage. You are putting in the effort they woiuldn't, and so reaping a benifit they don't deserve. You are cleaning up other's mess, recycling and reusing. You are a fine human being. If you still need to feel better about yourself, pick up their cigarette butts and red bull cans while you're at it. Some people are slobs.
 
If I wait till the end of the day, It is gone.
I have to go mid afternoon to grab a bit of it. ( Private range )
I sometimes only come back with an extra 5-30 pieces. Only once did I have the luck of bringing back nearly 200 pieces of various calibers back with me.

The range has a rule. And that is to clean up your mess, Including the brass from your gun. If you don't, Others are welcome to take it. .22 cases no one cares about sadly. Easy ( but time consuming ) money.
 
Even 22 cases are worth $ as scrap brass to be melted down and come back as....more cases!

Scoop them up and take them with your aluminum cans to your local metal recycler.

Lost Sheep
 
My wife is my range brass rat ... she just loves cleaning up. The range is tidy and I get a nice source of brass ... for reloading ... trading stock ... scrap at the local scrap yard. LIFE'S GOOD!:D
 
my best day of it was a club level IDPA match held on a police range. the cops had been out a few times a few days before the event and of course, didnt pickup their brass. since i shoot a .40 (same as most LEO) i was thrilled. shot about 75 rounds, came home with around 2,000 plus about 350 9mm, and a small pile of .45. my little tumbler was running for a week without stop, day and night; and life was oh so good! :D
 
There's another brass rat at my range and he goes there every day, so I seldom find any brass other than a few 9mm's. But he doesn't pick up *lead*, so that's what I bring home. Also Wolf and Tula steel case .223's (90% of them are reloadable, but the jury is still out on whether they work well enough when reloaded)

If I find a couple of .380's on the ground, or a .357 Magnum or two or a .30-06, I do a little happy dance. :D
 
I would describe myself more as a crow I think. Picture me running around the range after emptying my ammo bucket searching out all that shines laying on the ground for my removal. If I do not return with at least double what I started with I get bummed out big time. I also find that I plan any road trips using google earth so I can locate any pits that shooters may use and plan to stop in for a look see and locate more brass. I admit I am sick. But it is a good sick.:evil:
 
If you do it for long enough you will eventually get to where I am. I have way more brass than I need for myself but I can't stop picking it up. AND I can't convince myself that I can sell it or give it away. So, I have a 30 gallon garbage can filled with random brass and about 20 ammo cans full of sorted stuff. The good news is that I have finally been able to leave some of my own brass on the ground. I think in a few more years I will finally be able to let the sparkling floor at the range be in peace.
 
I make a point to walk my usual range and pick up brass.

Even if I don't reload for it, I pick it up. I usually keep a small stockpile in my car to trade with the other brass hounds when I see them out there.

There are some guys who stop out there every day to look for brass, so often I will only find 15-30 pieces, but sometimes I get lucky and get more. I shot just after some deputy sheriffs were qualifying one day, and found more than 1k 5.56, and I don't know how much .40 - both of which I reload. That was a good day for me.
 
We have a brass rat at our local public range who gets there before everyone else, and leaves after everyone else, and picks up the brass as it is shot. Spnt casings spend no more than 5 minutes on the ground. He is there EVERY DAY of the week. I hate the guy. As a new reloader, I have very little opportunity to acquire even a few pieces of brass because this old guy is out there cleaning everyone out.
 
We have a brass rat at our local public range who gets there before everyone else, and leaves after everyone else, and picks up the brass as it is shot. Spnt casings spend no more than 5 minutes on the ground. He is there EVERY DAY of the week. I hate the guy. As a new reloader, I have very little opportunity to acquire even a few pieces of brass because this old guy is out there cleaning everyone out.
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You could ask some of the other shooters there if you can have their brass. It SHOULDN'T take more than them saying "I actually told the guy right there he could have it, so please leave it for him. Sorry". As far as I am concerned, its theirs until they leave it. And if they say I can have it, its mine. But, I'm not going to get in a pissing match with some baffoon.

As far as my brass on the ground? Hands off, it isn't his to take. I'll be nice once ("Hey, thats actually my brass, and I plan on keeping it, but if you want to pick it up for me, I'd appreciate it"), after that, not so much.
 
We have a brass rat at our local public range who gets there before everyone else, and leaves after everyone else, and picks up the brass as it is shot. Spnt casings spend no more than 5 minutes on the ground. He is there EVERY DAY of the week. I hate the guy. As a new reloader, I have very little opportunity to acquire even a few pieces of brass because this old guy is out there cleaning everyone out.
Click to expand...

He probably sells it for scrap metal, and doesn't even get a good price for it. Ask him if he'll sell you some and how much he wants for it. If you play it right, this could work out OK for both of you.

If he tries to steal your brass while you are standing there, he gets one polite warning. Next time, step on his hand.
 
One of the ranges I shoot at has their own system in place, unless you have a brasscatcher, its theirs and they will be happy to sell it to you for 2-3x the prices it goes for on here...
 
One of the ranges I shoot at has their own system in place, unless you have a brasscatcher, its theirs and they will be happy to sell it to you for 2-3x the prices it goes for on here...
Click to expand...


That would definately go under the list of ranges I did NOT shoot at. Even more so if you have other options.

As for the OP, I always leave the range with more brass than I came with.
 
At our range, private, except for LEO's that qual. on our range in separate areas, whoever is on range duty gets the left brass. The .22 range is another deal, its all swept up and canned and then recycled, members gets reduced prices on ammo once a year. I was up there yesterday aftn., the floor was covered in .22 brass at the pistol range, slobs can't even sweep up their own brass! After I was finished shooting my revolver, I swept the brass and put it into a large can for that purpose. I'd like to know the schedule of the LEO quails., I'd be there in a heartbeat to scrounge their brass !
 
This is funny! We're the guys we're all trying to get an edge on. I always keep an eye on the other brass rats. When I get to the pistol range and it is slow, I will intentionally shoot on the range that has the most brass on the ground first. Even if only a magazine, it somehow makes me feel better about it. I always color the heads with a sharpie of one color or another to make it easier when I end up on the range with another brass rat. There is always a decent pile of .223 here and there, but anything else is like hitting gold. Private ranges have a lot of reloaders on the rifle side.
 
I solved the brass rat problem. I built my own private 100 yd. range and let a few friends shoot on it. My only rule is if the brass hits the ground it's mine. ;)) My friends don't reload anyway.

idoono
 
My name is carbuncle, and I'm a brassaholic. I always try to come home from the range with more brass that I shot, and have been known to feel pangs of jealousy when another brass rat gets to the good stuff first and sadness when I bring home only 100 more than I shot...
 
I got a chuckle out of this post. I am kinda the same way, but I am fortunate enough to have my own private range. I have just a few friends who are ultra safe with firearms and understand range protocol, and they can shoot very well. They do not reload and shoot the same calibers that I do so I have a constant source of once fired brass. On the slightly anal side, I use 60 gallon pickle barrels filled with sawdust as a backstop for my target stands. Not only does this set-up keep my berm from getting shot up, but after about 3/4 thousand rounds each, I empty them and carry the lead to the recycle yard for more $. Pickle barrels cost me 8 bucks a piece. I think I must go to a range so I can see if I can spot you guys and watch your technique.
 
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