Amazing amount of range brass at a public range

[Peter M. Eick]

I read about some folks never seeing much range brass so I figured I would post a couple of quick pictures.

At my range where I am a member you are not supposed to pick up the range brass but some days it is hard to keep mine separated from the rest of the pile. At least one of the RO's is out with a broom constantly sweeping off the brass because if he does not, it will become a serious trip hazard in a few hours on the weekend.

This was just a mild week day and it shows the amount of brass sitting at the station where I was about to shoot. I usually try to kick it out of the way so I can keep my brass separated from the rest.

I would guess this is about an hours buildup based upon my experience.




This is a view of the piles up in front. Always find interesting pieces when I sort mine out of the mess.



Again, this is probably at most an hours buildup on a weekend.

I would venture to guess that most (95%) is once fired. As a reloader this is always interesting to me to see the amount of brass left on the range and two it always irritates me because it makes my brass hard to sort out from the rest of it.

 

[LiveLife]

You can always use a brass catcher (bought or made yourself) so you can catch all of your brass.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

I use a CCM brass catcher and it gets about 90% of the brass or better. The problem is like when i was shooting. You see a 38 super round bounce out and then it is in the pile with everything else. What a pain to sort out!

I buy starline brass and don't want to mike the CBC, Winchester or Remington in with it. Those are the most common out there.

 

[dbarnhart]

We have the same rule at the outdoor range I frequent. I swipe a red sharpie across the head of my rounds so I can easily identify my brass.

One day while I was picking up my brass one of the range nazis ran up to me and informed me that I could not pick up brass. Knowing the actual rule, I asked her to show me where it said that. She took me to the sign and read the first sentence outline: "You may not collect brass". Then I pointed out and read the second line to her: "unless it is your own."

Other patrons must have had problems with her as well because I se that she is now working inside the building at the cash register.

 

[greyling22]

a couple of those look suspiciously like 30 carbine. those should not be left laying there. They should be mailed to me. I will pay postage.

 

[floorit76]

How about a small tarp?

 

[zeke]

shop vac, at night. So what does the range do with all that brass? Am in rural area, we never see that much brass at one time.

 

[Shinbone]

At our range, we police it up or sweep up after every session. The place is like a park and we don't want any brass getting hit by a mower.

 

[ambidextrous1]

At the range where I shoot, the range packages & sells the popular stuff, and sells the rest for scrap.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

They scoop it up and sell it to commercial reloaders and recyclers. They move literally tons of it off on a routine basis.

 

[bluetopper]

I guess I'm spoiled, but never would I shoot at a place with such rules. I'm a member of a private club/range without any range officer or employee however.

 

[denton]

I'm a volunteer RO at our local range.

There is plenty of pistol brass to pick up, if you're interested. Lots of 9mm, 40 cal, and 45 ACP.

If you visit right after the local LEOs have their session, you can pretty often score a worthwhile batch of 223.

Beyond that, the pickings get a little slimmer. I have enough 30-06 range brass to last forever, and recently converted some 270 to 8x57. About a week before hunting season we get our share of hunters that buy store-bought ammo and don't keep the brass. If you're a brass junkie, that's the time to visit. Beyond that, rifle pickings have been noticeably slimmer the past couple of years as component prices have increased.

A couple of years ago, there was a group of young guys blasting away with a 30 Carbine... 200 rounds. I know, because I found every last one of them and gave them to a friend who reloads for that cartridge. That was probably my biggest ever score.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

I will have to get some pictures of the rifle range. It makes the handgun range look clean for dead brass. Most folks just "let it fly".

 

[stonecoldy]

The outdoor range we shoot at has a broom and big dustpan to sweep your brass up. Last week saw pan-fulls going in the barrels! There's screens for autoloader brass deflectors, we cleaned up those after shooters left. I doubt you would have seen that 3 years ago. What changed?