Brass Scroungers: Pariah on the Range!

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As of today scrap brass prices are $1.33-$2.00 a lb. I save my .45, .308 and 30-06 brass for future reloading.

If you figure you could collect a couple of hundred lbs. of brass per weekend at the local outdoor range you could probably pay for all of your ammunition needs. Melt it down in a smelter and sell it to a local metals dealer.

Brass melts @ 1650 degrees Fahrenheit

metals have higher melting points than alloys because they are not combined with other metals to bring the temperature of the melting point down. For an artist, it would be much easier to manipulate an alloy rather than a metal because of the lower metling points. For example, it would be much easier to cast a brass sculpture at 1650 degrees F than a copper sculpture at 1800 degrees F
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This bothers me, you are at a public range, and are not cleaning up after your self?

This is the stuff that gives anti's ammo to close ranges. It's not the old "city dump" where you could shoot what ever was there and it all got scraped up by a big loader and either burned or sent to a landfill. Do you pick up your boxes and old targets too? Brass left behind is like litter. It maybe more valuable to others than you, but its still litter.

Same with many places that used to allow shotgun practice or were open to waterfowl hunting until the piles of plastic shotgun hulls got big enough to stand on. I have personally seen three large areas now closed to shooting because of the mess left behind by shooters. One place that was paper company land is now fenced and gated due to the negligence of hunters and shooters who seemed to have an unending supply of TV sets, washers etc that needed killing. Even after it was at first posted that shooters were to clean up after them selves, I saw two guys unloading about 10 dead monitors and start blasting away. They just got in the truck and drove away. 3 months later the road was gated and locked, a great place to shoot and some really good sloughs were now off limits because slob shooters would not take care of the places they shoot.

Maybe all you leave behind is brass, but think about it as litter, leave no trace.
 
Disclaimer: I reload and I scounge. I am not obnoxious about it and I would never think to pressure somebody or lurk around while they are shooting.

That said...

Shooters ought to clean up after themselves. Brass, targets, boxes, whatever. If somebody has made it clear that they'll pick up your brass for you, take it as a multi-beneficial gift: you don't pick up what you left behind & save time, the scrounger gets free brass & saves money, and the shooting community wins by not trashing a place into closing.
 
Couple of Points

What the average American calls Garbage many people would gladly keep. We as Citizens of thais Great Nation are spoiled rotten. The Brass you consider Garbage is a GOLD MINE to someone else. You should Thank The Gods above your life style is such that you don't need to collect other peoples Garbage to have food on the table or a Roof over your head. "There but for the Grace of God Go I". At least they are doing something to earn the money they get from the brass and not spare chaniging people on a street corner. Are the bugging you while you are shooting? are they hovering over your shoulder waiting for the brass to fly off?
Your attitude should be gratitude not anger.

Last point Brass is an Alloy not an element Copper and Tin or Zinc, one makes brass one makes bronze when mixed with copper. Magnesium also make a fine quality brass when alloyed with Copper, but I think it is more for Ornamental Purposes not for making cartridge brass
 
My wife and I shoot at an outdoor area out here in the desert. Most of the small town inhabitants, as well as DPS use this range.
For the most part, the target area is trashed.
Folks from the local markets will bring up cases of outdated milk containers and shoot them up, leaving the mess behind.
I firmly believe in "Pack it in, pack it out"

I will admit I have left quite a bit of brass behind. This range was just loaded with it.

A friend of mine got to talking about the benefits of reloading, and talked me into it.
I ordered my press, and immediately drove up to the range to pick up my old brass.

You guessed it. When I arrived there was not one piece of brass to be found anywhere. Not even a .22
It looked like someone developed some sort of brass magnet and swept the place.
I'm betting dollars to doughnuts the person was a tweaker.
 
This bothers me, you are at a public range, and are not cleaning up after your self?
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A good point...What gripes me is that our public range is closed on Thursday for cleaning by the county crew...Whoever is in charge of checking time sheets must be incompetent or are in cahoots...Friday is the same as Wed; a dump.....:cuss:
 
primers

I am very new here so I don't know how to post a question. If this is the wrong way to do things, I guess I'll learn eventually. My question is; Can I use a magnum primer in place of a regular primer when reloading. I have always used a #150 large pistol primer for loading 45acp. I've recently been to 3 different gun dealers and cannot find a box of these 150 primers.
 
I am very new here so I don't know how to post a question. If this is the wrong way to do things, I guess I'll learn eventually. My question is; Can I use a magnum primer in place of a regular primer when reloading. I have always used a #150 large pistol primer for loading 45acp. I've recently been to 3 different gun dealers and cannot find a box of these 150 primers.
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Generally not without changing the powder load. Magnum primers burn hotter, longer, and can add quite a difference in pressure.

You might try replacing it with a standard large pistol primer made by a different manufacturer, but if you're near max loads I recommend you drop your loading a bit and work your way back up. Can't be too safe when reloading.
 
"The only serious brass scounger I met there was a polite elderly man who arrived with his wife, watched the shooting for a while, and was on good terms with the other shooters present. I saw nothing untoward or offputting in his behavior -- no secret why he was there, and he asked politely whether we were keeping our brass. (We all were, so after a few minutes of small talk, including some good-natured griping about *everyone* keeping their brass nowadays, he and his wife drove off smiling.) "

If you're talking about the Chester County range, I think I know who you're talking about - not personally, mind you, but I rather appreciated him cleaning my brass for me.
 
CannonFodder: Not sure if it's Chester County ...

This range is quite near Carlisle; is that Chester County?

I have now been in PA nearly two years, but my knowledge of the state's geography is still way too close to zilch ;)

It's such a big place, I wish I had a free month (and free gas) with which to just explore -- stop in small towns and see what I can see.

timothy
 
lets have some respect for the enviroment guys. i taught both my boys that picking up brass was part of shooting at a range or at our home shooting range. we reload but if you don't how about recycle?? also have you ever had a steel 7.62x39 punture your tire as you mow?? costs the club even more money.:cuss:
 
(disclaimer - I haven't been following this one and haven't read all five pages)

If you leave your brass on the ground at the range and then leave the range, it's mine. :)
 
I always shoot at an indoor range and they are more then happy to clean it up for us as they send it out to a commercial reloader and resell it.

Either way I dont see the harm in what this guy is doing if he is waiting until you are done. As long as he isnt interfering with your shooting I dont see what is wrong with waiting until your finished shooting and collecting the brass you dont want.

If you really want to spite him you could pick it up yourself.
 
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