Buckets of range brass

[myFRAGisFUBAR]

I was at the local range today and noticed a MASSIVE amount of brass that had been swept to the side. I finished my shooting and went on to ask the range manager what they did with it. He told me a scrap company comes to pick it up once a week and he doesn't really want to bother selling to reloaders. :banghead: After a little talking he said if I really wanted it I could have it for $150 per 5-gallon bucket(all unsorted). I said thanks for the information and left. Anyone know what the going price of a 5 gallon bucket of brass is really worth? I'm not about to pay that for a chance of a bunch of .22 and steel casings.

 

[ETXhiker]

Don't know, but the salvage company isn't paying that much. Next time, offer him $25 bucks and see what he says. Even if it's half .22's and steel it might be worth it at that price.

 

[nix4me]

What ever happened to whats laying on the ground is fair game? Hard to say if it's worth it. Just for reference, if that bucket had 1000 .223 in it, thats $100. If it had 1000 45 ACP, another $60. I think scrap goes for around $2.50 a pound, so hard to tell what the bucket was worth.

 

[newfalguy101]

The indoor range in a localish town sells mixed brass for I think $2.50/lb The last bucket cost me about 75.00 and the retail value of the brass should be around $200 once sorted ( done ) and bagged ( pending......there is a LOT of brass in a 5 gal bucket!!!! )

 

[skimbell]

Last quote I could find for Old Yellow brass was $1.60/lb.
That puts that $150 5 gal bucket at 93.75 lbs.

 

[d'Artagnan]

I've been recycling 5-gal buckets full of cartridge brass, rimfire brass, and primers for years. A 5-gal bucket holds between 50 and 75 pounds of brass. The last 4 1/2 buckets I took in I got $1.63 per pound, with a couple bags of crushed aluminum cans, a total of just short of $500.

 

[sjd78]

$130 is what is charged in my neck of the woods for a 5 gal bucket o brass.

 

[FROGO207]

A year or so ago I took about 28-30 gallons of .22 range brass to the recyclers for the local private range. I netted them $300+ for range brass. FWIW range brass is a separate category than yellow brass as it cannot be shipped outside the US without being shredded/melted/crushed or otherwise destroyed first. So weight of full buckets would be a consideration if you want to recover your investment as scrap if there is not enough of anything you want to reload in there.

 

[KansasSasquatch]

Scrap cartridge brass in the Kansas City tends to go for $1.50-1.80/lb. Clean yellow brass is about $2.25-2.50. I'd offer $100 if I thought there was enough usable brass, and only brass. If he said no I'd just walk away. If the scrap company is giving him more than $100 AND picking it up, they might be losing money or just breaking even. There's no telling if those range sweepings are usable without inspecting them. And then there's no telling if YOU are set up to reload everything in the bucket, and if there's stuff you won't use, you have to go through the trouble of getting rid of it.

 

[Mohave-Tec]

Las Vegas brass

The Clark County shooting park charges .03 per 223 case and .02 for pistol round but only allows 200 cases per visit. I ask the people on either side of me if they are keeping their brass before the range claims it. After 3 hours at the range yesterday I went home with 400 223 cases and 700 assorted pistol for $12.
In bulk, recyclers sell 1000 rounds 223 for $75 and 1000 rounds of any pistol caliber for $40.

 

[jmorris]

A 5 gallon bucket full will hold.

9MM = 8500-9000 pieces
.40 S&W = 7000-7500 pieces
.45 ACP = 3800-4000 pieces

5,500 9mm's are currently worth around $200
3,900 40's are around $120
3000 45's are still premium around $220

That said I wouldn't pay $150 for an "unknown content" bucket of brass and I have a machine that can sort one in 15 min.

 

[howlnmad]

I wouldn't pay that price for mixed brass. If it was all the same caliber, maybe.

 

[beatledog7]

Assuming you pay the going scrap price, you can do pretty well on a 5-gal bucket of mixed brass if you have:

1) the means to quickly sort the bucket or lots of free time
2) pretty decent knowledge of what the mix of casings will be (it could be scads of .22LR)
3) either a personal need or a buyer for those casings at going prices (which tend to track with scrap prices and ammo prices)
4) a buyer for the leftovers as scrap brass

Take away any of those four, and it's a bad deal at any price.

 

[myFRAGisFUBAR]

Yeah if I could convince them to let me have a look before I bought it wouldn't be as bad. I just hate to find .22 and steel in large numbers. I would be happy breaking even. I need 40 the nost so if I could pull that and still have enough to make 120 back I would be happy. First world problems...

 

[beatledog7]

The place I shoot most often allows only handgun cartridges dues to backstop constraints and does a lot of rental business (by rule with only the ammo they sell, all brass cased) and CCW classes, so I have a clue what's in the buckets. By my reckoning there aren't a lot of shooters there who reload, so the brass is predominantly once-fired.

The last bucket I bought and went through was about 90% by weight either .380, 9mm Luger, .40S&W, or .45ACP, all of which I reload and shoot. The rest consisted of less common semi-auto cases (.32 Auto, 357Sig, 9x18, 10mm, .38 Super, etc.), a few revolver cases, steel and aluminum, .22LRs and about a 1/2 pound of dirt. The amount of brass that I couldn't use from that 5-gal bucket wouldn't fill a coffee can.

I figure I saved myself about $40-50 over buying that many mostly once-fired cases at going prices.

 

[evan price]

Since it's a public range figure there will be lots of steel and aluminum cases in there. Plus rimfires. The stuff I get has shotgun hulls and rubber crumbs and small batteries (?) in it too. Most 5-gallon buckets of general mixed range brass are about 50-60 pounds. Heavier if pistol, lighter if more rifle cases/shotgun hulls. Price you are offered is not unreasonable, but I'd want to buy one or maybe two typical "prospecting" buckets first, sort them, compile an assay of what's in there, and use that to base your next purchases on. Just be aware that the composition may suddenly change from favorable to unfavorable without warning.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I wouldn't pay near that much for a bucket of mixed brass. I prolly wouldn't do it if they were all the same come to think of it.

 

[NeuseRvrRat]

sounds like he just told you a ridiculous price to get you to go away

 

[jmorris]

sounds like he just told you a ridiculous price to get you to go away

This is why you tell him you will buy all of it from now on and come by every week to get it out of his way. Do this at every range in driving distance, don't forget police ranges, and you have now started a business.