question for pistol reloaders- possible brass source

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bonedust

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So, i own a range and i reclaim and recycle all the lead and brass we use. im in the process of building a website and whatnot to begin to get some sales off the ground. well sell once fired pistol calibers and shotgun shells, as well as 1lb lead ingots and 1lb 90/5/5 ingots. but on to the main issue...

i have a major major stock pile of onefired brass. probably 30+ 55gal drums full...and another 3-5gal daily being added. im running out of room, and its accumulating faster than we can sort, and we wont have a sorter for another 3-4 months. so here is what im proposing:

Sweepins'! a large flat rate priority mail box can hold 44#'s of random assorted brass. i would box the mish-mash of brass and possibly sell it for $99 shipped. before you say anything, ive taken 4 of these randomly collected boxes, sroted, and compiled and averaged some data on what you would potentially get per box:

-the box is 44#'s in total
-.380 = 110 shells
-.38/357 = 300 shells
-9mm = 800 shells
-40sw = 500 shells
-.45 = 550 shells
-2lbs other odd but reloadable calibers (25, 32, 5.7, GAP, 41, 44, 45 colt, 454, 50ae, mak, tok, ect)
-8lbs of alum, steel, .22, .22mag, .17, ect

if you just account for the main sorted calibers, thats approx $140 worth of good reloadable brass (using an average of other online resellers as a pricing index). the other 10lbs still has significant scrap value ( i sell it to a local for $.70 lb). what i am proposing is to sell the 44# for $99 delivered in the cont USA.

so, does anyone have any constructive input in this matter? would anyone bite? am i way off base?
 
Well let's say I reload the most popular pistol calibers which are 45,9mm, 40,and 38/357(I only own 9mm and 45ACP) I would get 1850 cartridges I could use for a little over half a cent a piece that is the best case scenario. Now for my situation I only reload 9mm and 45ACP paying just below three quarters of a cent per casing which is certainly a good deal but I must sort and clean and find somehow to dispose of the brass I don't need. For me it is not worth it for others it will be. Also consider in our current ammo and primer dilemma many people are downsizing to just a few calibers for the ease of supply. Overall its a good idea and price until you have the capability to sort the brass yourself, then it will be a great idea.
 
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thats a very valid point...and, like i said, this is only a proposal at this time. i realize its more work for the buyer, but the unused sorted calibers are still a saleable commodity? maybe im more of a horse trader than most...

we are sorting brass at this time, and will have sorted calibers available very soon. im merely testing an idea to make some room.
 
Speaking for myself I would love to have a good source for .45 ACP and 38/357 brass, but I would consider it a pain to have to sort through it, and I would just have to throw away the rounds I don't load for.

How much does a 55 gallon drum weigh? I might rather buy one of those full of brass.
 
I wouldn't be buying a grab bag. I get too much free brass. If I was going to buy brass I want something specific.

What do you mean when you say sorter? Are you getting a machine?

I understand on the sorting and shipping - it is work.

PM sent.
 
Here's an honest assessment from me:

I only reload .45 and 9mm. When i collect enough .40, I sell it. But in your case, while the .380 and .357 does have value, it only has value if one has a resalable quantity, meaning 1000 pieces minimum, or 2000 pieces ideally. One box doesn't provide much.

So I'd be getting some calibers whose value to me would be essentially zero unless I bought several boxes.

Further, the the steel/aluminum/.22 stuff is worthless.

Further yet, the other odd but reloadable calibers are worthless. I don't know anybody who reloads them, and there won't be enough of them.

Further again, separating the .380 and 9mm will be a pain.

For something like this, considering I'm sorting and cleaning and useless elements, I'd expect to pay perhaps $60 max including shipping. I'd have to buy 4 or 5 boxes to ensure I had resalable amounts, and there'd still be a considerable amount of work involved.

And I'm not sure even $60 is low enough, considering the work involved.

This is just my sense of it. I'd like a crack at the brass, but IMO the work is not worth the price of $99.
 
reloading is all about reducing cost by adding work...but i do truely appreciate the input.

the steel/alum/22 isnt worthless. they literally pick it up from our place for .70 cents a pound. $60 a box is $1.36 a lb... i can scrap it for that. thats .026 cents per useable shell.

1000 or 2000 may be your ideal number for a resale amount, but there are lots of gun show/online retailers offering 250 lots of product.


this is actually very interesting, because i have this posted on another board (a more dedicated reloading/casting spot) and im getting very different responses. i guess everyone has their angle on the sport!

keep in mind $99 is shipped. $14 of that is shipping that doesnt factor into the actual brass value.
 
You're not comparing apples to apples...

...when you compare sorted brass prices to your mixed-lot grab bag of who-knows-what-you-might-get random mix of brass.

Assuming that you CANNOT guarantee the contents of my box, if I sent you 50 bucks the risk would still be to big. Sorry, friend. No can do.

Better get that sorter and then you can truly compare your prices to other internet prices for sorted brass.




The above is my opinion only. You may tell me to shut up if you wish.
 
well, we are selling sorted brass hand over fist. our local customers eat most of the inventory before we even reach an online market. we just cant sort as fast as it hits the ground, and space has become the ultimate problem. maybe finding storage is a better solution in the long run.
 
Bonedust, storage is your worst solution in the long run. Production capacity is the best.
 
some kid is already making min wage to sort! the brass is a funny thing, because it sells as fast as its ready. adding more kids to sort just reduces profit. its not really a needed income stream in the buisness, its more supplimental so time isnt really of the essence. i dont really see the demand for brass going down anytime real soon either.

ideally, we need a better 1 or 2 man sorting solution. the shake pans work fine, but its still a tedious task at best when faced with the volume on hand.
 
reloading is all about reducing cost by adding work...but i do truely appreciate the input.

the steel/alum/22 isnt worthless. they literally pick it up from our place for .70 cents a pound. $60 a box is $1.36 a lb... i can scrap it for that. thats .026 cents per useable shell.
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I think you may be looking at it more from your point of view, not the reloader who buys one box. If I buy one box, and get a few pounds of scrap, then I have to go and sell it to a scrapyard, if one is nearby and if they will take a small amount. I'll bet you're getting a good price in bulk. Ten pounds is not bulk. And it takes time and gas to do that. Not much of a gain for me.

1000 or 2000 may be your ideal number for a resale amount, but there are lots of gun show/online retailers offering 250 lots of product.
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Offering is one thing; how much are they selling?

I'm not a gun show seller, nor an online retailer. So this is moot. Further, if you want to sell something you need a large enough quantity to make it worth the buyer's shipping charges and time for screwing around with it.

this is actually very interesting, because i have this posted on another board (a more dedicated reloading/casting spot) and im getting very different responses. i guess everyone has their angle on the sport!
Click to expand...

Maybe they're people who are reloading most or all of the calibers in the box. In my case--remember, I only do .45 and 9mm (and .223, but that's not in the box), only the .40 has additional value for me, as when I accumulate enough I sell it--in lots of 2000.

And if one bought a number of boxes, presumably the lesser counts of some calibers would add up to enough to sell, and perhaps the scrap would be worth screwing around with.

I suspect I'm closer to the average reloader than they are, but in the end all you need is enough people to buy it from you.

keep in mind $99 is shipped. $14 of that is shipping that doesnt factor into the actual brass value.
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I understand, but keep in mind that the cost to me would be $99, and it doesn't matter if shipping is $1 or $14, it's still costing me $99 total, and the value of the brass and scrap has to make it worth that.

Anyway, good luck with it, and with finding a model that works for you.
 
adding more kids to sort just reduces profit. its not really a needed income stream in the buisness
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Those seem to be conflicting statements. Assuming 9mm goes for $235/ 5gal, even if you paid some kid $10 an hour and he only sorted one 5 gallon bucket a day you would still profit $155 and that not too bad for something you don’t need. Short term the kid will also cost less than the $7500 Camdex machine.

ideally, we need a better 1 or 2 man sorting solution. the shake pans work fine, but its still a tedious task at best when faced with the volume on hand.
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I thought the Camdex and Scharch sorting machines were a little too expensive so I built my own sorter. Here is a video from its first trial run http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/?action=view&current=sorterhopper.flv

and a photo of what it looks like now.

attachment.php
 
jmorris- great fab skills.

I reload for reliability, accuracy and power factor. Cost is obviously a factor but sweating over a penny is ridiculous to me.

bonedust- sort your brass then I would buy 45, 40, 38 super and 223. Also look at ebay for sales, our local range guy sells ALL of his brass on-line.

Just a thought, I would see if jmorris would build me a sorting machine it looks like he is a fab shop with skill!
 
Hey bonedust, if you need any help makin the website, let me know. That's what I do for work so I'd be more than willing to help you out.
 
paperkilr-

i appreciate the input, but thats not everone's end motive in reloading. while the resonse from this site wouldnt indicate it, the overall response for the offering has been pretty good...to the point where im going to push fwd to liquidate some quickly.

ebay does not allow the sale of Blank ammunition, Bullets, buck shot, lead shot, Cartridges, casings, shells, hulls, Dummy ammunition, Gunpowder or primers, Inert ammunition, Live ammunition rounds, or even empty ammunition boxes on their site.
 
Why not get the bucket set from Midway to get your sorting started. They are damn cheap.
I with the other guys on purchasing. I buy at least 1000 rounds of each caliber except for hunting rifle calibers, but that is a different story.

Flat rate USPS shipping is about 13 bucks for all you can get in the box. Everybody is going to want to get as much as possible in that box in these economic times.
 
we do currantly use the bucket set for our sorting.

$13.95 actually, i said $14.00 above. the Large flat rate box with a 1/4 carboard on top and on bottom for reinforcement holds exactly 44lbs of casing without bulging the box. you could probably stuff another 1/2 lb in there, but im not going to risk a box of casings blowing open in some USPS sort machine and having to answer those questions.

i really appreciate the info/input guys. our polling shows some want it, some dont...which is fine. this isnt something we are looking to do as a long term buisness plan.
 
Throw one or two on the For Sale forum. I'm sure there are still some odd horders that would buy it for it's long term value. I bet they don't even reload so they wouldn't have the same concerns as us here.

As a side note, I think the folks here are a bit less "alarmists" in nature than most other gun boards. We don't snatch up primers (or any other components) just because they are on the shelf. Generally we buy what we need and can use. Buying a box that is possibly 40# of scrap metal isn't in our reloading budget.

Justin
 
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