Right now, I have two ranges that I buy bulk brass from. I provide them with the nice big 40-gallon rectangular rolly-bins that are used for trash or recycling in the city. I pay $400 when the rolly-bin is full and swap it for an empty rolly-bin. I bought the rolly-bins at Wal*Mart.
That makes it about $1 a pound for brass once I remove all the rimfires, Blazer aluminum, and various steel cases.
I sell the aluminum and steel for right now $75 a ton as sheet metal (takes a lot but I mix it in with other scrap metal until I get a trailer load). The scrap brass I sell directly to the smelter- the rimfires, Berdan primed, bent, cracked & split brass, and all the spent primers from my reloading- for $1 a pound as brass scrap, along with car keys, faucet parts, and any other brass scrap I find, or else trade it for lead WWs at a 5-gallon bucket full of brass for a 5-gallon bucket of lead WWs.
Right now demand for reloading brass is weak due to lack of primers and other components. I am right now just turning and burning, so to speak, and sorting out the revolver brass, .45 acp brass, and the rifle brass, and all the mixed leftover is going to the smelter so that I can maintain my cash flow.
Due to the ammo shortages, the amount of fired brass from the suppliers is down easily 50% or more. Where I once could guarantee 10 gallons a week from each of them, I am lucky to be getting 5 gallons a week and usually less. I used to have to switch bins monthly. It's going on 2 months now, and there's a lot more steel cases than ever before. I would say the steel cases have tripled in volume, so I am thinking about reducing my per-pound price.
