Returned home w/ more brass than I left with.

[jamrock]

Shot my usual idpa Saturday match. Came in 10th out of 54 shooters.

I shot 130rds at the match all in 9mm came back home with 350 9mm brass and 50 .45 acp brass. This was even though most guys on my squad reload, a lot of the old timers on other squads can not be bothered to bend over and pickup brass or just dont reload because they can afford factory ammo. Figured I should do it now in my youth so I can have buckets full of brass for my later years.

Was telling the wife the match cost me $20 but I came home with at least $10-$15 in brass.

 

[Mohave-Tec]

So many people have no other resource for obtaining brass other than to simply open the wallet and buy it. I am fortunate enough that I can shoot at one of the busiest ranges in the country and come home with hundreds, even thousand of cases that I know the history of. I am hugely thankful for this resource and have acquired buckets of brass. I a large part, it is this resource that has allowed me to trade or barter any other resource where I may have been lacking. I'd say only 1 in 20 shooters where I shoot reload.
I'm glad you had a great day shooting and you found some treasure while at it.

 

[Potatohead]

I am fortunate enough that I can shoot at one of the busiest ranges in the country

Eek. Glad Im not that fortunate.

 

[Mohave-Tec]

I also have a million and a half acres to shoot where I can shoot as far as any bullet will travel and I won't see another human for weeks at a time; at will.

 

[sauer1911]

I would like to harvest my brass, but there are a few guys at IDPA matches with those brass basket doohickeys that literally vacuum them all up!

They dont even ask if you want your brass, they just start rolling it up! It seems kinda sad watching them jockey for brass leftovers.

I just turn and ignore it, I get enough brass at my indoor range.

its about the only thing I can gripe about at matches, everything else is awesome!

be safe

 

[trackforever]

I am all the time scarfing up the brass around me. Many of the folks at the range I shoot don't reload. They are more than happy to let you pick up their brass.

 

[Mohave-Tec]

Exactly. No problem.
Last week I met two guys in their late 60s. Me thinks they were 'partners' and had been so for a long time. It is for sure they are from money. Well it was obvious they had never fired a gun of any kind in thier lives. A range officer had to show them how to load a magazine in their brand new AR 15. They spent half the day trying to hit paper. I became more interested as their apparent delima progressed. In hundreds of rounds and hours of discust they never hit paper at 50 yards. I had to offer to help.
As it turned out, the 4X scope's rings were not even hand tight and when i got it hand tight the 1/2 MOA scope was shooting 1.5 foot low and 2 feet left. They only hit the tartget board maybe 4 dozen couple times in hours of shooting. I looked over their shoulder and could see from 10 feet back the scope was pointed up and right and the barrel was just on page low and left at 50 yards. hHahahahaa. I tightened the screws then marked an X in the extreme upper left of the target and shot 10 rounds at the same X. I never saw holes in the paper until I stopped shooting. It was then that I found a small cluster 2 feet from were I was shooting. Sorry for the long post but I thought folks might find it entertaining. Long-story-short, I went home with over 1200 once fired Federal brass. Thanks fellas! HAhaAhhahaaa

 

[Nordeste]

It's good to have the local police training at your shooting range (my case). The guy in charge of their training is one of my shooting buds and lets me know when they'll be on training. I show up right after they're done and find the range literally covered with once fired, brand new Remington brass. Right now I have a few thousands and it's more than I'm able to reload, so I might sell some and invest whatever I get in components.

By the way, I know guys who are in their seventies and are still active shooters and keep in good shape. Looks like the secret is to stay within correct weight parameters and exercise some. That includes some stretching so bending over is not a big deal .

 

[jamrock]

I would like to harvest my brass, but there are a few guys at IDPA matches with those brass basket doohickeys that literally vacuum them all up!

They dont even ask if you want your brass, they just start rolling it up! It seems kinda sad watching them jockey for brass leftovers.

I just turn and ignore it, I get enough brass at my indoor range.

its about the only thing I can gripe about at matches, everything else is awesome!

be safe

I wish I could pickup from my indoor range but they sweep, scoop, bag and sell the brass. Mostly for safety so that someone doesn't slip on it.

Usually the only guys who complain are the people shooting their .45 acp reloads because the brass is expensive and not a lot of people shoot it (only 7 of the 50 people at our last match shot .45 acp) so if they don't pick up their own brass they probably won't be able to pickup anyone elses. Everyone else is shooting 9mm so there is usually so much to go around its not a problem. I usually squad with the same people week to week so I know who reloads if a guy is a reloader I will usually not pick up their brass unless they are leaving it on the ground. I usually pickup on my way back from pasting targets so that the shooter has had a chance to pickup their own brass. I figure if I'm one of the few guys going down range to paste targets they can't complain I'm picking up brass when they refuse to paste targets (I hear excuses all the time from the older shooters about how something in their knees is bad so they dont want to walk down range). The fact that all the matches are at outdoor ranges, unless your marking your brass or the brass is right next to the position a guy started shooting good luck justifing me giving back to you. If I'm friends with the shooter thats a different story, if they want their brass that I picked up they are welcome to it.


I think I'm going to buy one of those wallnut/brass roller pickup things too.

 

[jamrock]

It's good to have the local police training at your shooting range (my case). The guy in charge of their training is one of my shooting buds and lets me know when they'll be on training. I show up right after they're done and find the range literally covered with once fired, brand new Remington brass. Right now I have a few thousands and it's more than I'm able to reload, so I might sell some and invest whatever I get in components.

By the way, I know guys who are in their seventies and are still active shooters and keep in good shape. Looks like the secret is to stay within correct weight parameters and exercise some. That includes some stretching so bending over is not a big deal .

One of the two ranges the club holds their matches at is a sheriffs range. So there is usually some .40 brass to be had, I have no interest in ever shooting it but maybe I can collect enough of it one day to sell or trade. The sheriffs range is really particular about keeping the range clean so they insist any club shooting must pickup all their brass, its the only time we lay down tarps next to each stage to catch brass.

 

[HighExpert]

I guess I was lucky when I was shooting lots of Bullseye matches. It was, and is, bad from to scrounge someone else's brass without their permission. I have a brass roller and would not dream of keeping brass that wasn't mine without permission. I do mark all my brass with a sharpie for id purposes. Hopefully we can all remain respectful of each other even with the tight supply situation.

 

[gonoles_1980]

The indoor range I shoot has a policy

that you can only collect the brass you bring in or buy there. But I haven't seen it enforced, and I see guys sweeping up brass and taking it. I ask them where they get their reloading supplies and not once has one said they reload. I think they're collecting it to sell.

The range guy did recommend I get something like a butterfly net to catch my wife's 9mm instead of chasing them around. I probably looks like a fruitcake. Sometimes I bring more if someone around me is shooting a 9mm and not collecting brass.

Overall, even with the "salvagers", probably only 20% of the people at the range collect brass.

 

[Glocktogo]

The range I shoot at has multiple outdoor bays. Sometimes when I'm done shooting, I'll check some of the others. There is brass left everywhere, but I only pick up if no one is on the bay and it's fairly concentrated. One day I saw a local agency shooting on one of the bays. After they left at the end of the day, I was driving by that bay and it looked like a gold field. I picked up about 3K once fired Federal American Eagle .45 ACP brass (the empty boxes were in the trash can). SCORE!

 

[gahunter12]

Picking up 9mm brass at IDPA matches is like picking pennies out of a piggy bank. I shoot .40s&w myself, and usually come home with 70% of what I shoot, 400-500 9mm cases, and 200 or so .45acp cases. I have 10 gallons of 9mm cases as of now. I am seriously considering switching to 9mm just for ease of picking up brass. Many of the 9mm guys pick up .40s&w thinking its 9mm I guess.

 

[skeptical_in_Ohio]

I don't reload, but do collect when it's relatively easy to do (i.e. when there aren't a gazillion people around). A gentleman who reloads tends to be there at the same times I'm there. I capture all of my 38/357/44/223 (I just shoot a bolt-action 223 - the AR guys go through a LOT more 223 than I do), and as much of my 45/9 that I can easily collect after each mag and give it to him. From time to time then I get some nice reloaded bullets. Win/win.

 

[clutch]

When I shot PPC and IDPA we all marked our brass with sharpies. Everyone picked up brass but we only took what matched our marking scheme.

 

[gahunter12]

Clutch that doesn't work much these days. My biggest loss of brass comes from shooting state, and reginal IDPA matches. Most of them are loss brass matches. I do get lucky about every other month, and receive about 2,500- 3,000 .40s&w cases from a friend of mine.

 

[345 DeSoto]

The Missus and I like to shoot on a regular basis. The indoor range we WENT to is only a mile or two away, but they refuse to let you pick up your OWN brass...M1 Carbine brass isn't easy to come by. We found an out door range about an hour away. Covered line, spotting scopes, rifle rests, gunsmith on the premesis, two hundred yard rifle range, and they let you have as much brass as you care to pick up...the range is COVERED in it (I shoot a lot of 45 ACP, too). Instead of $15/hr, it's $15/all day. Guess where we DON'T go to shoot anymore...

 

[jamrock]

Picking up 9mm brass at IDPA matches is like picking pennies out of a piggy bank.

I tell the wife it's a hobby that can pay for itself in brass (which isn't a total lie) whenever she complains about the cost of all the matches fees. I'm saving what little .45 acp brass for after I make master in SSP (right on the fence between sharpshooter and expert) I can then move on to CDP.

Many of the 9mm guys pick up .40s&w thinking its 9mm I guess.

That happens to me too.

 

[zaphar]

I mainly shoot 10mm and .45ACP these days. Luckily, I don't have to rely on the availability of 10mm brass since I can load .40SW brass long and to 10mm pressures and thus I have a ready supply of brass since many people shoot .40SW. For the most part though, I shoot whatever I have the most brass of and then pickup whatever I can. Here's a photo of what I'm talking about with respect to loading the .40SW brass to 10mm lengths. The cartridge on the left is a factory 10mm load. The one on the right is a factory .40SW load. The cartridge in the middle is a 10mm load using .40SW brass, but the bullet is loaded long.

Are you using this in a 10mm barrel or a throated 40S&W? What weights of bullets can you use 180gr and 165gr? Seems like a good idea considering you don't have to mess with the more expensive brass or large pistol primers.

 

[Crunchy Frog]

Funny how different "subcultures" have different customs.

I'm a cowboy action shooter. On a typical stage I leave behind ten pieces of brass from my rifle and four or five shotshell hulls. After I complete the stage I pick up my rifle and shotgun and head to the unloading table to unload my revolvers and to show the rifle and shotgun clear. As I am shooting, another competitor is picking up my brass and hulls....in order to return them to me at the unloading table.

 

[jamrock]

Funny how different "subcultures" have different customs.

I'm a cowboy action shooter. On a typical stage I leave behind ten pieces of brass from my rifle and four or five shotshell hulls. After I complete the stage I pick up my rifle and shotgun and head to the unloading table to unload my revolvers and to show the rifle and shotgun clear. As I am shooting, another competitor is picking up my brass and hulls....in order to return them to me at the unloading table.

Wow, never knew that etiquette existed.

 

[1KPerDay]

My club is really good about picking up brass. If you shoot .45, people generally are good about giving you any .45 they pick up (unless they're shooting it also).

Everyone helps pick up my Garand brass and clips, also. After a 3-gun stage I can be pretty rattled/wired and sometimes forget about my brass/mags/clips but people always help me police it up.

It kinda depends on which guys you shoot with for handgun matches. Some guys pick up everything shiny and even bring a kid or two to help scour the ground, while other guys leave everything they shoot and I end up with a gallon or two of brass.

One match we shot the day after a police subgun class (I assume) and there were literally thousands of once-fired .40 brass everywhere. Organized little piles from mag dumps with UMP .40s. I think we picked up 3-4K .40 brass that day. I haven't needed to worry about .40 brass since.

 

[mgmorden]

I rarely get much brass back from matches. Very few people pick it up as we go as it gets in the way and slows things down. If you want it most pick up the brass at the end of the day when the shooting is done. Problem is that's also time to tear down the stages. Seems like by the time the stages are down and put away others have always snapped up all the brass.

When I was shooting 9mm it wasn't much of a problem. Now that I've been shooting .45ACP though its far more depressing.

 

[1KPerDay]

When I was shooting 9mm it wasn't much of a problem. Now that I've been shooting .45ACP though its far more depressing.

I've actually shot .40 or 9mm in a couple of matches that I originally planned to shoot .45 in, simply because I didn't want to lose my precious .45 brass.

Although I did load up my small stash of SPP .45 and blow it all up in one match. I don't care if I lose that stuff. It's just a pain to sort for me.