Using brass from the range?

[Luggernut]

I'm relatively new to reloading so I don't have a ton of brass. I use mostly 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP. I recognize the pressures involved in 9mm and .40 cartridges so I tend to be very careful.

On the other hand my club leaves out reloading buckets for used brass. Occasionally I'll pick up some of this and check it out. I think I can do a decent job detecting if it's commercial cases (not reloaded) by looking at the extractor marks on the rim, etc. I can clearly see multiple extractor marks on my reloads.

I'm not loading these hot at all- mostly target, practice.

Do you guys do this? Any advice? Thanks!


PS> I tried a search as I know this must have been covered but I couldn't do a search that didn't end up with hundreds of unrelated threads.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Most reloaders are range scroungers to one extent or another. Once fired brass can be detected by looking inside of the case and noting whether the inside of the case head is relatively clean or is it blackened by multiple loadings. This is not a 100% method, but it is close. I will admit that I AM a range scrounger of some renown...

 

[hoghunting]

I do the same thing. If it looks good, is available, and nobody wants it, it's mine.

 

[Snagglepuss]

Me too, I usually look to see who is shooting what at our indoor range and then offer to clean up after them if I can use their brass. Usually the reloaders will decline. This way I am almost always getting once use brass.

 

[Dr. Dickie]

Anything but Amerc. I find it, I use it.
PLEASE, Please, please tell me you are going to re-load .40 S&W.
Somebody please start re-loading this round.
The bays always seem to be covered in this brass, and it is just big enough to make me have to bend over for a closer look when picking up my .45 brass.
Popular round, but seems nobody re-loads it yet.

 

[xv920j]

Glad to see I'm not the only one. I love to come home with more brass than I left with.
I've been reloading .40s since 1997.
I wish more people would shoot 10mm. I always lose a few of mine and I never find any freebies.
Why not A-Merc brass? I've scrounged some of that in 9mm. and used it with no problems.

 

[Bacchus]

I'll admit...I've gone to the range and spent more time scrounging for brass then shooting...

 

[strambo]

Don't you have to turn into a cheap scrounger when you start reloading whether you want to or not? I sure did, it just happened. I found myself picking up brass like it is gold. It kills me in the military not to pick up all the 9mm brass (I don't own a 308/223 right now)...and I have plenty at home and it is cheap anyway.

 

[Luggernut]

Dr. Dickle- yes! I have been reloading .40 S&W. I realize all the concern about the round and was somewhat hesitant to use brass I've found at the range for this reason. I think I'll just make sure to give it a good inspection before using.

 

[Mr. Tettnanger]

If you all would shoot revolvers, you wouldn't have to worry about bending over and picking up those shiny brass varmints!


Mr. Tettnanger

 

[ReloaderFred]

If you're shooting at a range where there is extra brass laying around, let me know where it is and I'll figure the driving time! There is never enough brass for the earnest reloader, so if they've got extra, I'm on it...........

Fred

 

[spencerhut]

I reload the .40 S&W range brass I find. I seem to get a more of these than I would like to see. From a Glock?

 

[Luggernut]

Spencerhut- are you saying you use that gauge as a go/no go for using the brass?

 

[RobZ71LM7]

I scrounge .45 from the range as long as it isn't amerc. I did pick up some .223 brass the other day but I knew where it was coming from.

 

[RyanM]

Almost all .40 cal pistols have "unsupported" chambers, because they were designed to use 9mm pistol components with minimal modifications.

 

[lcarreau]

Not much to add here except to say that I love to watch out for folks shooting commercial ammo in calibers that I like. When they start to clean up, I just offer to do it for them. They are happy to let me do it and the discussion often gets into reloading.

-Lonnie

 

[donkee]

I pickup any and all ( except amerc) pistol brass. If you don't want it, I do!

 

[spencerhut]

That picture is of a complete reloaded round. These rejects tend to stop in the gauge right where the sizing die stops on the case. I got ~10 of these from a batch of 500. Most were unknown range brass with some of my own once fired Winchester wite box mixed in. They still chamber in my .40 FN Hi-Power anyway. I marked the cases so I can crush them when they are expended.

 

[Dr. Dickie]

When I was a wee lad, I used to work a job that allowed me to play golf in the morning. I would several times a week go out and play 18 holes during the week. At first tee time, there were always a lot of "older" retired gentlemen that would let me join in with them.
As we walked the course, the older folks would ALWAYS search for old golf balls. In fact, they seemed to spend more time looking for old golf balls than playing the game, and I know they got more pleasure from finding a great old ball than making a great shot.
I now find myself understanding what they were going through
With me, however, it is range brass not golf balls; and I do not spend more time looking than shooting. Also, so far I still enjoy a good shot more than a pile of once fired WWB brass in a neat pile (althought it is a close second ).

 

[trickyasafox]

if i come back from the range with less brass then i went with, it's a bad day

i keep a few mesh bags in my range kit especially for brass ratting.

my requierments:

not amerc-
not someone elses-
not cracked-

after that it's all gravy. i take steel cases too.

 

[lee n. field]

All the time. .40 and .45, and sometimes 9mm (that I trim back for 9mm Makarov). I discard anything that's been run through a Glock (distinctive firing pin impression), anything that looks like it's been there a long time, and of course, anything steel or aluminum.

No problem so far.

 

[jerkface11]

If it's an outdoor range make sure there hasn't been a fire. I recall someone posting pictures of a gun blown up from reloading range pickup brass that had been caught in a grass fire.

 

[HiWayMan]

Hi, my name is HiWayMan, and I'm a brass whore.

I pick up every piece of brass I can find. I've even taken to picking up CCI Blazer to be scrapped. I have brass in caliber I don't even own..........yet. When I get a couple of thousand, then I can justify buying a new toy to use it in.


I recently worked an LEO fun shoot at my range with some of my buddies. Our payment was all the brass we could pickup. 4k+ .45ACP, 3k+ .40S&W, and 200 .38 spcl. Most of it was still hot when it went into our pockets. The cops thought it was funny that we would catch it as it was ejected...........hey it saved bending over.

 

[SIRVEYR666]

I too am a brass whore!

It must be in the genes.

 

[RustyFN]

Range scrounge and proud of it. I will go to the range I belong to the day after an IDPA match and I can pick up 2000 9mm cases. I know that 99% of it is once fired because I watch everybody load from their brand new boxes of WWB.