What do you do with worn out brass?

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Check with your recycler.

Some will not accept nickel-plated brass.

I even had one tell me that the "firing pins" (I can only assume he meant "spent-primers") needed to be removed first. Others on this board have reported that recyclers have insisted that spent primers be removed from the cases.

I would throw the brass in the trash before I would sit down and pound spent primers out of 9mm brass just so it would pass muster at the recycler.
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Hey WEG, we are in the same area, and my 5gallon bucket is filling up finally. Who said that to you about the primers? I ask so that I can avoid taking my stuff to them. Potomac Metals was who i was planning on taking mine too when the time came. Any idea what their current price is?
 
Well the pile of brass that I took to the recyclers last year paid for a used Jeep Cherokee that I still drive to this day. I have several firearms that have been purchased with recycling profits that I consider gotten for free.:D I save all my brass, aluminum, and steel ammunition casings along with range brass and some other odd scraps of metal in 55 GAL drums in my garage. Lots better use of the garage than keeping a car in it. Save your brass, it is foolhardy not to IMHO.
 
Anybody ever try to melt down brass cases and pour 'em into ingots, then sell those at the scrapyard? Always wondered about that.
 
You would have to be able to bring the brass up to about 1750 degrees F, which would take a pretty good kiln or forge. Then there's the molds. Aluminum would melt as soon as the molten brass hit it, so you'd pretty much have to use heavy steel or cast iron molds. The problem of transfering it from the pot to the mold also presents itself. The energy required might also cancel out the profit...

I'm not saying it can't be done, only that it would probably be a lot of work.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
@ bds:

You say you get $100 for 1000 45 acp?

1000 45acp is roughly 12.5 pounds. That means you are getting $8 a pound for yellow brass. I sell direct to the foundry and I'm only getting $2.40 a pound here.

How about a business proposition: I will ship to you 70# flat rate boxes of my scrap brass. I have roughly 400# right now just in scrap. At $8 a pound that's $3200. Send me a check for $1700 and I will send you #400 pounds of scrap cartridge brass and pay the shipping, you can make $1500 for doing nothing more than dropping the boxes off at your recycler. If it works out, I can send you approximately the same amount every month... Deal?
If this works out I will never bother sorting or tumbling brass ever again!
 
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