What the range leprechauns brought me :)

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yhtomit

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I went to the range today with a lot less ammo than sometimes, which is partly because of the cost of ammo, and partly because I was there to shoot my (gulp) very first reloaded ammo, and though I had measured, weighed, eye-balled, hefted, and otherwise tried to assure myself that all the rounds (26 of them) I was bringing were up to spec, it was still a bit nerve-wracking. I was very pleased with the result -- they all fired nicely, and both I and my model 625 survived unscathed :) I stayed well clear of the other shooters while I was shooting the reloads, though.

I also brought one box of 50 9mm cartridges and my Cz-75, in case for some reason (who knows -- random anxiety) my primers were defective or something. Luckily, that wasn't the case, but I love shooting the Cz anyhow.

However, unlike some days at the range (slim pickins and multiple scavengers), this time was a small bonanza, relatively speaking:

.357 Mag: 1 (one)
.380: 67
38sp: 95
40: 132
45: 142
9mm: 372

This is not counting the obvious recycle candidates, like quite a few 38sp cases with squashed mouths (might have been salvagable, but I'd rather stray toward caution), and the odd .22LR which inevitably gets picked up, and I don't mind -- when the tub for recycling gets fuller, I'm happy.

(The above includes my own brass, which means I picked up more than 700 reloadable cases ... not yet reloadable by *me,* but I'm going to watch for die sets at good prices ;) )

timothy
 
GD I could pay for my shooting with just selling off the brass...
 
I need to join this cult you people are a part of. More bang, less buck!

I like the idea of being handy enough that I can get really excited about collecting another man's trash.
:D
 
First reloads...

Yhtomit--'grats on getting into reloading! There is nothing, NOTHING, like the feeling you get @ that first range session, the "I made 'em all by myself and they all went bang!" session!

Good goin'!

Now ya gotta load up a bunch more to shoot. There's no end to it.

And keep on picking up that range brass--that which you can't reload, and can't trade with another reloader, will sell just fine for scrap. So for heavens' sake don't throw out the .22's and the crumpled cases.

Thx to the Chinese, the market for brass, copper, basically all metals, is through the roof. Helps pay for the other materials.
 
Welcome to Reloading!

I'm sure that you'll feel more confident/comfortable with each new batch. Of course, never forget to strive for quality and consistency! Lazy hurts!!

To top it all, now you'll have to purchase a pistol and revolver to shoot those .40 and .38 cases in!:evil:
 
I get to scavange what people leave on the range floor when I'm cleaning up. Stuff in the bucket is property of the range. They sell the brass to offset operating costs. Saturday and Sunday I managed to pick up about 80 .30-06, another 20 .35 Remington (An omen because the day I got these was the first day I brought my .35 Remington to the range and no, wasn't my own cast off's lol)

Managed to find 2 .50 caliber shells and several 8mm. Reloaded them all today (except the .50 lol) while I was cleaning my .22's, went through 700 rounds of that between the 3 rifles I brought. Even managed to fire off my first reloaded ammo, .45-70 from an original 1884 Springfield trapdoor.
 
Yeah... that's how it starts. "I think I'll pick up this brass and save it case I start reloading one day."

Then you get a single stage.... "It won't hurt you... all the kids are doing it..."

Next thing you know, you're tying off, slapping the veins up, and doing this:

dsc_0136_001.sized.jpg
 
I like the idea of being handy enough that I can get really excited about collecting another man's trash.
Click to expand...

You know, I can't deeply explain or justify it, but this very thing is a big reason I like the idea of reloading, even if (as it is often said) it does not "save money" in the long run. Using an otherwise wasted resource is fun by itself -- like discovering that you have a usable space on the roof of your house, or (though I have yet to do this, only read about it) that you can cook lunch on the manifold of your car.

You've heard of Dumpster Divers? That was somewhat of a hobby for me during college -- you would not believe the stuff that college kids throw away sometimes, and this is besides their dignity and good sense :)

Now, I try to be more discreet about it, but it's very hard not to be interested in certain things (esp. things gun, recently) that people choose to throw away or simply abandon. It would be fun to have salvage rights to certain bodies of water known to be throwaway spots for guns used in crimes, so long as I could have the post-trial finder's rights, too.

timothy
 
siglite: I like that bench very much -- very clean, and looks sturdy, too. Is that picture your own setup? If so, did you come up with the design of the bench, follow a pre-made plan, or what?
Click to expand...

I sketched it on a napkin and started cutting lumber. No joke. I used quite a few screws. Big ones. Big enough that I had to drill pilot holes to keep from splitting the wood. My old bench was really similar, but I used nails. I found the nails would pull out and raise up the 2x10s under the load of the lever.

That bottom section will be shelf space soon. I have enough 2x10 left over to fill that in.
 
The little buggers only brought me 30 shells for .270 win. There were probably about 20 rds of .22-250 there that I didn't pick up. Maybe I will have to get back and pick them up still.
 
And keep on picking up that range brass--that which you can't reload, and can't trade with another reloader, will sell just fine for scrap.
Click to expand...

How does an individual go about selling unusable brass for scrap?
 
Scrap...

Harbingerm--Almost any scrap-metals dealer will take yr scrap brass, and pay you well for it. I take mine in to the same outfit that buys my aluminum cans and similar stuff. A few dealers are spooked by the idea of dealing in anything resembling gun ammunition--IMHO, that's their loss. But a few calls to local scrapyards (ask: what are you paying for shooters' brass) will get you (a) who does and who doesn't, and (b) if there is one dealer who pays more than another.

The market for almost all scrap metals is through the roof. Last time I took brass in, a couple months ago, I got $1.65/lb for it. 4 ice-cream buckets of brass netted me abt $65.00. BTW, don't expect to get the same price each time--the market for scrap goes up (mostly) and down daily.

If you don't live anywhere near a scrap dealer, save the stuff up until you have enough to justify hauling it in. Even in these days of high gas prices, it's worth it.
 
Mining can be very addictive. On a couple of occassions, I have taken my brother-in-law who is an advid shooter to a range I belong to that he does not and he spends the whole time mining for brass. On some occassions he never fires a round!
 
Falem Red -- addicitve is right

Now, since shooting feels at times approximately like tossing silver dollars into a river, it's good to have a hobby at the range that at least potentially *makes* money as well ;) (Or at least, if the brass found it reloaded, stems the flow just a bit.)

But it *is* addictive, in a particular, obsessive way. I know I get funny looks, but I enjoy the challenge of walking a grid around the range (when it's cold!), seeking the last bits of gold.

timothy
 
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