Would you use range brass?

[alsaqr]

I fire over 5,000 rounds of centerfire rifle ammo nearly every year: 90 percent of that ammo is my reloads. All of my cases are range pickups. The cases are inspected before and after their initial tumbling. I've never had one problem with brass that was picked up from a range.

 

[fireside44]

I always shoot with a guy who spends more time behind the range broom than he does on the firing line.

I always walk away with a huge bag of brass, all with the approval of the range. Only bad part is sorting it all out.

 

[oldreloader]

Range Brass

I only pick up range brass if I can find any..LOL. Of couse I'll use it!! I inspect it and process it the same as I do my own.If it's a little dirty, it goes into the Lyman Pro 1200 then processed and inspected each step of the way.

 

[Jaybird78]

Reuse rangebrass?

Guilty as charged.

Inspect them after tumbling. I have had a few split necks but I dont shoot max loads either.

The brass and bullets are the highest cost. Reusing the brass is how you save money.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I always get a kick out of these threads. Some people do it one way, others another way. Each thinks their way is best. The same with brass, etc.

I figure it's my shop and I'm the foreman, so I make the rules for my shop. In the case of brass, I'm an inveterate brass scrounger. If it's brass, I pick it up. After several inspections, it will either go in the tumbler or the recycling barrel (yes, barrel). If it's your shop, you get to make the rules, but lo the guy who walks into mine and tells me I can't do something I've been doing for over 47 years.

I load for 31 different calibers and if it weren't for range brass I wouldn't be able to afford shooting at all. So the bottom line is, yes, I reload range brass, and have since 1963.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[EddieNFL]

Me too. Never ceases to amaze me what people can be snobs about. "Ewwww, range brass? How gross."

You're welcome to anything I leave behind, but I left it for a reason.

 

[Flash!]

brass is brass..... just inspect each case carefully......

 

[Palehorseman]

[Been shooting range brass for 40 years. Even stuff dug out of the dirt. I don't throw anything away./QUOTE]

We live in a small desert commnity here in AZ, but there are a lot of Californians who have winter homes and come over to boat on the river. Best part is, they love to shoot their guns and leave brass laying around at all the popular shooting places. The wife and I are brass scoungers from the word go, so we take the ATV's out every couple weeks and load up on brass.

We nust have found a couple thousand 9mm empties, and we don't even own a gun for them, but still pick them up each and every time.

 

[SSN Vet]

I shoot all the range brass I can get my hands on...

unfortunately, for my center fire rifles... that isn't much.

 

[1SOW]

You're welcome to anything I leave behind, but I left it for a reason.

Simply inspect the brass as you're handling it.

Your reason must include you 1. don't shoot much or 2. can afford expensive brass so why bother with processing range brass.

Both of these are 'reasons' and I don't disagree with either one.

I reload and shoot a lot of 9mm pistol rounds, ALL with range brass that has been fine. I've tossed some before reloading for split cases or case distortion. I sort headstamps while inspecting them. I can afford to be picky, because I process a lot of 9mm. Mine 'look' like new after I clean and polish them. There are AT LEAST 6000 polished cases, ready to load, on my bench right now--7 full coffee cans.

My shooting friends do the same.

You are correct to stay safe as you see it. At the same time, it's NOT correct to say others are wrong to not agree with your view of safe.

 

[SuperNaut]

"Gloom, despair and agony on me-e!
Deep dark depression, excessive misery-y!
If it weren't for range brass I'd have no brass at all!
Gloom, despair and agony on me-e-e!"

 

[CraigC]

At the same time, it's NOT correct to say others are wrong to not agree with your view of safe.

No one has said that yet. Although several of you scroungers seem to be getting a little defensive towards those of us who don't collect range brass.

It's all moot in my case because I shoot on my own property, for the last four years anyway.

 

[rondog]

Here's some of my brass stash, there's still a lot more. And these buckets are full clear to the top. The majority was purchased from private sellers, but there's a helluva lot of bending over represented here.

 

[swiftak]

Stopped at the sandpit down the road on my way home from work today. Found a couple of hundred .40's, 9mm's and .45 auto's. Also 20 Win 30-30's. Goin right into the tumbler so they can be reloaded.

 

[rick300]

Smokey Joe, + 1 for recycle. The guys laugh at me at work, I save cans, plastic bottles, brass and copper. A couple of years ago I got enough to buy a Rem 870. I'm still laughing now. Rick

 

[Robert Wilson]

When I was a very young man, teaching myself to handload with Dad's .30-06, I discovered that with my particular load in my particular lot of brass, I would begin to see case head separations after a certain number of loadings. So in my infinite wisdom I would use the cases seven times, knowing that at eight the problem would show up. (I don't actually remember the numbers, so have picked random numbers to illustrate the point.)

Upon the seventh firing the cases would be ejected onto the ground at the range and left there. It never occurred to me back then that someone might be picking those cases up after I left. I hope that guy came out alright, and it makes me think twice every time my eye is caught by a pretty sparkle in the grass.

 

[swiftak]

So it just comes back full circle. Check the brass. If its ok, its ok. The idea of a piece of wire with a 1/4 inch bend in it is what I do also to check the inside of rifle cases for head seperation. If anything doesn't seem right just don't use it. But to absolutely never use range brass because it hit the ground is ridiculous, and a waste.

 

[Walkalong]

Upon the seventh firing the cases would be ejected onto the ground at the range and left there. It never occurred to me back then that someone might be picking those cases up after I left. I hope that guy came out alright, and it makes me think twice every time my eye is caught by a pretty sparkle in the grass.

Which is exactly why I would hope all reloaders would pick that stuff up and put it in the scrap bin. Some folks don't though. Guess they are not concerned about the next person. Something to think about. We do not walk this earth alone. Still, I pick up any range brass that looks good. It is usually easy enough to tell good brass, but obviously not always. I eyeball it when I pick it up, when I sort it, when I brush the necks before tumbling, for rifle when I check the inside with a probe, when I run it through to sizer, when I prime it. The cases get a lot of "looks" before they actually get loaded.

 

[greyling22]

if it will tumble to shiny and it's not split, it's getting used.

but I reload mostly for handgun, and I download those.

 

[Slamfire]

I have no problem using once fired rifle brass.

I have no problem using pistol brass that has been reloaded an unknown number of times. As long as the stuff holds a primer and does not have any neck/body cracks, I will use it. Until the primers fall out and the case develops a crack.

 

[RustyFN]

All but 300 pieces of brass I have are range pick up's. I have thousands of cases. The lucky part is I get most of it from matches that I RO and you can see most people opening up those new boxes of ammo to shoot the match. Kind of brings a tear the the eye to see all of that new brass.

 

[rondog]

Had a business trip yesterday, and stopped by a couple of country ranges I know about. Brought home a nice amount of new .30-06, .44 Magnum and .45acp brass. When they're all clean and shiny except for soot, all have the same headstamps, all have the same primers, and are all in the same area, I take it to be a good sign that's new, once-fired brass from some Bubba. At least they picked up their beer cans.