Buying brass from scrap yard

[jarrodl]

I was at the local scrap yard today selling some junk. When I am there I usually check to see if they have any lead. Today I asked about brass. The guy called his boss to see if they had any for sale and he told him he couldn't sell them for "legal reasons" Has anyone ever heard of this? Sounds like bs to me.

[lars1367]

Some of it must be demilled depending on the agency it was acquired from. Usually it needs to be witnessed by a rep from that agency.
-Corey

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Sounds like baloney to me. He probably has a buddy sorting through the brass.

BvT

[Shiloh]

Where is this "Local" scrap yard?? Near a military facility of auction site of military surplus??

Shiloh

[jarrodl]

Not close to any military base. Would have come from a range and individuals.

[Bzcraig]

I don't have a problem buying brass at a recycler here. I'm guessing that if a recycler has it, it does not legally require anything more be done to it, rather the owner is anti gun or as mentioned has a friend(s) who take it.

[ku4hx]

..."legal reasons" ...

Sounds as though he knows the law on receiving stolen goods and just hasn't finished "laundering" the brass. Or he's under contract and waiting for a better offer.

[jonp]

There are no legal reasons for selling brass other than what is in his head or he saw on Law and Order. He either is being overly cautious which is understandable in this sue everyone time we are in or is anti-gun and just wants to destroy it. I think it's more of the former and "legal reasons" is his catch-all phrase to try and end the conversation without a bunch of argument.

[Shiloh]

Not close to any military base. Would have come from a range and individuals.

I just don't see an issue. SOunds more like someone just washing their hands of the gun brass issue.

Shiloh

[jarrodl]

I live in rural TN. I doubt he is anti gun. My guess is either he is misinformed or has a deal set up on the side. Maybe he gets a kickback from someone he has a deal set up with. I don't think he was the owner, he just ran the place.

[Lizard333]

I'd be VERY cautious buying scrap brass from a scrap yard. I've sold scrap brass before because that's what it was, scrap. NOT something I would reload. I got some surplus 308 that had been corroded from the inside due to improper storage. Caused a failure in my uncles M1A that blew his gun up. I pulled all the slugs and scrapped the brass. I wouldn't wish that brass on my enemy.

Just my 2 cents......

[wallenba]

Would selling this brass require the scrap yard owner to have an FFL ?

[lars1367]

No, only if they are manufacturing new cases, or cartridge components. Sounds like they are doing the "better safe than sorry" method and not selling to individuals. It is possible that they have a contract with commercial reloaders, or they sell it themselves at more than the $3.50 or so scrap value.
-Corey

[Case Stuffer]

If a scrap yard sells you scrap brass (casings) and lead and you use these to prodce reloads then perhaps if you shoot someone who knows.

Farmers are being sued for growing crops from seeds which were cross polinated by crops grown from seeds produced by Monsanto.

[dbosman]

My guess would be they're worried about the possibility of a live round. .
My local scrap yard, where I buy lead, doesn't deal in cartridge brass at all, for that reason.

[dragon813gt]

Maybe he said legal reasons so he didn't have to discuss the issue any further. His yard so he can decide if he wants to sell anything. When people hear legal they don't press the issue any further. When they hear no, they start to ask a million questions.

[wallenba]

Maybe he said legal reasons so he didn't have to discuss the issue any further. His yard so he can decide if he wants to sell anything. When people hear legal they don't press the issue any further. When they hear no, they start to ask a million questions.

I think we have the winner here.

[farmbif]

I would think if the person at the scrap yard were the owner he would of snatched your cash just as quickly as he could. I have never seen a scrap yard owner with anything less than a 1 inch thick wad of big bills in his pocket. You can find large quantities of 1x fired brass at govdeals dot com, govliquidation dot com and gsaauctions dot gov. Congress passed a law requiring military brass be made available for the public to buy . This went into effect about 10 years ago if i remember correctly and those 3 web sites are the places it is sold.