Good source for cheap brass?

[Jonesy]

Just a tip I discovered yesterday, I went to the local metal scrap yard to pick up some wheel weights yesterday. I'd never been there before and when I walked in the shop area I saw they had a few 50 gallon barrels FULL of mixed brass. They sell this stuff for scrap price rather than charging you a premium as most retailers of used brass do. Of course it was completely mixed as far as calibers go, and definitely needed cleaning, but it all appeared to be once fired from what I saw. They even let me dig through their wheel weight tub to get only the lead ones out for .75/#. Check with your local scrap yard if you're in the need, as I never thought they'd have so much stuff a reloader can use. Hundreds of pounds of brass just sitting there in every caliber imaginable just waiting to be bought and put back into action for scrap weight price! I only reload 45 currently so I left it, but if you need brass, it's worth checking your local yard!

[country gent]

Some of that brass may be used up. I sold of the previous years rifle brass for scrap after the season and replaced the following year wih new or once fired. brass has a definite life span and alot of reloaders sell off thier tired brass for scrap rates. But also alot of ranges sell off thier brass either thru the sales room or for scrap also. Scrap yard brass is a **** shoot. I personally would rather buy known once fired or new brass and know the life history of it.

[bangerjim]

The yards around me get most of their brass from military ranges around here (crimped primers) so I know it is once fired. I am not afraid of any of it. It is usually clean and ready to process.

At $3/#, that averages out to around 3 cents/round for most shells 223 thru 45ACP. A ton of 308's! And 7mm mil rifle. Have never had a carp shoot with this stuff.

[Jonesy]

I'm not sure what the price is here at my yard, but even at $3/# it's worth the gamble, beats the 10 cents most places want to charge around me for each 45 brass. This stuff sure looked once used as it was relatively clean and I didn't see any signs of stress on the handful I pulled out and looked at. My local indoor range is pretty bad at cleaning out their brass past the firing line, and I'm normally the only one there when I go, so I tend to scoop those up for free. I just wish I knew what a gold mine scrap yards were when I started casting as I was paying nearly $1.50/# on ebay for wheel weights!

No more metal detecting in my usual desert shooting spot for lead! I'll gladly pay the 75 cents and cast new ones and forget about the ones I couldn't catch in my trap!

[bangerjim]

Scrap yards can be a gold mine.......if you are lucky to have them that will sell to the public. In some "blue" areas they will not!

I used to buy lead and alloy for 25-30 cents a pound for years. Until the recent insane spike in all metals. Bought brass sheet, bar stock (1/8 thru 6" diameter), and castings for $1/#.

Gone are those daze!

banger

[Jonesy]

I live in lead hating California, and this place has plenty of lead for me. Sinkers, WW, even a few ingots were mixed in the bunch. I'm not sure anyone else in my area has caught on since the guys working there thought I was a total nutcase for buying old dirty wheel weights, so more for me.

[Blackwater]

Sell brass???? Who? Me??? NEVER! I even keep my old punched out fired primers! Not sure why, but might want/need to melt them down one day. Yeah, I'm a bit of a packrat, I guess.

[Handloader109]

No reason at all to buy lead from eBay at their very inflated prices. Watch and buy all you need from other members. Most I have paid has been $1.25 a pound SHIPPED. average $1.10. EBay sellers are ripoffs. I usually can pick up two or three times the brass I shoot at my indoor range, usually can pick up 45acp and more 9mm and 40 than you need

[bruce381]

I live in lead hating California, and this place has plenty of lead for me. Sinkers, WW, even a few ingots were mixed in the bunch. I'm not sure anyone else in my area has caught on since the guys working there thought I was a total nutcase for buying old dirty wheel weights, so more for me.

OK what yard all the ones in the Bay area will not sell or let uyopu look at anything where and who are they??

[Jonesy]

I don't know about the bay area, the only one I found by me is a recycling yard. Check out all the recycling yards around you, hopefully you can get lucky as well. I am about 8 hours south of the Bay area so I'm not sure whats around you. If you live near Stockton, try there, that place is filthy and is sure to have some lead around somewhere!

[GoodOlBoy]

one of our local yards won't sell ANYTHING anymore. Don't know why, but you can't even buy angle iron scrap from them these days.

The other yard, heck yeah. They'll gladly turn a profit without having to send it off.

Some of our local ccw instructors rake up their brass and sell it to the yards, unfortunately it typically goes to the yard that won't resale.

GoodOlBoy

[bangerjim]

It is amazing how a business will TURN money away!!!!! Totally stupid. Just some liberal cook-coo views.

Most around me pay 30 cents for lead and a little over a dollar for brass. yet sell it for $1-1.25/# for lead and $3-3.50 for brass stuff! Pretty good profit margin in my company's books.