Brass Attitude

[6622729]

It's interesting the difference in attitude regarding brass between being a non-reloader and a reloader. When I'm shooting my reloads, I want my brass back. I'll search quite a while to find that lost case. They've been cleaned, inspected, sized, loaded and form fired in my gun.
I recently joined a local gun club and have been surprised and excited by all of the brass I've been picking up for free. Once fired 223 and 9mm mostly, both of which I use, just laying there on the ground. I see those cases on the ground and see gold! The guy who shot them just sees trash and he can't even be bothered to pick up after himself. Thank you!

[Don Fischer]

Isn't that the truth! The only time I allow brass to hit the ground at all is when I'm firing one of my 9mm's. I wouldn't own an auto load rifle or a pump just because I couldn't stop the brass from hitting the ground. The only reason I have my 9mm's is for carry guns. Both give more firepower than my pet DA revolver's. shoot, I even have a Ithica mod 37 I've never shot because the case's would hit the ground. In my SxS's, I've removed the ejector's, MTY with extractor's by hand, no shell need hit the ground.

[rockrat]

At our club, finding good usable brass at the range is a rarity

[Spector]

When my range used to have a gravel surface I'd pick up more 45 ACP brass than I'd go through and that was just WCC brass which is all I shoot for the most part. Some other brands and calibers I would save, but most I would sell and that would more than pay my club dues.

I'd make it a point to come in after police departments, the FBI, Conservation Officers and security companies who used the range for organized shooting sessions. Perfect looking once fired brass. When they shot from the grassy areas in front of the range canopy it was great fun finding brass. I learned to wear thin soled tennis shoes when the grass was a little tall and I would feel them under my feet no matter how tarnished they'd become. I often left with well over 1000 cases.

Then they tore down the old canopy, poured a longer, wider concrete shooting line and built a new canopy to cover it all. It soon became apparent to them that larger caliber brass on concrete could be a danger if you stepped on enough of them and they were lined up properly. Sort of a roller bearing effect.

Now the club rule is you pick up all the brass you've shot at least on the concrete surface. They even provide brooms and dust pans to aid in this.

I still find some brass in the fine gravel between the concrete and grass, but not too much. The days are gone now when I could pay my dues from my brass finds.

I had gotten to the point that I enjoyed searching for free brass almost as much as shooting. I always loved seeing what I'd call ''spider holes'' in the grass. Perfectly round holes emitting no reflected light......hidden in the grass sitting straight up. I became really adept at seeing those even when my feet missed them.

On rare occasions people will shoot and I can tell they are not wanting to pick up brass so I will suggest to them that I will police it up since I have to pick mine up anyway.

When I use the range I normally find all of my brass. Sometimes there will be one piece that eludes me, but often I find those on subsequent trips to the range.

I bought a bunch of Starline 45 Super brass to run plain 45 ACP+P loads through my XDS. I don't want to lose any of that.

I sure miss those old days when there was brass, brass, brass everywhere once you picked up the knack for spotting it.

Mike

[JSnover]

Picking up my brass yesterday (I know it's mine because I draw red stripes around the cases with a Sharpie) I found about a dozen 7.62x39 and 30-30 cartridges, live, clean, unfired - the primers had not been struck, like someone just dropped them and didn't notice or didn't want them back after they'd been on the ground. I don't own a rifle for either of them so I laid them on the bench and one of the range officers scooped them up. Made his day.

[dragon813gt]

At our club, finding good usable brass at the range is a rarity

It's become more scarce since Sandy Hook at the ranges I belong to. But I've taken to going at night after training classes are held. Yields lots of 223, 9mm and 45acp brass. For some reason it will yield a lot of 380 brass from time to time. I can't stop in daily like I used to which has drastically cut down how much I bring home

[dtknowles]

I have stopped being a brass rat. Where I shoot now, there is always someone else who would like the range brass. I have plenty of brass for the guns I shoot that I am likely to see range brass for, so I let them have it. I used to collect brass and sell the surplus, I am not that ambitious and greedy anymore. Where I used to shoot nobody seem to want the brass and I could not stand to see it rot so I picked it all up. I think it is a bit of different time and different range. I still collect my own brass.

Tim

[JSnover]

Before I had a surplus I used to scour the range. LGS would buy back the more popular cases for a 10% discount on new brass. Now I'm more interested in recovering my own.

[gwpercle]

In my early reloading days I would get up early on Sunday morning, drive to the local range and police up all the leftover fired brass from Saturday. Back then only people who "weren't quite right in the head " reloaded , therefore I gleaned a lifetime supply of 38 special, 45 acp , 30-30 and 30-06. Even got a supply of 38 AMU from there.
After sweeping and trash barrel diving , then I would shoot some . Had to be back home for Sunday Dinner or Mom would skin me.
Gary

[Hardcast416taylor]

A friend of mine, YES I do have a friend, wanted to find ALL of his fired cases to reload that he bought an inexpensive metal detector at a yard sale. It must work as he hasn`t lost a case since!Robert

[JSnover]

A friend of mine, YES I do have a friend, wanted to find ALL of his fired cases to reload that he bought an inexpensive metal detector at a yard sale. It must work as he hasn`t lost a case since!Robert

Lucky him. The ranges I shoot there's way too much scrap on the ground for that

[EDG]

My range has little to no brass, but is almost paved with the steel cases that have mashed into the dirt.

[762 shooter]

Just walked into 75 pieces of once fired LC13 308 at my range. Some nice person thought it was trash.

762

[4719dave]

Well...Being a reloader it's so hard not to pu the brass ...

[duckey]

I love scrounging brass at my local public range. People usually stare at me when I'm shoulder deep in the trash barrels.

[RP]

Well how many of you have meet the guys that do not reload but collect all their brass? One guy I know picks his brass up because it has his finger prints on it and no he is not a felon. Two other I know have 45/70s when i asked about their brass they are saving it but no reason to do so. The ranges around here police all the brass up they sell it for scrap one reloads it and resales to shooters yes they have the paper work to do so one will sell brass to you but you have to dig in the barrels for it. I am happy I do not have to go to the range to shoot.
I did enjoy going to one of the ranges when the price was not so bad mainly for a day out to meet new people kill some time and relax. He went from 5 bucks a day shooting to 10 then to 25 its over 100 for the year but when you only go 4 to 5 days a year its not worth that kind of money to me. Keeps telling me how much it cost him a month to run that skeeter hole with no running water or power and to put up with some of his range officers which are not paid they just like being in charge. Funny thing is 10 or 15 guys show up to shoot at 5 bucks a head a few times a year or more is better then a 100 bucks one time. More and more people I know have stopped going telling me the same thing the cost keeps going up and its just not worth it. I look at it like goberment raise taxes you take in less lower taxes you take in more oh well rant over

[Don Fischer]

Picking up my brass yesterday (I know it's mine because I draw red stripes around the cases with a Sharpie) I found about a dozen 7.62x39 and 30-30 cartridges, live, clean, unfired - the primers had not been struck, like someone just dropped them and didn't notice or didn't want them back after they'd been on the ground. I don't own a rifle for either of them so I laid them on the bench and one of the range officers scooped them up. Made his day.

I would not fire ammo I found on the ground like that. Probably pull it apart for the case but wouldn't shoot it.

[Fshnutz]

I am a member at a local indoor range (tough to shoot outside when it's 118 degrees here in Phoenix!), and the brass gets swept away quickly. The range is OK with you picking up your own brass, but not other peoples. I usually have to stop every few magazines and collect my brass before some ambitious shooter tries to be nice and sweep all mine away!

[6622729]

At our club, finding good usable brass at the range is a rarity

The range I used to go to was like that mostly because they keep it nearly spotless. Sometimes they just wanted to empty the brass bucket and would send me home with some and once I got a matching set of about 30 once fired 308 brass from an otherwise empty trash can. The new range I am at is a trash pit by comparison. The happy side effect however is that sometimes someone leaves me a nice little pile. This week it was 40+ probably reloaded .223 cases since they were a collection of headstamps and a matching set of about 100 9mm cases. I don't NEED either but I'm not going to leave it to waste. I brought it home, tumbled it spotless and added it to my brass reserves.

[Harter66]

I've been on 3 ranges in the last 5 yr . I've picked up maybe 50 cases that weren't mine . Everybody is taking it all home these days out here .

If I could I'd scrounge every case. Especially after my recent struggle with finding 2 particular cartridges or sister cases. Good greif who would think that 2.5 inch WM family and x57 would be hard to find and folks would throw in 30 and 32 Remington because you bought the common as dirt brass and the Remington was taking up space ......
I had to buy 308 to make 358 , the world has gone mad .....