Yes, can do.
Any brass left at all my ranges is FREE for the taking.
I can pay for my annual memberships with salvaged brass
Mike
P.s. in fact, they want you to pick up brass and police the area
so someone will not slip on the brass
Yes, can do.
Any brass left at all my ranges is FREE for the taking.
I can pay for my annual memberships with salvaged brass
Mike
P.s. in fact, they want you to pick up brass and police the area
so someone will not slip on the brass
Last edited by skeettx; 12-21-2019 at 12:57 PM.
NRA Benefactor 2004 USAF RET 1971-95
Personally I'm scared of using rifle brass from the range. Pistol brass will just crack normally and is easily culled out. Rifle brass though requires a much more thorough inspection. Any signs it's been loaded previously and I either won't use it or won't use it but a time or two before I find fresh. Federal with it's primer sealer though is a jewel.
I have two outdoor ranges in my area, one private that only allows you to pick up you own brass and keeps an eye on you. They have "open range" days when they are open to the public but mainly are closed to non members. Last time I was there it had rained for two days prior and the shooting areas were under about two inches of mud. Lost a lot of brass that day and haven't been back since.
The other range is run by the county, very professional with range officers who expect you to do as they say when the say it. A lot of people have had problems with them but they let me pick up any brass I can use. I always ask the shooter first before picking their brass. Last trip I picked up over 60 .243 Winchester brass, 40 30-06 and could of grabbed three or four pounds of .223 which I don't have any use for but still pick up occasionally.
There is an indoor range just down the road which doesn't allow reloads, expects you to purchase ammo at their store and keeps the brass when it hits the floor. I've only been there twice with .22's and even then it was a rip off. The county range is my favorite for both shooting and brass ratting even though the RO's can be real d1cks sometimes.
My last haul to the scrapyard was all .223, 9mm, damaged cases, Berdans, and spent primers. Half a 55 gallon drum. More cash for my "gun safe fund"!
This topic came up a few times before and at one time afterwards I went and sent an email to all of the local ranges in our area asking their policy on picking up brass and they all came back pretty much the same. They have no problem with picking up your own brass and their only restriction is with the indoor ranges that they do not want you to go out in front of the firing line to retrieve your brass.
Here I have read many responses of shooters getting scolded for picking up their brass to which I say if it is an issue for you and you want your own brass back then ask at the counter before even paying for range time. If you are not going to allow you to retrieve your own brass then walk before you even unload a range bag. When I go to the range there are usually two of us. The wife and myself. Watch the look on their faces when they have two walk-offs.
they don't care if you take your own, but they do sell range brass realy cheap you have to sort it your self 60.00 per 5 gal pail or about a 1.00 pound
I'm starting to think something is wrong with me, I even pick up and reload Berdan rifle brass in the right caliber. Almost half of my 7.7x58 jap brass started life as 30-06 or 8x57 berdan range brass. Spent a few hours today resizing and trimming some 06 berdan brass for a 7x57 Spanish Mauser, Got the primers so why not use them. Getting low on my boxer primers so it's time to load some berdan.
Hi...
My son and I belong to two gun clubs.
Everybody is supposed to pick up their brass but a lot of people don't.
The one club has a guy that shows up every morning to get all the brass that he can find.
Don't know if he reloads it, sells it or scraps it.
I've never been to a public range. Too many rules, too many people.
I have a friend that's been to knob creek. I'm told you're not allowed to keep a pistol on your person. You have to lay it on their table, action open. I can appreciate the safety aspect. However, I don't disarm myself except if I have no choice. My pistol is either loaded in holster or in hand pointed at target.
I have seen a few police officers acting in an unsafe manner at the gun range. Not following the rules.
When confronted they all say the same thing. "I am a police officer and I am exempted from the rules."
They endanger everyone around them.
I have complained about their behavior in the past but nothing was ever done about it.
Range I go to is the local membership only club , brass what brass , maybe a few pistol and 223 , I would bet most members are reloaders and brass bandits at that.
You can always be like a friend of mine. He is adamant that he won't load and shoot any brass that he didn't buy new, or shoot himself as factory ammo. Seems silly to me, but to each their own.
I have people tell me all the time that they wouldn't shoot some of the brass I have loaded and shot.
I don't mind. The boolits still go into the group with the rest of them for me anyway no matter what they say.
Brass is actually pretty tough and forgiving. I've had and seen brass fail in a number of ways. I just threw away a batch of 308 brass (7.62 NATO actually) that I didn't realize had likely been fired in a loose chamber (MG probably), and many were starting to separate inside. Some of them I could just barely feel the slightest ring inside with a bent paperclip, but rather than mess with them I just scrapped the whole lot. Even full on separation isn't usually very dangerous or destructive. More than once in the past I've opened a bolt to remove a case head, then had to figure out how to remove the case body from the chamber.
What gets scary is a crack through the case head. That's bad news. So, I'll check range rifle brass over for defects, like cracks, incipient separation, dented rims, loose primer pockets, etc., and anything questionable goes in the scrap bucket, but otherwise it's good to go.
I only use new or once fired brass for my defense, hunting or competition ammo. But I've shot a ton of range brass with an unknown history for practice or plinking. Like you, I have salvaged brass with dings, dents and scuff marks.
I'm having trouble getting my thoughts wrapped around belonging to a range that won't allow reloads or recovery of your own brass. That would be a deal breaker for me. I can see a range limiting the amount of other brass that you are allowed to collect if they sell it to raise operating funds but I want my brass back.
Quite a few guys don't reload in our club will usually give reloaders their brass .most members help each other and we have a great laugh in the prep room /defiantly not PC but all very safety conscious.
The local indoor range doesn’t allow you to pick it up. If it hits the floor it is theirs. They sell it so cheap that it isn’t worth trying to scrounge. 25 bucks a thousand and they give you closer to 1500 and will replace the Berdan stuff.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |