Old,used,no good rifle brass?

[Willyp]

Do you save this? I do. I thought of taking it to a scrap yard,to sell as brass scrap!they won't take it????????????? I have atlest a 5 gallon bucket full! I am bumbed!

[missionary5155]

Good morning
Try another scrap yard.
But some is good to use for muzzle protectors, make your own scoops, fill with expoxy and insert pen cartriges, some are usefull for boolit jackets, tie in bundles and shoot from a smothbore cannon....
If you have any Berdan primed cases a fell in Swapping & Selling is looking for some.

[joejr]

i just got 1.55 a pound 3 weeks ago in arundel, maine. the guy said it had to be sorted, no shell casings mixed with other brass.

[Czech_too]

I've taken brass shell casings to the scrap yard in the past. They do want it separate though, as stated previously. Last time around I had a coffee can full, mostly 22's, and got 3-4 dollars. That may not seem like much, but it's more in my pocket.

[ReloaderFred]

About 4 weeks ago, I took enough scrap brass to the recycler to receive a little over $1,900.00. They were paying $1.82 a pound.

Brass casings have to be kept separate under the Dept. of Homeland Security rules. If the recycler mixes it with other brass, they get fined. My suggestion is to try another recycler, even if it's in another town. Just put it in the car when you make another trip and check all the recyclers in the areas you visit.

There are two recyclers in the nearest large city to me. When I called, one was paying $1.54 a pound and the other was paying $1.82 a pound. It pays to shop around.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[The Double D]

Brass casings have to be kept separate under the Dept. of Homeland Security rules. If the recycler mixes it with other brass, they get fined. .

Fred

Care to cite the rule?

There is no DHS agency that has jurisdiction. Closest is CBP and ICE who share export enforcement authority for the State Department's International Trafficking in Arms regulation that controls exports of ammunition, including spent cartridges case.

So if the scrap dealers are selling their scrap brass overseas they would need have a DOS Export license to send the cases out.

[winelover]

About 4 weeks ago, I took enough scrap brass to the recycler to receive a little over $1,900.00. They were paying $1.82 a pound.

Fred

Wish I could take scrap metal to recyclers in the Detriot area. If you don't have a "scrappers" license and are caught they will impound your vechicle. It's suppose to keep the derelicts from stealing A/C compressors, copper plumbing and wiring, aluminum siding etc. It doesn't work cause they use shopping carts stolen from supermarkets and could care less if they impound it. I's just not worth the hassles for honest citizens.

Winelover

[ReloaderFred]

Double D,

I don't have the citation, since I'm only going by what the people working the non-ferrous metals scales told me at the recycler's yard. Since they were so accomodating, and paying me top dollar for my two 55 gallon barrels full of scrap brass and spent primers, I wasn't going to question their statement. They were being very careful to not have any other scrap brass mixed in with the shell casings, so there must be some reason for it. They did say they were subject to inspections by DHS. Other than that, I have no knowledge of the rules.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[RayinNH]

The scrap yard I go to also wants it separated. In fact the last time I was there, there was a guy spreading brass casings on an inclined table. They said he was checking for live ones...Ray

[FWAddit]

The scrap dealers around here who take cartridge cases run a magnet through them to cull out steel ones.

In regard to RayinNH's comment, I just assumed that the dealers who won't take them are afraid of liability in case they sold a batch with a live round in it to a smelter.

[The Double D]

Double D,

I don't have the citation, since I'm only going by what the people working the non-ferrous metals scales told me at the recycler's yard. Since they were so accomodating, and paying me top dollar for my two 55 gallon barrels full of scrap brass and spent primers, I wasn't going to question their statement. They were being very careful to not have any other scrap brass mixed in with the shell casings, so there must be some reason for it. They did say they were subject to inspections by DHS. Other than that, I have no knowledge of the rules.

Hope this helps.

Fred

Sounds like they need a visit from Paul Harvey. My guess there is an element of truth in what they said, just the truth isn't what they said.

My guess this is word of mouth passed down the line 3rd hand info.

Now if your salvage yard is also the direct exporter, they might have got tangled up exporting shell casings in scrap brass.

Then when they had a brass shipment to export, Customs might have inspected the shipment for ITAR compliance and fopund shell casing. Most of the scrap is going to China.

I once had to inspect a railroad gondola car full of scrap metal being exported that the computer selected for inspection. I checked the car and right on top were two old rifle barrels. Standard old rusty sporting rifle barrels....have you ever unloaded and checked the entire contents of a rail car full scrap metal? The scrap company had to pay for unloading and reloading that car and pay a fine for the barrels. I had to stand out in the hot sun at a dirty dusty scrap yard for 8 hours while the scrap was unload and I inspected it.

Lessons learned.

I am sure that company paid more attention about what scrap they bought after that. Something like may have happened to the scrap company you dealt with

I can also tell you, I inspected lots of rail cars of scrap metal after that, and I can tell you for sure I never ever found another gun barrel in scrap, never!.

[ReloaderFred]

They're a pretty good sized recycler for this area, and really nice people, very much unlike the other scrap yard down the road. One welcomes you as a customer and the other treats you like they're doing you a favor taking your "junk". In Oregon, unless you're a licensed scrapper, they have to wait three business days before they can mail you a check for what you've brought in. They aren't allowed to pay in cash to unlicensed scrappers, only by check. I believe this has greatly cut down on the amount of stolen property that is going through these places.

They may have gotten their wires crossed on the DHS rules, but they've told me the same thing both times I've taken scrap brass into them. I'm not going to argue with them, as like I said, they're really nice folks, which I've found to be kind of rare in that business. I'm a retired Sheriff's Commander, so I fully understand about written laws and hearsay, but in this case it doesn't really affect me one way or the other, so I'm not questioning them. If they want to believe that DHS is going to swoop down and inspect all the fired brass they've got, that's fine with me, as long as they're paying .25 cents a pound more than the jerks down the street.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[The Double D]

Paying is always good!

In the late 70's and early 80's I worked for Curry County SO.

[ReloaderFred]

I worked for Kern County SO from 1971 to 1995. Now I'm enjoying life, as I'm sure you are, too. I bailed out of Kalifornia the very day I retired............

Fred

[NVcurmudgeon]

I used to sell quite a bit of junk cartridge brass and odds and ends of brass plumbing scrap in the northern CA Bay Area. My once a year accumulation generated the equivalent of about $150 at today's prices. Since moving to the Reno, NV area six years ago anything I can't use, sell as good brass, or give to friends goes right in the dumpster. No scrap yard in this area will buy cartridge brass because they say that they don't have a closed contaner to heat it up in. They pay next to nothing for other scrap brass. I asked about lead for sale and they said that they had to save it for "a big outfit." English translation: the Chicoms. Nowadays, my range pickups are much more selective.

[Storydude]

Range brass is seperate from yellow due to the different makup of it.

and yes, there is an ITAR reg. preventing sale outside the USA.

Hence, locally Range scrap vbrings in 45 cents/lb and yellow brings in 2.00/Lb

[lwknight]

I guess my local scrapyard just sells their brass to an American foundry/smelter because they mix it all together. This is a huge operatin too.

[RP]

The scrape yard here told me they had to get a permit or cert. to take brass cases Insurance or something I think. They had a big fuss over it a year or two back when a mil 20mm round live was mix in and it went off no one was killed or hurt but put the breaks on it. So yards want them burned to insure there are no live rounds in the mix. But now two yards in town I know off take spent brass if you dont have one near you I keep saving it someone will take it sooner or later.

[Storydude]

Spent brass is better used as a trading commodity here

On a side note, I found a small Ford Cat. Converter on the side of the highway taking the stepkid to work this morning.

102 bucks 25 min later at the scrapyard. :clapping:

[shotman]

In WV they will take it IF it is heated to where it turns redish If it has shotgun primers they dont want any of it
I sold the copper/brass jackets from range scrap and got more than I paid for the scrap and lead was free.