Used brass price

[jdhenry]

The scrap place I bought some lead from had a 48"x48"x48" box almost full of used brass and I have been thinking about buying some or all of it but I have no idea what it is worth. Sooooooooooooo my question is: what is the max I should pay per a pound for used mixed brass???

Thanks,
Jeremy

[357maximum]

FWIW...when I take brass to the scrapper it is going there for one reason and one reason only.....it is no longer any use to anyone...

[Jim]

JD,
Go back to the scrapper and ask him if you can look through it. If he'll let you, grab a handful and check out what you see, regardless of caliber. It's very possible that all that brass could have come from an indoor range or a training facility. If you don't see cracks in the case mouths or head seperations, you just might be in the luck of it.
Assuming all that goes well, determine roughly the weight of a large, heavy case. What are you willing to pay for a fired case? .02. .03, .05? Calculate the number of cases in a pound and figure what it would cost you to buy a pound of once fireds. Ask the man what he wants for a pound of this stuff. Never can tell, you might be hittin' it good!

Jim

[mister gizmo]

The scrap yards around here (the northeast) have been paying me as little as 90 cents to as much as $1.10 a pound for my pistol brass. I give him all the junk and all the 9mm, 40 S+W and .38spl I can find. The only valuable stuff (reloadable) is the .380 acp, .357 mag, .44 spl and mag and .45 acp.

I agree that you should look at what is typically in the box, then decide. If you know that you can get $1 a pound just for scrap, then you can figure out what you want to offer him.

Rifle brass is another story.

[vmt_hntr]

I'm with 357 Max on this one. I sold some scrap a month ago for $1.15/lb, which was down 10cents from last Nov. No ranges around here that would dump a bunch like that. And besides, unless the scrap dealer got at least as much as what he would from a larger dealer, why would he sell it to you for less?...FWIW
Bob in Indiana

[monadnock#5]

Most of the KB's you read about on the net revolve around a common theme. "It all started when I bought this here ammo out of a bucket at a gun show." I truly believe that what you're suggesting will one day destroy one of your fine firearms, and maybe worse. This has all the earmarks of an accident waiting to happen.

Ken

[jdhenry]

checked it out today and it is all worthless.. Thanks for the info......

Jeremy

[KCSO]

I keep a 5 gallon bucket in the shop and all the brass I don't trust goes in it. From there it goes to the scrap yard. Look all you want and yo won't see loose primer pockets, incipent seperation, thinned brass that has been trimmed too much. Don't take a chance on scrap yard brass, thats like pouring lawn mower gas in your Ferrari. Good once fired range brass rarely goes to the scrap yard. All ours goes to reloaders first.

[DLCTEX]

They paid me $1.15 for junk brass. Which means that to buy it from them you can probably expect at least 25% added to that. Dale

[mister gizmo]

An alternative for JDHenry is to buy whatever brass he needs from other local shooters or from CB members here.

Unless he's a benchrest shooter or other precision-type, new brass would be an extravagance, imo.

Even with shipping charges, the prices I've seen here for both rifle and pistol once-fired brass are reasonable.

[hammerhead357]

Guys, one of the ranges around San Antonio is selling used brass in 5 gal. buckets for 1.65 per pound. The only thing I see wrong is that some of it has been outside for an extended time and is tarnished beyond help. It just won't polish up good.
Wes