Brass, Looking For Suggestions

[hotrod13]

I've been reloading for the last 8 years and I acquire a lot of brass each time I go to the range. A usual range trip will end up with me picking up 1,000 to 2,000 pieces of brass usually mainly 9mm, 40 sw, etc. Well I was out of town for a week and watched a little TV and saw that hoarder show and I feel like that is me with brass. First let me state that a lot of the brass is IPSC shot so it is not once fired, but I've reloaded with it for years with no problems. My next problem is I have 2 55 gallon drums of mixed brass and maybe (40) 5 gallon buckets of it. So being the brass is somewhat well used I don't feel like it is great brass to sell for reloading due to the fact a lot of brass for sale is once shot, and locally they sale 9mm for 1.5 cents each cleaned and deprimed. I don't feel like it is worth my time to sell at $15 per thousand. I also don't want to scrap it and waste good brass to just be remelted. So there is my problem. I can't stop picking it up when I'm out there I have tried, I just hate seeing it laying there. I have bought dies to make 40 bullets out of 9mm brass and that is helping a little but still have thousands of pieces of 9mm. So any suggestions? I do shoot quite a bit and I'll admit I've never reloaded brass I have shot because I have 1000's already cleaned and ready to go when I reload. Oh, one other thing I have given away a bunch to friends and family, but I still can't seem to get my stash down.

[DocSavage]

Perhaps you can gift some of your brass to a beginning reloaded. I feel your pain I am a member of brassaholics anonymous my self don't have as much brass as you but going to the range is a struggle seeing all that pretty brass on the ground begging to be picked up. How about your local scrap yard do they buy brass? Sounds like you might have a few bucks in your house.

[jdfoxinc]

I'll swage some. .40 to .45, 9mm to .40. PM me. I'll pay posrage.

[dverna]

Wow...8 posts in 8 years...might be a new record.

Anyway, some people will buy it for $10/1000, just be honest in your description. If it is not worth your time to sell it, it is not worth your time to pick it up and store it. BTW, my opinion is even "used" 9mm and .40 brass is probably going to have a lot of life left in it. Not many people will keep shooting it until it is bad because it is so cheap and easy to get.

[Pressman]

With the amount you have You could fill a medium or large flat rate box and offer it for sale for the postage after you meet the 30/30 requirement for Swap & Sell.

I have the same problem though on a much smaller scale and that's how I am thinking I need to pass it along.

[skeettx]

Hotrod
Yes, you are a hoarder :)
Oh yes, it takes one to know one, I am guilty.

Looks like you could sell your present brass and still
have a source to get much more laying on the ground.

Sell your brass at the local scrap dealer.
Use the money you get to set up a GUN FUND.
I also use the money to pay for the annual dues at gun clubs.
Mike

[redhawk0]

9 and 40 brass is plentiful for sure....here is what I'd do. I'd take the 2 - 55 gal drums to a scrapper and sell them....then take that money and offer up the rest of the brass on the Helping Hands forum. The scrap sale would pay for the postage to help someone else. You won't be out any "cash" but you will rid yourself of the bulk of the brass and help someone else in the process. You don't need 30/30 rule to give it away on Helping Hands.

just my 2 cents.

redhawk

[Mytmousemalibu]

You probably have some brass I have left down there! Me and a few others from our club drive down from Wichita fairly regularly to shoot USPSA matches in Ponca, OKC, and Tulsa. I hate leaving brass behind but we don't have time to pick brass during the match. Afterwards is fine but by then, especially when it's sweltering hot, we're beat tired, we don't feel like bending over to pick it up.

I would probably be open to getting some brass from ya. If you ever sort any of it, I am especially keen on 38 Super and Super Comp

[Pb Burner]

Wow, that's a pile of brass...I'm jealous, I'm a brass hoarder too. On the ranges I go to, almost no one leaves any brass behind. It would take me 30 yrs to collect that much brass.

[Dusty Bannister]

While I would never discourage helping a new reloader. I would suggest that if you have the time, you consider sorting by HS. Just to help the new reloader avoid the issues of having random case issues such as crimp, and thick brass which might result in sizing down the bullet in the case, resulting in leading of the barrel.

It might be that you have no local scrap buyer for the cartridge brass as some avoid it to prevent live rounds in the smelter. If you have a price for scrap cartridge brass, that might be a decent asking price for bulk sales of well used brass as well. I hate to see reloadable brass go to the scrap dealer.

[farmerjim]

Before you take the drums to a scrapper, offer them for sale unsorted at scrap price locally.
I only have about 15 k 9mm, but would like to have 45 k.

[rockrat]

Where in OK? PM me your location and maybe I can come by and relieve you of a 5 gal pail of 9mm brass!!!

[lefty o]

if you wont sell it, and you wont stop picking it up, and you cant possibly use it all, you are a hoarder. scrap it and buy a new gun.

[slim1836]

if you wont sell it, and you wont stop picking it up, and you cant possibly use it all, you are a hoarder. scrap it and buy a new gun.

This is what I would do, you deserve a new weapon (or several) for all your hard work. :Fire:

Slim

[kerplode]

Personally, I'd just haul it all to the scrap yard and put whatever you get back into components, loaded ammo, or a new blaster.

If you got nothing better to do, you could sort through it all and sell it. Honestly, though, I doubt you'd get much over scrap price after all that effort and you'll have to deal with internet cheapskates and the post office and all that nonsense. No thanks.

IMO, unless you put literally no value on your time, the commodity calibers just aren't worth the effort to mess with. Either reloading or brass collecting. I stopped picking up 9mm and 5.56 when I filled up a 5gal bucket each, and I haven't picked up any 40S&W in ages. Last time I pulled the press handle for anything other than large bore revolver or 30 cal and larger rifle was probably more than 10 years ago.

[JimB..]

I could use some for swaging bullets, but I doubt that you really even want to sort it. If you’re inclined to sort it then I’d offer it up at scrap price plus shipping. Otherwise I’d start calling the scrap yards, you can probably get $3,500+ for the 40ish 5 gal buckets. Keep on collecting and convert to cash once a year.

[lightman]

I would sort out a nice quantity of matching headstamps for myself and sell the rest for scrap. I would call around and compare prices. Then I would either buy something that I needed or wanted. If I didn't want anything I would stash the cash for the next bargain that comes my way.

Most things other than 9mm, 40 S&W and 223 would sell but you have the labor involved sorting and mailing them.

All in all, I guess thats not a bad problem to have.

[Todd N.]

Sell it in bulk- unsorted, dirty, as is- to a LGS or pawn shop that deals in used brass. They will offer you a price and then haul it away to be processed at their leisure. All you have to do is make a phone call or two, meet someone interesting, and deposit a check.

[jdfoxinc]

Ok, unsorted mfrb or lfrb at scrap prices plus postage.

[bikerbeans]

Ok, unsorted mfrb or lfrb at scrap prices plus postage.

I am trying that right now with no luck, so far. What price are you fellows getting per pound? I was quoted $1.50 per pound, NW Ohio.

BB

[Paper Puncher]

I understand the "I can't leave it lying there" thought process. Many of us are "brassaholics" and cringe at the thought of leaving it lay, or turning something in for scrap that someone could use.

At some point in time you will reach storage capacity. Your choices will be, stop picking it up ( "but I like picking it up"), start throwing it away, (yeah right), give it away, (to who?), scrap it (if there is a local scrap yard nearby that will take it), or sell it.

Selling it is work, your financial situation and available time dictate how much effort you want to put into it. You have zero dollars invested in it right now. Least effort is to fill a postal MFRB and sell it as bulk mixed brass. Say a $1 a pound (probably 30-35 lbs in a box) plus shipping, $45-$50 a box is my guess. Probably less than scrap price but your sharing your good deal so a bit of positive karma. Pour it in a box tape it up and put the address on and off to the post office.

Do you have kids, grand kids, neighbor kids you like? Let them do the sorting to earn some cash.

You will have to up your post count to sell in Swap and Sell, that's really not that hard to do.

[hotrod13]

Thanks all, yes I don't post much, but I read a bunch. I might try the scrap price idea for other reloaders, Sure some of it is once shot but I don't want to mess with sorting it out, so there will be a mixture of both, but yes I stopped bending over to pick up the 9 and 40 brass I just use a nut picker upper for it and usually leave more than I take. I know it is a nice problem to have other than the room it takes up and it being everywhere. I'm just at the point to where I've loaded 1,000's of rounds and still loading some and start thinking about the components to build a round and of course primers are my main concern I'm pretty good on powder an got 1000's of pounds of lead so I guess if I think about this way that if I sell a MFRB I can get 1,000 or more primers for it then it helps me out and helps others out. I just cringe of taking good brass to the scrap yard.

Thanks all

[JimB..]

Thanks all, yes I don't post much, but I read a bunch. I might try the scrap price idea for other reloaders, Sure some of it is once shot but I don't want to mess with sorting it out, so there will be a mixture of both, but yes I stopped bending over to pick up the 9 and 40 brass I just use a nut picker upper for it and usually leave more than I take. I know it is a nice problem to have other than the room it takes up and it being everywhere. I'm just at the point to where I've loaded 1,000's of rounds and still loading some and start thinking about the components to build a round and of course primers are my main concern I'm pretty good on powder an got 1000's of pounds of lead so I guess if I think about this way that if I sell a MFRB I can get 1,000 or more primers for it then it helps me out and helps others out. I just cringe of taking good brass to the scrap yard.

Thanks all

I agree with stockpiling primers.

Have you considered a brass exchange deal with one of the companies that produces remanufactured ammo? I recall seeing several that give a pretty good rate for brass and you get credit to buy their ammo. I guess that you are happy loading your own, but if there are calibers you don’t load it’s worth considering since they’d take everything in one shot.

[trails4u]

I understand the "I can't leave it lying there" thought process. Many of us are "brassaholics" and cringe at the thought of leaving it lay, or turning something in for scrap that someone could use.

At some point in time you will reach storage capacity. Your choices will be, stop picking it up ( "but I like picking it up"), start throwing it away, (yeah right), give it away, (to who?), scrap it (if there is a local scrap yard nearby that will take it), or sell it.

Selling it is work, your financial situation and available time dictate how much effort you want to put into it. You have zero dollars invested in it right now. Least effort is to fill a postal MFRB and sell it as bulk mixed brass. Say a $1 a pound (probably 30-35 lbs in a box) plus shipping, $45-$50 a box is my guess. Probably less than scrap price but your sharing your good deal so a bit of positive karma. Pour it in a box tape it up and put the address on and off to the post office.

Do you have kids, grand kids, neighbor kids you like? Let them do the sorting to earn some cash.

You will have to up your post count to sell in Swap and Sell, that's really not that hard to do.

I really like this idea..... Many of us, myself included, probably have more brass than we will ever shoot. BUT, many a new reloader, on a budget, as we all once were....doesn't have much and would appreciate an opportunity to stockpile some affordable brass while the current political environment allows for it. If you were profit minded....you could sit on it until the next shortage and probably make your retirement. Anyone else remember 9mm unprocessed brass going for 6-8c each. I do....and it wasn't all that long ago. :(

[Tom W.]

40 Cal brass trimmed to whatever you want and filled with molten lead makes a wonderful boolit for a .44 mag.......

And a .45 acp will do the same for a .480 Ruger.

And no, it won't blow up your revolver.

[fatelk]

I understand your reluctance to scrap it. I used to feel the same way. Now it doesn’t bother me at all. Many tons of perfectly good brass gets scrapped every day, melted down to eventually make new brass. It’s worth around $15/k if you put some work into it and sell it a bit at a time, or it’s worth about $13/k all at once to a scrap yard. I have to agree with most of the others here; I’d scrap it in a heartbeat.

I have 4- 5 gallon buckets full in my garage, that my son and I picked up and sorted. With the abundance of cheap ammo right now, we can’t hardly give it away. I’m about ready to haul it all to the scrap yard myself, and would have already had we not put so much time into sorting it.

[Mr_Sheesh]

diamondkbrass might be another place to check what they'd offer you?

[David2011]

Wow...8 posts in 8 years...might be a new record.


He was busy picking up brass.

[wv109323]

. I am kinda in the same boat. I sold some to a gun store at actually less than scrap price. I thought maybe I would be helping the LGS and a hopefully he sells the brass at a price that helps a shooter out.
With the amount you have I would sell it for scrap and buy a gun. I hate that but there has to be a market before you can sell it. 9mm, 40 S&W and .223 is difficult to load and save money over new ammo price.

[Thin Man]

I suggest you invest in an inexpensive brass sorter that will separate all of the "same or similar" caliber brass together. This will save you a ton of time and make your selling or gifting the brass to the next user a lot simpler. Why not try a small "for sale" ad in your local newspaper. You might meet some local reloaders you did not know are in your area.

[bbogue1]

My story --- In general a common story

As a retired Senior living on a modest fixed income (mostly Social Security) it is seldom that I can afford to buy brass. Extra money, what’s that? I can only wish that I could join a gun club. I shoot for the enjoyment of shooting. I have two friends who have built rudimentary ranges on their property and I can use those ranges anytime. I got into reloading to allow me to shoot, however, I stayed in because it is so multifaceted. If it had not been for BrassMagnet and his Tumbleweed Christmas (the exceptional gathering of members to donate loading equipment and supplies to new loaders) I would still not be able to load. I really do like fussing around in my ”loading” room. I have a 9mm pistol and a 38 special revolver. My son, grandson and son-in-law each have a 40. A friend has a 257 Roberts and another friend has a 9mm and did have a 45, most live locally, so, use my equipment.

Why am I relaying this to you and the fabulous membership here on CB? In the 4 years I have been reloading, the generosity of the members has allowed me to teach 6 new reloaders and they have taught 2 more. Without the Helping hands section none of us would be reloading.

If not for Brass Magnet (through Helping Hands) to have even a small stockpile of brass for 9mm and 40 would only be a far off dream. We use the same brass over and over. I certainly cannot afford to buy brass. We even cast our own bullets. There is a small tire dealer nearby that is generously giving us from 3-6 pounds of wheel weights about every two weeks in exchange for some snack food.

Sell to give

I really like what redhawk0 said. What has been implied but not outright mentioned is this; You have been given a gift. As a collector you now have far more than you can use which gives you the opportunity to be an excellent steward of this gift. The helping hands section is an opportunity to help a new loader who otherwise could not afford to shoot.

Wouldn’t you agree it feels great to help others who need a gift only you can give? The drawbacks are you have to sort the brass and you have to pay the shipping. Fortunately you can sell boxes of uncleaned range brass at a low rate to provide the funds to pay the shipping. You don’t even have to count the brass; gather it and weigh it. 9mm weighs 14 ounces per 100, or ask other members how many cases of whatever caliber will fit into a MFRB. Fill up the shipping box with brass (in the same condition as they are now) and offer them at a ridiculously low price including shipping (say a MFRB – medium flat rate box is $12.80 shipping plus $12.00 for the brass; which beats any other price on the internet.) Boxes are free from USPS.com and you can click and ship purchase the label, the shipping and arrange for your mailman to pick the box up at your front door right on your computer at home.

Under this scenario the sale of one box generates enough income to donate a like box through Helping Hands. Can you imagine how many new or low income loaders would drool over your gift? Can you picture their posts of gratitude? Don’t quit rescuing the brass. Be a conduit for it to allow some who could not shoot to enjoy the sport.

Hope this twist of an idea helps, feel free to click on my name to the left and send me a personal message if you like.

[Petander]

That's a good post, bbogue1.

I too remember times when someone gave me a handful of 45ACP brass and it felt like Christmas. Or a whole box of bad ammo to pull,again got the brass. Or an old mold... life goes up and down for all of us.

Do something good with that brass. Give.

Nowadays I have more "stuff" than I need and a bad heart,stent etc. I'm trying to give if it helps someone,makes my heart better. Give. Makes you feel good.

[JimB..]

I once got buckets of 45acp and gave several people a full bucket each for free if they would sort one bucket for me, dumping certain headstamps and separating by primer size. They were pretty good filtering out headstamps, not so good with primer sizes, and only one cheated me, but I have more than I need now anyway.

You could do something similar. Sell a MFRB or better a LFRB of range brass for a low price and require that the buyer offer up on helping hands a SFRB of ready to load brass. It’d be maybe 20% of the brass plus some labor to help out someone new. Not sure who would pay to ship the SFRB, whatever the norm is for helping hands.

It’s funny that we all go through the same cycle for brass and lead, can’t get it, work hard to get it, oh my where did this all come from.

Think of it as hoarding goodwill.

[samari46]

I have to admit that I was a brass rat. Didn't care what caliber it was it got picked up. I even had club members give me brass that had been shot many times. The whole funny thing about the brass rat thing is that members used to ask if I had any brass in certain calibers. Only too happy to help out. But dumping one of ten 5 gal buckets on the garage floor did get a bit much. Off to the junk yard. 459 pounds of cartridge brass almost but not quite filled a 55 gallon drum and a nice payday. But since I was a 45 acp shooter did save that caliber. Don't scrounge anymore so just working on what I now have. Frank