I've been to a public range where picking up brass that is not yours will get you banned permanently. They pick it up and sell it.
I've been to a public range where picking up brass that is not yours will get you banned permanently. They pick it up and sell it.
USMC 6638
Ive been known to raid the little hanging tins ,when the RO aint looking.Some have good eyesight though,one handed me a tin full of 45/70 cases,hornady tho.The cases are generally sold in the shop,or some is used to reload the hire 308s.Ive got that much 308,I dont bother,same as 223.As greywolf says ,the days of shooters taking any notice of safety rules are gone.Young guys and girlfriends,move in slow motion,talk for long periods at targets,always last to get back,seem not to hear what they are told.Tolerated because of the money they spend,usually $100 per person +.
someone keeps leaving me brand new starline 10mm on the pistol range, how nice of them. I belong to a private club, I shoot once a week and dues are 60/year (a screaming deal as far as I am concerned) and very few people take their brass. I pick up about 2-3gallons of 223 every time I am there. I also am known to shake the trash cans to see if they jingle.
The local CCW class uses the instructors range, and he has to worry about what to do with the empty brass!! No problem, I'll be there every Saturday to help you out, mister! I clean it up for him, he's happy, and get some brass to help my fellow reloaders out!! And, I may be able to mine the berms in the near future!! ( it's a public service thing, lol) I have never been looked at strangely for policing my brass at the range, in fact, most times, the reloaders in my community are there also! We don't squabble about it, if someone needs some brass, all generally pitch in and help them out! Maybe I'm lucky. Good bunch of guys here.
I firmly believe that you should only get treated by how you act, not by who or what you are!!
The only time I got looked at funny was once when I found a bunch of .223 bras at the rifle range, scattered about. It’s a club range without an RO. I was alone and another guy pulled up as I was getting done picking up a few hundred nice shiny .223 brass.
It became apparent that he hit the range every day and scrounged all the brass and was irritated that I had beat him to a nice find. He got over it pretty quick and was actually a nice enough guy.
A relevant story from a friend of mine: he was at a range one day and got talking to another guy there. As the guy was packing up, he gathered all his empty brass, deliberately crushed the necks, and threw them in the garbage. My friend was a bit shocked and asked him why he did that. He replied that that’s just what he’s always done; his dad had taught him to do that when he was young because otherwise someone might find that empty brass and reload it, and reloading is dangerous!
Whether I am picking up brass, at my reloading bench, in the woods or at the range, I am happy.
Caring what other people think of my having fun is not my concern. Their problem, not mine.
Trying to make me feel bad about it is a wasted effort on their part. They can stand back and watch me have more fun.
When I go to a public indoor range with my son, he likes to shoot best while I pick up brass. We both have fun in our own ways. Never let some clod make you feel bad about picking up brass! /Chris
I too have been lectured about how bad reloads are and after numerous clay pigeons are decimated at 100 yards using my Krags w/iron sights using my cast bullet loads they slink away. I like to remind them that my cast loads are cheaper than their 22lrs. Some have returned and asked questions on what it takes to get into reloading. Perhaps a few minds have been changed.
I will pick up all brass I see. Can't get enough free brass. Have a brother who always said it isn't worth his while to reload . called the other day seeking advice on reloading equipment after paying $44 for 20 rifle shells.
Man you guys are privileged, In my 55 years of age, I've never been to a shooting range, public or private.
I belong to a private club (sounds exclusive )that has 5 gallon buckets out with little signs on them saying "empty brass here" they almost always are half full of shot shells and steel cases and the garbage cans have a bunch of real brass cases in them. Probably the same folks that shot the holes in the roof!
It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years (Abe Lincoln)
"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.” George Washington
I shoot at three different free public ranges with my family. I always pick up as much of our brass as we can find. there are times I just go to police the range, and I have never had anyone look at me like that. Fellow reloaders have never butted in when I'm already policing and non-reloaders sometimes even help me pick it up.
That being said, if someone was to give me stink-eye for picking up other peoples brass I'd give it right back! Plus picking up other peoples left behind brass I get in good with the park rangers who are responsible for the ranges. So as long as I can I will continue to collect the left over brass.
Most of my brass is someone else's discards. I don't care what peaple think when I brass bucket dive. I know it's the right thing to do, recycle reuse and reclaim. All I collect gets graded then what I can't use get returned for the brass recycler. My buddies give me their brass.
I was told the other day reloads shouldn't be use because it takes to long to clean your rifle, he probly never cleans his guns.
I don't really reload, I hand load!
Anyone can jerk a reloading press lever!
Be well
When you read the fine print you get an education
when you ignore the fine print you get experience
The PA game commission operates rifle and pistol ranges at one of the nearby state game lands. When I was out for opening day of rifle deer season, I made a quick stop in at the pistol range to see if there was any brass left on the ground (I know, I don't have a problem and I can quit any time.) There was only one man there shooting 9mm, and he didn't reload. He was happy to let me have all his once-fired brass, and even followed me to the car to give me the ones he had just shot. Really nice guy.
Wayne
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger - or else it gives you a bad rash.
Venison is free-range, organic, non-GMO and gluten-free
+1
I have gotten dirty looks and snide comments for cleaning up the steel cases some slobs have left behind. We have a magnet hanging on a hook for them to use but it is still too much for them to do. I believe this was mentioned to the club president by this person also as it was brought up by the pres. at the monthly meeting a few days later. I had never said a word about it. The pres. was happy that someone took the initiative to clean up after the slobs. Whilst I did want to clean the place up my ulterior motive was that I often find more usable brass when cleaning up the junk.
"Don't worry what they think. In the end it is not between them and you, it is between you and God."
Je suis Charlie!
"You won't know until you Actually try it"
"The impossible just takes longer."
"Don't let them beat you down with their inexperience."
"You'll never accomplish what you don't try. " - Moldmaker
Last edited by WRideout; 12-04-2017 at 10:25 PM. Reason: sp.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger - or else it gives you a bad rash.
Venison is free-range, organic, non-GMO and gluten-free
That was my first thought.
If anybody asks, I'm just recycling. Either by trading for something else, re-using it to reload or saving it for the scrap yard. But if you tell them you are recycling, they automatically think you are turning it in for cash. Which is just fine by me, keeps me from having to explain myself and allows more time for picking up "brass dimes" off the ground.
It seems like a lot fewer people are turning their noses up at handloads these days. But one thing that does seem to set old Bubba off is cast bullets in rifles. Even if they reload themselves they have trouble with the concept of cast bullets. Revolvers with cast doesn't faze them but a "modern, high powered hunting gun" with primitive looking cast boolits is a bit more than they can wrap their heads around.
Funny story about a range encounter from a couple decades back. Me and a friend went to a local unsupervised range to test some .30-06 loads with Lyman 311284 boolits ahead of a charge of SR4759. The rifle was my old M70 Winchester that dates back to around 1941, kind of rough around the edges looks wise but a fairly decent shooter despite badly eroded rifling. While we were getting set up a couple of guys showed up to sight in for the coming deer season. They started setting up next to us. One of them, a real big guy about a hundred pounds heavier than either myself or my friend, came over to check us out. He spotted those big long nosed boolits and wanted to know where I got them. I explained that I cast them myself. He called his buddy over to look at them and they started in with their comedian routine. "They sell modern bullets, ya know?" "They gave up on that stuff a hundred years ago when they invented jacketed bullet." "Those targets are a hundred yards, ya know, do you think those home made musket balls will shoot that far? Haw Haw Haw"
I fired several 5 shot groups from the bench, using bags. I was getting around 1.25" groups, which was about the best the old Winchester would do with any bullet. My friend tried his hand with about the same result. Our new "friends" also fired several rounds with their rifles. We called a break and went downrange to change targets a couple times. They were noticeably quiet about it. After a bit my friend and I started rounding up our stuff to leave. As we passed behind them we glanced at their targets. They had shotgun groups. Nothing wrong with their rifles, they just weren't very good shots. My friend looked at the big guy and says "those targets are a hundred yards, ya know?" Big guys asks "what about it?" My friend says "Well those look like 200 yard targets." Mr. Big starts getting red in the face and we wasted no time getting in the truck and getting gone, both of us laughing ourselves silly.
Have to admit I'm a recovering brassaholic I would scoop up any brass that I could use but I admit that I've joined Brassaholis Anonymous as I have enough brass to last me at least 2 lifetimes. At 1point I had something over 25,000 9 mm cases alone so you can see the problem right there.
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 |