a few years ago I saw on here a post about bidding on bins of pulled brass powder and other components.. Does an one know where to find these auctions
military brass auctions
- Thread starter eli polite
- Start date
Saw lots of lots over there, the bids raise the price up pretty fast. Even if you win one, there is a 10% buyers premium + shipping and you end up costlier than buying ready to processed brass.
Unless its a group buy there is no good in it.
Ive noticed that they have been letting lots out between 1000 and 4000 pounds lately. This is different than the 20000 to 40000 pound lots they use to do. I recently was bidding on 4200 pounds of 50 BMG brass and it sold for about $2 a pound. I talked to the government liquidation staff at Holloman AFB, NM (They also cover Fort Bliss, TX and Dona Ana Range Camp, NM) before the bid. They told me they are looking at going to small lot sizes of brass in the future because they feel they can get more $$$$ from the reloading crowd rather than the scrap metal crowd....for what its worth.
I buy 100k+ pieces of 5.56 brass at a time for conversion to 300BLK.
I looked at doing the .gov auctions for brass due to the price.
Here is what I found out from talking to people who have done it:
count on having a few hundred lbs of rock, dirt, sand, etc...
count on having a few hundred lbs of un-usable brass(crushed, split necks, torn rims, etc...)
count on having a few hundred lbs of blanks
One guy I talked to that had done a bunch of the auctions a few years ago(2009-2010 time frame) said he estimated that he averaged about 1/3 of the weight as trash, maybe slightly more. He also said you will spend a month sorting a 5k lbs auction win.
Now MAYBE the auctions have changed and the brass coming out of them is much better than it was when this guy was doing it, but he didnt think so since, while he didnt do the auctions anymore, he still knew a few guys that were doing them.
You also have the 10% buyer premium added on(as was already mentioned) as well as having to get an EUC(end user certificate) AFTER you win the auction which the first one can take 60 days(or infinity as is the current time with the government shutdown). You also have to pick up the brass yourself from wherever you win the auction from so hopefully you have a way to transport 3-4-5k lbs of brass.
SO, if the above makes it still seem attractive to you, than by all means go for it. If not, you can buy sorted LC 5.56 for about 8-10c a piece shipped when you buy 50k pieces+...
I looked at doing the .gov auctions for brass due to the price.
Here is what I found out from talking to people who have done it:
count on having a few hundred lbs of rock, dirt, sand, etc...
count on having a few hundred lbs of un-usable brass(crushed, split necks, torn rims, etc...)
count on having a few hundred lbs of blanks
One guy I talked to that had done a bunch of the auctions a few years ago(2009-2010 time frame) said he estimated that he averaged about 1/3 of the weight as trash, maybe slightly more. He also said you will spend a month sorting a 5k lbs auction win.
Now MAYBE the auctions have changed and the brass coming out of them is much better than it was when this guy was doing it, but he didnt think so since, while he didnt do the auctions anymore, he still knew a few guys that were doing them.
You also have the 10% buyer premium added on(as was already mentioned) as well as having to get an EUC(end user certificate) AFTER you win the auction which the first one can take 60 days(or infinity as is the current time with the government shutdown). You also have to pick up the brass yourself from wherever you win the auction from so hopefully you have a way to transport 3-4-5k lbs of brass.
SO, if the above makes it still seem attractive to you, than by all means go for it. If not, you can buy sorted LC 5.56 for about 8-10c a piece shipped when you buy 50k pieces+...
I do the auctions quite regularly. The auction descriptions are pretty spot on. The above is correct in the smaller lots being sold for more money. More people can safely bid on a 1,000 lb auction than on a 20,000 lb auction.
Depending on random variables I usually end up with around 95% sellable brass. You can also go check the brass out before you buy. Mangled brass is a very low amount. The blanks can get you, but I average about 15 lbs of blanks per 1,000 lbs and I have bought and sold over 9,000 lbs this year alone.
The dirt and rocks do not weigh a 1/3 of the auction weight. Not at all.
1,000 lbs of 308 brass is a little over 38,000 pieces of brass.
If you like I can walk you through the process. Just shoot me a PM.
Depending on random variables I usually end up with around 95% sellable brass. You can also go check the brass out before you buy. Mangled brass is a very low amount. The blanks can get you, but I average about 15 lbs of blanks per 1,000 lbs and I have bought and sold over 9,000 lbs this year alone.
The dirt and rocks do not weigh a 1/3 of the auction weight. Not at all.
1,000 lbs of 308 brass is a little over 38,000 pieces of brass.
If you like I can walk you through the process. Just shoot me a PM.
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It depends on the auction and the people doing it AND the base the brass is coming from. I have seen many sorted lots that do not have any blanks and also lots that have no dirt or rocks because they are screening the brass to remove that crap. The guys doing the auctions are starting to wise up and realize a little effort gets a much higher price. The best auctions are for 308's... virtually no blanks in any lot.
The biggest waste you will encounter is in 50BMG. At least 10% of that brass will have manufacturing defects, primarily voids in the case wall. 50 BMG is also hard to sell and get a good price for since a lot of people do not shoot that caliber.
The worst auctions are for pistol brass, you will have 9mm, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP all mixed together and that is a real pain in the ass to sort. Not to mention process.
^^^Amen.
Just ensure that the brass is not run through a popper. You see this in the auctions coming out of Washington (the state).
Think about how brass is police called. It is picked up, put in your cover, and dumped into ammo crates and cans. It goes from there to the tri-walls. It's pretty cleanish to be honest with you.
Just ensure that the brass is not run through a popper. You see this in the auctions coming out of Washington (the state).
Think about how brass is police called. It is picked up, put in your cover, and dumped into ammo crates and cans. It goes from there to the tri-walls. It's pretty cleanish to be honest with you.
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Like I said, this guy was doing the auctions back in 08/09, probably before that, and I think he was bidding on the larger lots of 20k lbs and what not. His experience was 1/4-1/3 of the total weight was not usable(rocks, dirt, bad brass, etc...) doing a few of them.
If that is not the case anymore(sounds like its not) than maybe it would be something I should look into in the near future.
For what I do with the large quantities if I spend money buying a few thousand lbs of brass, I need to be able to start working with that brass pretty much immediately. If I have to take a few weeks to sort brass, than that is a few weeks that I am not running my machines converting the brass, thus not making any money. So for ME, it makes sense to pay a little more to get brass thats already sorted so I know what I am getting. Maybe in the future when I have enough money to buy sorted brass and then go to an auction so that I have no down time, but right now I dont have the free cash to be able to do that. I would rather setup another machine to do conversion than to save 3-4c per piece of brass as well as taking the time to sort it.
If that is not the case anymore(sounds like its not) than maybe it would be something I should look into in the near future.
For what I do with the large quantities if I spend money buying a few thousand lbs of brass, I need to be able to start working with that brass pretty much immediately. If I have to take a few weeks to sort brass, than that is a few weeks that I am not running my machines converting the brass, thus not making any money. So for ME, it makes sense to pay a little more to get brass thats already sorted so I know what I am getting. Maybe in the future when I have enough money to buy sorted brass and then go to an auction so that I have no down time, but right now I dont have the free cash to be able to do that. I would rather setup another machine to do conversion than to save 3-4c per piece of brass as well as taking the time to sort it.
I was also doing auctions in 08/09/ The smaller auctions were not around much, but the cleanliness of the brass was the same. There just is not 1/3 of the weight in dirt and rocks. I have never seen that much.
When they sell the brass and list weight, they are pretty daggone close. They'll even tell you if the weight listed is all brass, or if it includes ammo cans, the pallets, or the storage container the brass is in.
The largest auction I bought was 27,000 lbs of brass, but it was cheap and I made money selling some for reloading, some for scrap, and I sat on some for a few years as well.
I would say go for it. Cut out your middleman. You can check out the auctions on govliquidation, find one you like, and call/email the auction people and they will tell you the condition, approx. percentages of whats what, if the container is included in the weight, etc.
Just be aware that the cost has gone up ever since the gun control dust up, and the selling of smaller lots. 5.56 is usually over $5.00 per lb before the tax, 10% fee, ad shipping. 308 is between $6.00-$9.00 per lb before the tax, 10% fee, and shipping.
You buy, you send in your EUC, they charge immediately, one EUC is approved you go pick it up or ship.
As I said, if I can be of help please let me know.
When they sell the brass and list weight, they are pretty daggone close. They'll even tell you if the weight listed is all brass, or if it includes ammo cans, the pallets, or the storage container the brass is in.
The largest auction I bought was 27,000 lbs of brass, but it was cheap and I made money selling some for reloading, some for scrap, and I sat on some for a few years as well.
I would say go for it. Cut out your middleman. You can check out the auctions on govliquidation, find one you like, and call/email the auction people and they will tell you the condition, approx. percentages of whats what, if the container is included in the weight, etc.
Just be aware that the cost has gone up ever since the gun control dust up, and the selling of smaller lots. 5.56 is usually over $5.00 per lb before the tax, 10% fee, ad shipping. 308 is between $6.00-$9.00 per lb before the tax, 10% fee, and shipping.
You buy, you send in your EUC, they charge immediately, one EUC is approved you go pick it up or ship.
As I said, if I can be of help please let me know.
You keep saying 1/3 in rocks and dirt and I keep saying 1/3 in rocks, dirt, crushed cases, torn rims, unusable brass, etc... his experience was 1/3 the weight was not usable brass for anything but scrap. I don't know where he was getting his from or anything or if he was exaggerating, I don't know. Just what he told me when I was trying to determine which way to go with my brass.
At 5 per lb or over for 5.56 I pay right at that delivered, sorted, etc... not from auction. So it sounds like I really wouldn't be saving much money anyway. Last batch I bought cost me 5.33 per lb shipped to the local depot. In the 50k I have processed so far from this batch I've had 7 unusable cases and they were mangled. Sounds like, at least from my source, I'm doing pretty decent I guess. If I could save 50% it might be worth the hassle but to save maybe 1c per piece of brass doesn't seem like it's worth the hassle.
At 5 per lb or over for 5.56 I pay right at that delivered, sorted, etc... not from auction. So it sounds like I really wouldn't be saving much money anyway. Last batch I bought cost me 5.33 per lb shipped to the local depot. In the 50k I have processed so far from this batch I've had 7 unusable cases and they were mangled. Sounds like, at least from my source, I'm doing pretty decent I guess. If I could save 50% it might be worth the hassle but to save maybe 1c per piece of brass doesn't seem like it's worth the hassle.
rjacobs,
So, how many pounds you have to buy to get it for $5 per pound? Is this once fired brass? What headstamps? Is this a place others can buy from, say me?
So, how many pounds you have to buy to get it for $5 per pound? Is this once fired brass? What headstamps? Is this a place others can buy from, say me?
I generally buy 100k pieces of brass at a time, works out to be right at 1500lbs. LC brass(supposed to be 90%+, so far I havent seen any non LC brass), once fired, not cleaned, but sorted. I dont want to give out my source, but I will say there are 4 or 5 places where you can pay pretty similar prices when you buy as much as I buy. Most places dont advertise the large quantities because they dont make to much money on it. They make more money selling 1000 at a time for 15c a piece or whatever its currently going for.
A couple of friends and I bought a few lots of 9mm and .223 brass in the 90s. The auctions were local and in person. All we had to pay was one big over the scrap value.
NO WHERE near 1/3 unusable. Very little rocks and dirt. Less than 1% damaged cases, mainly crushed necks. Maybe 1 - 2 % blanks. Ours came in ammo cans, and some cans have a number of blanks, some have none at all.
I recently processed about 1100 - 1200 pieces. Maybe 20 blanks, 2 - 3 damaged cases.
NO WHERE near 1/3 unusable. Very little rocks and dirt. Less than 1% damaged cases, mainly crushed necks. Maybe 1 - 2 % blanks. Ours came in ammo cans, and some cans have a number of blanks, some have none at all.
I recently processed about 1100 - 1200 pieces. Maybe 20 blanks, 2 - 3 damaged cases.
Excuse my lack of adding in "Mangled, torn rims, etc"
It is nowhere near 1/3 unusable. Never has been since I have been doing it and I have bought in Nevada, California, Missouri, and Alabama. You can ask questions on the auctions, and the descriptions are pretty clear. I don't buy high blank auctions unless they sell for less than scrap price, but I have had people ask me to get them 5.56 blanks to convert into in 300 BLK.
Methinks your supplier got hosed or is blowing smoke up your arse.
It is nowhere near 1/3 unusable. Never has been since I have been doing it and I have bought in Nevada, California, Missouri, and Alabama. You can ask questions on the auctions, and the descriptions are pretty clear. I don't buy high blank auctions unless they sell for less than scrap price, but I have had people ask me to get them 5.56 blanks to convert into in 300 BLK.
Methinks your supplier got hosed or is blowing smoke up your arse.
