people collecting brass at the range

T

timelinex

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
    • May 7, 2011
    1,382
    33
    Scottsdale,Az
    #1
    Many times when I go to the range, I see people collecting other peoples brass so they can reload it.. How is this any good for them? Isn't there a huge difference in all brass. Or atleast a big enough difference that you won't get accurate results by using different brass. I thought that even if you collect the same brass but fired from different rifles, its already not as good since they are fire formed to different rifles.

    The only explanation I can think of is that these people are part of the 'minute of deer, at 100 yards, is a TACKDRIVER' crowd.
     
    #2
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    I frequently am one of those "brass hounds" at the range- if its good brass that someone gives me and tell me its once fired- ill put it in my "spare" containers (in case I have to replace a dented case in my hand load box) however, >95% of the brass I pick up goes straight to the scrap yard. $1.70/lb for cartridge brass two days ago at my local scrap yard. Its a good way to supplement your shooting funds and clean up your club/range at the same time
     
    #3
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    I pickup pistol calibers, because my handgun brass is all mixed up anyways. For rifles, I keep my own stuff and don't bother with others. However you should be able to use someone else's brass if you full length size (assuming both chambers are in spec).
     
    #4
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    Good for plinking ammo for semi-auto rifle and pistols. If I'm doing close range rapid fire with an AR, I'd much rather load random brass with mid-power loads.

    Plus, if you save up a lot of brass, you can sell it by weight.
     
    #5
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    I totally understand the selling brass side to it. I have picked up brass myself as well. That isn't what I'm talking about. I'm talking about picking up specific calibers to reload.

    So if you full length resize any combo of 308 you can still achieve good accuracy with it using the same load? (.5moa, if rifle, shooter and reload is actually up to it)
     
    #6
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    Ya if it looks to be in good shape (hasn't been stepped on/sitting out for days, etc)- full length re size it, prep it, load it- and shoot it. Just keep in mind some brass is made better than others (i.e. R P (Remington) brass always goes straight to my scrap box, while Winchester goes in the extra box and may get reloaded (have yet to find any Lapua brass- although I'm always looking
    wink.gif
    .)
     
    #7
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: timelinex</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I totally understand the selling brass side to it. I have picked up brass myself as well. That isn't what I'm talking about. I'm talking about picking up specific calibers to reload.

    So if you full length resize any combo of 308 you can still achieve good accuracy with it using the same load? (.5moa, if rifle, shooter and reload is actually up to it)
    </div></div>

    If people are shooting factory ammo, sure...just FL size it, trim it, do the primer pockets, SORT it by headstamp and bag it away for a rainy day. Brass is your largest chunk of the reloading cost. After you pick up enough of the common headstamps, you'll have enough for 'batches' of like brands.

    I wouldn't use this brass for shooting the big match, but it's eminently suitable for practice ammo, zombie ammo or unappreciative 'brother in law' ammo

    You should see all of the RP (green box) .223 I've gotten from AR-15 shooters. It's 1x, not too bad and even if I only get 2-3 more cycles on it, I'm golden.

    I have .375 H&H, 300 WM, 270 Win, 30-30 and 30'06 (lots of this stuff) that I asked to have, or fished out of the brass bucket, but I have no weapons for them. One never knows.

    I'm a brass rat, but I'm a discriminating one. I don't scrounge the nasty looking ones.

    Chris
     
    #8
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: timelinex</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Many times when I go to the range, I see people collecting other peoples brass so they can reload it.. How is this any good for them? Isn't there a huge difference in all brass. Or atleast a big enough difference that you won't get accurate results by using different brass. I thought that even if you collect the same brass but fired from different rifles, its already not as good since they are fire formed to different rifles.

    The only explanation I can think of is that these people are part of the 'minute of deer, at 100 yards, is a TACKDRIVER' crowd. </div></div>

    I pick it up, reload it, shoot it in my rifle. Now it's fire formed to my rifle. Problem solved.
     
    #9
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    Interesting. I plan on starting to reload within a half year(probably summer) so thats why all the question. I will have 600+ winchester,200+ federal(from fgmm), and 150+ of LC brass that is all once fired by me. Forgive my ignorance but does full length resizing actually make each case exactly the same interior dimensions? I thought its well known that winchester brass,for example, has the most capacity.

    Or are you just saying that the full length resizing will make brass that has the same headstamp the same,even if its from different lots(or shot from different rifles).
     
    #10
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: timelinex</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Interesting. I plan on starting to reload within a half year(probably summer) so thats why all the question. I will have 600+ winchester,200+ federal(from fgmm), and 150+ of LC brass that is all once fired by me. <span style="color: #CC0000">Forgive my ignorance but does full length resizing actually make each case exactly the same interior dimensions? I thought its well known that winchester brass,for example, has the most capacity. </span>

    Or are you just saying that the full length resizing will make brass that has the same headstamp the same,even if its from different lots(or shot from different rifles). </div></div>

    FL resizing with a small base die can bring the brass as close to original size asany other method besides putting brass through a machine that takes it back to original size, I think its called a scarch machine or something like that can't remember. That still doesn't mean it will fit your gun. If you have a factory chamber it will likely work fine and there will be very little brass that you cannot make use of in your gun. If you have a custom chamber there will be very little brass that you can make use of scrounged from a range.
    Winchester brass is not always the highest capacity brass.
     
    #11
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: timelinex</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I will have 600+ winchester,200+ federal(from fgmm), and 150+ of LC brass that is all once fired by me. Forgive my ignorance but does full length resizing actually make each case exactly the same interior dimensions? </div></div>

    No, they will be different. For example the LC has a thicker web so it'll develop the same pressure with less powder so you have to load a little less (about .8gr) than in the Fed or Win brass. My fed brass was junk and the Win only slightly better. Now I only shoot LC-LR brass and Lapua brass (and little Norma too).
     
    #12
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    My buddy(also a hide member) pick up 45acp and .223 brass all the time at our club range.
    Some guys go there and just do mag dumps the way it looks sometimes despite the police your brass signs!
    I've more 45 than we will ever load and a large bit of once fired LC .223 brass.
    Any of the odd stuff goes into the scrap buckett.
     
    #13
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ChrisGarrett</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Brass is your largest chunk of the reloading cost. After you pick up enough of the common headstamps, you'll have enough for 'batches' of like brands.

    </div></div>

    Brass is your largest "up front" cost, but in the end, if you fire it 10 times or so, it ends up being one of your lower cost components on a per round basis. Bullets and powder cost much more.

    For semi-auto, where you only reload a few times, it is a different story.

    I don't pick someone else's rifle brass up, but I scrounge for 45 ACP every chance I get (some headstamps).
     
    #14
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    I pick up everything as long as noone is there and it looks like it was abandoned. I usually tumble it all once in walnut to clean it. I inspect everything and save the good stuff that I use and trade the rest, or scrap it.
     
    #15
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    I used to trade range pick up to a ammo remanufacturer at our local gun show for cast .45 bullets. Now I only pick up what I'll use and leave the rest for someone else. Some of my pick up is used for 100 yard matches, some is plinking ammo. My match brass is also all pick up from Navy Matches.
     
    #16
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    I've been picking up my LC brass after shooting my MK12 and wondering if there is place to send it. With brass not being really that abundant i'd much rather trade it back to a manufacturer or something of the sort than see it go to waste in the ground.
     
    #17
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    Gentlemen, pick all of it up and dont scrap A single piece that will take a load, go pop and eject. This stuff don't take up much room and one day we all may regret throwing a very precious commodity in the trash.
     
    #18
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Blackops_2</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've been picking up my LC brass after shooting my MK12 and wondering if there is place to send it. With brass not being really that abundant i'd much rather trade it back to a manufacturer or something of the sort than see it go to waste in the ground. </div></div>

    You can sell back brass here

    http://www.topbrass-inc.com/reloading-supplies/page.php?page=brassexchange
     
    #19
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: timelinex</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I'm talking about picking up specific calibers to reload.

    So if you full length resize any combo of 308 you can still achieve good accuracy with it using the same load? (.5moa, if rifle, shooter and reload is actually up to it)
    </div></div>
    Not everyone is after that goal. Some just want to reload and shoot. Have you priced a box of new ammo lately?
     
    #20
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    I never got an "allowance", when I was a kid. I "scrounged" returnable 2 cent bottles. My Dad said I had to learn the "value of money. I did. Every time I look down, and see an empty case, I see a nickel, dime, or a quarter. Old habits die hard. When I go to the range, I always have "pick up time", before I shoot. I reload the ones I shoot, and stick em in a big drawer, for plinking, teaching a rooky the basics, or that day when I may need ALOT of ammo. Brass isn't cheap. That's money on the ground! Shooting for Accuracy, is a whole other issue.
     
    #21
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: The Mechanic</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: timelinex</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I'm talking about picking up specific calibers to reload.

    So if you full length resize any combo of 308 you can still achieve good accuracy with it using the same load? (.5moa, if rifle, shooter and reload is actually up to it)
    </div></div>
    Not everyone is after that goal. Some just want to reload and shoot. Have you priced a box of new ammo lately? </div></div>
    This is why I do it. I have been shooting my AR for 2 years now without buying a single box of "new ammo" for it. For my 308 I use range pick ups to make practice rounds and rounds for others to shoot. I keep the FGMM that a fellow shooter gave me to make my match ammo. When your friends that want to "try" your rifle, they will not care if they even hit the target they just want to say they have shot it so 1-1.5MOA is good enough for them. Those who know the difference are respectful enough to they get the courtesy to shoot my match ammo and due the same with their rifles when I want to shoot them.

    Disclaimer- I FL size all my brass every time and I have factory chambers in all my rifles. No issues with chamber brass that I inspect fully every time. If any signs of damage/or over use/over pressure are present I sent them to the scrap bucket.
     
    #22
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    Just a warning about brass at the range.

    I don't usually pick up rife brass, I have enough LC to last me forever in my hunting rifle, my father in law gave me 45 lbs of decapped military 5.56 last yr (5 gallon bucket full) so I'm pretty well set there, and I don't mix in my target brass, but last year I somehow got 2 of someone else's in my batch. I'm guessing it was a gas gun guy who either launched a couple into my bag or under my bench and I thought I dropped them. The first one I thought it was just something weird happened when the rod punched a hole in the bottom of the brass, tossed it in the trash. The second one broke the decapping rod on my neck sizer. Cheap ass Berdan crap.

    For mm pistols I'd police up anything out there, my 45 eats it and I don't shoot bulls-eye.
     
    #23
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    i always pick up pistol brass since half of mine end up going forward of the firing line. gotta make sure my supply doesnt go to zero!

    got 19 rounds of LC LR .308 brass at the range the other day. where the hell was #20?!?
     
    #24
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    Either a chamber is in SAAMI spec, or it isn't. If the chamber is in spec (will close on a go gauge, and not a no-go gauge), and the reamer was of correct for caliber dimensions (i.e. the neck is not short), then properly reloaded brass will fit in the chamber. Unless the brass is fired in an extremely sloppy chamber, a small base die should not be necessary. Tolerances are a +/- for a reason. Just about any mixed brass that is not grossly damaged can be made to shoot sub MOA at 100. Frankly, it just is not that hard. For long range shooting, little differences add up, and consistency is key. Nobody is going to take a chance with mixed lot brass after paying an entrance fee, humping gear, bullet costs, etc. You just have to define your realistic expectation of accuracy.

    Fifty call shooters are probably the most anal people out there when it comes to brass prep (go figure at $3-$5 a reload) Lee Rasmussin (holder of the current .50 record 1.95" 5 shot at 1k) wrote a terrific article for VHP magazine. In it, he challenged reloaders to send him 6 examples of their WORST lot of brass. He chose 5 of these lots and mixed them so that he had six groups of five cases, all different. He loaded these cases with his normal powder, primer, and bullets. Some of the cases were so bad he had to crimp the neck with pliers to get enough tension to hold the bullet. How did he shoot? I dont have the article in front of me, but if memory serves, he still won the match with several screamers (sub 7") groups. Great article.

    Most of the steps reloaders follow are a head game...
     
    #25
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    I buy my bras, and I take all my fired cases home with me (usually all). I'm just a bit finicky that way.

    But I have no qualms about others scavanging fired brass. Just be aware that some of it may be Berdan primed and could damage your decapper, and that some of it may have been fired enough times to at least affect accuracy, if not safety.

    Just clean it up real good. do a feeler test of the lower inner case sidewall, looking for the indented ring groove that indicates a pending case head separation, and pay attention to neck hardness variations. I'd sort by brand (and I favor Winchester), and maybe establish gross case weight groups.

    Stuff that deosn't pass muster is still valuable as scrap.

    Greg
     
    #26
    Re: people collecting brass at the range

    I have a motley collection of range brass in 223. I've been collecting it for years. My 223's shoot about 1 MOA with it, thats good enough for me.
    I never use range brass in my GAP 308 though. That is reloaded, but I only use one headstamp, and am more particular with it.

    The only problem with range brass is that a lot of it needs swaging, but my Dillon Super 1050 takes care of that.
     
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