Buying 9mm brass.
- Thread starter stchman
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chevrofreak
Member
During the shooting season I buy brass that has been sorted and processed to load my 9major match ammo with. I find that it is too time consuming to sort it myself, so paying a bit extra is no problem for me. During the winter I have more time to hand sort brass, which all goes though my commercial Rollsizer before being loaded.
I like picking up brass at the range, it's like picking up change that someone dropped out of their pocket but lately the price of ounce fired brass has dropped to the point 9mm is not worth picking up to sell. So I have been just sweeping it off to the side of the range for others to pick up. If the price of reloading components drops maybe shooters will start reloading them again. I'm sitting on about 600+lb of sorted tumbled clean 9mm brass right now & don't need to pick up anymore.
A few months back, picked up a few thousand 9mm cases off THR classifieds. Sold for 3 cents each, which if it works, is a bargain compared to any new brass selling for 20 cents plus each. While advertised as "once fired", it was range brass, so was mixed. Maybe 15 to 20 out of 1,000 was NATO stamped, so I suspect crimped primers. Not messing with those just yet.
Am now wondering how many 9mm cases would fit into a 5 gallon bucket and how much would it be worth to the seller to even offer it that way? A five gallon bucket of 9mm brass would run some of us a long time...... even in a SHTF scenario. My heirs would get to deal with most of it. But would be nice to have in the stash just the same.
Am now wondering how many 9mm cases would fit into a 5 gallon bucket and how much would it be worth to the seller to even offer it that way? A five gallon bucket of 9mm brass would run some of us a long time...... even in a SHTF scenario. My heirs would get to deal with most of it. But would be nice to have in the stash just the same.
lightman
Member
This has pretty much been answered already but............! Reloaders buy new brass so they know what they have. New brass has a known history, the number of times fired is known and new has none of the defects that range brass can have. Split cases, loose primer pockets, Glock bulges, ect.
I shoot mostly range brass and I am quite satisfied with the results. But it is a real pleasure to use new brass.
Even with factory new cases there is defects, be sure to check them carefully I have seen split cases from the factory. Be sure to resize them to keep them at a known size. If you pick up brass from a law enforcement training range it is only one time fired, yes they try to pick up after themselves but they don't get them all.
For some of us, the local range is shooting across the berm of my dam. Any brass on the ground is my own.
When I lived in Texas, the policy at the nearest range was that any brass that touched the ground became their property (you had to sign a waiver to that effect), so there was no question of picking up the 9mm cases of non-reloaders.
You know you're old when you spend more time collecting brass than shooting while at the range...
At 3 cents each. you'd break even at 10k cases. Cleaned and/or deprimed is pretty much expected, but there is certainly increased value in having them roll sized. Roll sizing addresses a lot of issue that can crop up when loading a lot of rounds
I resemble that remark. I gather about a full 5 gallon bucket each weekend.
Targa
Member
My indoor range is pretty accommodating about range brass, they really don‘t if you pick it up or not.. 
, all they ask is that if you don’t pick it up to broom it forward of your firing line. After a range session the majority of the fired brass is mine and I just collect it before heading home.
, all they ask is that if you don’t pick it up to broom it forward of your firing line. After a range session the majority of the fired brass is mine and I just collect it before heading home.
At the gravel pit where we often go shooting the homeless start collecting shooters brass before it is cold. Occasionally one will ask if you mind if they collect your brass. The canyon that I go to by myself only has my brass for the most part and at $.03 a case for 9mm I don't worry about getting all of it. I have been to a formal shooting range once in the past 30 years. I prefer my secluded secrete spot. I can't ever remember shooting at and indoor range.
Random 8
Member
I have a rotating supply of range 9mm. I mostly reload during winter, and some years I find myself short on range brass due to lack of formal range time or a lack of brass when I'm there. I noticed as soon as ammo got short, so did brass on the ground. A few thousand purchased cheaply here and there fills in the gaps for what I lose by shooting in grassy areas or the rare trip to an indoor range.
n2omike
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True for high level bench rest, etc... but we're talking 9mm pistols. 9mm pistols being fired offhand are not all that picky about head stamps, etc. I never bother sorting any 9mm. Any variances caused by different case makes, lot numbers, etc... are more than rendered insignificant by my firing any kind of pistol offhand. lol
243winxb
Member
BTW, never did get an answer to how many 9mm cases would fit into a 5 gallon bucket. Internet seems to think roughly 8,500 spent cases with spent primers intact. Will weigh around 75 pounds and is on brink of what integrity of most 5 gallon buckets can handle without blowing apart.
Yes, I can affirm your calculations. I only go half-full on 5 gallon buckets so that my back doesn't go on vacation.
lordpaxman
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I’d love to load virgin 9mm brass but I’m from that generation that didn’t throw anything away, collected what we used, and repurposed just about everything.
At USPSA/IDPA/SCSA competitions it’s usually a lost brass match. When you work the match, you can collect it. There are those of us who do brass yoga and some even hang for sale signs up.
I consider those lonely cases poor unfortunate souls. I need to give them a home, a bath, and then stuff them full. It’s my small effort for the planet.
CQB45ACP
Member
Well that’d be a test—catch it before it hits the ground
Soonerpesek
Member
Well that’d be a test—catch it before it hits the ground
That’s what revolvers are for…….!!…..
GeoDudeFlorida
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Wildbillz
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Why would I buy 9mm brass. I wanted to load more of it then I had.
I pickup all I can at the range but I have bought a little in the past. At one point I wanted to have 5k of brass to load all at once. Picking it up would have taken a few years as my ranges don't get that much 9mm brass left behind (at least back then). So I bought a bunch of it off the net.
WB
I pickup all I can at the range but I have bought a little in the past. At one point I wanted to have 5k of brass to load all at once. Picking it up would have taken a few years as my ranges don't get that much 9mm brass left behind (at least back then). So I bought a bunch of it off the net.
WB
rfwobbly
Member
Because major manufacturers keep experimenting with case metals which are not brass and therefore not reloadable. And one day when this new replacement case metal become substantially cheaper, then brass will become the hottest commodity in reloading.
