Recycling non-usable brass

[Balrog]

I have several 5 gallon buckets of brass that is either not reloadable (Berdan), deformed, or otherwise non-reloadable. It occurred to me that an occasional piece of this brass probably has a live primer in it from reloading, and then messing up the round somewhere along the way, pulling the bullet, and then chunking the brass with live primer in the scrap bucket. Of course, there is no live ammo in the bucket, just brass, and very little would have a primer.

Would a scrap metal man buy this brass with an occasional live primer in it?

 

[Crowcifier666]

Haven't made that endeavor yet.

I separate bad rounds into three buckets: cartridges to pull bullets and powder, primed brass, an plain old bad brass, just for that reason. I can't imagine a dozen or so primers really causing a problem, but it'd be wise to warn them before selling off.

Do they melt the brass back down?

 

[FROGO207]

NO The scrappers around here said if I let one slip in they will not ever buy cartridge brass from me again. They have to crush/shred it due to ITAR and they do it on site here so it would be pretty obvious who left a primer in.

 

[Technova]

My local yards take the brass without looking. I buy brass from them, it's where I get most of my reloadable brass. I often find primed brass in the buckets and occasionally a live round.

 

[PCCUSNRET]

I would ask your local scrap yard if there is a problem with primed brass. The club I belong to sells brass to a scrap yard that must not care as I know they don't sort through the range buckets for primed brass or live cartridges (even though there are separate containers for live rounds, I've seen them in the regular brass/steel buckets).

 

[ljnowell]

I sell about three buckets of scrap brass a month to the local scrap yards. They don't care. They weigh it and pay me. There has never been any discussion about primers.

 

[ReloaderFred]

They're required to "pop it", which simply means the brass is heated up in a container designed for that use, so any live primers or rounds will get "popped". My scrap yard doesn't care, but I'm careful to make sure there aren't any live primers or loaded rounds in the buckets that I sell them. The price is down from what it was a year ago, though.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Balrog]

Whats the going rate for scrap cartridge brass?

 

[ljnowell]

Whats the going rate for scrap cartridge brass?

I think I got 1.10/lb last time.

 

[V-fib]

never had a problem turning in my unloadable brass. I save my .22lr brass and spent primers too! Last time I took it in (it's been quite a few years now) brass was over $3 pound so I did well on a 5 gal bucket. I wasn't reloading then. Now I have about a half bucket filled with unusable brass and .22lr brass so I'll sit on it awhile and see if the market increases as it has been doing with gold and silver. One other thing it does pay to shop around the metal dealers since prices paid for scrap vary quite a bit between dealers.

v-fib

 

[Lafitte]

Just about 3 weeks ago I sold brass and spent primers for $1.10 per pound. No questions, no hassel. Just weigh and pay.

Lafitte

 

[Carl N. Brown]

A few years back my local scrap metal dealer stopped accepting brass casings because live primers (or rounds) ended up in the shredder. They then restarted accepting brass casings again. They might be using a popper oven before going to the shredder.

As I add batches of unusable brass to the bag in my recycle box, I check for what appear to be live primers and seperate those out (to be popped or punched). I then pass a magnet through to get copperwashed steel casings out.

Brass prices fluctuate, but the recycle money keeps me in new primers at least.

 

[weaselfire]

My recycler could care less. I trade brass for lead, so I have no idea of the price. I bring him brass, get lead and pay him some money. Except he has a lot less lead now days.

Jeff

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