A couple friends of mine and I do quite a bit of shooting. There are no plans in the near future for any of us to start reloading, although it may be something to entertain. For the time being, we can’t simply see any benefit in leaving all those brass cases on the ground, going to waste. I often see bags of brass casings, in zip locks, selling at gun shows, and LGS’s. They’re typically in bags of 100’s, in various calibers, ranging from $8 a bag, to $18 a bag. While all are cleaned, some have been de-primed, some not.
So, I started picking up the brass this weekend. I just about filled a 5 gallon bucket. Cases include 9mm, .40 SW, .45 ACP and .223. Also are a few .30 .30 casings. In a separate container, I have a couple gallon of .22, .22 MAG and .17 HMR casings.
Our main goal is just to sell these, or find someone locally who reloads, and offer these up towards more ammo. So here are a few questions.
Purchase a tumbler or Sonic Cleaner, with solution, and clean before selling/trading?
Is it worth the time to do so, in increasing value? OK to not de-prime?
Do the smaller rim-fire cases hold any recycle value? Was it worth pick them up?
Also, I spent some time retrieving spent rounds. While many are jacketed, I’ve still managed to collect a 100 or so pounds of lead.
Is it worth purchasing a melting pot, and pour into ingots?
Again, any input would be appreciated. Not at the stage to get into reloading, and we are by no means trying to make a ton of money, just trying to figure out the best way to salvage these, and put towards more ammo, instead of it just lying unused/recycled on the ground. Do I just take everything “as is” to a reloader, and see what he’s willing to give?
So, I started picking up the brass this weekend. I just about filled a 5 gallon bucket. Cases include 9mm, .40 SW, .45 ACP and .223. Also are a few .30 .30 casings. In a separate container, I have a couple gallon of .22, .22 MAG and .17 HMR casings.
Our main goal is just to sell these, or find someone locally who reloads, and offer these up towards more ammo. So here are a few questions.
Purchase a tumbler or Sonic Cleaner, with solution, and clean before selling/trading?
Is it worth the time to do so, in increasing value? OK to not de-prime?
Do the smaller rim-fire cases hold any recycle value? Was it worth pick them up?
Also, I spent some time retrieving spent rounds. While many are jacketed, I’ve still managed to collect a 100 or so pounds of lead.
Is it worth purchasing a melting pot, and pour into ingots?
Again, any input would be appreciated. Not at the stage to get into reloading, and we are by no means trying to make a ton of money, just trying to figure out the best way to salvage these, and put towards more ammo, instead of it just lying unused/recycled on the ground. Do I just take everything “as is” to a reloader, and see what he’s willing to give?