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Thread: What to do with surplus 1x fired brass?

  1. #1
    THE THIRST MUTILATOR Nephrology's Avatar
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    What to do with surplus 1x fired brass?

    Debated posting this here or GD, but figured I would get best advice here.

    I'm planning on moving apartments on the first of May. Realized I've accumulated a lot of gun crap that will be a pain in the ass to move, so I am looking to pare down the non-essentials. On that list is a fairly large stockpile of once-fired brass I've collected over the years. Mix of pistol (mostly .38) and rifle (mostly 5.56). I couldn't give you an exact number, but several thousand pieces of brass sounds about right.

    I don't reload and am not going to start any time soon, so using it myself is out. I've thought about selling it on private classifieds (eg here or arfcom EE), but am uncertain if it's really worth listing for sale, paying for shipping etc as I don't know what the value would be on this market. Have also considered selling it to reloading outfits or sending it to a company like Freedom Munitions for credit on their web store.

    What would you guys recommend? Anyone ever send brass to an outfit like Freedom Munitions? How easy was the process if so?

    Really don't want to hold on to this stuff so would appreciate any thoughts. Thanks

  2. #2
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    60 secs of searching is yielding 25.00 for 500 shipped re cleaned fired brass re .38, 29.00 for 5.56

    https://eastcoastreloading.com/rifle-brass/


    Given your time constrains, I would sell it super cheap dirty to somebody local to either reload or as brass scrap which around here (MO) is 1.30-1.50 a pound.

    Ball Park 100 ish cases per .38 for 1lb/73ish cases for 5.56 per pound for 1lb



    https://www.armorally.com/brass-counts-by-weight/

    FWIW/YMMV

  3. #3
    Site Supporter ST911's Avatar
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    I used to sort my brass by caliber and sell or give it to other shooters. With the demand dropping, bother of the process, and low value I now sell it for scrap at about $1.00-$1.50 a pound. A five gallon bucket of mixed calibers is about 60 pounds. If I know someone likes a particular caliber I'll set those aside, and that's mostly the .38spl guys. Doing it this way, I didn't have to worry about mil vs commercial brass, amount of firings, etc. And the 45acp guys get really testy when you mix large and small primed cases in the same bag.

    Several thousand pieces of dirty brass is nothing and hardly worth the bother. A gallon Ziploc bag holds 1100-1300 cases of 9mm or so.
    Last edited by ST911; 02-15-2020 at 03:32 PM.
    الدهون القاع الفتيات لك جعل العالم هزاز جولة الذهاب

  4. #4
    THE THIRST MUTILATOR Nephrology's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by vcdgrips View Post
    60 secs of searching is yielding 25.00 for 500 shipped re cleaned fired brass re .38, 29.00 for 5.56

    https://eastcoastreloading.com/rifle-brass/


    Given your time constrains, I would sell it super cheap dirty to somebody local to either reload or as brass scrap which around here (MO) is 1.30-1.50 a pound.

    Ball Park 100 ish cases per .38 for 1lb/73ish cases for 5.56 per pound for 1lb



    https://www.armorally.com/brass-counts-by-weight/

    FWIW/YMMV
    I found an outfit that will pay me $1.40/lb which feels fair. I just went through our storage unit and pulled out what I think are all of the bags/boxes of brass. It is conservatively 100lb worth or so. Ordered a scale (needed one anyway) to get a fix on the amount. I'm hoping to hit the range between now and move date too, so will probably have more to add to the pile before I need to pack.

    Definitely no time/resources to clean the brass so will sell as bulk. Probably would prefer cash as I already have a healthy stock of gun/ammo supplies and dont want to shlep any more weight during the move. At $1.40/lb, I stand to make some pocket money if I use flat rate shipping. Not a bad way to defray moving costs.

  5. #5
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    Georgia Arms pays for brass. I took a bunch of 223 and 9mm to them today (they were at the gun show) and got $50 on the spot.

    They pay different rates for different calibers. IIRC, 223 is $1.8, 9mm is less. Other calibers, such as 6.5x55 or 44mag can be several dollars per pound.

    http://www.georgia-arms.com/content/...redit_2017.pdf

    Chris

  6. #6
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    3.60@lb net for .38 brass from GA arms might make it worth it to go w them

  7. #7
    Scrap yellow brass #5 price is between 1.15 and 1.40 a pound most of the time around here. I scrap all of my fired brass several times a year and use the proceeds to buy new targetry or more ammo.

  8. #8
    THE THIRST MUTILATOR Nephrology's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by vcdgrips View Post
    3.60@lb net for .38 brass from GA arms might make it worth it to go w them
    I do like these rates better - especially given how much of my brass is .38.

    I may need to pick apart one or two of my bags as I think I have some mixed cases in my bags, but their program is otherwise a lot more appealing.

  9. #9
    It sounds like you have a bit of time. I'd sort it and sell it in the classifieds here or on Enos. You can ship in USPS flat rate boxes in quantities that make it worthwhile.

    .38 and .45 would definitely be worth it. 9mm and .40 might be iffy unless you have a shit ton of it. I had a friend that had a conex container full of brass, literally around 250K of 9mm and he had a hard time moving that 9mm even at scrap pricing, but that's been awhile.

  10. #10
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    Did it cost anything other than the initial cost of new ammo? If not, I would give it away to a (new) reloader. I would offer it on a reloading forum, "pay it forward" kinda deal and just ask for shipping fees refunded (a USPS small flat rate box is $7.65 and a medium box is $13.20). I have received roughly 150 9mm cases in a small flat rate box...

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