Finding Brass Using Night Vision

[Genghis]

With my new .38 Super blaster, brass just got a whole lot more valuable. I've never been very good or very diligent at picking the stuff up, but that may have to change. Has anyone tried using night vision equipment to spot freshly ejected brass? It strikes me that hot brass should stand out if you pan the area with a decent IR unit.

Don't ask me how many rounds I'd have to shoot to recover the cost of NV equipment. You'll never get me to admit that this is more about the new toy than about cost-effectiveness. And besides, Christmas is coming up.

[al503]

Good idea. The only issue I see is that you'd have to pick the brass up immediately after shooting it as the brass would cool down relatively quickly.

[shred]

I think you'll do better with a good bright striping scheme, though I admit to considering marking brass with a flourescent marker and then going looking for it with a black light at night.

[lynn jones]

any excuse to buy the nightvision goggles, huh?

lynn

[folsoml]

I don't think regular night vision will pick up temperature differences like that.

[Huston in Austin]

Using standard night-vision during daylight to find brass will not work, it will just burnout the night vision. You could use thermal imaging to find the brass untill it assumes ambient temperature. Shred's idea of brightly colored striping will probably work better.

Huston in Austin

[Steve Moneypenny]

IR has zero to do with heat it is the light spectrum which cannot be detected by the human eye. (on the end of the red spectrum) It can only be seen while looking through a NVD (night vision device)

I have not attempted using it to pick up brass, however having used it to look for people, animals etc. i don't think it would help much. unless the brass was unusually reflective (nickle or very shiny)

i'm sorry but you can afford TI (thermal imaging) to use for brass pick up, that is what picks up differences in heat. Also it takes less than 5 minutes for brass to match the natural temperature in my experience. so you'd have to act fast.

Night vision ranges from $100-5000 for the good stuff.

Thermal Imaging is $2000 and up (that's a low estimate) many fire departments are getting TI though!

[Dream]

give this a try the brass markers that noylan makes work great.

the stripe around the brass is easy to fine and people will bring

your brass back when they pick it up..

here is the link

Noylan's brass markers here!

[standles]

Or you could expose the brass to a radioactive source.

After you fire them you could then chase them down with a gieger counter.

The source would have to be strong enough to irradiate the brass to a level above ambient background radiation.

[mpolans]

Unless you're "appropriating" these items from work, I'd imagine the break-even point to buy any of these might be decades away.

[Merlin Orr]

Or you could expose the brass to a radioactive source.

After you fire them you could then chase them down with a gieger counter. ....

This would work! And after a little while the brass would be Much easier to pick up with the three extra fingers you grow.

[Steve Moneypenny]

better idea shoot 9mm or 40.. don't pick up brass !

[GuildSF4]

Or you could expose the brass to a radioactive source.

After you fire them you could then chase them down with a gieger counter.

The source would have to be strong enough to irradiate the brass to a level above ambient background radiation.

The source would have to be neutron radiation, to irradiate the brass without contaminating it. (Other sources would only 'contaminate' the brass, some of the contamination would come off when the cases were fired 'contaminating' the gun and the ground. Ground 'contamination' would make it hard to find the brass again...)

Hope you were not planning on any more kids...