Spent Primers And Dead Brass For Scrap...

[GunBomB]

Anyone ever done it? What's the price per pound roughly? I've been throwing away a lot of spent primers and brass that isn't up to snuff. Just wondering because I could bring some weight. Even as contaminated, whatever...I'd take it. I know it sounds really cheap, but it wouldn't be a big deal to collect the dead stuff and make a lil $$$ after a while.

[AzShooter]

With the price of metals these days it's probably not a bad idea, just find a yard that will take it. I did it manyyears ago but got out of the habit.

I think scrap brass is now selling for $2.50 a lb.

[GunBomB]

Yup, with a price like that, I'm gonna start saving it. The unprimered brass must be worth more to them too. There are two good scrap yards in the bay area and I'm pretty friendly with both. I'm gonna have to pay em a visit one of these days with a couple of five gallon buckets, one of primers, one of brass.

[blackdragon]

Last I checked here in the US, Brass was $1.85 #. Now copper.... Thats where the $$$ is!

Thanks

Ivan

[dajarrel]

Most scrap places pay more if you bring in lots greater than 100#. When you call around asking about prices, ask if there is a different price scheme for a larger amount.

FWIW

dj

[R/T Performance]

I was just there a couple weeks ago not sure what brass goes for but brass heater cores go for .65 /#

Still good money for old junk

[shred]

You'll want a recycler that doesn't mind the odd unfired primer or unfired round in with your brass & primers. A lot of places won't deal with them because of that fear/risk.

[ipscbob]

I must have much less free time on my hands. At these prices, I wouldn't consider wasting the time needed to recycle.

[kevin c]

You'll want a recycler that doesn't mind the odd unfired primer or unfired round in with your brass & primers. A lot of places won't deal with them because of that fear/risk.

+1

If you are in my "Bay Area" (San Francisco), that apparently is exactly the concern of the metal recyclers in the East Bay. The scrapped brass from RRGC's public shooting line must be hand sorted before it will be accepted.

[GunBomB]

Yeah, I'm in the SF bay area. I go into aaron's a lot in oakland, they're cool, alco off of davis is good too, copper sucks at the moment tho. It just dropped 10 cents #

But all the brass i'd bring to them would be de-primed, and unloadable. I'd also bring the used primers from the 650. Scrap yards are very interesting places, you could write a crazy story from the people there...reminds me of mad max.

[kevin c]

I actually have recycled a lot of my spent primers - a lot ot them have ended up in the leather sand bags I made for bench shooting, and a fair amount more in props used in stages (a four # Vihtavouri powder jug one quarter full of spent primers makes an excellent hand carried activator for a bear trap. Just make sure to duct tape the bottom part of the jug so it doesn't split open ).

[johnhurd]

I just took in 62 lbs and got 58 bux for it. That was in Flint MI.

[Irishlad]

Are all the primers still made of brass?

Just wondering if they have been "sneaking" in steel instead!

Edited September 26, 2006 by Irishlad

[R/T Performance]

I just took in 62 lbs and got 58 bux for it. That was in Flint MI.

Was that a Pandos branch?

Be awhile before I have that much about a full 5 gallon pail?

[johnhurd]

I just took in 62 lbs and got 58 bux for it. That was in Flint MI.

Was that a Pandos branch?

Got me but they were paying more than the local scrap places.

Step up to a major nine you would be surprised how quickly if fills up

And finally everyone should go to the scrap yard in a big city once, the sights you see with the druggies standing in line with their handfuls of copper and or brass or whatever, looking to that next fix. Sure was a new 'sperience for this "country boy"

[Kory]

Last time I sold spent brass for scrap, I got $1.71 per pound.

That was a few months ago, I expect it to be higher now.

I did handsort all the brass so no live rounds or live primers and I dump all the spent primers into the scrap brass bucket.

The recyling yard I used is not an "open to public" place, it is a commercial recycler that I used to sell tons of circuit board scrap to every month so that might have made a difference in pricing.

Edited September 26, 2006 by Kory

[kevin c]

Are all the primers still made of brass?

Just wondering if they have been "sneaking" in steel instead!

Pretty sure they're all brass - on the firing pin strike the metal cup has to deform to sensitize and then ignite the priming compound, and brass does that very well and consistently.

Shotshells, I think, have brass plated steel bases, but I think the primers are still brass. Yo, Vince, you out there? (I'm sure the good Mr. Sargentini or another shotgunner would know for sure.)

[slavex]

our club takes the brass in once a month, not sure what the price we get per pound is, but last month it was over $450.00 Canadian in brass. We've also had our brass bins stolen twice by metal thieves, so now we have a fancy bolted to the wall one with an opening too small for people to stick their hands in. We used to let members pick out brass for their own reloading but caught people taking buckets of it home, .22 brass included, and then saw one of them at the recycling yard selling it. He hadn't sorted out what he wanted or anything, he was just stealing from us. Hence the reason for the small opening. My indoor pistol club also saves all the brass our shooters don't want and about every two months we take it in and sell it, last time we got just over $500 for a large steel container full of brass.

At first the recycling place wouldn't take it if we couldn't guarantee no live rounds mixed in, or would pay us far less. But after taking a bunch of lives rounds with me one time, and throwing them into their furnace, and into the smelter, they quickly changed their mind. They don't want shotgun hulls though, as the plastic makes a huge mess when they melt down the casings.