What to do with empty bullet casings. There are multiple uses for empty bullet casings but today we’re going to talk about them in terms of their scrap metal value.
Many of the gun ranges in my area do not have a service or means to properly dispose of the brass bullet casings that accumulate from daily customer visits.
Some of the shooting ranges in my area use city recycling services. Many of the shooting ranges however, still do not have a proper disposal plan and allow old bullet casings to pile up in barrels and boxes or they’re disposed of improperly.
The types of bullet casings you can find at the gun range include:
- Brass Bullet Casings
- Steel Bullet Casings
- Aluminum Bullet Casings
As you would guess, the brass bullet casings are worth much more in scrap than the steel and aluminum bullet casings. I am not saying that you should leave the others, just be sure to separate the different metals.
Brass does not stick to a magnet. If a casing that you have looks like its made of brass and is sticking to a magnet, scratch it with something sharp like a screw or nail. If the scratch looks light-grayish, the casing is not true brass and is more than likely dipped or coated in brass. These types of bullet casings should be added to your steel casings pile.
Contact The Gun Range
Reach out to local shooting ranges in your area. Present your scrap recycling service to them and set up a pick-up schedule for the empty bullet casings that they have. Depending on how busy the gun range is, they may want you to pick-up the old casings weekly or on a more frequent basis.
The bullets themselves, although they are damaged they are still worth their wait in scrap metal as well. They are made of lead that is often coated with copper.
Triple Casings Inspection
Before you head off to the scrap yard to sell any amount of bullet casings scrap triple check your load. Live ammo is often dropped at gun ranges while loading.
Although workers at these ranges are trained to pay special attention for these details while cleaning the facility, you assume all responsibility for all scrap bullet casings once they have left your local gun range.
Get Started Today
Search up gun ranges in my area and put together a list of locations. There are indoor gun ranges and there are outdoor gun ranges.
Scrap yards will accept whole bullet casings and will also accept them if they are shredded.
Always triple-check your loads of empty bullet casings from gun ranges to assure that there is no live ammo present.
Old empty bullet casings from the gun range are considered scrap metal and can be recycled. You may also check with your city services if you want to use their recycling centers to dispose of your old bullet casings.
Thanks for stopping by and stay safe out there.