I was just curious as to where everyone gets their brass for reloading.I don't have any problem with my revolver stuff but I can't always salvage all my 40 caliber stuff from the range. I would like to be able to stay away from mail ordering as the shipping cost usually defeats the purpose of saving money. Does Cabelas sell new empty brass or Sportsman's warehouse possibly?

Give Leo a call... He is down in Faribault, 507-334-8974. He has used brass, GOOD & CLEAN! I think a few people from this forum go to his IDPA matches on Wednesdays in the summer... Maybe someone could get it for you?? Better yet, You come on a Wednesday and shoot in IDPA??

BB

www.midwayusa.com

The sell everyhting that you need - or go see John Walton at Gunstop in Minnetonka.

www.gunstop.com

or start going to the range and picking up brass and pour it into a huge bucket and sort it once a month like I do.

Well, sure, but it helps to have an eager young assistant.

Do they have to be eager as long as they are obedient?

Eager and $$$$ motivated helps.

My 9 year old sits there and sorts 5 gal buckets for me. Like shooting hoops for her.

She has it down to a science.. And she makes me pay her by the hour - nice huh? Eager actually has little to do with it come to think of it - the bottom line is cash works for her.

You need to engage a labor negotiator and endeavor to switch to unit-based pay: by the casing or by the pound!

Yeah - Right - ever tried to negotiate iwth an Autistic 9 year old?

you have already lost. She should be a professional labor negotiator.

I have been reading about these matches and would like to attend one to at least get an idea of all the procedures and required equipment.Also a bowling pin match sounds like it would be fun.
As for the brass,I wasn't aware the ranges would let you take brass,I assumed they sold it to someone for resale.

Most ranges will only let you recover your own brass, they won't let you harvest all loose brass. BV Pistol recently implemented this one although I don't think Roger does anything with the spare brass anymore other than have a metals guy take it away.

Someone from Bill's will surely correct me if I'm off base, but since they won't let you shoot steel or aluminum cased ammo (Wolf or CCI Blazer), I'm pretty sure that they see spent brass as a profit center and wouldn't want you just taking brass, either.

I'd be leery of .40 range brass as well. .40 is a high presssure cartridge and a lot of .40 guns have poor chamber support (Glocks for example) and you can get yourself into case failure territory.

I think buying a case lot of new brass for $100 is a better idea, either from Midway or John. If you get nickeled brass it's easier to chase at the range, too.



Do you have any concerns about lead exposure? I'm not trying to be alarmist, but lead is pretty awful for brain development and spent cases carry lead residue from the fired primers and from the bullets (the lead bases being exposed to burning powder). If she's getting regular lead tests at the pediatrician and they're negative, it's probably not much to worry about. I'd still be inclined to make sure she sorted in a well-ventilated area and wore gloves.

Airborne lead is an issue at the range, but not, I think, when handling spent brass.

Similarly, skin contact is not an absorption threat, but ingestion is.

Any kid that can keep her hands out of her nose and mouth and who washes up afterward should be at little risk.

That said, an annual lead test is an inexpensive insurance policy.

Kids that can keep their hands out of the noses and mouths are a rarity!

Erring on the side of caution with inexpensive gloves and keeping the garage door open or whatever is sure a heck of lot better than living the rest of your life knowing that you might have poisoned your kid.. Plus the gloves make cleaup a lot easier. I use the nitrile ones when doing heavy duty gun cleaning for this reason alone.

I guess the bottom line is that if regular lead testing has been done and the results are negative, then it really isn't something to be too concerned about.

Thank you for all the replies,I may just end up going to gunstop and purchasing some new brass.
As long as I've got some folks watching this posting I have one other question. Have any of you tried Meister lead for reloading and shooting. I have read that many of you have the Springfield xd and I was curious if this feeds well enough to punch paper with. At this time all I have been reloading is Hornady XTP hollow points. I'm sure I can save some money on bullets if it feeds well,otherwise I won't bother. I have read some of the postings about Rainer (sp? ) copper plated but John at Gunstop didn't speak too highly of it.I have shot Remington UMC which is jacketed but I can't find just the bullets locally in the 155--165 grain.
Thanks again for all the help.

I agree with John, the Raineer are too darn soft. I bought 500 185gr .451 diamater from him against his advice and they shot OK but were a nuisance to load, quite a few got squished in seating.

I'm surprised that John doesn't sell Remington's 155gr JHP. If he doesn't, just get them from Midway -- $75/1000, which is a pretty decent price.

I may buy a few myself for my 10mm, they can be a hoot with a ton of real slow powder like Blue Dot. Lots of flash and boom.

She DOES keep her hands and other stuff out of her mouth - and washed up afterwards - lead is a concern - but everything is screened and all of the particulate is blown off of them outdoors.

This is a concern of mine - but not too bad.

She gets tested regularly.