What happens to the brass left in the dirt?

[DavidRSA]

After taking a number of classes in carbine and handgun...2 or 3 days of it and the range is littered with thousands upon thousands of casings in the dirt (sometimes mud) over a very wide area. What typically happens to these? Do they get picked up by hand and reloaded? Some kind of machine that scoops them up? Always been curious. Suppose I'll ask the range folk next time I am out there....

[j1133s]

picked up by hand and recycled not reloaded.

[Sheldon]

Depends on the location. Most accessable ranges will get picked over by reloaders or scavengers/recyclers first. If it is a paying range, they may have some schedule for cleanup and recycling to clear up the collected brass and debris. Open ranges in the BLM areas may not get that attention and the brass would just tarnish away there I suppose.

[ChrisTKHarris]

"Recycled, Reduced, Reused...Close the loop"

[VegasND]

Originally Posted by Sheldon

Depends on the location. Most accessable ranges will get picked over by reloaders or scavengers/recyclers first. If it is a paying range, they may have some schedule for cleanup and recycling to clear up the collected brass and debris. Open ranges in the BLM areas may not get that attention and the brass would just tarnish away there I suppose.

Spent a few minutes a few months ago talking to a retired fellow at one of the desert areas people shoot here. He and his wife walk around with rakes and buckets to pick up fired brass. He told me he made $15000 in 2008 picking up and selling empties. He said after the election shooting declined and he's thinking about finding something else to fill his time.

[bohoki]

wolf rusts away in a few years so that is good biodegredation

brass sits for decades getting browner

[Blue]

When a guy I work with was in jail, they used to send the inmates to the county run shooting range and have them clean it all up.

[Spyduh]

Originally Posted by Blue

When a guy I work with was in jail, they used to send the inmates to the county run shooting range and have them clean it all up.

I thought Felons aren't supposed to be around any firearms/ammunition/etc.

(yes, it's just brass casings. But there are FTF rounds that are still on the ground and still capable of being used.)

[scrat]

thats what i thought

[45R]

You can make some pretty nasty tools with brass casings......