Range slobs

R

Ron Ankeny

New member
As one of the regulars at our small local range, I spend a lot of time cleaning up after slobs. You can't believe the crap some folks haul out to the range. I have even seen tv sets and a kitchen sink, not to mention countless milk jugs and glass every where you look. It is frustrating and a hopeless cause.

I went out to the range today after work and the Peace Officer's Association was holding an annual 3 gun match. They held the match at our little range because their normal range wasn't available. It was kinda cool and I even went through the simunitions building they put up. Darn those pesky little projectiles hurt even at just 400 fps. When the peace officer's were finished they did a great job of cleaning up. Also, in spite of rumors to the contrary, some cops can shoot.

The only thing that really bugged me is they didn't even make an effort to pick up their brass. Freaking brass all over the place, most of it once fired courtesy of the tax payers. I spent a couple of hours picking brass up. I picked up over 1500 rounds of .40 Smith and Wesson, 750 rounds of .45 auto and a few hundred misc. brass in 9mm, 10mm and .38 special on the pistol range.

The rifle range was almost as bad. I picked up about 500 rounds of once fired .308 and at least 400 rounds of .223 brass. Over at the shotgun range, someone left half a case of 12 ga. 2 3/4 slugs. Well, at least the place is clean.

I am going to take the slugs over to the SO, but what should I do with all that brass? Should I take it over to the police department and just dump it on the floor? Take it to the Peace Officer's meeting next year and fling it all around their banquet room? Maybe I should just keep it and continue to do my civic duty by picking up after these guys. What do you all think?
 
As for the brass, do you have any friends who reload in any of those calibers? Do you yourself do so?
 
Well, I suspect that you did the right thing by just picking it up. As far as the brass is concerned, I would keep it and reload it. After all, if they left it there, they consider it worthless. A man can do alot with that much brass. Once fired brass is nothing to toss out. I wish that I had that much once fired brass.....LOL
I would not mention it to the cops...forget 'em. Just consider that you have done what you know to be correct and go with it. Leaving brass and ammunition like that shows a lack of common sense....after all, common sense ain't that common after all, with cops or the general public. Have fun with the brass...I would.
 
Most LE, or at least the ones I've talked to, leave their brass since they know that fellow range users would love to have it. I used to reload and loved it when the CHP dude went to the range since he always left a couple hundred once fired .45 brass whenever he shot. With time constraints, I no longer reload but I usually leave my brass behind instead of sweeping it downrange so that others can pick it up and use it.
 
What makes me sad is that the Navy drops their brass into the ocean :(

I'd love to have it :)

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The Alcove

I twist the facts until they tell the truth. -Some intellectual sadist

The Bill of Rights is a document of brilliance, a document of wisdom, and it is the ultimate law, spoken or not, for the very concept of a society that holds liberty above the desire for ever greater power. -Me
 
Back when we had revolvers, we used to police up brass like mad because they'd send it in for credit against a new order of ammo.
When we went to auto's the ammo was all factory new and brass was no longer sent in for credit. We still police up the brass, but I notice it's done with less efficiency than before, and the box upon box of brass just sits there at the range house until someone squirrels it away one box at a time....
 
The absolute WORST was the steel-cased SKS ammo. No one picked it up, and with the cheap SKS' of a few years ago, and the cheap ammo, the stuff was EVERYWHERE, including where my club had to mow. Brass isn't too terrible on riding mower blades, but the steel cases worked them over pretty hard.

One of the guys had a brillian idea. He wound a steel pipe in a couple dozen layers of wire, and attached a platform to the rear of the mower. Then he mounted a spare car alternator to the tractor, and used it to power his electromagnet brass retriever.

Driving slowly through the grass and across the range areas would pick up about 99% of the steel cases.

You just couldn't get near this thing with anything steel, or a watch. :)

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Beware the man with the S&W .357 Mag.
Chances are he knows how to use it.
 
No you dummy! You polish all that stuff off and auction it off in bulk!! :D

Goodness gracious!

Or you could mail it off to us reloaders! :D

Actually.. I do agree with the messes at some shooting ranges. However, I have actually never experienced that problem. The worst I've ever seen is a few paper plates lyin' around. But at the range in North Gerogia that I usually attend -- it is surprisingly clean. However, I would suspect that most of the individuals there are quite respectful of others..

In that sense, neither myself or my dad care if the leave the brass or not -- it just gives us something else to compete over -- who can pick it up the fastest!! :D

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God, Guns and Guts made this country a great country!

oberkommando sez:
"We lost the first and third and now they are after the Second!(no pun intended)"
 
As you guys know, the post was tongue in cheek. I think about half the cops there were sitting around like vultures waiting to swoop down on all that brass. It just looked like everyone was a bit too proud to go out in front of their buddies and start scrounging brass. Afterall, it is tacky to pick someone else's brass up at a match and stuff it in your pocket. And like Aerodog said, the guys know the local shooters can use the stuff so in a way they are kind of giving part of their ammo allotment back to the tax payers. :-)


I ain't proud so I got it all! Gonna keep the .45 and .40 and the rifle brass is going to get traded for some thing I can use, like primers, or powder, or ...
 
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