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Do you get your brass back?


July Smith

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Hello everyone!

 

New SASS member and new member here on this forum, but not new to shooting, reloading, black powder or cowboy guns. I have always had a passion for older style revolvers, lever actions and SxS shotguns and am looking forward to competing in Cowboy Action shoots one day.

 

This might be a dumb question, but I just have to ask. At competitions do you have a chance to pick up your brass? Or do you just clear the stage and only get to keep the empties in your revolvers?

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You all ways have a brass pickers and they pick up brass between shooters and you get most back if your rifle put the cases up or up and back.

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It is usually part of the posse assignment for one or more people to retrieve your brass. At some of the larger annuals it is deemed too time consuming to do, as you need to keep the action moving with that many shooters.

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At most matches, you do. Generally one or two of the posse members will shag brass and bring it to you at the unloading table. At some of the bigger matches, EOT for example, they have the Boy Scouts or local 4H shag brass for tips to support their programs. It used to be, back 5-6 years ago, that the Big Matches (say 400 attendees and above) were lost brass matches, but with the cost of brass these days, lost brass matches have pretty much faded away.

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Howdy July

 

At most matches there will be folks picking brass and shotgun hulls and they will bring them to you at the unloading table. There are a very few bigger matches that are 'lost brass' matches where due to the volume of folks and limited time, brass picking is not allowed. That said, even at those matches if you are shooting brass shotgun shells, someone will most often pick them quickly to return to you.

 

Welcome!

 

Grizz

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If Im on your posse you should get your brass back. Honestly though, I would say most shooters (in my experience) wont pick up brass. They all have bad backs or other ailments. They can load up their carts and shoot, but cant either bend over or use the mechanical pickers. Most shooters I have shot with just stand there and socialize. They dont want to spot/count, pull knockdown targets and they for sure dont want to brass. This has been one of the most annoying parts of SASS to me. It seems to me the attitude is " I paid my fee now do everything for me"

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Thank you all for the replies and answer to my question! I really like my full length brass shot shells and was just curious if I would get the hulls back or if I had better plan on loading paper ones.

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If Im on your posse you should get your brass back. Honestly though, I would say most shooters (in my experience) wont pick up brass. They all have bad backs or other ailments. They can load up their carts and shoot, but cant either bend over or use the mechanical pickers. Most shooters I have shot with just stand there and socialize. They dont want to spot/count, pull knockdown targets and they for sure dont want to brass. This has been one of the most annoying parts of SASS to me. It seems to me the attitude is " I paid my fee now do everything for me"

I have shot at quite a few ranges, and have buddies that have shot at many times as many places as me, and yet have never had this issue or even heard of it. I have heard tale of one person here and there that won't do posse chores, at first anyway, but they are generally shown the error of their thinking. Maybe you need to try shooting at a different location?

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July Smith, No dumb questions here Pard.

 

What others have said about getting your brass back.

 

What ya really need to do is get yourself to a match close to you. Introduce yourself and ask all the questions you want. You will most likely get info overload in short order.

 

Most agree that this game is the most fun with yer duds on. ( Ain't tried it without.........yet :lol: .)

If your around my part of the range, come shoot!

 

LG

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the brass pickers are very good about getting all your brass shotgun hulls back to you. Depends on how far your rifle throws the brass and the condition of the ground, high weeds, cowboy-eating crickets, etc, as to how much you get back.

 

on the soapbox:

I agree with the comment above that brass picking is probably the least favorite job on the posse. That said, we have many who will jump right in and handle the job from shot #1...wish more would follow the Cowboy Way

off soapbox

 

cr

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If Im on your posse you should get your brass back. Honestly though, I would say most shooters (in my experience) wont pick up brass. They all have bad backs or other ailments. They can load up their carts and shoot, but cant either bend over or use the mechanical pickers. Most shooters I have shot with just stand there and socialize. They dont want to spot/count, pull knockdown targets and they for sure dont want to brass. This has been one of the most annoying parts of SASS to me. It seems to me the attitude is " I paid my fee now do everything for me"

I've shot at Brigsdale numerous times when I lived in Colorado, every pose I was on, the members all "turned to" and did pose chores without having to be asked to.

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p.s.

what part of the country do you hail from? You're always welcome to shoot with us if your down in the Houston area.

 

cr

SW Texas near Hondo. Trying to update my profile and avatar, but it seems I need to be validated first.

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I've shot at Brigsdale numerous times when I lived in Colorado, every pose I was on, the members all "turned to" and did pose chores without having to be asked to.

That's been my experience in Northern Colorado as well. As folks cycle thru the line you might hear 'we need a (fill in the blank)' now and again, but someone quickly jumps in.

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Sidebar for JS: While you usually get your brass back, some rifle brass is lost in weeds and under props. Loosing a few 38 Special cases that you bought once-fired for ~6 cents each is a minor loss. However, loosing hard-to-find caliber brass that you had to buy new for ~25 cents each adds up. You seem to be a frugal shooter. Consider 38 Special unless you want to shoot Classic Cowboy or one of the black powder categories.

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Sidebar for JS: While you usually get your brass back, some rifle brass is lost in weeds and under props. Loosing a few 38 Special cases that you bought once-fired for ~6 cents each is a minor loss. However, loosing hard-to-find caliber brass that you had to buy new for ~25 cents each adds up. You seem to be a frugal shooter. Consider 38 Special unless you want to shoot Classic Cowboy or one of the black powder categories.

Thanks for the advice. Currently I own enough pistols and rifles in various 38 and 45 calibers to get me started shooting. Later I hope to get a pair of revolvers and a rifle in either 44-40 or 38-40 in order to have an authentic caliber combination.

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Thanks for the advice. Currently I own enough pistols and rifles in various 38 and 45 calibers to get me started shooting. Later I hope to get a pair of revolvers and a rifle in either 44-40 or 38-40 in order to have an authentic caliber combination.

Excellent. My two favorite rifle calibers. It looks like you are on your way to being a black powder shooter? But if you want authentic in pistols, go with the original in 45 Colt. A full case of BP under a 250 grain bullet will really take you back to the good old days.

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July, you carry your reolvers with ten empty sheels back to the unloading table, so you always get those back. Rifle and shotgun are picked up and returned at most monthly matches. Many larger 2-3 day matches) will be set up so that getting your brass returned is easy, but a few big matches are lost-brass.

All cowboys should payback on this by picking up for at least some of the shooters unless they are running the clock. My$.02 worth.

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The only matches that one doesn't get 99% of their brass picked up is Wild Bunch. Them autos spray the empties all over Kingdom Come!

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I loose approximate 15% of rifle brass at monthlies..Get all the pistol brass (of course). The rifle brass just disappears and I know the brasser's gave it an honest attempt.

 

I recently shot an annual and lost 40% of the rifle brass. Brasser's didn't go out in front of the firing line to look and the pace for the next shooter was speed up, giving the brassers less time to look.

 

As others have mentioned, there are some big matches where you loose all your rifle brass.

 

Edit: I notice that the shooters that shoot 40+caliber rifle gets more back because the case is bigger/shinier and fewer people shoot it. Thus, if a stray 40+case is found later, the rightful owner is found and the stray case is given back.

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You will generally lose a bit of your rifle brass, especially if you are shooting stages on grass where brass can be easily lost. You will likely get brass back that is not yours so check it carefully for split cases or the wrong caliber. If you lose your pistol brass it is your fault for dropping it at the unloading table or your gun cart.

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In my experience I seem to get more brass back the shinier it is, dirty brass doesn't show up as well where I shoot.

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Brass Shot Shells always get picked up, even at "Lost Brass" matches, because your pards appreciate the cost. I've shot Plainsman at big Lost Brass matches and always got my .45-70s back too. That said, I haven't seen a Lost Brass match for a couple of years. They are now "One Pass" matches, so as not to hold up the next shooter. (These are all large multi-day matches). Monthly matches, you'll get most of it back... except them that wants to hide from you! I usually end up with a few that are not in my caliber, and have to hunt down who they belong to.

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Brass pickin' is my posse chore of choice. I do try to find it all. And I must say that at most of the central Texas clubs where I shoot the brassers do a good job and I usually don't lose more than one or two pieces of my own, sometimes none. Which is good because I'm shooting 32-20, 45 Schofield, 44-40, and 44 Spcl in my rifles. Occasionally I'll find another of mine when I return to brass picking after shooting.

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SW Texas near Hondo. Trying to update my profile and avatar, but it seems I need to be validated first.

July,

Texas Riviera Pistoleros are located near George West, between San Antonio and Corpus. We shoot 2nd & 5th Saturdays. Would love to have you.

I also shoot with South Texas Pistoleros in San Antonio on 1st Saturday. come to either or both!

 

If you don't have all your gear yet let me know, will fix you up. please give me a call if you have any questions. I'll PM you my contact info

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Thank you all for the replies and answer to my question! I really like my full length brass shot shells and was just curious if I would get the hulls back or if I had better plan on loading paper ones.

Most Cowboys who reload shotshells use plastic hulls. Reloading shotgun is a whole other topic and plenty of info is archived here, regarding the best plastic hulls to reload. If you actually do use paper hulls, that, too can be another topic for discussion.

 

As discussed, most matches will return most of your rifle and shotgun empties. About the only "lost brass" matches still in existence are certain large annuals and, they should tell you in advance. This lost brass issue draws a lot of discussion comment here on the Wire for a number of reasons. Most of the time you get the majority of your rifle brass back and all your shotgun hulls back. As noted, special care is usually given to returning brass shotgun empties.

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If Im on your posse you should get your brass back. Honestly though, I would say most shooters (in my experience) wont pick up brass. They all have bad backs or other ailments. They can load up their carts and shoot, but cant either bend over or use the mechanical pickers. Most shooters I have shot with just stand there and socialize. They dont want to spot/count, pull knockdown targets and they for sure dont want to brass. This has been one of the most annoying parts of SASS to me. It seems to me the attitude is " I paid my fee now do everything for me"

From the very first time I ever shot SASS .

EVERYONE CHIPPED IN TO DO SOMETHING.

So I was motivated to learn fast so I could help out.

I have done everything needed except run the timmer .

I believe just about every shooter in the West Michigan area that I have ever shot with has helped out in one way or the other .

But then again we have the best Cowboys in the game over here in the Mitten :-)

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It looks like you are on your way to being a black powder shooter?

Already am a BP shooter and have been for a while. I am a caster too. Looking forward to shooting BP in competitions.

 

Thank you all for the warm welcome and advice!

 

It will be a while before I'll have the time to shoot, but I'll be loading and looking forward to it.

 

How much ammo does one typically burn up in a match? I have been watching YouTube videos, and it seems every stage requires 10 pistol rounds, 10 rifle rounds, and 4 shotgun shells. What would be a safe amount of ammo to show up with to insure I don't run out?

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Hi July,

 

I always take enough ammo for eight stages, which would be 8 x 10 and 10. I usually take 2 boxes (50) SG. You never know when a reshoot will happen and sometimes we have Mulligan stages.

 

Not all Marlins eject out the front. My .45 does, my .38 does not. Also, if you wear a white hat, it won't stay that way with a '73 as they tend to eject at the hat.

 

Have fun!

 

Allie

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Thank you all for the replies and answer to my question! I really like my full length brass shot shells and was just curious if I would get the hulls back or if I had better plan on loading paper ones.

I have always got my brass shotshells back, even at lost brass matches.

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July, you carry your reolvers with ten empty sheels back to the unloading table, so you always get those back. Rifle and shotgun are picked up and returned at most monthly matches. MOST 2-3 day matches) will be set up so that getting your brass returned is easy, but a few big matches are lost-brass.

All cowboys should payback on this by picking up for at least some of the shooters unless they are running the clock. My$.02 worth.

Fixed that for ya! I've gotten brass back at every local venue I've shot at... whether it be in NJ, WA, AZ, FL or TX! And while I may only get 8 or 9 or my brass back (out of 10), it nearly always seems that I get a few of someone else's too! While I don't mark my brass, I seem to get some with either black or red on the primers... or in a nearly the same caliber. That's how I acquired a small stash of .44-40 & .44Mag brass. Although last month I think I took that out to my club for others to claim. Probably not worth much as it was maybe 20-30 pieces total.

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