Brass Bullet Casings

irishoak

Hi all,

I was wondering if you would be kind enough to help me out. I am looking for used bullet casing to use in a school project. I would take as many as possible. Would it be feasible to have collect them?
Many thanks!

Bogwoppit

Bullet casings are considered the same as live bullets under Irish law and as a result you’d need a license for that caliber to have them in your possession unfortunately.

Uinseann_16

As said already any component of ammunition whether it be live or a empty cartridge casing is a "firearm" in and of itself, being in possession of them without a licence is illegal
If you have a engineering/metalwork room in your school turn a few bits of brass bar on a lathe to look like empty cases:P

irishoak

Hey guys,
Thanks a million for the replies. Apologies for not being clearer. I don't actually want the bullet casing themselves. I want the brass in them. I have seen YouTube videos where people have melted brass Bullet casings and poured it to make castings! This was my angle!!

Thanks again!

Half-cocked

irishoak wrote: »

Hey guys,
Thanks a million for the replies. Apologies for not being clearer. I don't actually want the bullet casing themselves. I want the brass in them. I have seen YouTube videos where people have melted brass Bullet casings and poured it to make castings! This was my angle!!

Thanks again!

Probably easier to buy some sheet brass. That way you're not risking be found in possession of ammo components without a license. Do a bit of research - there are lot's of different variations of brass, you might want the same alloy as used by the ammo manufacturers?

Grizzly 45

So basically you just need scrap brass to be melted down for a brass casting and want to use spent brass shells? In that case, you have two choices.

Get some kindly shooter to melt down a heap of brass casings for you and send you a few brass ingots for your project.
Pop down to any metal recycler and ask to buy from their scrap brass bin some scrap brass in the weight you need for your project.

ligertigon

airsoft eire selling spent cartridges complete with bullet.
everything from 9mm to 50cal

Uinseann_16

ligertigon wrote: »

airsoft eire selling spent cartridges complete with bullet.
everything from 9mm to 50cal

That has to be illegal as a motherf*ckr... im actually amazed their doing it suppose its not worth AGSs time
If its somehow legal though... i might buy a few

ligertigon

Probably not that illegal, as mostly 10 year olds would be getting them:)

aaakev

I went to the military vehicle show in naas recently and loads of the stalls had spent brass on sale too

Walter Mittys Brother

I drove 85kmph in an 80 kpmh zone the other day and didn't get caught by Gardai..............that don't make it legal to do it though

gunny123

Load of old crap. As kids we had spent cases we used to swap at breaktime at school, this at a time the ira,inla, and other sundry nutters were turning ireland into the wild west.

I cannot imagine the kinehans etc deciding not to hit someone because of a brass shortage.

As for casting brass, ask a plumber, they normally have buckets of old fittings they keep for scrap.

Grizzly 45

Hmmm. Better tell the better half to lose the M60 cartridge belt she used to wear out clubbing,lest the Guards lift her and demand to know where the M60 is stashed.;).
One of these laws, that certainly lives up to the moniker of the law being an ass.

ligertigon

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Hmmm. Better tell the better half to lose the M60 cartridge belt she used to wear out clubbing,lest the Guards lift her and demand to know where the M60 is stashed.;).
One of these laws, that certainly lives up to the moniker of the law being an ass.

On the contrary. It is a good law if enforced.

A fired 9mm cartridge with bullet....
All it needs is a donor primer and powder, which could come from nearly anything.

All of a sudden that is a worry.

irishoak

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies. I guess I could buy the sheet brass or scrap, but the plan was to use a waste product and turn it into a block of some shape that could be milled or turned on a lathe. It's really to have a different approach to the building of a metalwork/engineering project than every other student.

If the casing we're crushed in a clamp/vicegrip etc, would that be okay?

Cass

Hi IrishOak.

The lads, and their replies, are not trying to be difficult. The law regarding Irish firearms, including ammunition, is at times an ass. Other times its so pedantic as to be on the verge of ridiculous. In this case the law says that in order to possess ammunition for any caliber a person must hold a valid license for that caliber. The license grants the person the ability to buy the ammo. The law also defines ammunition as any component part of a round. In other words the primer, propellant, bullet, and case. So having any one of the components is, legally, the same as having the whole round. So in essence if you received say 100 cases of 223, 100 of 243, 100 of 6.5 and 100 of 308. You would need a license for each caliber, which allows you to have 100 of each, and if found that you didn't have the licenses you could face the possibility of a €25,000 fine and/or 5 years in jail for each offence.

There have been two cases of lads being brought before the courts for possession of ammunition displays. You know the ones you see in gun shops, furniture shops, hardware shops, etc. Both cases were dismissed/thrown out, but the law that had the men before the courts is still in place and is still something you can be prosecuted under.

Now having a display with one of each type of round, while inert, is one thing, but having a bucket or a few bucket load of casings (possibly numbering into the thousands) will raise a few more eyebrows and the lads that give it would be in as much trouble as you would be for having it.

To give another example three lads in the last year have been in court on firearm offences for having spent casings for calibers they had no license for. One chap had 100 rounds more than was on his license and he was also brought before the court.

With all that being said you can see why lads are giving warnings. The law does not specify what condition the case is in, only that it is a case. So crushing them, while making them useless, does not stop them being a case. Even rifle ranges that collect the empties people shoot on the range must dispose of them to a scrap dealer that is authorised to accept them otherwise the scrap dealer could be done for the same thing.

My point about the lads being brought to court is not to scare you into forgetting this, but to show you that while a "minor" law and while most cases have not seen any person serving time for the offence, they are being done for it. This forum is a public one, and make no mistake it is monitored. This does not mean, "wink, wink, nudge nudge" must be used, because the Mods would not allow it, it means lads will not take the chance to help someone, even fi genuine, because as firearm owners we are under 24hr scrutiny of all our actions.

I hope you get sorted, but i'm thinking your best bet is one of the options above about a scarp yard or any other, non firearm, source for the brass.

Either that or give in and get a gun license.

irishoak

Hi Cass,

No, I didn't suggest that anyone was being difficult. I fully accept everyone's opinions and help. And very grateful for the input.
Guess it just means I won't be going with the casings option! Just thought it would be an interesting approach for a project with the whole world looking at recycling etc.

Thanks for all the advice.

Irishoak

Cass

irishoak wrote: »

Hi Cass,

No, I didn't suggest that anyone was being difficult.

I know and understand. My point was in case you thought the replies so far were just lads trying to be difficult. Believe me if it were an option, legally, you would have no shortage of offers.

irishoak

Yep! Will just have to think of a different source!!😀

Del2005

irishoak wrote: »

Hi Cass,

No, I didn't suggest that anyone was being difficult. I fully accept everyone's opinions and help. And very grateful for the input.
Guess it just means I won't be going with the casings option! Just thought it would be an interesting approach for a project with the whole world looking at recycling etc.

Thanks for all the advice.

Irishoak

As another poster said contact a few plumbers or even a local engineering shop. The plumber will have waste brass and as will the engineering shop, the shop might like having a link to a local school.

Grizzly 45

ligertigon wrote: »

On the contrary. It is a good law if enforced.

A fired 9mm cartridge with bullet....
All it needs is a donor primer and powder, which could come from nearly anything.

All of a sudden that is a worry.

Seriously???All you need to do to make any case inert forever is get a 3mm drill bit and a drill and drill a hole thru the case body. It is now kaputt forever and can be used for any sort of decor. <MOD SNIP>

ligertigon

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Seriously???All you need to do to make any case inert forever is get a 3mm drill bit and a drill and drill a hole thru the case body. It is now kaputt forever and can be used for any sort of decor. TBH if theis rumour is to be believed,the Irish underworld is offering between 3.500 to 5.000 euros CASH for 50 rounds of fresh 9mm.I doubt very much that they are too concerned about improvised guerrilla munitions, made out of strike anywhere matches,bolt stems, and toy pistol caps.

I bet €1, that a casing drilled (transversly) with a 3mm bit.
Could still be re primed, powdered and capped with a bullet and fired.
The chamber would still hold enough pressure for a successful discharge, cf split casings of various calibres.

Grizzly 45

Be an interesting experiment alright to see what actually happens, and could you actually put together a fireable round in Ireland using some of the methods suggested and described in the US army improvised munitions manuals and poor mans James Bond books.

Would think the back blast from the gases from the rupturing case are going to be particularly unpleasant,and you won't get off more than one shot in a hurry, having to remove a ruptured case from the breach. Might work in a one-shot and run like Hell zip gun,but for anything more advanced...?

ligertigon

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Be an interesting experiment alright to see what actually happens, and could you actually put together a fireable round in Ireland using some of the methods suggested and described in the US army improvised munitions manuals and poor mans James Bond books.

Would think the back blast from the gases from the rupturing case are going to be particularly unpleasant,and you won't get off more than one shot in a hurry, having to remove a ruptured case from the breach. Might work in a one-shot and run like Hell zip gun,but for anything more advanced...?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHH8MJ-bCzI

gunny123

I had better tip off me granny about that 25 pounder shell case used as an umbrella stand in the porch. If the guards found that they might think she had a field gun in the attic or on top of the wardrobe.

gunny123

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z353BT6I18

Cass

Grizzly_45 wrote:

Be an interesting experiment alright to see what actually happens, ....................... Would think the back blast from the gases from the rupturing case are going to be particularly unpleasant

It wouldn't be that interesting, trust someone on the receiving end of such an "experiment" when a case failed a few years back. Scared the absolute crap out of me, left me with blurred vision for almost a week, and a nice burn mark on my face.

Cass

By the by, Mod hat on for this one.


Lets please stay on topic or at the very least dam close to it.

I see no relevance from the original topic to improvised munitions, even tentatively. Discuss brass, casings, failures, crimping, deactivating, etc. if you will, but lets not divert into the realm of what ifs that would be outside the legalities of the this forum.

Thanks.

ligertigon

Holy crap. Though looks like it was well reincarnated brass

Grizzly 45

Cass wrote: »

It wouldn't be that interesting, trust someone on the receiving end of such an "experiment" when a case failed a few years back. Scared the absolute crap out of me, left me with blurred vision for almost a week, and a nice burn mark on my face.

Reloaded or factory round?

Cass

Nope, brand new, factory ammo, at the time it happened. Those photos were from a few months back, but it happened at least 5 years ago and the blackening was from the case failure. Still have the case.

Its unfair to say it was the case, it wasn't. It was actually the rifle. The barrel was "off" by 0.1 (2.5mm) of an inch. A HUGE amount in gun terms. It shows what can happen when the case has any room outside of the chamber to expand. If a hole or even weakness wa spresent in the case you'd have case head separation (meaning the bit on my case that is still attached, wouldn't be).

I was breaking in a new FTR rifle and had no load worked up for it, and anyone that reloads knows you never use ammo for one rifle in another.