Picking up brass at USPSA

[compujas 21]

Like most others around here into USPSA/IDPA, I reload. I was wondering how it tends to work with picking up your brass at a competition? From the little I saw at a match I watched at Shongum a few months ago, I noticed that after a shooter completes a stage, a number of people swarm the field doing all sorts of things (scoring, pasting, picking up brass, resetting targets, etc.). How does reclaiming your brass tend to work? Does it all get pooled and whoever is interested at the end of the match just splits it up? Or do you make it known that you want the brass back and whoever is picking it up after your string returns it to you? Or is it typically treated as a lost brass event? I personally wouldn't really mind splitting the large pot at the end of the day and getting mixed brass back (to me if it's still useable it's good enough), but I know some people might care. Just wondering since I'm planning on getting into USPSA this spring. If it's lost brass or a hassle to get brass back, I might as well buy the cheapest stuff I can find and not care, but if I can get it back then I won't mind using my reloads.

[Jon 264]

I don't pick up brass at matches unless someone is willing to be the brass-collector on my squad. I have so much 9mm that it's not worth it to me. With that being said, you can absolutely pick up your brass inbetween shooting, and several squadmates will help out. There is no pooling of brass unless you make a deal with other people in your squad.

[Col. Mortimer 11]

You have to be careful here. Some people get touchy if you just help them pick up their brass. Match etiquette is to go to the shooter and ask if they want their brass. If you have already picked up their brass, give it to them. If they say they don’t want it, it’s yours. I reload and will pick up at a match but usually, picking up brass is too distracting. However, it’s tough not to pick up brass when there is so much lying around.

[Maksim 1,504]

At local matches, someone should pick up brass to keep the pit/range clean. However that will typically not happen. As an RO... it typically does not bother me, as long as the big priorities are on everyone helping paste and set targets, and keeping the range moving.

 

If it is a short stage, or what not, and I am ready to run the next shooter, and you are still downrange trying to brasswhore, it would irritate me. If the squad is done shooting, or the match is done, brass whore to your heart's content.

 

I personally do not pick up my own brass after a match. I got alot of brass, even shooting 40. If I was shooting 9mm, I would watch it as alot of folks shoot 9 major, which works the brass just a litttttttle bit more.

 

At a major match, level 2 and up, it is typically match policy that you cannot pick up your own brass (for above reasons, slows down etc), and the brass then gets left for the RO's and whomever works the match.

 

So if you want to brass whore, become a range officer and work a big match.

[raz-0 1,259]

I will give you the unwritten etiquette. I'll also define some behavior that is probably going ot get a mention at our next walkthrough.

 

First, the free for all situations. When you get to a pit, before anyone on your squad shoots, and after the previous squad has left, everything is up for grabs. Also, once we tear down the walls and vacate the pit, everything is up for grabs. Hitting these two religiously usually means you go home with more than you shot, but it also means you need to stay and clean up. It has it's perks besides getting involved and ingratiating yourself to the guys who run the match and volunteer all the time.

 

As for picking up between shooters, it gets trickier there.

 

If someone marks their brass, they want it back. Either offer it back to them, or don't pick it up. If you offer it back, and they say no thanks.. it's yours.

Unmarked brass could be anyones. If you are picking up more than you shot, it is someone else's. They may or may not want it. In that case, I'll usually pocket the equivalent of what I shot, and any extra I pick up I put on the bench. If it's still there in a couple shooters, I don't feel bad about putting it in my bag. I find this is what most of the reasonable folks tend to do when squadded up and nobody feels like playing brass cop religiously.

 

As maks said, yours or not, don't slow down the whole squad scrounging for $0.50 worth of brass.

[Babaganoosh 192]

I usually go out and paste or reset poppers and grab a few cases on my way back. If the person wants their brass I give it to them (it's usually marked). By the end of a stage or two you usually know who is shooting what, and who is keeping their brass. I don't slow down the group yet I still get a decent amount of brass this way.

 

Steel matches I like to throw it all in a bucket and then divide it up at the end. It keeps the group moving and anyone who helped pick up gets a share if they want it

[compujas 21]

Sorry, I didn't mean that I was looking to brasswhore, really I'm just looking to reclaim the majority of my own brass. I'll have no idea how much I shot anyway, so it doesn't bother me if I don't get 100% back, just a reasonable amount. I don't need to take other people's brass for myself (unless of course they don't want it, but even then given the 9mm major factor to be careful of). It sounds to me though that as long as I don't get in the way of match momentum, I can pick some up while targets are being pasted and reset. I'll likely be shooting most events with a friend anyway, so we can always pick up for the other to speed things up. I just wanted to make sure that they weren't treated as lost brass events (like the CR 2x4 matches) and see if there was some standard procedure always in place.

[hd2000fxdl 422]

If you want your brass it's yours, just let other members of the squad know you save brass and IF the squad is working together it's very easy to keep the stages set, targets taped, scored, and brass picked up, again, that is IF you have a plan for your squad.

 

It has been very nice the latter part of this year for many of us here on the forum. We have been getting squads together for both Steel and USPSA and we have been setting up a game plan for how we are going to run our squad. Haven't had any problems at all. Brass collected, stage keeps moving, each person is doing their part, and one of the best things, we are all getting to know each other, making for a friendlier and more fun time for all, and here is one of the bigger things. We have run many first time or new shooters in our squads for both Steel and USPSA. It has taken a lot of the first time or new shooter apprehension away, it has also taught the new shooters that we are a squad of shooters and workers and we all have a job and hopefully when we aren't together it rubs off on some of the other people they run into.

 

Nothing worse than a squad where you have 1 or 2 RO's and only 1 or 2 other people pitching in, makes a lot of extra work that they don't need to be doing, and it slows whole squad down, not to mention the nest squad that is going to have to wait for yours to move to the next stage.

[compujas 21]

Absolutely agree with you. I'm hoping to be able to get into a squad like that where everything just naturally works smoothly instead of 8 people who happen to be shooting the same stage for that hour. I have no problems at all with having an assigned role to help keep things moving, and in fact would prefer it so I know I'm actually supporting the squad rather than merely being there because I have to. With the apparent boom of interest in USPSA on here lately, it seems like there may be a need for multiple NJGF squads per match soon. Given how friendly everyone here is, I definitely look forward to shooting with everyone.

[zoid 24]

To be honest just about all the matches I've shot the guys in my squad have been

kind enough to collect it and bring it to me.

 

If that doesn't happen I may collect some, but I don't focus on it too much. If I can

get half of what I shoot back at a match I'm doing good. Too much going on and

your mind is focused on other things so I let those brass pieces go for the most part.