Brass Shell Casing Scrap Prices
As of October 2, 2026, scrap yards are paying about $2.72 to $3.17 per pound for fired brass shell casings, or $6.00 to $7.00 per kg. That's 42% to 49% of the COMEX copper price of $6.48. Casings are a 70/30 yellow brass, so the price moves with copper.
Every brass grade is on the scrap brass prices page, and every metal is on the scrap metal prices hub.
What yards pay for brass shell casings
- Per pound
- $2.72 to $3.17
- Per kilogram
- $6.00 to $7.00
Estimated yard price: 42% to 49% of the COMEX copper price ($6.48/lb as of October 2, 2026). Ranges cover the spread between yards.
Estimates checked against posted yard boards on September 18, 2026.
Shell casing calculator
Enter the weight. The estimate uses the per-pound range in the price card above. Add a yard's quote to see where it lands in that range.
Estimated payout
$27.21 to $31.75
At $2.72 to $3.17 per lb.
Yards pay on their own scale after grading, and boards differ by region, so use the range to judge a quote.
COMEX copper, the price behind range brass
Casings are 70 percent copper, so their scrap price follows this chart. Zinc, the rest, costs a fraction as much and moves the price far less.
What yards accept as shell casings
Spent, clean ammunition brass. Yards want it fired and free of live rounds and steel or aluminum cases.
Run a magnet through the bucket first. Steel cases stick to it, including the ones plated to look like brass. Aluminum cases don't stick, but they're dull silver and noticeably lighter, so they're easy to pick out by eye.
Every casing has to be spent. Yards refuse live rounds, so check each bucket before you go and keep unfired ammunition out of the scrap entirely. Leave the tarnish alone; yards pay for weight and alloy, and polishing adds to neither.
Recovered bullets and range lead are a different metal. Keep them in their own bucket and sell them on the lead side, where clean range lead can go as soft lead.
What lowers the price of range brass
- 1Live rounds. Yards refuse them, so check every bucket before you load it.
- 2Steel and aluminum cases. A few in the bucket drop the whole bucket. Pull them with a magnet and by color.
- 3Dirt and range debris. Sand and gravel add weight the yard won't pay for. Shake the brass out over a screen.
- 4Acid cleaning residue. Tarnish costs nothing. Chemical cleaning can, if it leaves residue the yard treats as contamination.
Related grades
Nearby grades and what they bring per pound. The full board is on the scrap brass prices page.
Where this estimate comes from
The estimate is the live COMEX copper price times the share yards typically pay for this grade (42% to 49%). The share was set by dividing posted yard prices by the same day's benchmark, using these public boards, and last checked on September 18, 2026:
- Rockaway Recycling (New Jersey), posted board of September 18, 2026
- Central Metal Recycling (Chicago), posted board, mid-September 2026
- MetalRecap national price survey, September 17, 2026
- ScrapMonster North American grade spreads, June 2026
Published by MetalCharts, a free precious metals resource providing real-time prices, interactive charts, educational guides, and portfolio management tools. All market data sourced from COMEX, LBMA, and LME.
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