22 brass

[horatioo]

When I go out to the country and shoot my 22 I just let the spent brass land wherever. How long does it take for the spent hull to deteriorate? My land is pretty clean. I know the brass is small, but I like the idea of no evidence of humans having been there.

Thanks

 

[hogdogs]

If soil is highly acidic or salty and moist the brass may go pretty quick but I have seen brass I know to be 15+ years old and more likely 20+ according to grampa...
Good thing is it gets that military camo looking olive drab petina straight away...
Brent

 

[Average Joe]

I pick up all my garbage, if its my land or not. All I leave behind are footprints.

 

[TEDDY]

trash???

custers battlefield was surveyed for relics a few yrs ago and casings were found and id.and an idea of the actions of soldiers was maped out.so that was how many yrs

 

[Kreyzhorse]

I don't know that I'd count on my brass to just deteriorate. If you are concerned, pick up what you can. Where I hunt, I try not to leave my brass or shotgun shells behind.

 

[the_pragmaticist]

I don't worry as much about brass, though I never leave a shotgun shell behind. It's mainly ideological rather than purely logical - neither one is going to hurt your land, but somehow the brass seems more natural than the polymer. Also, tiny .22 casings fired through a semiautomatic weapon tend to disappear instantly rather than over time - I can never find more than 10% of the damn things if I'm shooting outside and trying to clean up. The natural turnover of the land will bury them. While they'll survive your lifetime, they'll be gone in the blink of an eye on the scale of cosmic time.

 

[levrluvr]

I pick up all my garbage, if its my land or not. All I leave behind are footprints.

+1
Brass is resistive to decay. It can last (i.e. propellers) at the bottom of the ocean for a century and come out looking like new after cleaning. Tough to pick it all up if you shoot an autoload .22, but I take the time to pick up all I can.

 

[troy_mclure]

we have a "shootin tree" on my dads land, we have been shooting at this 5' dia hickory tree for 17yrs now with everything from .22, to 12ga.

theres tons of brass under the dirt, it seems to sink, or be trampled pretty fast. theres probably a few hundred pounds of lead in the tree as well.