SCRAPPER © feature documentary, aka Of Bombs And Men, Range Runner

Written, Directed, Produced by Stephan Wassmann. Narrator: Adam Edwards
Off the grid on a live military bombing range, defiant desert dwellers risk life and limb scrapping the impact areas for lucrative military metals from exploded and unexploded cluster bombs, target vehicles and brass from attack helicopter Gattling guns. Ride shotgun into an adrenalized world of aluminum fever, crystal meth, survival and redemption.
"A wild ride...a strong statement about a devastated American dream..." Filmmaker Magazine
"This is one of the film finds of the year " Unseen Films"
"Nervy...will win fans wherever it plays..." Variety
"Will have your mind buzzing for days afterward." DBBorroughs
/ scrapperfilm. .
This film is the exclusive property of Little Mules Productions, LLC. Des Bombes et des Hommes

[@sonofdamocles]

Oh man, I had only ever seen the terrible cut of this that the "producer" made but knew about this. This is way better than I expected, one of the best docs about the region.

[@ironlion45]

"After gassing up on beer and meth, the brothers head out to the range". LOL!

[@pjg_77]

Man I’ve spent over 5 years looking for this documentary again haha.

[@sumwan4926]

I can't put my finger on exactly why, but this is just a straight up fantastic documentary. Well worth a watch

[@Will-Xaru]

This was the best documentary I've seen in a long time. I didn't want it to end, I just wanted to keep watching them cruise around in the desert and follow them around. I wanted to see what happened to J.R, I was cheering him on since he's the wily old veteran. It's clear that he is a victim of PTSD and is still stuck in his war, maybe that's why he likes to hang around the bombs and the planes and helicopters, maybe it helps him confront his fear and reminds him of that time. Everyone in this documentary has lived a hard life. I feel like the military puts up with them as long as they don't fuck with the armoring on the targets, as soon as someone fucked with the aluminum they started busting people

[@dibochet]

No, the military doesn't fuck with them because they're dumb tweakers. We used to bet on whether they'd get killed or not. Good riddance.

[@bhaktapeter3501]

if you want to see a real doc watch this, this is the real truth kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJKYgmprnctph6s

[@berra7312]

@@bhaktapeter3501 ur rite.....crazy doc, winnin looks like...anymore ?

[@angeliquemaldonado5194]

@@berra7312 hahaa I've been out there 1st hand to experience it myself, call it dumb tweakers or not you still gotta know what the fuck your facing, its a fuckng lifestyle for some people its a way of life, it pays the bills, it puts food on the fuckin table, I'd like to see you survive in the fuckin desert, Niland, California baby I love that place, I can survive in that place it's just a way of life out there.

[@berra7312]

@@angeliquemaldonado5194 if u cud do it, i can do it lol....r u on slab city from back of a quad? yeaaaaa i kno u, waterboy?

[@Haxity]

This documentary is so surreal. From the people that live on this lifestyle, to the enormous waste that occurs every single day by our government. So insightful, thank you for sharing.

[@joem8875]

+spritzer555 If you think about it in terms of how wasteful of government is, its sad. What they are collecting is probably 1/10 of 1% of our military budget. Thats how massive and over inflated our military spending is. Merica'

[@kscott8464]

+Joseph Mannino 1/10 of 1%? Dude, this is probably 1/1,000,000 of 1%.

[@rougen512]

+spritzer555 Wasteful would hardly be the word to describe what going on in this documentary. The military OWNS that land, and they can DO WHATEVER THEY WANT on that land because they own it. Would you want soldiers and jet pilots not practicing before they go off to WAR?

[@Haxity]

+rougen512 There has to be a better way of getting pilots training without spending MILLIONS a day doing it this way. RFID chips in dud missiles sounds like a totally reasonable choice versus using live ammunition. Then that way they could actually recover what they use too rather than leaving live explosives/shrapnel laying around the desert.

[@rougen512]

spritzer555 Spending less money would be preferable. But there simply is no alternative to training with the REAL stuff. There's a reason soldiers train with LIVE ammo and not paintball guns or airsoft guns. The same rationale applies to situations like this. You refer to this PRIVATE, FENCED MILITARY base like it's a piece of public land and that unexploded ordinance is a issue of public safety. This simply isn't the case. There's fences up for a reason.

[@perolito83]

Some of these people look like they belong in the Mad Max universe, great documentary.

[@Tapport]

+perolito83 Nah, this is straight out of Borderlands.

[@E180TEKNO]

soon to be the future of all of us on the planet

[@AlexM-gx8tt]

How we're all about to be

[@chrisfloyd4655]

Or gta5

[@charlesbritzman501]

As a Jeeper since the early 80’s I’ve travelled to the deserts of So Cal many times (In the cooler months)and occasionally run into individuals out there that, after a strangely tense exchange of pleasantries went on our merry ways. This doc should be required watching for all Jeepers, whether or not you venture near the Chocolates (e.g. the nearby Orocopia Mtns) It provides insights and raises consciousness of alternate lifestyles weekend warrior Jeepers should be aware of.

[@jooeybabbabooey]

smoking meth with a match is the wildest part of the documentary

[@richardcapellesr7031]

Great documentary would really like to see part 2

[@harmonicresonanceproject]

This is a really great film!

[@clairecordell2461]

This is facinating on so many levels - I love a good sub-culture, and you found a doozi here ! People are great ! 🙉🙈🙊

[@laurencekehoe]

what a brilliant documentary, totally engrossing from start to finish, great characters the lot of them, and as others have said i didnt want it to end, a part two would be awesome....

[@SimonPilkington]

Excellent doco. I would never have imagined that this existed. The lack of hype around the meth use was refreshing.

[@MakeItWithJim]

Great documentary, fascinating community and sub-economy! a 10 year catch up would be interesting!

[@ChicanoSteve]

This was very good documentary, so much so, I watched it twice!... Major props for an outstanding film!...

[@axelworfles]

Just put this on and stayed watching for the entirety. Great stories.

[@joego9519]

This was one of the best documentaries I've ever seen.. tell me this isn't great matt.

[@kieranm95]

55:50 onwards is like a comedy sketch, best documentary I've seen

[@kiloohm]

amazing doc! cant believe Netflix hasn't picked this up

[@CaptainGnarkill]

That was a great documentary

[@wolfsmith2865]

I finally got to watch the whole thing! Very well done. Makes the ordnance collectors drool.

[@pvtmalo3217]

Found this Docu because of a random comment in some random reddit :D thank you

[@sirroger1066]

superb, best documentary I have seen in along time

[@roosterj2599]

I live next to 2 bombing ranges. I worked with a scrapper who bought his double wide trailer and the 4 acres it sits on with brass and aluminum from the northern range. That one isnt very easyto get onto. The south range is the one they hit hard. A guy ran over a tank mine down there in his truck and it blew that thing straight up in the air and down in pieces from what I was told. Took the guy out. He didnt make it. Not the safest way to earn a living, but it can be done.

[@pajiad191]

thank you stephan

[@AnimalsInTheRoomMusic]

"Some days it's chicken. Some days it's feathers."

[@fsfer]

I have been waiting years for this to come out. Bravo.

[@74Dyenamo]

So have I and I was wondering if I would ever see it!!!

[@jenmdawg]

Bravo! Great filmmaking.

[@stephensheridan4706]

I loved the knee boarding.

[@TobinGrim]

Reddit brought me here. Amazing documentary!

[@willcravens2893]

that was outstanding!!!!

[@TheChris1299100]

I really loved this documentary, you've done a great job humanizing people many of us would disregard. It really made me realize that any of us can find ourselves, willingly or otherwise, in desperate circumstances like some of these desert folk. Great job!

[@seri8102]

At the time this was filmed, maybe most range runners did it to buy drugs, but in the 70's and 80's that wasn't why. Niland was always a dead end town. Few jobs and boredom drove idiots like my brother (deceased 5 years ago natural causes) to do this. As Mike Aleksick knew very well. Just correcting a misconception. I knew people who did this, knew people who died. For most it was simply quick money. If you never lived in Niland you wouldn't understand. I moved by the time I was 20, in 1990 and are so glad to be free of that hellhole

[@LL.Johnson]

Crazy tweekers. Very fascinating to watch.

[@plaf0553]

Amazing work of art! Thank you for you hard work.

[@ennybm]

Great docu, must've been very cool to ride with these guys and that they'd let you in their lives

[@DonMahaffeyWeaverII]

Wow! Just Wow! Great vid! Thanks for the enlightening!

[@OK-1K1]

i believe we found Trevor's family.

[@johngalt770]

Such a good documentary love how it wraps up.

[@niklausthayng2892]

Quality insight. Thanks for posting

[@mrnobody8540]

Love that old couple - salt of the earth!

[@yourafatboyshadow]

Excellent documentary.

[@paulrowlston4239]

Fantastic documentary. Great work.

[@randyhendrix5375]

J.R is one tough son of a gun!

[@3rdtokeofvapor805]

*talking to smugglers* "It only costs a small fee to get through here. HAHA im just fucking with ya, welcome to America!"

[@E180TEKNO]

soon to be the future of all of us on the planet

[@Stellar73b]

Did like documentary, thanks for sharing!

[@k-bobby]

I hung out with JR for several days back in the 90's while shooting a feature for FOX. He claimed JR stood for Jack Rabbit. We collected so much brass and aluminum and broke down several times in his buggy. He took a photo if me standing on the fin of a live 1000 lb bomb impaled in the ground. In the photo you can see I'm holding the arming wire in one hand. I wonder whatever became of him?

[@fsfer]

Bob Keet any chance you remember the name of the feature you shot, I'd really like to see that. JR is a great character.

[@clairecordell2461]

Cop 🍳

[@fubar4fpv]

@@clairecordell2461 tweaker

[@goodtalker]

My family and friends recreated in that range since coming to California in 1941. We stayed away from the military and they never bothered us. Then, about 10 or 12 years ago, a private company, contracted with MCAS Yuma, began patrolling the perimeter effectively ending what many of the locals in Imperial County lived for in the winter months. IMO, because a few incredibly poor people cleaned up after the military to make a few bucks, closing the entire range to all people was not necessary.

[@clairecordell2461]

Start of the new world order - starting to limit the ways poor and disenfranchised people can earn money(survive). 🙊🙈🙉

[@nathanreese5290]

This is a great piece of work. These guys are fascinating and relatable.

[@paulyfrog6553]

i was stationed in 29. served with 2/7 i remember hearing about these guys!

[@37Kilo2]

I was with 3/7. Never heard about these guys until now. Doesn't surprise me, though.

[@oif3gunner]

2/7 here too... What years were you?

[@stevenseagal4987]

Very intriguing documentary.

[@emailercc3565]

this is amazing. america all in one movie. i live really close to hear its only 3 hours away i never knew this was going on

[@dasbastard]

Thank you! I have been wanting to watch this for years and couldn't find it anywhere x

[@tedcrilly46]

now theres a line: "Ron relied increasingly on crystal meth and scripture to get through the day, his search for spiritual guidance would sometimes lead him onto the bombing range". 54:30 HAHA.

[@alexcarter8807]

Meth'n'scripture, that's amerikka right there

[@TheSpaceMost]

Good show!

[@martinapili9459]

Jolly good show!!!

[@geoffmackley]

Amazing doco

[@davidsmith-ws4bz]

Interesting and fascinating!

[@qbanz00]

Trevor role in GTA makes a lot of sense now

[@123ewoud]

When truth became stranger than fiction. :)

[@lupash]

This couldn't be defined better.

[@charlesbritzman501]

Reality, properly shown,with details, will ALWAYS be stranger than fiction.

[@GaitaPonto]

Thanks for sharing.

[@juniorsteffler3755]

RIP pops miss you 187 MIKE damn you were skinny I remember going to the bombing range with you picking up brass gonna take lil Mike the 3rd out there one day he misses you so much just hope you know he loves you his grandpa Mike your name and my name live on thru him

[@shiddy.]

the 'I Believe All Things Are Possible' speech at 55:00 is a must watch

[@jasondsimpson]

Excellent story

[@PplsChampion]

30:00 his tshirt is so perfect

[@adamre12]

Extreme Recycling!

[@lellowranger]

Fantastic film

[@BBTeZeT]

Zajebiste, zastanawiam się czy nie zrobić do tego polskich napisów - więcej ludzi powinno to zobaczyć.

[@jimsmith1856]

Crystal and high explosives. Hell of a combination.

[@bw4500]

these guys are all pretty enterprising and intelligent if it weren't for drugs & ptsd (associated convictions stemming from them) they could have been doing anything great documentary

[@unreal581]

Only 6mins 30secs in and I love it

[@SuperBfrizzle]

Stephan please put "Into the bright" back up! I would love to watch it again. Thanks.

[@juanedoses8715]

Awesome!!!

[@nethacker91]

Interesting what some of the non-urban places in America look like.

[@AirsoftDan53]

The vast majority of America is non urban

[@nethacker91]

Beavis Butthead True. But this is more of a unorganized rural setting. A lot of people do not know the existence of these people nor these areas, including Americans themselves.

[@mustang25ize]

We prefer it that way stay in the concrete jungle

[@unsungwindham]

It's unfortunately the dying area's of this beautiful country.

[@stcrussman]

That was a beautiful shot of that osprey

[@IlGattoCheFuma]

Goddayumm son, this is like real life Borderlands.

[@csx3180]

So post apocalyptic, "what kinda explosives you think are there?" "Ahm idk highly explosive some shit, that'll blow the track off a tank". Dead

[@lazzaleppi5285]

Type: McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II Owner/operator:US Marine Corps, VMA-211 Registration: 164144 C/n / msn: 217 Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 Other fatalities:0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location:near Yuma, Arizona - United States of America Phase: En route Nature:Military Departure airport:MCAS Yuma, AZ Destination airport: Narrative: 164144 crashed on Yuma range Apr 15, 2000 due to inflight fire on route to the Chocolate Mountains bombing range, Salton Sea, California.

[@cheesechizel594]

the "I Believe All Things Are Possible" speech at 55:00 is worth watching twice

[@CIARUNSITE]

Having a cache of military explosives just for fun is pretty cool. I thought this was America.

[@clark9992]

Sweat is beating on the brow, can't keep these fellows down 'Cause these damned no-collar tweekers They're runnin' this here town.

[@redshaftedflicker]

Core to the fucking bone, love these guys.

[@glbaldwin5721]

I need to note this - it's called the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range. I worked in it for 3 years.

[@claytonkelly7952]

In JR s case,he could've gotten his eyes fixed by the VA free.With his service related injuries he could ve gotten much more , provided he was discharged honorably or medically.

[@semperfi7197]

Me and my marines were tasked to clear up certain bombing ranges in prep for wti we would get onto the radio with Leg Iron and request permission to enter a specific bombing area. We then had to drive pickup trucks onto these ranges playing peek a boo with suspected unexploded ordnance. Once we spotted live ordnance we called up the eod guys come blow this ord with c4.

[@adamt8644]

epic!

[@paulyfrog6553]

5 stars!

[@yemo34]

6:00 that feds self-importance is hilariously out of touch nearly 20 years on. With all the explosive that these scrappers have handled. We never saw any terrorist attack utilizing them at all!

[@crimpers5543]

haha watch out for the terrorist boogeyman

[@xfirehurican]

*In the mid-80s, a known 'scrapper' was reported by his family to MCAGCC's PMO as "overdue." Flying one of the search helos the following day, we spotted a large black crater, off-range but on base. Short story short: The p/u truck was obliterated, shredded into flakes. Engine & drive train pieces located ~150 yards from the smudge. Ground team's report and accompanying pictures - gruesome - FAFO*

[@mikerice8047]

Good documentary but why no mention of slab city ?

[@laverncarroll]

I am for the scrappers.

[@tabathaannfrey7914]

R.I.p.Downey Holcomb

[@RMJ1984]

Real life Stalker the game.

[@Schwarzwind]

found JR's compound on google maps; 33.307689, -115.065493

[@philpool]

+hambeast9000 i like how he scratched USMC in the ground just off the road north and west of the compound

[@sikspaksocal]

He no longer lived there. I believe he passed away. If you dont know the area id advise not to mess around out near his compound. There are other people living in that area that dont necessarily like other folks snooping. Most of them are packing.

[@streetsurfer420]

these are the coordinates in correct format, just input into google maps or google earth. 33°18'27.7"N 115°03'55.8"W

[@wookieblaster]

33°18'27.6804", -115°03'55.7748" Direct link: www.google.com/maps/place/33°18'27.7"N+115°03'55.8"W/@33.3076935,-115.0676817,559m

[@streetsurfer420]

I don't know why you got london, you must have messed them up somehow. My coordinates also go right to his place.

[@epoxeclipse]

@ 47:01 there is a terrible damn high pitch sound holy hells.

[@icarusfx]

This is a story about a forgotten community that is ignored by our government. When the jobs leave your community for cheaper labor, what will you, what would you do to survive?

[@mysocalledslablife]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@angeliquemaldonado5194]

Now days in 2019, the local recycling yards do not accept anything from the Bombing Range bcus military said so. The brass shells seem to be what everybody is going after. From thousands of pounds of small brass shells to thousands of pounds of .20mm &.50mm brass shells. With the price of brass being $1.20 it's barely making a profit. Their bikes (quads, 3wheelers) have to be running tit's, the old timers that have been doing it all their life have to school & take the time to teach the younger generation bcus they don't want something to happen to 1 of them out there. Everybody has different reactions when they are out there & the Jets come thru, some people will literally run, leave their bike & run outta there. That's what you don't want to do, if your there to work & make money then you stay put under a tree, off target until they are done shooting & then you go pick that brass up. When you hear them coming all you can think is $$$$ & want to go directly to where they just were. You have to stay on your best game, always listening, looking, watching out for one another, helping eachother, making food, setting up camp, staying warm & staying cool & hydrated in the heat. The ol Man gets coffee & pancakes & if she feel like it, she will pump his tires up with air this time, so he saves his back for picking up her 100lb bag of brass. 😬 picking up brass does not come with a retirement plan idk what the future holds but I appreciate & have lots of love & respect to the men & WOMEN that will let you ride with them. Thank you ! To the females who can do the job the men can do, you are some badass women.

[@coreyk67]

Oh the choices some of us make!

[@brandon_leeroy135]

it's obvious that most of the people in this documentary suffer from mental illness and need help. when your options are limited it is no longer about "choices" its about survival.

[@coreyk67]

If you say so. But what comes first the meth or the mental illness?

[@brandon_leeroy135]

+Corey Kelly that is a good question! the disease is basically being born with issues where the brain doesn't produce enough dopamine. so even if there was no drugs you would still have addicts. they would resort to other means to get their "fix". would you like to learn more? my colleague has made a few KZbin videos which explain how the disease works etc.... I could post the link here if you are interested also any Google search on the subject would prove fruitful just less entertaining.

[@xxxYYZxxx]

Yeah, like choosing to become a machinist working government contracts in the age where all that work was shipped overseas.