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

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

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.

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

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

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

*This documentary is brought to you by the Military Industrial Complex, and Marlboro!*

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

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

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.

i believe we found Trevor's family.

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

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.

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....

That was a great documentary

Great documentary would really like to see part 2

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

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

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

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

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

thank you stephan

Reddit brought me here. Amazing documentary!

superb, best documentary I have seen in along time

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

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

I loved the knee boarding.

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

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.

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

i came across this and just randomly put it on in the backround. i thought it was some interesting weapons scandal documentary but when i realized what these people were doing i audibly said no Fing way like 12 times lol, how have i never heard of this

Amazing doco

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

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

Crazy tweekers. Very fascinating to watch.

Bravo! Great filmmaking.

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?

This could be a tv series

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!

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.

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.

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

that was outstanding!!!!

Love that old couple - salt of the earth!

J.R is one tough son of a gun!

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.

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

Such a good documentary love how it wraps up.

This is a really great film!

Extreme Recycling!

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

Trevor role in GTA makes a lot of sense now

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

Very intriguing documentary.

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

Quality insight. Thanks for posting

When truth became stranger than fiction. :)

Did like documentary, thanks for sharing!

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

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

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

Fantastic documentary. Great work.

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

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

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

Excellent story

Interesting and fascinating!

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

Fantastic film

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

30:00 his tshirt is so perfect

Good show!

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.

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

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.

Thanks for sharing.

Excellent documentary.

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!

Crystal and high explosives. Hell of a combination.

5 stars!

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

Only 6mins 30secs in and I love it

Awesome!!!

epic!

Goddayumm son, this is like real life Borderlands.

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

That was a beautiful shot of that osprey

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

Core to the fucking bone, love these guys.

R.I.p.Downey Holcomb

@9:58 "Most of the scrappers that I have personal knowledge of have a very active drug involvement, usually methamphetamines". - Fed- Yep, that's exactly the sort of company I'd expect a "counterterrorism official" would keep.

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

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.

Laurie has a beard.

Real life Stalker the game.

You have to wonder with the benefit of hind sight who were the real criminals in this situation

gotta be kinda cool watching shit get blown up

I am for the scrappers.

Good documentary but why no mention of slab city ?

such a life

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