There are a few sites (like this one) that have lists of source materials for copper. I basically pick up everything I can and take it back to my workshop for scrapping. Most of the items that contain copper seem to be electrical items, like lamps/fuses, hot plates, etc. I keep an eye out for those items while I'm scavenging.
Regarding the "large quantities" part, I think that's the challenge. I've been roaming for quite a while, so I've picked up quite a few toasters and hot plates/etc, but they never have tons of copper. It's just a constant struggle to keep an eye out for it.
For reference, I'll repost them here.
Acid – Abraxo Cleaner; Anti Freeze Bottle; Suprathaw Antifreeze;
Adhesive – Duct Tape; Sealed Wonderglue; Vegetable Starch;
Aluminum – Coolant Cap; Distress Pulser;
Antiseptic – Abraxo Cleaner; Turpentine; Abraxo Cleaner;
Asbestos – Biometric Scanner; Coffee Pot; Extinguisher; Oven Mitt; Pack of Cigarettes; Teapot;
Bones – All Bones (ex: Tibia); Animal Parts and Corpses
Broken Light Bulb – Street Lamp;
Ceramics – Bathtub; Toilet; Ceramic Bowl; Coffee Cup; Sink; Teapot; White Plate;
Circuitry – Alarm Clock; Distress Pulser; Enchanted Targeting Card; Military-Grade Circuit Board; Telephone; Hot Plate;
Cloth – All Dresses, Suits and Outfits (ex: Laundered Green Dress); All Hood and Hats (ex: Hood with Straps); Box of San Francisco Sunlights; Cigar Box; Couch; Kitchen Chairs; Pre-War Money; Last Edition Newspaper; Pack of Cigarettes, Paintbrush; Rug; Trifold American Flag;
Cork – Antique Globe;
Copper – Fuse; Hot Plate; Light Bulb; Power Relay Coil; Telephone; Vacuum Tube;
Crystal – Camera; Microscope; ProSnap Camera;
Fiberglass – Abraxo Cleaner; Cigar Box; Jangles the Moon Monkey; Telephone;
Fiber Optics – Biometric Scanner; Microscope;
Fuse – Street Lamp;
Gears – Adjustable Wrench; Camera; Desk Fan; Gold Watch; Microscope; ProSnap Camera; Typewriter; Silver Pocket Watch;
Glass – Beer Bottle; Empty Milk Bottle; Fuse; Glass Pitcher; Lamp; Light Bulb; Nuka Cola Bottle; Shot Glass; Vacuum Tube;
Gold – Gold Items (ex: Gold Watch, Gold Lighter);
Leather – All Hides and Leathers (ex: Radstag Hide); Some Arm and Leg Pieces (ex: Leather Left Leg); Gas Masks; Harness
Nuclear Materials – Alarm Clock; Biometric Scanner; Distress Pulser; Nuclear Material;
Oil – Blue Paint; Flip Lighter; Gas Canister; Oil Can; Soap;
Plastic – Automatic Institute Pistol; Bread Box; Enchanted Targeting Card; Files; Plastic Spoon; Pack of Cigarettes; Shopping Basket; Scissors; Anti Freeze Bottle;
Rubber – Baby Bottle; Fridge; Street Lamp; Tire; Extinguisher;
Screw – Antique Globe; Desk Fan; Hot Plate; Typewriter; Toy Car; Toy Truck; Antique Globe;
Silver – Silver Items (ex: Silver Fork; Silver Locket; Silver Bowl); Enchanted Targeting Card;
Spring – Spring; Camera; Flip Lighter; Kitchen Scale; ProSnap Camera; Typewriter;
Steel – All Pistols and Rifles (ex: Pipe Auto Pistol); Ball-peen Hammer; All Melee Weapons (ex: Tire Iron); Some Armor Pieces (ex: Raider Left Arm); Blue Paint; Extinguisher; Flip Lighter; Gas Canister; Kitchen Scale; Mailbox; Oil Can; Radiator; Safe; Shopping Basket; Screwdriver; Scissors; Stove; Street Lamp; Toy Truck; Turpentine;
Wood – All Trees (ex: Maple Tree); Wooden Objects (ex: Table); Ball-peen Hammer; Box of San Francisco Sunlights; Cigar Box; Paintbrush; Picture Frame; Screwdriver; Trifold American Flag
Best Answer
There is a glitch/exploit I found to get a lot of 5mm ammo. What you need is to have a minigun and just 1 unit of 5mm ammo. Go to the location inhabited by raiders, kill one of them and put minigun and 1 unit of ammo into his inventory, step back and wait for his friends to come. Eventually, one of them will come to the body and grab minigun from it. Wait for him to unleash it then kill him and loot his body. Although it looks like he still has only 1 5mm ammo in his inventory you actually receive a good deal of it (I believe he starts with 500 bullets and you'll get it minus whatever he was able to shoot). Repeat this as many times as there are enemies nearby. It would be great to come in power armor as sometimes raiders need time to realize they can get minigun and they will still shoot you from their other weapon for some time.
UPD: 1) It works on any sentient humanoids (gunners, synth, supermutants, non-feral ghouls)
2) For some reason it doesn't work on enemies that are originally equipped with melee weapons - they will never grab any ranged weapon
3) It works generally on any container you can place gun and ammo into (even on dead creatures)
4) Sometimes some enemies may completely ignore the minigun on dead bodies. Placing minigun and ammo on a new dead body may help
5) You MUST wait for an enemy to unleash the minigun and make at list one shot. If you kill him before it, you will get just this one bullet back