Universal Brass Catcher

K

Kilroy08

New member
I've grown tired of losing brass in my back yard! I have a nice little range set up (one of the perks of living in a very rural area) and try to keep the grass cut extra short. It seems to be a losing battle trying to find all the brass. It doesn't help that my AK keeps trying to fling brass over the hedge and into the neighbor's property.

Has anybody fooled around with making a brass catcher/net?

I was thinking about trying a tarp set up like an L with the vertical part held up by a couple of old ten poles and a couple of guy ropes and the bottom half staked into the ground with tent pegs. Harbor Freight conveniently has all three things in stock and tarps are only $2 or $3 on sale this month.

In theory, the brass should bounce off the vertical portion and accumulate on the section of tarp on the ground.

Are there any other concepts or refinements to the original idea I should explore?
 
S

south.texas.dead.I

New member
I've done this same thing before with some extra window screening. I have two poles about 7' that I stick into the ground at outward angles and lean them away from my shooting spot. It works as a funnel for all my brass


Living another day
To CRUSH another clay
 
K

Kilroy08

New member
The 3bucc.com link doesn't work.

I wish it was as easy as with an AR. Unfortunately, I have several semi autos with varying degrees of brass chucking enthusiasm.

Right now, the GP100 has been seeing the most use since I can just dump the cylinder in the range bag and not have to chase cases around.
 
W

wogpotter

New member
Hows this:
brassbag.jpg

:cool:
 
W

Will Lee

New member
The 3bucc.com link doesn't work.

I wish it was as easy as with an AR. Unfortunately, I have several semi autos with varying degrees of brass chucking enthusiasm.

Right now, the GP100 has been seeing the most use since I can just dump the cylinder in the range bag and not have to chase cases around.
Click to expand...

Just tried the link in IE, Firefox, & Chrome - Worked.

Any way here is pictures, got it from Brownell's

Brass-Catcher-1.jpg

Brass-Catcher-2.jpg
 
K

Kilroy08

New member
All kinds of neat ideas abound. I just got back from Harbor Freight with the rope, stakes, and tarp....... hmmm, that just doesn't sound right. Anyway, off to the garage to scrounge around and see what I can rig up.

The weather is crap right now, so I'll do some design evaluation, well, I was going to say tomorrow. Rain is the forecast for the next two days. I guess it will be Thursday then. Who can say no to 200 rounds of 9 mm various hand loads to evaluate and three very hungry test firearms. My Norinco 320 has been feeling neglected recently. "Why do the Hi Power and the Kel Tec get to go out and play? I always get left in the back of the safe."

Do I need help? Is there something wrong with imagining a gun feeling all sad and lonely?
 
J

joshf128

New member
I bought one of these last week to set on the bench next to me at the range. Drilled a hole in a 2x4 to stick the handle in and it worked pretty good as long as you keep it close to the gun and pay some attention to where your brass is being thrown. Best part is that it only cost $13. I'm going to make a pvc pipe base for it when I get some time but it is nice not to have to buy a $100 net to save money on lost brass.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Fabrill-Folding-Net/19717448
 
D

dickttx

New member
Couple of years ago I got the same itch. Couldn't find the darn things in my pasture, no matter how short I kept it mowed.
I made a frame out of pvc pipe and fittings and stretched a tarp over it.
I stood it up beside my Kawasaki Mule, which I shoot from, and attached it with bungee cords. Early morning and late evening, when the north TX breeze was at it's lowest, it would only drag my mule a few feet per gust.:D
I found some bird netting at HD and stretched over it. It was small enough to catch 45 ACP, but not 9mm.
My loss rate was about the same. I thought too that slanting it would drop them all in a neat pile. Not so.
I finally figured that with the cost of the materials (not counting 2 30+ mile roundtrips into town) it would pay for itself in only 933 100 round boxes of reloads!
Good luck.

The math: 9333 rounds at 2% loss=187 lost rounds.
187 lots rounds at 15¢ (new Starline)= $27.99 roughly the cost of my materials.
 
Last edited:
C

Casimer

New member
One piece of advice is that if you use a brass catcher with a rear wall that can become taught ( e.g. due to brass collecting at the base and the resulting weight pulling at the material ), you may get hot brass bouncing back at you - ask me how I know this :rolleyes:
 
L

Lost Sheep

New member
I think south.texas.dead.I has a very good idea/ It doesn't interfere with your action or your sight picture and minimally limits your range of motion.

There are these "pop-up" tents that have spring wire as a frame in a big figure "8". They start out as a 24" to 36" disk and spring open to make a tent large enough to sleep two. Some of them are mesh. Shoot from inside one?

Getting the thing to spring back into the original small package may be a trial, but once you get the wrist twist-snap-flop well practiced, it is easy.

There are smaller ones, like for keeping insects off of your infants at picnics and such, too. Hanging one above your shooting station (if you shoot under a cover) would deflect all your brass into a limited area which could be covered with a dropcloth. (I recently picked one up at a flea market for under $5-a little beat up, but funtional, but haven't tried it out yet. It has pictures of Buzz Lightyear on it, but I ain't picky.)

Or, a beach umbrella or two?

Being able to see through it is comforting to Range Safety Officers.

Lost Sheep
 
S

SteveHawaii

New member
I'm also using a home made brass catcher made from a fishing net I attach to a camera tripod with a metal strap. I've since modified this setup with a wire I've attached to the upper portion to keep the net extended. Catches brass a bit better. Here's a photo:

IMG_9694_2.jpg
 
W

wogpotter

New member
One piece of advice is that if you use a brass catcher with a rear wall that can become taught ( e.g. due to brass collecting at the base and the resulting weight pulling at the material ), you may get hot brass bouncing back at you - ask me how I know this
Click to expand...
True dat!
Sloppy is mo better!:)
 
1

11B-101ABN

New member
Brass Catcher

Several interesting ideas here, but a word of advice to those using a club range. If you hang a sheet or tarp between shooting positions, make sure it is transparent or mesh, in the mid 90's I nearly walked in front of a fellow shooter that had come in and set up while I was shooting...I did not hear him, or see him, and while pushing the sheet to collect brass, moved into his line of fire. Lucky for me he was on the ball. After that incident, I only used mosquito netting.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top