Brass Catcher?

[JM]

Anyone ever built, or know of something that will capture brass flung from auto-loaders?

Doesn't need to be weapon mounted. I've thought of spreading a tarp on the ground & hope that the majority of the brass lands on the tarp. I've also thought about building a box type of structure to stand beside when shooting. I think any type of box contraption might need to be fairly large & probably not portable though.

Any ideas or plans will be appreciated.

Thank you.

[AxeHandle]

There are a couple on the market for pocket pool shooters. I use the one sold by Champions Choice. There is a smaller one with a rectangular opening that lots of shooters like.
www.champchoice.com/store/Main.aspx?p=CategoryBody&c=RABR

[contender]

I own a range & shoot USPSA. A lot of autoloaders deposit their empty brass in different directions. But a simple, easy to build & does a fair job is a PVC frame to hold a cheap tarp. Make the frame wide enough & tall enough to catch most brass, AND have a way for the bottom of the tarp to be turned into a "U" shape to collect the brass. Think "J" shape for the frame. And you can make it to where it breaks down for easy carry or storage.

[jayhawker]

many years ago a friend marketed a small brass catcher which mounted to the shooting wrist or forearm. Worked well. Don't know if still vaailable.

[magnumwheelman]

around here, a lot of guys are using those "nut pickers" the wire ball on a stick, that you roll around & the cases squeeze between the wires... they seem to work pretty good... back when I shot AR, I made a wire frame that held a mesh bag that mounted on the gun... even on a rifle, the weight of 25 empty cases was noticeable...

on my range I ( shoot mostly cowboy ) I mow the shooting areas extremely short & that seems to work pretty good for the lever guns in 38 Special & 45 Colt... have put down a big blue tarp before when shooting a lot of autos... trouble is, there is such a range of angle of ejection that it's hard to get them all on the tarp, unless you are just shooting one gun, then readjusting, before shooting a different one

[AxeHandle]

FWIW the best brass catcher out there is called a "revolver." Between the net and the revolver you'll see things like the factory brass catcher for the Walther GSP-C. It is the canvass looking thing in the bottom left.. Works decent and comes in handy keeping that 32 brass gathered up..

[contender]

Since the "nut picker" brass retriever's have been brought up, I'll share my experience with them. I own a couple. I use them on my range after a USPSA match to remove the brass. I have hard dirt, some sand, & a fair amount of grass. They work pretty good, but they also pick up debris like stones, sticks, leaves etc. And if a piece of brass has been stepped on, it's harder to get out of the ground. In sandy areas,,, the brass can get pushed in deeper & harder to get out.
Just passing along info,,,,,,,,,,!

[JM]

Thanks everyone. I had considered trying to build some type of frame out of either PVC or wood that would have some type of bag attached to catch the brass.

I'm not familiar with the "nut picker".

The place where I shoot is a rock quarry type of area. The ground is a mix of dirt on up to rip-rap sized rock. Its pretty rough. It is the last "approved" area to shoot nearby, as the other locations have been closed. It can be very busy & isn't very large. The ground is littered with cases from 22LR on up to the aluminum & steel single use casings. Trying to locate & pick up the good brass is difficult.

[contender]

If you need more details on how to build one,,, PM me & we can talk.

[JM]

Thanks Contender. I don't think the "nut picker" type would work on the rough rocky ground where I shoot. Some areas I avoid to prevent twisting an ankle.

[Rimfire69]

Years ago we used a cardboard box from a new refrigerator, it was about 6 feet tall, I cut full lenght down one corner, top to bottom and folded the sides out to form a big v shape. It wasn't perfect, but for little effort it was well worth it. Would like to try something more robust that I can leave outside year around as part of the range, 1/2 dozen 2x4s and a piece of old carpet might work.

[contender]

JM,,, I was thinking more along the lines of how to build the PVC type I mentioned. I know the nut picker type would be "frustrating" for you in that environment.