catching pistol brass?

I made mine out of 2X4s, but you could use PVC pipe as well. Basically, it's two inverted Ts with crossbars connecting them at top and bottom.

ohihunter2014 said:

I was thinking of making like a hammock with some sort of netting. Do you guys think something like this would melt or burn from hot brass?

https://www.cabelas.com/product/fis...t-polyester-minnow-seine/1622668.uts?slotId=3

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Polyester has a melt temperature above 400°F. Along with the speed at which brass cools down, I think you'll be fine.

Harbor Freight has mesh tarps that have worked well for me. I just lay it on the ground. because it is mesh, it doesn't blow around like a blue poly tarp would. I am thinking about sewing some pockets to fir over firring strips to make a vertical one, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

At my private range I used to have a setup similar to Vern's that blocked the brass as it flew. Things was, I still needed the painters cloth on the ground to catch it. I tried the pocket thing and it worked about a 1/4 of the time with much of the brass bouncing off and landing on the ground. Was not as portable as just a plain ground cloth either when I wanted to shoot from another spot or take to another range. What I like about the painters cloth over a tarp is that it folds up easier and smaller than a similar sized tarp and it can be thrown in the washer when it gets muddy/dirty. I put grommets on all 4 corners and have 4 small plastic stakes to anchor it. I know it's not a solution on ranges where you don't have the room, but for me over the years, I have found it to work the best when using a wide variety of firearms that throw brass in different directions, distances and angles. IOWs I can sit at the same bench and shoot different pistols and levers, and most all of the brass still ends up in the middle of the cloth at the end of the day.

made this for my charger a few years ago works great. It's a tropical fish dip net from wally world.

v-fib

I use a Caldwell brass catcher for my AR for both coyote and bench shooting. It works well and isn't in the way of anything. Slightly less than 10 bucks when I bought it

For pistol shooting I bought a mesh laundry bag at Walmart and made a frame from 1/4" steel rod to zip tie the open end to. The frame is welded to a 1/8" x 2" piece of steel bar that sits on the shooting bench and is held in place with a Harbor Freight c-clamp. It's low buck, ugly and ungainly looking, but it works. Hot brass hasn't bothered the mesh. When standing and shooting I just hunt for them and if my wife is along I ask for her help which usually means I have more brass than I shot when finished looking.

A foldable landing net, a multi-tool hanger, 5 strong zip-ties (2 for the base and 3 to keep the net expanded) and voila !


It caught thousands of .22 and .45 and still good as new.

My PK380 sends the brass into orbit. To make it worse, I use the police range and they never pick up their 9mm. I always end up picking up a lot of 9mm brass that I end up sorting out later.

Just behind my son is a brass catcher someone built for the range; it's a wood frame with screendoor netting over it; the front part isn't tacked down at the bottom, brass flies in, it doesn't fly out. I had to pick up my brass, as there is only one-I think the guy that built it was going to build more, he mentioned it at the annual meeting.

That looks very much like what I use. I use cloth, though or a tarp, and leave a bend in the cloth, to form a pocket where the brass collects.

entropy said:

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Just behind my son is a brass catcher someone built for the range; it's a wood frame with screendoor netting over it; the front part isn't tacked down at the bottom, brass flies in, it doesn't fly out. I had to pick up my brass, as there is only one-I think the guy that built it was going to build more, he mentioned it at the annual meeting.

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You need to stop feeding that boy so much. He’s pretty big for a 12 year old.

There used to be a big one with a net about 2' by 2', but I don't see that kind any more. Still, there are plenty that look good (not always the same as working well with brass catchers) and are inexpensive enough to try. Pistols are a bit harder to work with as the gun will move more than, say, a target rifle, so the shooter has to make sure the ejection port is in the right place. (Ones that attach to the pistol or to the shooter's fore arm are, IMHO, more of a nuisance than they are worth.) (Try a Google search on "brass catcher" for a lot of ads and pictures.)

Jim

Owen said:

Harbor Freight has mesh tarps that have worked well for me. I just lay it on the ground. because it is mesh, it doesn't blow around like a blue poly tarp would. I am thinking about sewing some pockets to fir over firring strips to make a vertical one, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

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Thanks for the idea. We bought one and it worked well.

Owen said:

Harbor Freight has mesh tarps that have worked well for me. I just lay it on the ground. because it is mesh, it doesn't blow around like a blue poly tarp would. I am thinking about sewing some pockets to fir over firring strips to make a vertical one, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

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https://www.harborfreight.com/12-ft-x-19-ft-6-in-mesh-all-purposeweather-resistant-tarp-60584.html
This one? It is Polyethylene, commercial grade is only rated to 250F. I used polyethylene laundry bag before and 223 brass melt holes. The worst part is it melts at the mouth and hard to clean off. Polyester is much better, I had one 223 brass still melt the polyester net a bit and hang there like a Christmas light but it was only one time so far. 308 brass is not as hot.

HankC I haven't had a problem, but I have only been shooting 9mm.

I like this one here. Not a catcher, but easy pickup and works very well! https://www.amazon.com/Caldwell-125789-Brass-Retriever/dp/B00RPAH47K/