Anyone know how hot ejected cases are?

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Lucifer_Sam

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I've read they are at about 325 when ejected. I made up an absurd 3rd rate brass catcher out of a folding net stuck in a weight and I want to make sure that the netting isnt going to melt. I figure I'll test by heating some cases at 325 and dropping them in the net. If the net melts I'll just string a pillow case on there. Do you think 325 is a good test temp? Thanks.
 
Going to be some variables in there. I can catch a fired .30-06 case before it hits the ground and not get burned. 9mm and .223 will leave a blister.
 
I think some are hotter than that.
I got an instant 3rd degree burn on my eyelid when an ejected case got caught between my glasses and my face with a 10mm handload using Titegroup.
Having been burned many times before ;) I would estimate that case was closer to 400º.
So many common plastics melt right in that 350º-400º range.
Nylon would be your best bet, melting at over 500º for most blends.
 
My catcher netting is mosquitoes netting from the fabric store. It's made of nylon, it has some darkened marks after 5 yrs of use and some 25k+ rounds. The polyester netting I first tried melted in a few areas on the first shooting, was replaced. This is with 9mm and 45acp. powders used are WSF and WST and a occasional 231.
 
My grandson thought it would be fun to try to catch my ejected .45 ACP cases.He finally cought one,and decided it wasen't fun anymore.HOT !!!!.He's older now and is shooting the .45 himself.hdbiker
 
Nylon net works fine on brass catchers that get directly attached on my 5.56 & 300BLK. It is about the same weight as found in laundry bags.

Nick
 
Considering nitroglycerine reaches flame front temps of over 4,000 degrees when it explodes, and most of modern smokeless powder with is made with nitrocellulose, I'd bet that the flame front is in excess of 3,000. Figuring in the heat transfer rates of steel and air - right off the top of my head I'd bet that a case right on ejection reaches a minimum of 1/10 of the flame front temp.

If you're shooting rapidly, figuring in heat soak and that kind of stuff - I'd be surprised if the cases weren't coming out at 500 degrees.

Would be interesting to get a high speed IR cam and measure it. Thankfully brass has a great thermal transfer capability - so they cool quickly.

Just looked up the specs for cartridge brass. abuot 900* melting temp.
 
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I don't think I'd heat up some brass to 325 to see if it'll compromise that netting.. just use it as intended and inspect.
 
I don't think I'd heat up some brass to 325
Click to expand...
I don't think it's even close to that hot.

You can pick up brass or catch it right in the air without getting seared instantly.

If it was 325 degrees, it would leave a blister before you could turn loose of it.
And it doesn't, unless it gets down your shirt against your soft belly skin.

rc
 
I hear you.. that's why I kinda said that. Also, firing is different than a full heat soak (most times).. a lot of variables. I'd just not do that when doing a true test is so easy.
 
It's still snowing here today and I know it's hard to recover spent brass. It melts into the snow on contact, so it has to be fairly warm.
 
I have had some personal experience with ejected cases. In my experience they have been VERY hot!

It's not advisable to wear short pants to a high-power match in the middle of the summer in Louisiana. If you do, when shooting rapid fire prone, a piece of .223 brass from the shooter next to you can burn itself to the skin of the back of your thigh. You have to pull it off and it will leave a .223 shaped scar. That was over 10 years ago, and if I wasn't at work I would pull down my pants and take a picture of the scar for you.

When I used to run the monthly combat pistol matches at my club we usually had 10-12 people show up. One match one of the guy's wives showed up to shoot. Maria is a very pretty, EXTREMELY well-endowed young Brazilian lady, and caught a piece of brass down her cleavage. Suddenly every thing started coming off!! It was the best pistol match we ever had.

I never got to see if it left a scar, but the next month we had almost 40 people show up for the match. Unfortunately, Maria never returned and our turnout dropped back to normal.
 
A friend of the feminine persuasion got an empty down her shirtfront recently.
She kept the gun under control but the dance was something to see.

It is a lot funnier to the bystander than the victim. I got a .223 from an AR stuck under my glasses' frame once and that was a pain I could not get away from.
 
I've seen most shooters use some form of nylon. I have been known to catch 30-30's, I don't get burned, because I catch them and put them down right away. Like the planet fitness guy "I lift things up and put them down" hahaha
 
The hottest one I have ever felt is one that dropped between my glasses and forehead. After than, "hat" was on the list of safety gear to have on.

In any case (no pun intended) it would be pretty difficult to measure as they would make a good heat sink as they transfer heat and cool very quickly.

Also depends on what skin they hit. When I was a kid, I remember my browning 22 bottom ejecting a case down the sleeve of my shirt and making a blister. After many years of abuse, my fingers now can hold metal that hot, no problem.
 
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I can palm a 7mm RM case on extraction without so much as a warm sensation. However, a 9mm case and even a 22LR, is too hot to handle straight out of the chamber. So it really depends on the case you are working with.
GS
 
I got the 325 from another forum where a guy shot once (I think a .40) and measured the ejected case temp with one of those laser thermometer things. It does seem kind of high-- at least for .45. I've had a few of those land on me, and they did burn, but it didn't seem too bad, even when one decided it wanted to visit and landed on my hands. But, then again, I have no idea how fast you get burned when exposed to certain high temperatures.

If this stuff fails I'll look into the nylon webbing. I have a feeling the pillow case would end up acting like a big windsock... and there is only a certain amount of ridiculous I'm willing to tolerate from my contraptions.
 
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