Brass Gremlins

[Mr_Flintstone]

Anybody else here shoot outside and try to collect all your brass? It never fails, whether it’s handgun or rifle, that there are always a few pieces I can never find. Most of my brass lands in the same general “pile” for each gun, but sometimes I’ll find a piece 20-30 feet away. I’m starting to think brass gremlins are stealing it while I’m shooting, and sometimes they drop a piece while running away.

 

[Blue68f100]

I use a brass catcher when I shoot. Some times I will lay out a tarp for the brass to land on for easy retrieval.

fyi. A 22LR casing will penetrate a car tire. This happend to me several yrs ago. I would have never thought one would do it. The guys are the tire place was very surprised it happened. It had to be supported jut right for it to happen. I drive my atv all over the places where I shoot. So I make a great effort to retrieve all the brass.

 

[jmorris]

Only when I’m not shooting a revolver or other non auto ejecting firearm.

There are ways to minimize loss though.

 

[entropy]

My kids are my worst brass gremlins. The younger one lost around 100 .223 brass in the snow last week, and his older brother had me load up 250 .223 for him, haven't got any of that brass back yet. Maybe I'll hold the 100 I just finished loading for him hostage until I see some brass......and the two 20 rd. P-Mags that were supposed to come with the AR he traded to me.

 

[Axis II]

I went through this last summer. My buddies brought out the AR15 with all Federal LC brass and told me i could have it all and also about 500 rounds of CCI blazer brass. I think we found about 300 of the 9mm cases and out of 500 5.56 cases maybe 400. I hate my ranges 25yard line because its always muddy so no one mows it and they also put mulch down so it blend in very well.

 

[mdi]

The "brass Gnomes" run around my range too. They are really quick and can steal cases way before I can find them. I have a couple methods that help thwart them; I sometimes use a grass rake on the area where my brass lands (when flung from my Garand or my semi-auto pistols) so the trash and rocks aren't hiding any brass and my Garand and 45 ACP brass is tumbled to a high shine. The little buggers need junk on the ground to sneak up/hide in when getting my brass and the high shine kinda blinds them and they get disoriented so the shy away from the shiny ones. Works for me...

 

[berettaprofessor]

The brass gremlins for 32ACP are especially vicious. I think I could shoot 32's with my hands and gun inside of a plastic bag and still lose brass.

 

[Bfh_auto]

I use a canvas drop cloth and still lose a little 45 acp and 7.62x25.

 

[doubleh]

Anybody else here shoot outside and try to collect all your brass? It never fails, whether it’s handgun or rifle, that there are always a few pieces I can never find. Most of my brass lands in the same general “pile” for each gun, but sometimes I’ll find a piece 20-30 feet away. I’m starting to think brass gremlins are stealing it while I’m shooting, and sometimes they drop a piece while running away.

It's simple. Take your wife shooting with you. I learned long ago when the shop gremlins run off with some small part I give up after a few minutes and go get my wife. She will have it in her hand in less than two minutes.

I recently purchased a 380 auto and after searching and not finding about a third of my brass I gave up, went to the car, and requested my wife' help. I had 20 more cases than I shot with her help. I had the same deal that day with some 9mm. She found a bunch more of those than I had fired.

 

[Sig229ESS]

It's simple. Take your wife shooting with you. I learned long ago when the shop gremlins run off with some small part I give up after a few minutes and go get my wife. She will have it in her hand in less than two minutes.

I recently purchased a 380 auto and after searching and not finding about a third of my brass I gave up, went to the car, and requested my wife' help. I had 20 more cases than I shot with her help. I had the same deal that day with some 9mm. She found a bunch more of those than I had fired.

I laughed out loud reading that. I occasionally take my wife with me to the outdoor range and I swear her OCD kicks in and she has to find every piece and then some. I even catch her sometimes holding my range bag and using it to catch hot brass in the air. I think she enjoys that more than shooting.

 

[V-fib]

two words "metal detector" normally shooting my revolvers obviously I don't have to look for spent shells. However when practicing live fire reloading with speedloaders I have to dump the shells on the ground along with the speedloader. Both get lost easily in the leaves of my home range. With the detector I can easily find the shells and speedloader and many times I also find lead which goes into the lead recycle can.

v-fib

 

[Hokie_PhD]

I’ve been thinking about this as I’m going to go shooting at my brothers property once the weather breaks. Right now I’m looking at the beautiful and very deep spring snow.

When I shot at the public range in the national forest, I simply brought a broom. I’d sweep up my stall and those around me and anyone else’s who offered their brass. So while I’d lose some of mine, I always came home with a lot more brass than I shot!

That said, since I’ll be the only one with a 223 and 9mm and 45 at my brothers I expect to lose some brass.

 

[H&R Glock]

It's a known scientific fact that 32 acp and 380 acp brass evaporate when in contact with dirt and grass.
9mm does not evaporate, but has a habit of multiplying. I often shoot 100 of the latter and wind up with 125 brass! go figure.

 

[Hokie_PhD]

It's a known scientific fact that 32 acp and 380 acp brass evaporate when in contact with dirt and grass.
9mm does not evaporate, but has a habit of multiplying. I often shoot 100 of the latter and wind up with 125 brass! go figure.

380 also has a habit of magically appearing with 9mm. Usually as you’re cleaning and sorting or when you’re getting ready to resize.

 

[FROGO207]

Shooting one of my Mini 14's sends the 223 brass into low earth orbit I swear. I was shooting it at the range and the brass was landing 40 feet to my right and behind me, exactly in the middle of the tar road that runs by the range.Half of it that I did find was crushed by automotive traffic going by. Good thing there seems to be plenty of "spare" 223 brass laying around to make up for it---even though I have to swage primer pockets on the new to me brass.

 

[wrench459]

380 also has a habit of magically appearing with 9mm....

Along with the unicorn makarov shell.

 

[WestKentucky]

I shoot off of a table, and I position none other than a pushmower bagger attachment next to me to catch the brass. Works. Not graceful, not pretty, but works, and is rugged enough to just lift it and carry it to the truck full when I’m done, and the little handle helps when I’m scrounging the gravel and concrete areas for other folks leftovers.

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

Cursed Brass Gremlins, they are always messing with us........ A good example is when deer season approaches. There are 3 gravel pits I pass on the way to Deer Camp. Ya, must stop and look for spent casings. Even when there are no fresh truck tracks. Well wouldn't you know it, Gremlins put the brass in plain sight, and I may have stopped there just a few days ago!

 

[Walkalong]

Auto brass: When I was young and had very limited resources, which included a limited amount of brass, I tried to find it all. At some point in time I stopped that and just started spending a reasonable amount of time/energy picking up all of it that was easily found. Saved a great deal of time/energy and netted probably 95/98% of the brass. I have picked up a LOT of range brass over the years. And of course I have had to buy some calibers as well.

 

[Jack B.]

Must be the people that live here in my area. But when at anyone of the ranges I go to (indoor or outdoor) when people see my picking up my brass its amazing how may of them pitch in. After a while I don't even have to pickup any myself and I usually end up going home with more than I took to the range. I always thank them.

 

[Chuck R.]

About 90% of my shooting is done on my home range which is graveled, for the longer distances I use either a bolt gun, or an AR with brass catcher, so I've got a pretty good return rate. So the only stuff I normally lose are in classes and matches, for those I try to use brass that's on it's way out anyway. About the only brass I really sweat loosing is 357Sig and .30 Luger and I still manage to loose a couple of those per outing. Makes me think that somethings up with the gremlin idea.

 

[mdi]

One other thing I do is collect brass after a magazine or two through my semi-autos. One, to allow the firerarm to cool and two, I count shots so I can stop looking after picking up 14 or 16 cases. When I'm testing a load I use 2 magazines full minimum for each load. I have my brass "picker upper" that I made out of a telescoping squeegee handle with a 1/8" spring steel rod in the end. The rod is tapered to a dull point an about 3/4"-1" of the end bent to 90 degrees. I simply hook the point in the case mouth and pick it up. No bending/stooping...

A Q for the other "brass seekers"; how long would you spend looking for a twice fired commercial manufactured case, say 30-06? I've found mysef looking for about 15 minutes for that last Hornady 30-06 case...

 

[hdwhit]

I usually don't shoot from a static position, so I regard the 30 or so cases out of every 100 that I cannot find as a tribute to the brass gremlins.

 

[hdwhit]

mdi asked:
...Q for the other "brass seekers"; how long would you spend looking for a twice fired commercial manufactured case...

I'll spend about 10 minutes policing my brass. As soon as I've recovered at least 65% of it, I move on knowing that some of the stragglers will make themselves known when I stop looking.

 

[mcb]

Moonclips... your brass is laying there in little piles of 5, 6, 7, or 8 peices.

Stay late after a USPSA or IDPA match tear down and just scrounge the bays for abandon brass. I have a five gallon bucket of 45 ACP that is all range pickup.