I hate to lose half of my .40 brass at the range.
I haven't tested this brass catcher yet, but it looks very promising. Unfortunately, I am on-call for work this weekend, so I can't get to the range
I copied this idea from a Google search, and tweaked it a little, but figured I'd post it here as well, to give whoever might be searching for ideas an additional chance to find it.
I scavenged the laundry sack (which has a 64" circumference) from another brass catcher that I made with a wooden stand.
I was fortunate to have an old steel fish tape that I couldn't sell at a yard sale. I've seen them at Home Depot and Harbor freight for $8 or $9. It's a very thin, narrow strip of springy steel, just right for this purpose.
I cut one strip of fish tape to fit the circumference of the mesh bag where the drawstring was, plus a little extra. Naturally, I "fished" the fish tape thorough the opening
I cut an additional strip of fish tape to make a loop just a little larger than the first one, which is not installed in the top of the mesh bag.
I used a 1/4" x 20 threaded coupler and a couple of set screws. I drilled a hole through the coupler just large enough to allow all four ends of the fish tape to pass through, stacked up one on another.
Although I installed a set screw from both under and above the four layers of fish tape, I think that one set screw (bolt, etc.) from above would work as well, since it presses against the fish tape with a great amount of force. Not installing a set screw under the fish tape would allow for extra threads to couple to the tripod, although I have just enough threads available as is.
I did use a drop of blue Loctite on the set screws.
Using two pairs of pliers, I bent the second strip of fish tape so it angled 6" to 8" into the bag, which helped spread it open.
I discovered that I could lay a dowel rod across the top of the inside band and it stayed in place from just the pressure of the band pressing it against the bag. It keeps the bag spread open length wise. I chose to cut the dowel in half, and used a smooth coupler to join the halves... this way the halves will fit into my range bag. (I cut the dowel a little short, and will be making it a bit longer.)
With my tripod, I will be able to raise it to any height and easily change the angle of the bag to match the trajectory of the brass.
If the tripod legs are spread out too far, I can simply move them in closer, and still have plenty of stability.
When done using the catcher, I can grab each side of the rings, twist, and it collapses into about an 8" circle that will also fit into the range bag.
I hope to test it out next weekend.
Randy
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