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Thread: Tired of looking for auto pistol cases in the Grass ? . . . 'BrassCatcher'

  1. #1
    Boolit Grand Master OS OK's Avatar
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    Tired of looking for auto pistol cases in the Grass ? . . . 'BrassCatcher'

    I am tired of the grass gods taking my cases...tired of trying to spread a tarp in the wind...especially tired of grubbing around on my knees trying to pick them up or find the ones that missed or rolled off the tarp.
    So...that started me 'mulling' on the problem...after a few pencil & paper designs & redesigns, this is what I came up with...



    It took a variety of PVC fittings, about 60' of 1" PVC pipe, a few screws & flat stock metal gussets and a 12' length of 6' wide garden shading material. A hot melt glue gun did the pipe pockets on the ends. It's 6' long and 8' high.
    I stand in the middle and the 'BrassCatcher' is placed perpendicular to the throw of the brass...you can see the slight angle in this picture here...



    The trough is a good place to put your ammo for reloading magazines too.



    In the first picture where the BrassCatcher is aligned straight towards the target, I tried a run of 50 rounds and it allowed almost 1/2 to skip out the back end...
    I changed the angle of the catcher to be perpendicular to the throw of the ejector and you can see 49 of the 50 cases in the trough in the second picture. Since, I've run 100 rounds twice...the first run it caught 97 and the second it caught 96...I can live with that as it's pretty easy to find them laying under foot and behind you a little bit.
    It's lightweight and would act as a sail here on this ridge I live on so I had to stake it to the ground, if I didn't have such strong winds I'd just duct tape some ingots to the base and call it good...so far, the only negative is that I have to move it to mow...I can live with that!
    This catcher has made it much more enjoyable to get out and practice on a regular basis.
    a m e r i c a n p r a v d a

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  2. #2
    Boolit Master
    JBinMN's Avatar
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    Very nice!


    I have been using a cloth 9x12 painters tarp for a long time now. I either string it up between 2 trees, from my vehicle to a tree or just laid out on the ground. Works for me & rolls up into a small ball, or folded into a small square when I feel like folding it. When I am done shooting I gather it up & then put the brass into a bucket I have along by just letting the brass gather in the tarp, then letting them fall into the bucket when I pick up the tarp. Works for me anyway.


    I would love to make one like your new one here & use it, if I shot on my own land, but I have to use public/state land to shoot, so I have to be mobile & also don't have enough storage around the place with all the stuff I have collected anyway.

    Thnx for sharing your doins'!
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  3. #3
    Boolit Master kmw1954's Avatar
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    Very nice. Only problem I would have is that I own one 380acp pistol that throws the brass directly over your head and behind you.

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master Tatume's Avatar
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    I've not had any luck getting a brass catcher to work. Either the cases miss it entirely, or they bounce back out.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master


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    one of the reasons I left USPSA and went to cowboy shooting . . . revolvers don't throw empties out.
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  6. #6
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    I'm leaning more towards revolvers lately. I'm getting tired of chasing brass too.

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master OS OK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kmw1954 View Post
    Very nice. Only problem I would have is that I own one 380acp pistol that throws the brass directly over your head and behind you.
    A little creative thinking ought solve the .380 problem !

    a m e r i c a n p r a v d a

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  8. #8
    Boolit Buddy tranders's Avatar
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    That's a good idea and executed very well.

    I either use an old blanket on the ground or a Caldwell case catcher that attaches to a camera tripod. I will guess they both are 75% effective.

    As I have gotten older wheel guns are appealing more to me.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master kmw1954's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OS OK View Post
    A little creative thinking ought solve the .380 problem !
    That or just 2 of them. one on the side and one behind!

  10. #10
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    This points out why I am more of a revolver and bolt action shooter. In my old age and bad back I got tired of chasing empties into the next county and needing help getting up off the ground after an empty picking exercise. That is a clever design though, but what is done with it when not shooting? .Robert

  11. #11
    Boolit Grand Master OS OK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hardcast416taylor View Post
    This points out why I am more of a revolver and bolt action shooter. In my old age and bad back I got tired of chasing empties into the next county and needing help getting up off the ground after an empty picking exercise. That is a clever design though, but what is done with it when not shooting? .Robert
    I can shoot almost year round so it's going to stay there permanently. It's right behind the shop where I do load workups so it's handy for that too. When the sun ruins the plastic material I'll recover it.
    a m e r i c a n p r a v d a

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    “In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” G. Orwell

  12. #12
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    That should work for many applications. and remember to lay it down when finished or it might blow into the next county

    For an aerobic and action workout.
    fire one rd... sprint to catch empty.
    Sprint back to firing position .. rinse and repeat
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  13. #13
    Boolit Master

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    I love it. I did use the tarp mothed but stopped after fighting wind. Need that in a more portable model in my life.
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    ~Theodore Roosevelt~

  14. #14
    Boolit Master

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    Back in the 70's I trained one of my chickens to scratch up my brass in little piles. This made it very easy to retrieve most of the empty cases that my 1911 would spue on the ground.

    After about a year Matilda got real good at scratching up every single piece of brass.

    I decided to take her with me to a bowling pin shoot. She was a big hit and everyone was amazed that a chicken could be trained to scratch up brass into a neat pile. Of course, Matilda could not distinguish between my brass and other peoples brass.

    At the end of the shooting season, Matilda met her demise, she was caught scratching up brass that belonged to a short tampered guy who was not shooting his best that particular day and he shot poor Matilda out of pure meaniness for 'stealing his brass.'
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  15. #15
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Using a mesh type cloth would make it a bit more wind friendly if there is something that will not melt when hot brass is laying next to it. Maybe only use the mesh for the large vertical "sail".

    Good thinking and I will be making something like that as well as I have a private range. But I will need two of them. I am thinking about using window screen something like this.

    https://www.amazon.com/ADFORS-Standa...n%3A4879723011
    Don Verna


  16. #16
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    Try using a meshed fabric, cuts down on the wind. I filled the lower pvc pipe with sand and sealed with wax. Could use lead shot for even more weight for stability. Won't let me upload picture for some reason but I had posted pics a few years ago of the one I did. Good luck.

  17. #17
    Boolit Buddy
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    Nice design!! I love my 1911s and my wife loves her Glock 9mms. I hate chasing brass myself. I started on revolvers and spend more time with as I get older myself!

  18. #18
    Boolit Master


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    Very well thought out and executed work.i did something almost as clever, between me and best friend we have 4 teenagers I try to take at least one in every extended range trip, they are superheroes of brass gathering and hanging 300 and 600 yard targets. I supply the ammo targets and lunch!

  19. #19
    Boolit Master
    DerekP Houston's Avatar
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    lol one of the reasons I prefer revolvers is I hate chasing down brass.... way to think outside the box!
    My feedback page if you feel inclined to add:
    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...raight-Shooter

    Thanks Yall!

  20. #20
    Boolit Buddy
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    I use l&m brass catchers on my ARs but still have to chase handgun brass. I have a bad back and dont bend easily so i use a "grip& grab" picker upper to pick up brass. It was slow at first but can use it easily now and no backache.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check