How do you keep from losing auto pistol brass

[308w]

Probably a dumb question,

I am shooting cast boolits so it is pertinent

When shooting an auto, how do you ensure you

can recover your brass.

I like 1911's, have always had one or more around,

have never enjoyed shooting them freely as much as I

do my revolvers because I worry about losing brass.

How do you do it???....

[LIMPINGJ]

Lay down a cheap Harbors Freight tarp or a sheet out of the linen closet.

[JimB..]

I’ve heard of folks using light stands (a pole stuck in the ground would work) to hold a sheet. Brass hits it and falls to the ground.

For me the easier solution was to accumulate enough brass that I don’t have to worry about it.

[metricmonkeywrench]

I shoot on an private club range with a gravel lot, a generic 5x7 tarp laid out on the ground catches about everything from most of my auto's except for my .45 and my sons .40 which chucks brass everywhere in a 180+deg arc at various distances from the ejection port. So far I have been able to find about all of my brass that doesn't stay on the tarp and there is a collection of selected "make up brass" for the times that one or two pieces cannot be found. When I'm shooting with a second person it's their duty to watch where the brass heads of to and toss the strays back onto the tarp while changing magazines until brass collection time. We pick up the brass and put them back in the box when we are done shooting that box to minimize mixing brass and identify the pieces trying to hide.

There are some ideas out there about catch nets and some sort of soft backstop to corral the brass but i have not gone there yet as it can be breezy on the range and i want to shoot, not chase a windscreen around the lot..

[farmerjim]

For AR's there are brass catchers that will attach to the rail. ( see Amazon)
For pistols, I use what are described above.

[Kenstone]

Lay down a cheap Harbors Freight tarp or a sheet out of the linen closet.

Yep, this
It's windy where I shoot, so I stake out a mesh tarp:
https://www.harborfreight.com/8-ft-x-10-ft-mesh-all-purposeweather-resistant-tarp-60577.html
$5 more gets you this:
https://www.harborfreight.com/10-ft-x-12-ft-mesh-all-purposeweather-resistant-tarp-60576.html
works for me,
.

[lightman]

I've tried several things and nothing works 100% of the time. I use a cheap tarp mostly held down with tent stakes. I prefer to use a buddy and to take turns shooting.

[ohen cepel]

They also make a net which attaches to your firing hand to catch (most of) the brass. Smaller than a tarp but misses some at times.

[fastdadio]

I pick up what I can find. About once a decade, I buy a 500 rd lot of once fired brass from GI Brass and carry on.

[jsizemore]

I scalp the grass in the landing area.

[gwpercle]

I like shooting 1911's too and absolutely hate to loose brass .
At the outdoor range , I attached a big light weight fishing net (long alumn. handle) to a tri-pod and shoot with net next to me , positioned to catch empties ...
Works most of the time .

Would bring my young son or daughter ... their job was to catch the brass for daddy and see if they could grab any unclaimed lying on the range floor or in grass .

Can also bring Grand Children and pay them a penny per case they snatch up and a trip to DQ afterwards for Ice Cream !

Children , when motivated , work quite well as brass catchers if you dont want to fool aroung with sheets and nets !
Gary

[jdgabbard]

I've been thinking of using a camera tripod with a 3d printed bracket with a cloth catch. Just haven't ever sat down to design it in CAD.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I have a large blacktop area in front of my shop, and a place for targets off the edge of the blacktop with a forest and small berm backdrop, so I shoot on the blacktop toward the target area and the brass is easy to see and pick up off the blacktop.
I do not shoot in the snow!

DG

[45DUDE]

I use a Queen size blanket and fold it-brass and all when through shooting.

[35 Rem]

Tarp for me too. I've had 2 1911's for many years and practically never shot them for this reason. If you lose all your brass, you might as well buy factory loads. I finally got a large tarp that is about 30x30 and you can shoot a big variety of autoloaders on it that spew brass in every direction and it catches them all.

I had forgot how fun a 1911 is to shoot so loaded up over 1,500 rounds to enjoy now as soon as it cools off some.

[farmbif]

I have the same problem, still planning on building platform shooting station with screened off area to police brass. I like the idea of a big sheet or blanket or canvas tarp in the mean time.

[mdi]

Getting old and bad back, I tried several methods, tarp was affected by wind and a PIA to deploy. "Nut picker uppers" would collect too much trash, rocks, etc, so I settled on this https://www.amazon.com/Vive-Suction-Reacher-Grabber-Pack/dp/B07GFL168C/ref=sr_1_19_sspa?keywords=grabbers&qid=1690908062&sr=8-19-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&psc=1 Not real fast as you still pick up brass one at a time but sure saves the old body. The suction cup tips even allowed me to pick up small primers from my shop floor...

[hoodat]

I use a three pronged method; (you're probably picturing some kind of cool three pronged rake) -- nope

Prong #1- when I see a great deal on used brass, I get it.
Prong #2- I spend a reasonable amount of time finding the brass I fire, but don't kill myself.
Prong #3- When I find where a non-reloader has been shooting, I pick their brass, but don't kill myself at it.

Every so often I'll have a quantity of brass collected that I don't use, and I'll sell or trade it on one of the forums to get brass that I do use. jd

[txbirdman]

Take my grandkids with me and make picking up brass a contest.

[Froogal]

An inexpensive metal detector is a good investment. Mine is a "Quick Silver" by "Bounty Hunter". Found it on Amazon.

[LenH]

Check CMM Shooting sports and look at a brass catcher. When I started shooting Bullseye I didn't have the money for one of those brass catchers but
made one out of copper tube and a laundry bag for a net to catch the brass. I will try and take a picture and post it later.316551
The brass catcher is not setup when this picture was taken but it is a simple concept to keep the brass in one place.

[Daekar]

I never found a solution for this that I was happy with. That's one reason why my 380s and 9mms moved along and were replaced with revolvers.

[WRideout]

At the club where I shoot, many of the members use these catch nets that strap onto your shooting hand. I personally wouldn't use one, but a lot of people seem to like them.

Wayne

[Electrod47]

I used to headphone my 10 year old with his catcher mitt to my rear and right, he never dropped a one. Having a hard time to get him to do it anymore. Now that he's 53.

[wwmartin]

I solved the problem by shooting revolvers . But for a while 9mm was cheaper to buy factory than to reload until a supply of brass was accumulated. It helps to start with clean shiny brass.
For the last 10 years or so I've been playing with SS and lever rifles so chasing brass has not been a problem.

Bill

[308w]

This gives me some ideas, Might have to try bribing gran kids with a Dairy Queen Reward,
Thank you all

[charlie b]

When I did shoot semi-autos I just picked up the brass. Most of the time I only lost about 10%. Back in those days I had a ready access to as much .45acp as I wanted so losing a few wasn't a big deal. Losing brass was one of the major reasons I sold my .32 acp. I'd lose a quarter of them each range visit. Got too expensive. I even tried raking the shooting area ahead of time for a more consistent surface. It did work better, but, still tiresome.

Only shooting a box or two at a time was not worth the time to lay out a tarp. Out here the wind is almost always gusting 20mph or more so tarps have to be staked down (8 minimum). If the wind got under one even a little it would balloon up and toss the brass everywhere. Stand up nets/tarps? I was lucky if my targets stayed standing in the wind. A net would be miles away in no time. A friend tried one of those blow up pools with some rocks to hold it down. Kinda worked, until the guns heated up and the brass melted the plastic :)

[Dave W.]

I use a brass picker, it saves the back from bending over. A person is never going to get all their brass, loosing some is part of the game.

https://www.amazon.com/Garden-Weasel-95334-Construction-Resistant/dp/B08C2QD3WS/ref=sr_1_5?crid=5OIRF9CM3Y8R&keywords=range+brass+picker+upper&qid=1690925421&sprefix=brass+picker%2Caps%2C485&sr=8-5

[challenger_i]

Lay down a cheap Harbors Freight tarp or a sheet out of the linen closet.

This.

[pworley1]

I built a 4'x4'x3' brass catcher out of 1"x2" wood and an surplus mosquito net for about $10.00. It catches almost all our brass.

[dondiego]

I built a 4'x4'x3' brass catcher out of 1"x2" wood and an surplus mosquito net for about $10.00. It catches almost all our brass.

Can you post a picture of your design?

[fredj338]

I used to worry but since I started shooting IDPA, I get all the service caliber brass I want to pickup. The only stuff I scrounge hard is my 10mm. Outdoors, many use a tarp. Indoors, I shoot next to the wall so I can recover most of my brass.

[Hick]

I use a three pronged method; (you're probably picturing some kind of cool three pronged rake) -- nope

Prong #1- when I see a great deal on used brass, I get it.
Prong #2- I spend a reasonable amount of time finding the brass I fire, but don't kill myself.
Prong #3- When I find where a non-reloader has been shooting, I pick their brass, but don't kill myself at it.

Every so often I'll have a quantity of brass collected that I don't use, and I'll sell or trade it on one of the forums to get brass that I do use. jd

Exactly, except where I shoot so many people leave their brass laying around I have never gotten to Prong #1 (I shoot 9mm & 45 auto in semi-auto)

[ShooterAZ]

I must be gettin' old, because I really hate stooping over to pick up my brass any more. Where I shoot, the brass is way too easy to lose, or way too hard to find, which ever you prefer. At first I would use a tarp when shooting in the snow, but now I'm using my revolvers mostly all the time. Makes finding my brass a LOT easier. Dump it out and put in a baggie and done.

[Rifletom]

Yeah, shooting in the desert, I'm going to lose some brass, but not a lot.[1911-A1] Then, I bought a Pietta 1873 revolver in.45 Colt that came with a .45 auto cylinder.
Talk about win-win! Still have scads of .45 auto brass, but, I'm not losing any unless I shoot my 1911. Bliss!

[44Blam]

A couple times a year I spend a couple hours and pick up after the USPSA match. I end up getting as much brass as I left or more.

[jimb16]

Tarps and brass catchers...

[pworley1]

Can you post a picture of your design?

I will take some pictures in the morning and try to post them.

[Texas by God]

It’s easy at present here because the dormant grass is only a half inch tall due to no rainfall.
I shoot my .380 over the gravel well road to find those little guys.
9mm brass is sometimes found months later and sometimes it’s not- not a big deal.
Same with .40 S&W- the Shield throws that brass FAR.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[atr]

basically you don't, which is why I switched to revolvers and dumped my semi-autos.....except for .22s

[justindad]

I usually leave the range with more brass than I brought. I bought about 2k pieces of .45ACP brass once and it lasts a long time for me. When the case is so beat up that it won’t fit in my case holder on the reloading bench, I throw it away and remember the 1800 pcs still in virgin condition.
*
Now if you shoot 30k rounds a year, then you’re laughing at everything I just wrote :)

[Land Owner]

1.) Accept that some (up to 10%) may not be located.
2.) Plastic tarps will and do melt from hot brass.
3.) Your range (public or private) and their policies may dictate methods.
4.) Make a benchtop "tee-pee" of hinged 1/4" plywood (shoot from within as a backstop).
5.) Standing, off-hand shooting, is problematic.
6.) Everybody has this problem.
7.) Nobody wants to "look" sissified.
8.) I am old(er) and don't care what others think anymore.

[dverna]

I have used a tarp and it workd OK but but can be a pain.

I am planning to make a brass catcher from the base of a mannequin stores use. I shoot off my back deck so do not want a lot of brass laying around.

I have settled on 9mm as my main semi-auto so brass is cheap ($30/k) and not worth a lot of effort.

Llike others, I also do more shooting with guns that solve the problem. Revolvers and an air pistol.

Edited to add:
https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?458815-WTS-Box-of-4-000-clean-9mm-Brass

This puts 9mm at less than $35/k and no one seems interested.

[32magfan]

I do the same thing (fishing net), driving a 6' piece of rebar into the ground (or tripod, or...use your imagination.), attaching it with spring clamps (Harbor Freight). I replaced the netting with a similar-sized sack made of burlap. Yeah, you have to stay close to it, but it could be like shooting around a corner. It's very effective.

[Half Dog]

Try building a PVC frame ant drape some netting around it. Don’t make the netting tight and the brass will hit it and fall straight down into the sagging part of the net. Works great for my dad.

[oley55]

I use something resembling a tarp but is actually a vented sun screen type material. That said, a successful day at the range is when I come home with more brass than I used/fired. I could be better described as a brass rat and very rarely come up short.