I started shooting a 1911 and had a hard time keeping track of my spent brass. I was surfing on Amazon and I think I've found a solution to my problem, a BRASS TRAP. It's made by Caldwell. I also bought a tri-pod so I could adjust the height. I haven't tried it out yet but it looks like it should work. If anyone uses one of these post the good & the bad. Thanks sdb321. Have fun & be safe!! Sorry that the photos are sideways. Just as soon as I figure out how to turn them I will!!

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Thousands of competitive pistol shooters across the US use those.

sdb321, post up a range report when you actually have used it as I am very interested in something like that. I have one pistol, a Coonan Classic, that will launch brass into the next county and it's impossible to account for 1/4-1/2 the brass when I do shoot it. Since that gun shoots 357 Magnum, I would much rather recover the brass since it's not nearly as common to find it laying around at the range. I would also probably use it with my 1911 too.

Harbour Freight free 5X8 tarp. When I see range brass I just throw it on the tarp with what I shot.

I’m also interested in a range report on your experience with the trap. I shoot 38 Super and 357Sig. Brass is hard to come by and typically lose 10 to 20 % of what I shoot.

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"Your other right........."

The problem I could see with that kind of trap is that you would need to stand in the exact same spot, hold the exact same gun the exact same way and use the exact same ammo to catch most ( not all) your brass. It might also split your concentration on the target and your brass trajectory.
FWIW, If I need to collect my brass on and 0utdoor range I lay out a small mesh tarp. If indoors, a broom and dust pan. On the days those methods are too hard, I shoot a revolver.

p.s What I find helps is to mark the butt/primer of my rounds with a bright colored marker. It males it much easier to spot my brass when the range is littered with discards.

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Dave

What would Hickok45 say about it?

I have one and seldom use it. I've found that it affects my shooting too much. With it set up I tend to compromise concern for aligning my sights to the target with concern for where my brass goes. About the only time that it's effective is when shooting a handgun rested from the bench, with the net propped up very close to the gun's ejection port. Also, it tends to get knocked over easily in very light winds. I've observed that I'm the only person at my range ever using one of them contraptions.

Maybe it would be effective at an indoor range set up very close to a shooter within their lane confines, and where the RO's get persnickety about scrounging brass off of the floor, but otherwise it's just not worth it, in my opinion. -S2

I've never used a brass trap but I've accumulated far more brass at an outdoor range than I can ever use. If you shoot at a range, and you see a shooter who leaves his brass all over the ground, you might stroll over to him and ask in a friendly way, "Do you intend to reload your brass?" A good chance the reply will be, "No, you can have them if you want them." Ask enough shooters and you'll likely find someone who will give you brass and go home with more than you started out with. Do this every time you shoot and you'll be surprised how fast you can accumulate brass. I have been scrounging brass for years and you can too.

I shoot at my own range most of the time, and the areas where I stand are dirt/grassy, and sometimes brass gets tossed into the wooded area. Last year I broke down and bought one of those brass picker-upper things. It's sold in the Dillon book for one place, and it was originally designed to pick up walnuts or something. Looks like a rolling wire basket ( sorry, no link) and it works pretty darn good actually. Drawbacks are that it fills up fast and starts spit6ing the brass back out, and it can't tell a stone/sticks from brass. All in all, I'd buy it all over again. About $50 bucks I think.

My back and knees are worth more than that to me.

And THAT is why all my handguns are wheel guns!
Plus, since I built my own handgun range that also solves the problem.

That said I do have to admit that I recently bought a brass trap for use with my .222 Remington rifle when at the public range. BTW, .222 brass is pretty much impossible to find at the range... You have to buy "new" and save each and every time.

One downside to picking up range brass is being certain that the brass you get is safe to reload. One year at a comp we followed the “open” squad, several of who were shooting 9mm major PF. No-one in my squad (or any other) wanted to pick up that brass as it was considered unsafe after the pressures it had been subjected to. As we were shooting 12 stages over 5 ranges and 2 days by the end of the comp there was a lot on 9mm brass on the ground. I understand the Club collected it all over the next weekend and sold it for scrap, but heaven help anyone who bought any of it for reloading from the scrapie.

As an aside that weekend I shot 350 .45 ACP rounds and got back less than 150 cases. They just get eaten up by the ground cover, especially when they land mouth up. Yet the last company I shot was designed for .45’s and I ended up with more brass than I shot.

I have one and it works great. When I am benched with an AR it just sits on the table next to me with 100% results, when using a semi pistol at the indoor range I use a mini tripod with it sitting on the bench as I stand and shoot. In that configuration it catches about 95%. Outside at the farm field I spread a sheet out.

Those kind of brass catchers don't work very well for reasons stated by others above. I designed a fold-up cage type brass catcher that catches brass from any firearm in any position the shooter uses. Made from PVC for the frame and netting to cover three sides of shooter position. It will catch brass from AR rifles, garand rifles, 1911 type pistols and my german luger which throws brass straight up. When I get a patent I will show photos. It is definitely unique and will fit in an auto trunk, back seat, SUV and of course a pickup truck.

Thanks for the tip, sbd321; I just ordered one. I will use it when shooting from the bench with my 300 Blackout AR-15, and probably others. In winter, it gets cold and snowy here, and picking up brass then is no fun.

I have tried a tarp, but that was not practical. I have also tried the kind that clip onto the firearm, but I did not like shooting with it on.

In a pinch a sideways umbrella will work and offer shade too.

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S&W Accumulator

I have one of those Caldwell's but haven't used it yet. This is the one I use for Bullseye matches: http://www.cm-machine.com/Ultimate-Brass-Catcher-optional-20-stem-_p_50.html but at $140 it is not cheap, but doesn't tip over, easy to carry, and works!

If your game is "run and gun" no net will work, but if you stand in 1 position and shoot at a 3' X 3' target, the net will receive 95% of your brass if your ejection port is within 12" of the net opening. If you have a flinch, your brass misses the net.

When I lose my sight/target concentration and fire low left (I'm right handed), the brass clears the top of the net. When I stay focused on sight alignment and trigger control, there are 10 shots in the black and 10 pieces of brass in the net!

Any effective net beats bending over or a tarp or carpet.

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S&WHF 366

9mm brass is some pretty stout stuff. I think you have a point if someone were to reload that major PF brass to major again and keep doing so. In my case, I reload to midrange specs for punching paper so would I have a problem? All of the brass that I scrounge is once-fired and I check the interior of each case prior to processing e.g. decapped, tumbled, sized. Cases with a very clean exterior and interior gets processed. Cases with an interior powder residue buildup or loose primer pockets gets trashed. Most of the brass I've scrounged comes from shooters I've been watching and one of the things I note is where their ammunition comes from. If it comes from factory boxes and is left on the ground then I visit the shooter and ask if they intend to reload their brass. Shooters who don't reload are a reloader's best friend. Thanks for your post.

There are a lot of gadgets to catch ejected brass, butI have enough "equipment" to haul to the range as it is. My remedy is to tumble my 45 ACP (1911) and 30-06 (Garand) brass to a good shine. That way they are easier to spot on the ground, in the dirt. I have a home made "brass picker-upper" (a hook type arrangement on the end of a telescopic rod) and just wander around the area, hooking every shiny case I see...

Last thing I need is more stuff to haul to the range.

Back in the early 70's I was into 1911 shooting, we had a local range that had stock GI 1911 matches , just fun stuff for us guys without any expensive guns. I got tired of chasing brass and rigger up a cheap fish landing net on a old camera tripod to help catch the brass...duck tape worked fine for attachment .
Didn't think anything like that would sell...I missed out !
If you want to DIY get the $10.95 camera tri pod and the $6.44 landing net from wally mart...I bet you already have duck tape and you in business .
Amazon has a similar set up for......$60.00 !
Gary

Some one that has 2 (or more) range bags. Really stupid is 3 staplers. I cleaned 2 rifles Friday after shooting them Thursday.

The way to keep the rifles clean is have the ammo in the range bag that stayed in the garage. That bag also had the stapler and staples. Another stapler is in my Bullseye box in the house. The third stapler is in the door pocket of my truck so I always have a stapler. I took my wife's old car to the range because it gets better gas mileage.

Good news is I had a roll of tape and a package of bullseye replacement centers in the bag at the range. Also had two 9 MM pistols and 500 rounds of ammo.

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S&WHF 366

This is the one I built beside my shooting bench on my range. 4 feet high x 8 feet long with a catch box at the bottom. Works well for most everything that ejects brass.

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S&W Accumulator

Here you go. I use an app called Snapseed to edit pics and it works great. I look forward to seeing your range report.

THANKS mrchick!!!!

I agree even European 9mm Machine gun brass is good for 3-4 reloadings and that stuff is a lot hotter than +P.

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Front sight and squeeze

@OP,

I put together a brass catcher that is comparable to your Caldwell for Camp Perry this year. Depending on the range and the event, your catcher may not be permitted.

I used mine in all of the DID matches when I used either my 1911 or an M9. I found that the brass catcher was more effective if your extractor is tuned and rejects brass consistently in the same direction. Placed about a foot from the ejection port, most of my brass got past the brass catcher. I would suggest relying more on a brass broom to retrieve your spent brass, or use a brass catcher in concert with a brass broom.

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Judge control not gun control!

I only have one semi-automatic, a Model 52. I only load Starline cases. I am also very overweight and bending over is torture.

I use the same trap as the OP.

One hint. The 52 does not throw the brass forward or even straight across. If you line the ejection port an inch or two behind the front “post” you will catch 99+ of your spent cartridges.

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and what his trumpet saith

That's a pretty small trap. I have made several traps of my own that were huge in comparison, and every time I shoot I still lose 3 or 4 per box.

They don't all go the same place. Particularly the last round in the mag. Or at least that's what I find. Plus, I have many guns and each goes a different direction. Too much trouble moving it around with each firearm change.

Like someone else said, more junk to carry around. In my mind its a waste of time and $. I found a good source of once fired brass and I now have a lifetime supply. No more worrying about that last few cases...

All you have to do is tune the extractor to the load you shoot. 45 and 9mm is easy but 38 super goes a little distance but a blanket will fix that. Get an old bullseye shooter to help you.