Patrick L
Member
There was a discussion on another forum I frequent about home made brass catchers. I posted this there, then I thought some of you might enjoy seeing these.
Here are pictures of the four I've made. I'm frugal in nature, and I can't see buying something if I can make it cheaply and effectively myself. Why a brass catcher? Well part of it is just that the older I get, I get sick up bending over and picking up brass! But there are specific gun related issues I'll detail below.
This first one I made primarily for when I shoot the Garands and the carbine. The Garands in particular eject violently, and often the brass goes forward. Since I shoot on ranges that usually have others shooting, I feel bad asking for a cease fire any more than is necessary to change targets, etc. This is just a $4 Walmart bait net, cut off and mounted on a simple wooden base
I bought another of the same net, and through trial and error rigged up a simple wooden mount to hold it that clamps on the gun. The side that touches the gun has Flex Tape rubber facing, and I chopped a cheap Harbor Freight C clamp to minimize the projections , etc. That is also wrapped in Flex Tape and/or electrical tape wherever it touches the gun.
For both of these, I forgot to put in for the picture that I used a simple piece of wire coat hanger to keep them open. The weight of a few 06 cases will pull the net down. Also, being made of nylon, a hot 06 case will sometimes melt itself to the net, but no permanent damage.
This one I made for my two .22s. Just a simple coated wire clothes hanger, bent to shape, a shot bag cover, cardboard to hold the mouth open, and I cut the bag and put a velcro tab to make it easy to empty. Just hook it over the scope. Why catch .22 casings? Two reasons. One, I hate finding the range at our club littered with spent .22 brass. Even though we provide brass buckets and brooms, there are a few slobs that seem to think it's beneath their station in life to pick up after themselves. Second, I scrap brass. It's amazing how much brass I accumulate in 6 months or a year. Buys lunch, of maybe a thousand primers.
Finally, I made this one for pistol shooting. Specifically, when I did my .38-45 Clerke project, I decided that a wildcat round that takes 5 pulls of the press handle to form is something I do NOT want to lose. It's a Harbor Freight mechanics glove, a Walmart aquarium net, and a bit of sewing to fabricate a slot to hold the wire handle of the net, then some trial and error bending. Like I said, I learned the hard way not to use this in an actual competition. Mr. Murphy has shown up more than once, and a round has hit the frame and bounced right back int the ejection port, jamming the gun. That can cost a lot in a timed or rapid fire string!
I don't know, maybe I have too much time on my hands!
Here are pictures of the four I've made. I'm frugal in nature, and I can't see buying something if I can make it cheaply and effectively myself. Why a brass catcher? Well part of it is just that the older I get, I get sick up bending over and picking up brass! But there are specific gun related issues I'll detail below.
This first one I made primarily for when I shoot the Garands and the carbine. The Garands in particular eject violently, and often the brass goes forward. Since I shoot on ranges that usually have others shooting, I feel bad asking for a cease fire any more than is necessary to change targets, etc. This is just a $4 Walmart bait net, cut off and mounted on a simple wooden base
I bought another of the same net, and through trial and error rigged up a simple wooden mount to hold it that clamps on the gun. The side that touches the gun has Flex Tape rubber facing, and I chopped a cheap Harbor Freight C clamp to minimize the projections , etc. That is also wrapped in Flex Tape and/or electrical tape wherever it touches the gun.
For both of these, I forgot to put in for the picture that I used a simple piece of wire coat hanger to keep them open. The weight of a few 06 cases will pull the net down. Also, being made of nylon, a hot 06 case will sometimes melt itself to the net, but no permanent damage.
This one I made for my two .22s. Just a simple coated wire clothes hanger, bent to shape, a shot bag cover, cardboard to hold the mouth open, and I cut the bag and put a velcro tab to make it easy to empty. Just hook it over the scope. Why catch .22 casings? Two reasons. One, I hate finding the range at our club littered with spent .22 brass. Even though we provide brass buckets and brooms, there are a few slobs that seem to think it's beneath their station in life to pick up after themselves. Second, I scrap brass. It's amazing how much brass I accumulate in 6 months or a year. Buys lunch, of maybe a thousand primers.
Finally, I made this one for pistol shooting. Specifically, when I did my .38-45 Clerke project, I decided that a wildcat round that takes 5 pulls of the press handle to form is something I do NOT want to lose. It's a Harbor Freight mechanics glove, a Walmart aquarium net, and a bit of sewing to fabricate a slot to hold the wire handle of the net, then some trial and error bending. Like I said, I learned the hard way not to use this in an actual competition. Mr. Murphy has shown up more than once, and a round has hit the frame and bounced right back int the ejection port, jamming the gun. That can cost a lot in a timed or rapid fire string!
I don't know, maybe I have too much time on my hands!
