Homemade Brass Catcher

[juniustaylor]

I couldn't think of really where to put this, but figured reloading as folks that want to keep their brass are more than likely reloaders... Don't laugh either!

Total investment in this thing is:
Nylon Mesh Bags (3-pack)..$1 @ Dollar Tree
Tie Wire Roll (free for me)..$3 @ farm/home store
Wrist band (weight lifting)..$5 @ Walmart

$9 + tax for materials to make 2 catchers, the wrist bands are 2 per pack for the $5 price. You can make one for pistol, one for rifle, or make one for yourself and a friend.

I took a good length of the tire wire, maybe 3-4 foot, somewhere in there. Lightly bent one end over so it would pass through the drawstring channel of the mesh bag. I went all the way around the bag to form a hoop. Bent the wire so it was equal halves and marked where the end of the mesh bag drawstring met itself. I clamped my vise at this spot and twisting the wire ends down a good ways until I could fold it back on itself to form of a handle. Once it was sufficient in length, I took the ends and tied them around the top part of the handle. Made the wires in a circular shape to form a hoop. You can remove the drawstring at this point. The double twist of the handle makes it very strong so it supports the hoop well when it's inserted into the wrist band.

From there you can bend the wire to meet your needs so that it will be to the side of the ejection port of the pistol and even rifle. I will test it later on Sunday to see how it performs with my CZ-82. I do have high hopes for it. The bag will have to be behind the muzzle so that the hot gas blast won't hit the bag and melt the nylon, thus forming a hole in it.

Pictures.

[juniustaylor]

I think it's better than the $23 Graco Model ones but I'll still have to test mine. The hoop is infinitely bendable so you can make it any shape necessary to accommodate most any pistol so it will catch the brass as it comes out of the ejection port.

I will end up making another with a longer handle so that I can use it for my SKS so I can shoot reloads from it. Yes, I know, reloads in an SKS when you can buy the cheap crap for $5 at friendly Walmart. However, that's not apples to apples. When a box of Winchester Metric is costing about $17 here, I can reload equal or better ammo than that for right around $6 or so. Being that the SKS kicks them pretty much straight up in the air, my catcher will have to be located up high and almost over the top. I may be better off making a sheet metal guard and using the existing screws in the side of my receiver so the cases would just fling a bit off to the side. Will have to think about that one.

[juniustaylor]

So, I'm lame and have to comment on my own posts. Oh well.

Anyway, I took this and use it with my CZ-82 to catch my converted 9mm Luger cases. Sitting at the bench it did very well. I would say it had a 95% catch rate. The rest would simply lay on the bench. When shooting standing up, it was probably about 80%. The netting just wasn't open a whole lot and would act as a wall. The case would hit it and kind of bounce off and land by my feet. However, this is still better than them flying 7 to 10 yards away. For me to fix this issue, I'll have to find a way to make the wire hold the netting up just a bit.

Just in the amount of time writing this an idea popped in my head so I had to run into the other room and try it out. It should definitely work. Here are pictures of my idea.

I added a piece of wire, just wrapped the end around the handle portion where the hoop starts. I then bent it to the inside of the netting so it would allow it to open up.




And it stores up when not in use.


Comments?

[Ketchman]

I look forward to how it works as amended. Excellent idea! but I must say you appear to be having way too much fun here!

[juniustaylor]

It's always fun when you can save a gob of money. The actual amount that I have invested in one catcher is less than $3. That is almost insane! I get to have fun shooting my pistol without someone watching for my cases. Or me just having to shoot and hurry up and look which is distracting and won't let you get good groups. This way I spent $3 per catcher and I can shoot to my heart's content and it will catch my brass so I don't have to trim down 9mm Luger cases to replace the ones that I could have lost. It's win-win!

I will post my results for my modification to see how well it does having that mesh opened up so the case can just fly in and down to the bottom of the bag. I am very excited to try it out.

[Dwight]

Excellent work, Jun - I really enjoy seeing the result of a little applied ingenuity!

I may have to give your idea a shot, since I'm also getting tired of losing so much time and energy spent on trimming brass. I lose easily 50% of the brass that comes out of my P64 (I shoot at an indoor range, and so much of the P64's brass ends up on the wrong side of the shooting bench, lost to me forever).

My CZ-82 ends up losing about 10% of my brass, which is easier to deal with.

The thought of recovering 100% of the brass that I have so much time and energy invested in makes me almost giddy!

Dwight

[juniustaylor]

Update for my modification. I did not get to do an extensive shooting as it was getting to be low light when I got off work. I grabbed my SKS and P-64 and headed to the range. My SKS catcher worked pretty well. I stood as I shot it. 2 out of the 10 cases hit the top of the catcher and bounced by my feet. The other 8 did make it into the catcher. I was very pleased. The SKS would be somewhat tricky I figured as it kicks the shells virtually straight up and forward. The empties were warm but nowhere being close to melting the polyester netting.

The one for my handguns worked flawless with the P-64. It caught all 7 empties. I think adding that wire to the inside to hold the bag open really worked wonders. I think this is a worthwhile project for any reloader. You can use it to catch any pistol cartridge. For rifles, a longer handled catcher may be necessary as it is for an SKS.

Maybe this weekend I will get a chance for more extensive testing but I am positive it will work just as well.

[wyo-man]

Excellent idea.
keep us posted.

wyo-man

[juniustaylor]

I used my SKS and pistol catchers again tonight. The SKS did pretty good. First batch of 10 it caught 8 of them. After some bending on the hoop the second batch of 10 I caught 9.

For the pistol one I used my Beretta 92FS. After 2 or 3 shots I noticed I needed to change the hoop shape to suit the pistol. After that it did very well. The ones that it did not catch fell by my feet and I easily recovered them. I got 49 out of my 50 9mm Luger cases. I found another Luger case on the ground so I picked it up and left the range with 50 cases.

This is a lot better than just blasting them off into the grass. The ones that don't make it in the catcher and land by my feet aren't that big of a deal. I would rather they went in the catcher as that is its purpose but I can at least find them if they're by my feet rather than off into the grass somewhere.

My SKS did pretty decent. Tula Ammo steel case shot pretty good at 100 yards. Seemed to be centered. I had some Tiger kind that was hollow point. It shot a bit left. That stuff stings the nostrils... maybe like Sex Panther from that movie Anchorman. I think it's the laquer coating or it could be the crummy powder.

My Beretta is funny. It shoots good with 124 and 115 grain bullets but 115's shoot the best. When shooting 124, they end up hitting a bit left. I'll have to do some more experimenting. Especially now that I'm not worried about losing my brass.

[papabear]

Neat idea, appreciate the pics and explanations, at my age I hate bending over to pick up brass, thanks for sharing.

[superferrite]

I found 4/18 rounds this weekend. Gotta make one of these!

[juniustaylor]

Update: Brass catcher is still working awesome. When I use it with my 1911 it catches them about 80% of the time. The remaining ones are by my feet. It seems like they sometimes glance off the netting and hit the ground. However, being at my feet is better than 10 feet away somewhere in the grass or gravel. With my Beretta 92FS, it did a decent job. Will have to mess with it more and bend the wire accordingly to get it to catch them more reliably. All in all, I can't complain with the cheap device.