Brass falls infront of the line, what to do?

sigcurious · January 24, 2012, 01:29 AM

I shoot indoors, and around 50% of my brass bounces infront of the firing line. Short of getting a brass catcher of some sort, any ideas on retrieval that doesn't involve sweeping the brass back towards me, and consequently the lead dust etc also? So far there's usually enough people shooting 9mm and .45 that have no interest in their brass, so I've made up the difference that way. But I'd like to expand my brass scrounging tricks, so what are your tricks for indoor ranges?

Sport45 · January 24, 2012, 02:32 AM

Leaf rake?

CowTowner · January 24, 2012, 06:52 AM

I'd ask the RSO or Manager how they would like it done. You're at their range and they make the rules.

Sevens · January 24, 2012, 07:47 AM

Realistically... shooting semi-auto at an indoor range is the specific brass-losing playbook. There aren't any really good methods for stopping your loss of brass.

I shoot on indoor ranges a few times a year for short sessions, and one or two times a year on L-O-N-G sessions. My method to reduce my hit to the brass supply is three-fold:

1) Shoot only 9mm, since I have tons and tons of 9mm brass
2) Shoot revolvers, where I don't lose any pieces
3) Shoot rimfire, where I don't lose any reloadable brass

armoredman · January 24, 2012, 09:30 AM

The indoor range I worked at years ago had a series of rakes in the range area so reloaders could try to recover some brass without going forward of the line. If the brass was sufficiently rare enough they could have asked for a short cease fire when they were done to try to recover them all, but I never saw that happen. Besides, we always had a 55 gallon drum full of range brass sitting there for anyone who wanted some. I used to give bags to people who didn't bring any...I didn't reload then, wish I'd scarfed some for myself.

Sevens, can you send me a 1/2 ton of 9mm brass? I am actually starting to get a wee bit low...

MOshooter65202 · January 24, 2012, 09:32 AM

You might laugh but this works pretty good

LOL

http://www.toolup.com/images/Product...bila-80015.jpg

Brian Pfleuger · January 24, 2012, 09:35 AM

I'm curious... Why NOT get a brass catcher of some sort? I would consider it to be a basic requirement if I used an indoor range.

serf 'rett · January 24, 2012, 09:52 AM

Somebody send him the link for one of those brass collectors that look like a nut roller. Not around a computer; therefore, I'm limited in finding a link.

serf 'rett · January 24, 2012, 10:42 AM

Is this what you're looking for? (The high dollar solution)

http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/con.../41/Brass_Wand

Or perhaps one of these? (For the economy minded.)

http://www.activelivingnow.com/Reach...show=10&page=1

or

http://arcmate.com/grabbersandreache...FeQEQAodo2vk5g

As for me - I'd use the broom. A light touch shouldn't stir up that much dust.

When I'm testing reloads, I catch the brass for inspection in a mesh laundry bag I got for a few bucks at Walmart. Set a camera tripod on the table, a couple of clamps mount the stick on the tripod, other clapms mount the bag on the stick and then position the bag over the sandbags to catch the brass. It works so well, that I have not tried to build a brass catcher with the $2.00 nylon curtain I got at Wally World.

Wuchak · January 24, 2012, 10:58 AM

If the concern is the dust why not just put on a dust mask when sweeping the cases back? It's the cheapest solution.

overkill0084 · January 24, 2012, 10:59 AM

This range doesn't have any brooms? The range I use has those floor squeegee things for pushing brass around.

I have one of these in my bag whenever I shoot my semi-autos.:
http://www.amazon.com/Graco-Models-P...7420392&sr=8-1

Once you get it tweeked into the right configuration, it works pretty well. It's about 80% effective and the one it doesn't catch generally drop at my feet. It is overpriced, though. You could probably make something similar from an aquarium net for a lot less.

sigcurious · January 24, 2012, 11:50 AM

@overkill/peetza, how does that brass catcher affect grip? My primary concern with something like that, is that I'm still relatively new to pistol shooting and am wary of something that would alter my grip.

@Wuchak/Serf yeah sometimes I overlook the obvious

That nutroller type thing is probably dangerous for the addiction. "Oh look at all these other caliber cartridges I picked up, gee I guess I'll have to get guns that match them"

**Unclenick** · January 24, 2012, 12:37 PM

The Ohio State indoor range has Nylon screens attached to dowel rods that unroll like a scroll and hang down between firing points to stop ejecting brass from hitting the shooter on the next firing point. You could hang such a thing parallel to the target just to the right of your muzzle, so cases eject into to it and bounce off. If you dangle the bottom of the screen into an open cardboard box, most of your brass should fall in there.

overkill0084 · January 24, 2012, 01:00 PM

Other than looking a bit silly, it doesn't really have much of an impact. It doesn't weigh much and the part that goes between your hand and the grip is just a strip of elastic. If "feels" a bit odd at first, but I don't find myself changing my grip to accommodate it. It's easy to bend to conform to your needs and grip.
If anything, it may help because it forces me to grip the gun the same way each time once I've got it bent/tweeked to work with a particular gun.

mikld · January 24, 2012, 01:08 PM

When I was shooting at indoor ranges, I swept before I started shooting to make sure all the brass around me was mine. All the ranges had brooms. In front of the line I pushed all the debris forward so I would sweep back just brass later when I was done. But, I rarely left with 100% of my brass, usually lost some...

Sevens · January 24, 2012, 01:11 PM

Most of the indoor ranges I shoot at frown GREATLY at anyone trying to retrieve ANYTHING from forward of the line.

They always cite safety, but it's much more likely the business of re-selling brass.

Brian Pfleuger · January 24, 2012, 01:17 PM

The brass catchers I've used wouldn't affect your grip at all because you don't attach them to your hand...

I'd build one out of 1/2" PVC pipe and a piece of canvas. That's what we used to have at the indoor range I belonged to. Just set it up so it catches most of the brass and what it misses is deflected back instead of forward.

CowTowner · January 24, 2012, 09:04 PM

Here ya go. Take a look at these:
http://www.bubca.com/

ragwd · January 25, 2012, 01:28 AM

The indoor range I shoot at , frown at sweeping anything in front of the line. I take a half step back move over to the far left of stall and that has me aiming back towards the center and gives me a few degrees of angle back to the rear of stall and my brass a better chance of hitting right side of stall and me a better chance of retrieving. I usually leave with 90%of what I brought.

Marco Califo · January 25, 2012, 06:20 AM

Moving Targets are way more fun!

!

FlyFish · January 25, 2012, 10:31 AM

The company that makes the hand-held catcher also has a free-standing one (for a few more bucks) that I think is a much better and more versatile design, particularly if you already have a cheap tripod to mount it on:

http://www.gracomodels.com/bigcatcher.html

sigcurious · January 25, 2012, 09:33 PM

I think I may need to head to my local home improvement store and rig something up like some of those standing models. Those have definitely caught my eye, but spending $50 on a glorified net seems a little silly when the raw materials cost much less.

Sky Master · January 26, 2012, 01:07 PM

I've had that problem too, until I started standing back a little farther.

AFK · January 27, 2012, 11:55 AM

If I go to an indoor range I do a few things.

1) Shoot my revolver and .22 more
2) Stand back and left a little bit
3) Bring brass that has been reloaded more or brass that was a prior range pick-up.
4) If someone else is there, I ask them if they are saving their brass. If so, I don't touch it. If not, I ask if it is ok for me to sweep it in to my pile.

Using these methods, I usually don't end up leaving with much less brass than I showed up with, and it is usually brass that I found at a range at one point any way.

JWT · January 27, 2012, 12:23 PM

Range I frequent also has brooms that can be used to sweep the brass back of the line for pick up.

January 24, 2012, 01:29 AM	#1
sigcurious Senior Member Join Date: May 25, 2011 Posts: 1,755	Brass falls infront of the line, what to do? I shoot indoors, and around 50% of my brass bounces infront of the firing line. Short of getting a brass catcher of some sort, any ideas on retrieval that doesn't involve sweeping the brass back towards me, and consequently the lead dust etc also? So far there's usually enough people shooting 9mm and .45 that have no interest in their brass, so I've made up the difference that way. But I'd like to expand my brass scrounging tricks, so what are your tricks for indoor ranges?

January 24, 2012, 02:32 AM	#2
Sport45 Senior Member Join Date: May 25, 1999 Location: Too close to Houston Posts: 4,196	Leaf rake? __________________ Proud member of the NRA and Texas State Rifle Association. Registered and active voter.

January 24, 2012, 06:52 AM	#3
CowTowner Senior Member Join Date: October 17, 2007 Location: Cowtown of course! Posts: 1,747	I'd ask the RSO or Manager how they would like it done. You're at their range and they make the rules. __________________ NRA Chief Range Safety Officer, Home Firearms Safety, Pistol and Rifle Instructor *“Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life......”* President John F. Kennedy

January 24, 2012, 07:47 AM	#4
Sevens Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 11,756	Realistically... shooting semi-auto at an indoor range is the specific brass-losing playbook. There aren't any really good methods for stopping your loss of brass. I shoot on indoor ranges a few times a year for short sessions, and one or two times a year on L-O-N-G sessions. My method to reduce my hit to the brass supply is three-fold: 1) Shoot only 9mm, since I have tons and tons of 9mm brass 2) Shoot revolvers, where I don't lose any pieces 3) Shoot rimfire, where I don't lose any reloadable brass __________________ *Attention Brass rats and other reloaders:* I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.

January 24, 2012, 09:35 AM	#7
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	I'm curious... Why NOT get a brass catcher of some sort? I would consider it to be a basic requirement if I used an indoor range. __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

January 24, 2012, 09:30 AM	#5
armoredman Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 5,299	The indoor range I worked at years ago had a series of rakes in the range area so reloaders could try to recover some brass without going forward of the line. If the brass was sufficiently rare enough they could have asked for a short cease fire when they were done to try to recover them all, but I never saw that happen. Besides, we always had a 55 gallon drum full of range brass sitting there for anyone who wanted some. I used to give bags to people who didn't bring any...I didn't reload then, wish I'd scarfed some for myself. Sevens, can you send me a 1/2 ton of 9mm brass? I am actually starting to get a wee bit low...

January 24, 2012, 09:32 AM	#6
MOshooter65202 Senior Member Join Date: February 16, 2011 Posts: 471	You might laugh but this works pretty good LOL http://www.toolup.com/images/Product...bila-80015.jpg

January 24, 2012, 09:52 AM	#8
serf 'rett Senior Member Join Date: June 25, 2009 Location: Stuttgart, AR Posts: 1,569	Somebody send him the link for one of those brass collectors that look like a nut roller. Not around a computer; therefore, I'm limited in finding a link. __________________ A lack of planning on your part does not necessarily constitute an emergency on my part. Last edited by serf 'rett; January 24, 2012 at 10:35 AM.

January 24, 2012, 10:42 AM	#9
serf 'rett Senior Member Join Date: June 25, 2009 Location: Stuttgart, AR Posts: 1,569	Is this what you're looking for? (The high dollar solution) http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/con.../41/Brass_Wand Or perhaps one of these? (For the economy minded.) http://www.activelivingnow.com/Reach...show=10&page=1 or http://arcmate.com/grabbersandreache...FeQEQAodo2vk5g As for me - I'd use the broom. A light touch shouldn't stir up that much dust. When I'm testing reloads, I catch the brass for inspection in a mesh laundry bag I got for a few bucks at Walmart. Set a camera tripod on the table, a couple of clamps mount the stick on the tripod, other clapms mount the bag on the stick and then position the bag over the sandbags to catch the brass. It works so well, that I have not tried to build a brass catcher with the $2.00 nylon curtain I got at Wally World. __________________ A lack of planning on your part does not necessarily constitute an emergency on my part. Last edited by serf 'rett; January 24, 2012 at 11:48 AM.

January 24, 2012, 10:58 AM	#10
Wuchak Senior Member Join Date: June 1, 2007 Location: Shawnee, KS Posts: 1,093	If the concern is the dust why not just put on a dust mask when sweeping the cases back? It's the cheapest solution.

January 24, 2012, 10:59 AM	#11
overkill0084 Senior Member Join Date: August 7, 2010 Location: Northern, UT Posts: 1,162	This range doesn't have any brooms? The range I use has those floor squeegee things for pushing brass around. I have one of these in my bag whenever I shoot my semi-autos.: http://www.amazon.com/Graco-Models-P...7420392&sr=8-1 Once you get it tweeked into the right configuration, it works pretty well. It's about 80% effective and the one it doesn't catch generally drop at my feet. It is overpriced, though. You could probably make something similar from an aquarium net for a lot less. __________________ Cheers, Greg “At the core of liberalism is the spoiled child – miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied, demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless. Liberalism is a philosophy of sniveling brats.” — P.J. O’Rourke

January 24, 2012, 11:50 AM	#12
sigcurious Senior Member Join Date: May 25, 2011 Posts: 1,755	@overkill/peetza, how does that brass catcher affect grip? My primary concern with something like that, is that I'm still relatively new to pistol shooting and am wary of something that would alter my grip. @Wuchak/Serf yeah sometimes I overlook the obvious That nutroller type thing is probably dangerous for the addiction. "Oh look at all these other caliber cartridges I picked up, gee I guess I'll have to get guns that match them"

January 24, 2012, 12:37 PM	#13
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,063	The Ohio State indoor range has Nylon screens attached to dowel rods that unroll like a scroll and hang down between firing points to stop ejecting brass from hitting the shooter on the next firing point. You could hang such a thing parallel to the target just to the right of your muzzle, so cases eject into to it and bounce off. If you dangle the bottom of the screen into an open cardboard box, most of your brass should fall in there. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

January 24, 2012, 01:00 PM	#14
overkill0084 Senior Member Join Date: August 7, 2010 Location: Northern, UT Posts: 1,162	Other than looking a bit silly, it doesn't really have much of an impact. It doesn't weigh much and the part that goes between your hand and the grip is just a strip of elastic. If "feels" a bit odd at first, but I don't find myself changing my grip to accommodate it. It's easy to bend to conform to your needs and grip. If anything, it may help because it forces me to grip the gun the same way each time once I've got it bent/tweeked to work with a particular gun. __________________ Cheers, Greg “At the core of liberalism is the spoiled child – miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied, demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless. Liberalism is a philosophy of sniveling brats.” — P.J. O’Rourke

January 24, 2012, 01:08 PM	#15
mikld Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2009 Location: Southern Oregon! Posts: 2,891	When I was shooting at indoor ranges, I swept before I started shooting to make sure all the brass around me was mine. All the ranges had brooms. In front of the line I pushed all the debris forward so I would sweep back just brass later when I was done. But, I rarely left with 100% of my brass, usually lost some... __________________ My Anchor is holding fast! I've learned how to stand on my own two knees...

January 24, 2012, 01:11 PM	#16
Sevens Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 11,756	Most of the indoor ranges I shoot at frown GREATLY at anyone trying to retrieve ANYTHING from forward of the line. They always cite safety, but it's much more likely the business of re-selling brass. __________________ *Attention Brass rats and other reloaders:* I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.

January 24, 2012, 01:17 PM	#17
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	The brass catchers I've used wouldn't affect your grip at all because you don't attach them to your hand... I'd build one out of 1/2" PVC pipe and a piece of canvas. That's what we used to have at the indoor range I belonged to. Just set it up so it catches most of the brass and what it misses is deflected back instead of forward. __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

January 24, 2012, 09:04 PM	#18
CowTowner Senior Member Join Date: October 17, 2007 Location: Cowtown of course! Posts: 1,747	Here ya go. Take a look at these: http://www.bubca.com/ __________________ NRA Chief Range Safety Officer, Home Firearms Safety, Pistol and Rifle Instructor *“Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life......”* President John F. Kennedy

January 25, 2012, 01:28 AM	#19
ragwd Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2006 Posts: 925	The indoor range I shoot at , frown at sweeping anything in front of the line. I take a half step back move over to the far left of stall and that has me aiming back towards the center and gives me a few degrees of angle back to the rear of stall and my brass a better chance of hitting right side of stall and me a better chance of retrieving. I usually leave with 90%of what I brought.

January 25, 2012, 06:20 AM	#20
Marco Califo Senior Member Join Date: April 4, 2011 Location: LA (Greater Los Angeles Area) Posts: 2,600	Fetch 'em up! Moving Targets are way more fun!! __________________ ............

January 25, 2012, 10:31 AM	#21
FlyFish Senior Member Join Date: January 20, 2009 Location: Overlooking the Baker River Valley Posts: 1,723	The company that makes the hand-held catcher also has a free-standing one (for a few more bucks) that I think is a much better and more versatile design, particularly if you already have a cheap tripod to mount it on: http://www.gracomodels.com/bigcatcher.html

January 25, 2012, 09:33 PM	#22
sigcurious Senior Member Join Date: May 25, 2011 Posts: 1,755	I think I may need to head to my local home improvement store and rig something up like some of those standing models. Those have definitely caught my eye, but spending $50 on a glorified net seems a little silly when the raw materials cost much less.

January 26, 2012, 01:07 PM	#23
Sky Master Senior Member Join Date: May 30, 2009 Posts: 136	I've had that problem too, until I started standing back a little farther.

January 27, 2012, 11:55 AM	#24
AFK Senior Member Join Date: May 28, 2010 Posts: 151	If I go to an indoor range I do a few things. 1) Shoot my revolver and .22 more 2) Stand back and left a little bit 3) Bring brass that has been reloaded more or brass that was a prior range pick-up. 4) If someone else is there, I ask them if they are saving their brass. If so, I don't touch it. If not, I ask if it is ok for me to sweep it in to my pile. Using these methods, I usually don't end up leaving with much less brass than I showed up with, and it is usually brass that I found at a range at one point any way.

January 27, 2012, 12:23 PM	#25
JWT Senior Member Join Date: March 16, 2007 Location: Southern Arizona Posts: 3,888	Range I frequent also has brooms that can be used to sweep the brass back of the line for pick up.