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Collecting-up Spent Brass Casings

40K views 58 replies 39 participants last post by  Fletch.N 
#1 · (Edited)
Simply a curiosity post.

As I am blessed and fortunate-enough to be able to shoot at home (on Family property), I am wondering ...do any of you who have this opportunity, collect-up your ejected casings, and if so, what percentage of them would you say you recover, and do you have any sort of formula for retrieving them ALL, or at least a consistently high percentage of them, please?

PS ~ I've never been to an actual range, so I am not really sure how it works there...?
 
#30 ·
ryan, if you're asking about the nut-grabber, they are made for picking up nuts that fall from the trees. They sell them in a couple of hardware stores, around here, since we got lots of pecan trees in this area.

Or you could go here.
http://www.nutwizard.com/
 
#33 · (Edited)
Yes i'm lucky i can shoot on my property as well even hunt which i do . I shoot competetion grade rifles and pistols . I spend a great deal of time more than most weighing out brass ,trimming the neck diameter and length . I try to get my brass and every reloading componet the same as close as possible . I take great care of my brass not allowing it to just fling out .On some guns i have had the builder disable the extractor where it just dribbles out the brass to catch on a towel or leather mat . yes i know this is extreme but I enjoy tiny tiny groups .
 

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#34 ·
When shooting in the field - at a gravel pit or a dump or just an open area in the woods - it's quite easy to lose your brass. It just seems to disappear into the pine needles or the sand and rocks. Something that is helpful is to get one of them blue plastic tarps and put it down. The brass shows up pretty good on that.
When at the club I try and get the farthest bench right and lay a tarp down too. pull the corners together and slide them into a box or bucket. I dont even reload yet possibility I never will. Sent JLA a bunch of brass and have tons more but havent been shooting in awhile due to my shoulder.
 
#35 ·
When i was a kid and w just moved down from the bush to the west of Sydney the old range at pitt town had a semi tamed magpie who'd pick up a shell fly to the bucket , drop the shell in and then get old erny would give it a seed or bit of mince

when erny became too ill they just put out the seed in a bowl next to the bucket and the bird helped himself but still collected all the shells casings , a two day break would see the bucket full , the bin full of shells too and the seed bowl empty and not a shell on the range

birds been dead 30 years now , earny 35 the range at pitt town gone now 20 or more ,

much prefer the old days eh ..
 
#37 ·
Frank, you are posting to a thread that is over four years old, some of the members in this thread are no longer with us.
Welcome aboard.
 
#49 ·
I don't allow CF rifle brass of DA handgun brass to hit the ground in the first place. My 9mm's give me the vapors though! Stuff fly's all over. I'm not really handicapped though sometimes I wonder. Very hard to pick up brass off the ground. If I get down on one knee, without support, getting up is d*mn near impossible. Old back and knee problem's. But I believe I have the answer. Looking for one of those dust pan's on a rod that lay down when touching the ground and have a very small rake. Set the dust pan down and rake the mty's into it.
 
#50 ·
Very hard to pick up brass off the ground.
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2011 post, must be doing some research.
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For dirt, take a rake and some small wire mesh screen that you can lay on the ground, rake the dirt/brass over the screen. Lift of the screen and manage the brass as the dirt falls thru the screen. May be have the 4 corners w/ some cordelette tied to them and coming to a center ring so you can use a hook to bring the ring up to you then lift from a standing position.
-- or --
May be good for dirt, not sure about rolling on smooth concrete
http://www.cabelas.com/product/BATT...gclid=CNOz7uzIwtQCFUFsfgodWEUDzQ&gclsrc=aw.ds
 
#51 ·
I use a tarp at my daughters house and still lose a few. But at the range I find a lot more than I lose. I have box that I throw in the found brass(9mm) and I'll bet I have 500 rds. I usually lose maybe a couple when I'm there. It's amazing how much people leave behind. I've even found some of mine in return trips. I have a mark on the end of the case. Well got to get back to reloading, see ya at the range.
 
#54 ·
I use this while out in the back meadow...it gets about 90 percent - some firearms just do not cooperate with throwing all the empties to the same place!!
Brass Magnet Nylon Mesh Shell Casing Collection Net
The BRASS MAGNET is a 100"x 144" nylon mesh shell…
 
#55 ·
After hitting +65 and the associated back problems that go along with getting old, picking up brass became a real chore. Unless I have help, I find myself shooting the revolvers more and more. That eliminates the pick up chore. I have inherited a Walther P38 9mm Luger, enjoy shooting it , the local indoor range sells fired 9mm brass for $12.00 for 1500, I don't shoot but 50-100 rounds a month , so that's cheap enough for me to just buy them and let the range pick them up for me. I still try to pick up mine but don't obsess over leaving a few 9's
At the local outdoor range a lot of 9mm is in the trash can, easy pickens . Loaded 9mm is cheap and many don't reload for it , so they leave it .
If shooting in the grass outdoors, with a semi-auto , a 50% find rate is about my average.
Interesting thread...Gary
 
#56 ·
Looks like we all agree about putting down a tarp when shooting, I bought a couple of the grabbers from Harbor Freight and use a small bucket that had laundry detergent in it. It's in my trunk all the time because I can't pass by shiny stuff in the desert.
 
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