Many of you may wonder what the heck is a brass catcher? Well those of you that shoot firearms know the answer to that question. But I must preface this with this comment – if you are shooting for fun and do not reload your ammo then you may not need to save your brass. But if you reload like I do then saving your brass casings is completely necessary.
If we are shooting a revolver, it is easy to extract your shells from the cylinder and put them in a container. But if we are shooting a semi-automatic handgun, the brass shell casings will shoot out of the ejection port of your firearm and collect on the ground. So instead of picking up the shells by hand, I have made a brass catcher to either stand on the folding table that I use or it will attach to a tripod in a free standing manner. So let’s explore this topic.
Why Use A Brass Catcher?
When people shoot firearms, it usually happens in three ways; 1) You have a place on your property to shoot your firearms 2) You know someone else who will let you shoot on their property or 3) You have to go to a shooting range of some sort and pay their fees to shoot your firearms. Regardless of where you go, you will need to pick up your brass shells from the ground so you either use a brass catcher or you have to pick up all the brass that your firearm ejects by hand and that will take a while. So using a brass catcher saves you time and is much more efficient.
Why Not Just Buy One?
There are many brass catchers on the 
market today and it would be a lot easier to just buy one rather than make one. There are a couple different types of brass catchers, one that attaches to your firearm and one that is more universal in nature and stands on your tables and catches the brass as you shoot your weapon. I am looking at a universal brass catcher that can work with many different firearms, handguns and rifles. This first one is made by CTK Precision and costs $65.00. It looks to be adequate but I have not tried it. The second one is made by Caldwell and it costs $49.89 and it too looks like it would 
do the job. So then why not buy one? I guess you could say I am kind of a tight-wad and a bit of an engineer-type and if I can make one just as good (or better) then why not do it. Besides I don’t know about you but I get a lot of personal satisfaction from doing things myself, rather than just buying one.
What Do You Need To Build One?
So now that you are considering building one, what tools and supplies do you need to make one.
Let’s look at the tools that you will need:
- PVC pipe cutters
- Pliers
- Side cutters
- Cordless drill
- Drill bits
- Tap & die set
Now what supplies will you need:
- PVC Glue
- 1/2″ PVC pipe
- 4-90 degree slip fittings
- 2- 1/2″ PVC slip tee fittings
- 20-plastic clamps
- Netted laundry bag
- Bag of zip ties
How Do You Build One?
Now that you have all of your tools and supplies that you will need, what next?
- Draw a simple sketch of what the brass catcher looks like
- Then cut the PVC pipe to the desired length and lay them out on a flat table so you can see how it will go together.
- Place your fittings on the table next to the pipe
- Glue your fittings and pipe together in the configuration that it needs to be.
How Does It Work?
I originally designed it to work free-standing using a camera tripod when you are standing up shooting or on a table as a table-top brass catcher, when you were sitting down at a table when you were shooting. The most difficult thing to figure-out is where to place it so you can catch the brass as it comes out of your handgun. It takes a little adjustment to get it catching most of your brass.
When using different handguns, the brass comes out at different angles. So do you put it close so that you catch it right out of the gun or do you move it away and catch it as it is falling down? I had better luck moving it close and catching it right out of the gun, it catches the brass more consistently. So since I use a table most of the time when I shoot, using it table-top style worked best for me.
Final Comments
Did it work – yes it did! Did I catch every piece of brass that I shot from my handguns – NO, and I never figured that it would. As you shoot your handguns, the brass that it coming out of your handgun may vary in the angle that it comes out. So you may have to change the position of your brass catcher, that way you can catch the majority of the brass and that is still better then picking it up off the ground. As the brass comes out it may hit the frame of the brass catcher and then bounces off of your table and hits the dirt below. Then you can look for them and pick them up. Am I glad I spent the time to make this brass catcher – Absolutely! It reminds me of a small soccer goal and works the same way. If you are in need of something like this, give me a shout in the comment area and I can give you some pointers.
If you have any questions about this post or anything related to Everyday Carry (EDC)/Concealed Carry, feel free to leave a comment below and I will be happy to get back to you.
All the best,
Larry
Founder of Everyday Carry Essentials