DIY Ghetto Brass catcher

[DavePAL84 1]

Okay, so I was at the range on Friday and shot 400 rounds of .22lr out of my Ruger MkIII 22/45.

Sounds like fun, right? Well it wasn't fun picking up all of the brass. A thought came to mind

I need a brass catcher. First, I'll have to find one, then I'll have to buy it, then

I'll have to wait for it in the mail--who wants to go through all that?

 

Being both a frugal bastard and a mechanical engineering major, I hate paying for anything

that I can make myself. So I decided to make a brass catcher. What you are about to see was

made with simple handtools with a short period of time. Since I'm prepping for a move I don't

have access to any of my tooling so this a very, very rough draft--call it my 'proof of concept'

if you will.

 

Since my MkIII has a scope rail I decided to utilize it. First, I gathered the following

materials:

 

-Old scope ring that doesn't affect the sight picture (by itself)

-Trusty dremel tool /w cut-off wheel

-Cordless drill /w 1/8" drill bit

-Wire hanger

-Old Sock

-Safety pins

 

First off, I cut the ring off of my scope ring and mounted it to ensure it didn't get in the

way of the iron sights. Then I drilled a 1/8" hole (much larger than the diameter of the wire

hanger) into a part of the scope ring that wouldn't affect the integral machine screw.

 

I fashioned a cage larger than the ejection port that the sock will be placed over out of pieces of coat hanger. It ensures

the cases will be caught. I added a bulge to accommodate flying cases.

 

This cage was fashioned out of an old white wire hanger. Since I don't have access to my welding

gear all the joints are held in place with bends and secured with wire or black electrical tape. One of the wires fits through

the 1/8" hole cut into the ring. This holds the cage in place and also allows the entire structure to pivot 180 degrees for emptying

the empty casings.

 

The sock "catcher" is attached with simple safety pins (to be permanently sewn later) and viola' brass catcher for $0.00

 

 

 

a view down the sights, nothing obstructed

 

the cage

 

Another angle

 

Side-view with mounted brass catcher

 

Photo of the pivot action

 

 

The pivot action also allows you to comfortably hold the grip without any interference. Ugly, but functional. Let the flaming begin.

 

 

I just finished the second version, using a mesh bag as opposed to an old green (yellow now) USMC sock. The swivel action allowed some of the brass to exit and burn the piss out of my trigger finger. I got rid of the swivel action with super glue and added a release at the bottom of the bag.

 

Here:

 

MSpaint version of the scope ring:

 

The ring pictures is of similar design of the one I used. The line drawing should clear up any confusion.

[polik6887 0]

pretty cool. now you just need to figure out how to rig one up on a gun without a rail. and then tell me.

[Cobra 76 two 2,677]

I thought it was going to be a Crown Royal bag....or maybe Black Velvet...lol.

 

Way to improvise dude!

[Res 0]

or for your rifle, just do it the S. Korean SWAT way