Poor college student's portable brass catcher build - FAIL

[bluebird]

Since I will starting reloading in a month and I don't want to pick up brass piece by piece at the range (Tried that, a PITA to find .223 brass at my range LOL), I was inspired by this (http://www.bubca.com/) and I attempted to build a poor college student's version because the BUBCA cost $80+shipping. I tried to come up with something that is 1/4 the cost that is as good as, if not better than the real thing.

I FAILED

Since I tend to overbuild my projects (my reloading table is a good example - a 2x2 table that used FIVE 2x4 LOL), this one is not an exception. Instead of using 1/2" PVC pipes, I used 3/4" PVC pipes, and here is the result:



I originally designed it to be portable and can be disassembled into a few major parts, but as I progress I realize there is no way I can fit everything into the 50 cal can, so I just gave up.

Total cost of PVC pipes and couplings and joints cost about $12 and the fabric + velcro cost about $5.

I am not going to share the details of the build as it is flawed. I realize PVC pipes just won't work because it is really hard to disassemble anyway.

I would like to hear what you think.

[kmca]

Nice try too bad it didn't work.
For my ar, off a bench, or varmint shooting, I use one of these:

http://www.cdnninvestments.com/ardemeshcane.html

[bruss01]

So... what about it didn't work? Does it catch brass?

If it won't all fit in a 50 cal ammo can, why not just upgrade to a 5 gallon bucket?

Not getting why you came this far, only to give up now. I'm not really seeing the "fail" as much as I'm seeing the "eh, why bother".

[2DoorImpala]

Flat aluminum that you can make collapse will do. Something like an iron board mechanics

[bluebird]

I have not tried it yet - I'm testing it this coming Sunday.

The FAIL part I mentioned in my post is that it does not meet my main purpose - portability like the BUBCA system.

I'm confident it will work very nicely, it just doesn't fit in the can XD

I will consider that using aluminum in the future.

[bob7122]

maybe a catch all like a net at the base of the ammo can that will funnel whatever bounces of the orange but does not fall into the can. and instead of PVC pipe use metal wire like from a coat hangar wire that way you can bend it back into place or fold to store away.

[Cokebottle]

Replace the PVC with threaded rod and coupling nuts.

Torch-heat to bend without breaking the rod.

[marc4]

Think tent pole system and netting. find some old/used tent poles that are ready to be discarded. Or wooden dowels and aluminum tubing. for corners bend aluminum tubing to form an L shape. Use two L shapes for corners.
Material is thin enough to disassemble and fit in an ammo box.
Use your pvc pipe with filler material as base for the poles. Glue pvc pipe to side/corners of ammo box.

[anothergunnut]

I was trying a guy's at the range the other day that was working well. Instead of making it like a box like the OP, it was flat but angled away from the firearm, with loose mesh. It allowed the cartridge case to hit the mesh and roll down into a loop of mesh at the bottom. It worked well. The only thing it needed was more weight as it would get blown over easily. Because it used screen mesh, it was semi see through so it wouldn't block the view of a range safety officer.

[Ubermcoupe]

I clicked on this thread because I saw "fail"...

I saw a guy @ the range the other day using a fishing net, you know the thing you scoop the fish out of the water once you hook 'em. (Please forgive me, IANA Fish guy...yet)



He propped it up against the wall @ his station.

[MrExel17]

Hey at least you tried and was thinking out of the box, good job!

[epcii]

...For my ar, off a bench, or varmint shooting, I use one of these:
http://www.cdnninvestments.com/ardemeshcane.html

I have one of these too. It works, but causes an occasional jam. Maybe it's just me.

[Scratch705]

what you need to do is just instead of making the rectangle frame with PVC, just use a T shape to make it a triangle. that way you have less PVC to put away and it does the same thing.

plus what you can do is get PVC of smaller sizes so you can do like a retractable T and just use a bolt/nut to hold the smaller pieces up in place when deployed.

[Jwind]

A quote I live by, " If its worth doing, its worth OVER doing. " If it were me, I'd go and complete it. As others have said, try a different material instead of PVC piping?

[TimRB]

If you are shooting an AR15, you can get it to be better-mannered about where it parks its brass by trimming a couple turns off the ejector spring.

Tim