# Brass-Catchers for Guns? Yes/No/? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 2, 2012, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brass-catchers-for-guns-yes-no/611504 "2012-02-02T04:38:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brass-catchers-for-guns-yes-no/611504/1 "2012-02-02T04:38:10Z")
The only guns I have are revolvers and a couple of old cap-and-ball pieces, but every so often, I think about getting a nice .22 automatic target pistol. What is the prevailing opinion about brass-catchers, little bags that fit over the ejection port to catch the empties? Good idea, or a foolish invitation to jams and misfires? At an indoor range, of course, one sweeps up one’s spent casings, but that’s a bit harder outdoors. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Room](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_room/32/5069_2.png) [@Little\_Room](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Room)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brass-catchers-for-guns-yes-no/611504/2 "2012-02-02T05:09:10Z")
I’ve never thought about it, but I think it would just seem weird - like it would throw off my rhythm and the way I usually do things. Picking them up off the ground has never been a problem. I would have to see how they work. If it even had the possibility of noticeably increasing jams, then no thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brass-catchers-for-guns-yes-no/611504/3 "2012-02-02T05:45:57Z")
I could maybe see doing that if you were going to reload you own ammo, but .22 just isn’t worth the trouble. You can get 500 rounds of .22 for less than $10, or at least you could last time I bought any. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Room](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_room/32/5069_2.png) [@Little\_Room](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Room)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brass-catchers-for-guns-yes-no/611504/4 "2012-02-02T05:55:33Z")
That’s true; I didn’t catch that you were talking about a .22. Probably not worth it. ---
**Author:** ![kjckjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e36b37/32.png) [@kjckjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kjckjc)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brass-catchers-for-guns-yes-no/611504/5 "2012-02-02T13:20:36Z")
Only time I have used them was with MILES gear at work to prevent foreign-matter exclusion problems. They do cause more problems than I would be comfortable with if I didn’t have to use them. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brass-catchers-for-guns-yes-no/611504/6 "2012-02-02T14:20:08Z")
My go-to rifle is an FAL. They sell brass catchers for it, but I always thought they were ridiculous. I assume it would just get in the way and ruin the balance. Brass was \*meant \*to fly. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brass-catchers-for-guns-yes-no/611504/7 "2012-02-02T14:39:13Z")
Unless you are concerned about the amount of forensic data you are leaving behind, they are worthless. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brass-catchers-for-guns-yes-no/611504/8 "2012-02-02T15:21:26Z")
It looks like the gun has balls though. Considered very cool in some circles. : sarcastic smiley : ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brass-catchers-for-guns-yes-no/611504/9 "2012-02-02T22:21:15Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > . . . Brass was \*meant \*to fly. 😃 I’m gonna take that as the lesson to be learned from this thread! > [@silenus](#): > > Unless you are concerned about the amount of forensic data you are leaving behind, they are worthless. Grin! I was thinking a little “green,” wanting to avoid littering up the range with my cases. But nobody else does this… (Also, it seems that brass corrodes and disintegrates reasonably quickly. And, also, it’s a “natural” substance. Not like I’m firing depleted uranium…) Thank ya’s all! ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brass-catchers-for-guns-yes-no/611504/10 "2012-02-03T15:58:00Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Grin! I was thinking a little “green,” wanting to avoid littering up the range with my cases. But nobody else does this… > > ( Outdoor ranges are far more problematic because of the lead in the backstop than the brass at the firing line. My range requires you to police up all your brass except for 22, but that’s because anything larger than 22 screws up the mower. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brass-catchers-for-guns-yes-no/611504/11 "2012-02-03T18:10:42Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Grin! I was thinking a little “green,” wanting to avoid littering up the range with my cases. But nobody else does this… > > (Also, it seems that brass corrodes and disintegrates reasonably quickly. And, also, it’s a “natural” substance. Not like I’m firing depleted uranium…) > > Thank ya’s all! Brass doesn’t corrode all that quickly. It’s more that most gun users are pretty good about policing their brass, and if they’re firing most any round larger than .22, someone else will police it for them to reload it. That’s why gun ranges aren’t carpeted with old casings. That being said, policing up your brass by hand, even outdoors, isn’t very difficult or time consuming unless you’re doing a lot of moving and shooting. Plinking away with a .22 will probably leave you with a pile of brass in a very small area; it’ll be fairly easy to police up without buying a brass catcher. I’d look at someone with a brass catcher on a weapon at a range in much the same way that I do guys who put those bras on their cars. They’re quite an expense in order to make your machine look funny, for a minor convenience. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brass-catchers-for-guns-yes-no/611504/12 "2012-02-03T18:25:18Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Unless you are concerned about the amount of forensic data you are leaving behind, they are worthless. But if you are, is there a certain brand you can recommend? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brass-catchers-for-guns-yes-no/611504/13 "2012-02-03T21:04:56Z")
> [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](#): > > . . . I’d look at someone with a brass catcher on a weapon at a range in much the same way that I do guys who put those bras on their cars. They’re quite an expense in order to make your machine look funny, for a minor convenience. I suppose you’re right…but this seems to be turning it into a question of fashion, and I’d rather not make technical decisions on that basis. (But, with that in mind, like, I mean, **pink guns**? Really?) ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brass-catchers-for-guns-yes-no/611504/14 "2012-02-04T10:31:13Z")
I collect my brass so it would probably be a good thing for me, but I still don’t use them. Two reasons: 1. The ones that attach to your arm make things awkward and I’ve never seen one that performs acceptably. If you read the reviews for them most of the customers are disappointed, and rightfully so. 2. A generalized brass catcher changes the way you shoot because you become preoccupied with making sure the brass makes it into the net, and since each gun ejects differently and I always bring more than one it would be useless anyway. Mostly I collect my brass because it has enough value that the “brass vultures” come to the range (I use a public one) and pick up around you while you’re shooting. I had one even step slightly in front of my near my feet as I was shooting a string, which is utterly unacceptable. I do my part and pick up so that they won’t come around anymore, not out of some noble ideal. The state cleans it up and recycles it anyway a few times a year, so it’s not like it’s an environmental hazard. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brass-catchers-for-guns-yes-no/611504/15 "2012-02-04T21:52:21Z")
**Airman Doors, USAF** : I was thinking more of the “condom” kind, that affix right over the ejection port, sort of like a dumb little sock. But I can see how that would also change the firing experience, as it flaps back and forth. Like having a pendulum attached to the slide… Couldn’t help but be a distraction, I guess… I hadn’t even heard of the other two kinds! (One of the things I love about the SDMB: my ignorance is often fought in a “well-frog” fashion; I learn things, but also discover that I was ignorant about other things, without even being aware of it!) ETA: aggressive brass hyenas? Holy ####! That would be utterly infuriating! How stupid can it possibly be to act like a jerk in the presence of people with guns?