Another Reason Why I Prefer Revolvers

[Tennessee Jed]

It has been a long week, so I decided to hit the range tonight.  I shoot at an outdoor range, the kind that has gravel on the ground, and a lot of empty brass.

So I decided to leave my cherished wheel guns at home, and get some practice with my Glocks.  My favorite Glock is a G20, in 10mm.  I have started reloading, so I am evolving into one of those brass hounds, meaning I get obsessed with finding the empty cases.

And doing do was a huge pain in the butt.  With both my G20 and G23, brass was flying all over the place.

I found myself groaning.  I shoot the Glocks just fine.  However, it is hard to get excited about shooting them, especially since I spent as much time looking for my brass as I did shooting.  Say what you will about lower capacity, "old technology", etc.  I would have much rather been firing flame breathing 125 grain 357 magnum hollowpoints, or gentle pushing 45 Colt huge slugs of lead, than my uber modern fantastic plastic master blasters tonight.

I have no inention of getting rid of my Glocks, but I was reminded about yet another reason why I prefer revolvers.  Had I been firing wheelguns, I would have had much more time to shoot tonight, instead of looking like some old snowbird lady on a Florida beach looking for seashells.

[Bob Mayne]

.  I have started reloading, so I am evolving into one of those brass hounds,

Also known as a "range chicken"

[Devereaux]

Autoloaders are also autoUNloaders. You can't put a high volume of fire on a target without getting the empties "out of the way". In a fight, no one cares where the brass ends up.

So IF you are shooting to practice with your autoloaders, you will have to have the mindset that the brass is just going to fly. IF you are lucky, you will recover perhaps 80% of your brass. You can improve some of your recovery by spreading a tarp/plastic sheet on the ground to catch the empties, then pull the ends together and collect what you got. But if you are going to practice well, you should not be looking for your empties until you are all done.

Wheelies have an easier time "collecting" brass. But then, you don't carry a wheelie concealed. Back in the days when cops ALL carried wheelies, it was VERY COMMON to find after a firefight the cop had his brass in his pocket - it was what he did at the range, and in the fight he reverted to his "training" instead of worrying about reloading and continuing shooting.

I understand your frustration. You just hsve to have a miindset that empties are empties. You will lose some as you go along. I shot IPSC once, and NEVER got all my brass back when I shot a stage. Same can be said for cowboy shooting. You get your pistol empties, but the 10 shots from your rifle go --- somewhere. You get some, but not all. You just have to get accustomed to it. I usually buy brass by the thosands so that it takes me a long time to finally waste enough brass to need to buy more.

[Uninformed Opinion]

just be glad it wasn't a Makarov. With the direct blow back, it will literally throw the brass 20+ feet. My lane is always clean when I shoot it, but the guy 4 or 5 lanes down has a huge mess behind him.

[hobartfloyt]

I don't reload for my CZ-52, which is just as well. That brass goes into the next county.
Art - Florida

[Charlie Foxtrot]

   
TJ;  I've seen a vid of a guy using a net and frame contraption to catch the brass. Looked pretty effective. Think of the golf ball catcher that Lawyers use to practice their drives in the office while they're racking up billable hours.  Or the trap that football kickers use to practice on the sidelines.   

I hate to see someone have to give up shooting a G20 because it throws brass all over creation.  ;^)'

BTW, got a favorite load?  I'm currently using Blazer Aluminum, chiefly because I'm cheap.   

[Tennessee Jed]

I might have to check out some brass catchers.  I am also told that a heavier spring can help with brass going everywhere.

I wont give up.  No way.  I like the G20 too much for that, but there has to be a better way to save brass.  Another alternative will be shooting at a cleaner range.

Regardless, I am partial to 165 grain loads in the 10mm, paricularly Double Tap Gold Dots.  Recently read a gel test report on another forum (not Double Tap's gel tests), where this round  went 19 inches and expanded to something like 0.75 inches.  (Insert diabolical laugh here.)

So, I have been handloading, working my way up to Double Tap's velocity (1400 fps) very slowly.  Been using Zero brand FMJ 165 grain bullets with AA9 powder and Winchester large pistol primers.  Dont have the actual weight of powder handy, but I am at mid range of what AA publishes for this load.  Am very pleased.  Very accurate, reliable feeding, no signs of over pressure.

[Tennessee Jed]

SUCCESS!!!

I bought this Graco brass catcher (http://www.gracomodels.com/catcher.html) and am very impressed.  It rides on the back of your shooting hand.  I shot both the G20  and a G23 40 S&W using the brass catcher yesterday.  The range was full, and I was placed one lane to the left of a guy trying to teach his young kids how to shoot 22's.  Great, if this doesn't work, then I'm the big jerk hitting these kids with hot, empty brass.

However, the brass catcher worked great.  It caught 8 - 9 out of 10 rounds in the bag, and those that didn't go in the bag were deflected downward and fell right in front of me.  The bag and the strap that holds it to my hand didn't interfere with my grip.  Not worrying about where the brass was going allowed me to focus on my shooting technique and I shot better than ever.

It's not something I'd use for moving and shooting drills.  And there is no question that I did not look cool with it.  However, I recovered my brass without doing the stoop-and-scoop, and the dad and his young kids next to me were not pelted with my empty cases.     

[Uninformed Opinion]

But getting hit with hot brass is a key part of any ones first experience at the range. Shame on you robbing that poor kid of that.

[Charlie Foxtrot]

   
Kewl!

Gotta get one before I take out the SW1911 again. You think the G20 throws brass? The Smidt has an external extractor, and let's just say that extraction is VERY positive. Damn thing flings brass with great abandon. I'm always given the right side of the range..  ;^)'

Tanks TJ!

[Bflobill69]

Isn't all that bending over to pick up brass good for your CORE? =P

[nate]

At our local USPSA match on Saturday-I went back to the vacant bays to look for brass.  I think I can home with about 1100 cases If you can't find your own-go to the bay with the 42 round count stage after everyone's done shooting. I think I have enough brass for the rest of the year!

[Tennessee Jed]

Yeah, range hunting for brass actually is good exercise, and I could get a lot of extra brass if I wanted to, but the 10mm I shoot is pretty rare at my range so I usually end up losing my brass and find a TON of 9mm (which I don't shoot).  Regardless, I am really happy with this brass catcher.

[SirBrass]

just be glad it wasn't a Makarov. With the direct blow back, it will literally throw the brass 20+ feet. My lane is always clean when I shoot it, but the guy 4 or 5 lanes down has a huge mess behind him.

My 1911 seems like it could be an olympian brass-chucker.  Sometimes if I start at one end of a shooting bay for IDPA, some of the empty-brass chucked from that side of the bay ends up clear at the other end laterally.  Sometimes not.  Then again, my 1911 has a good ejection port and an oversized extractor.  Having a squad which always picks up a shooter's brass is REALLY nice to have when competing.  So, when you're looking at your targets and seeing the scoring, someone else is picking up your brass and/or your mags.

For the square range, I've seen that you can get a portable brass-catcher that you set up and catches those fliers for you.  No muss, no fuss, no worry, no bad habits formed .

Though for revolvers, at least even if you just dump the empties, at least they end up very close to you even if you "forget" them during shooting.  Easier to pick up afterwards.  Brass-catcher for a revolver is called an empty trash can.