A small request- - - - - -

Teach

First, I'd like to express my thanks to everyone who plans their vacation time to include a visit to our little part of the world every spring.  We are honored beyond expression that all of you choose to do that.  The friendship and good times we share are priceless, and it's becoming less common everywhere for people to actually socialize in person- - - -not by using some sort of electronic umbilical cord!

Now, may I ask a favor?  The area where we shoot is also used to cut and bale hay, and brass isn't a good addition to the diet of beef cattle.  I'm hoping we can come up with a way to leave a little less of it on the ground at future shoots.  I'm thinking about using a riding mower to cut an area around the firing line down very short, and organizing a brass cleanup detail before we leave the range at the end of the day.  This year, I'm planning on using a portable generator and a shop vac on a small trailer to try to pick up as much brass as possible to avoid having to put the firing line area off limits to the hay equipment.  My neighbor Roger makes a real effort to give us a clean, close-cut range.  Let's try to return the favor by leaving him  as clean a hay field as possible the next time he cuts and bales it.

Thanks for your cooperation!

Jerry

 

Diver43

Maybe we can all pitch in and get some canvas to lay down across the firing line?
My first thought was tarps, but plastic gets hot and that crinkle noise......

Jermanator

Leaf rakes.

zorba

Short of brass magnets, I agree with Jerm: Leaf rakes.

Fisheadgib

Debbie and I are having a haybarn built in about a month and we have several really huge tarps that we used to cover our hay with along with several that we covered the Fort Walton house with until we got the metal roof on. We probably have enough tarps to cover the entire firing line.

Varmintmist

Lawn mower, and a brass and trash call before lunch and before wrap up.

RugerFan

I saw some 9x12 canvas drop cloths/tarps at Harbor Freight yesterday. I think they were around $10. 

terminator012

I wondered about all that bread. Figured someone would pic it up for reloading. I wish I had mine back.

Fisheadgib

terminator012 said:

I wondered about all that bread. Figured someone would pic it up for reloading. I wish I had mine back.i

Sunday morning when I go back to get my targets, cooking gear, and to say our goodbyes, I scarf up a pretty good load of brass.

Old Ron

Do you think one of those leaf sweepers would pick up the brass ? The ones that have a spinning brush & pushed.......not the vacuum ones because they mulch the leaves.

Big Al1

Just do what NN suggested, line everybody up and do a FOD walk at the end of shooting!

Make_My_Day

Wambli Ska said:

Didn’t you have a flat trailer up there?  How about building a rolling shooting “cage” and all semi autos need to be shot from inside it?  Revolvers and bolts are not a problem if handled correctly.  ARs can be fitted with brass catchers?

The first shoot I attended, I think we had an organized brass pick-up after everyone was done. I don't know why this is not taken care of every time. We don't want the poor cows to ingest metal, do we? Speaking about brass catchers for AR's, I have one that works for single shots, but while using a bump stock, the catcher won't stop all the brass flying out of it. Fortunately, since using the damn thing ruined the chamber on my AR last year, I won't be using it anymore.

orchidman

My suggestion would be to use either shade cloth or scrim. If it rains, tarps will end up holding pools of water and shade cloth would catch the rubbish but be free draining.

Whatever you use will need to be staked down well as you dont want a 'tripping ' hazard on the firing line........  

Jermanator

I thought in a few more years we were going to mine the firing line area for brass, the back of the range for lead, and the rest of the property for steel.

tennmike

How about a piece of 3 1/2 ft. by 100 ft. 1/4" mesh netting? Use that for the semiautos at the firing line and designate it for use for semiautos. That would be wide enough for most of the semiautos that sling brass, and the mesh size would catch and hold everything but .22 rimfire cases. If y'all think that would work, I'll buy the stuff.

Edit to add:
The right end could also be turned up a couple of feet to keep that end from having brass going past the mesh netting.

earlyagain

The biggest problem I have retrieving fired brass from grass is that it has a tendency to land like a stove pipe. This makes very hard to spot. 

centermass556

After 21 years of policing brass in the sand, rocks, grass, and snow I can tell you there is only one way to really get after it correctly Rakes and many many passes. In grass, it involves rakers and a few folks willing to get on their knees and watch for it. The big broad plastic rakes work the best. 

No matter how it is solved, I am willing to do it however Jerry and Roger determine it will work for them...Even if I'm they guy on the ground while someone else drags the rake. 

Diver43

If the turf is cut short after the hay is cut, policing up brass wont be so difficut

Jermanator

I have tried a tarp before. It gets some of it, but you will have to go and rake after anyway and it tends to get tripped on and kicked around. While the cage idea would be effective, it isn't very practical in our situation. Even so... my M1 Carbine was kicking them straight back 10 feet, others to the right at various angles and distances-- no matter what you guys think up, the brass is going to win.

You can debate this all you wish. I will see you guys there next year with a plastic tined leaf rake and a flat head shovel.

Fisheadgib

Wambli Ska said:

cpj said:

Wambli Ska said:

cpj said:

Wambli Ska said:

Teach said:

First, I'd like to express my thanks to everyone who plans their vacation time to include a visit to our little part of the world every spring.  We are honored beyond expression that all of you choose to do that.  The friendship and good times we share are priceless, and it's becoming less common everywhere for people to actually socialize in person- - - -not by using some sort of electronic umbilical cord!

Now, may I ask a favor?  The area where we shoot is also used to cut and bale hay, and brass isn't a good addition to the diet of beef cattle.  I'm hoping we can come up with a way to leave a little less of it on the ground at future shoots.  I'm thinking about using a riding mower to cut an area around the firing line down very short, and organizing a brass cleanup detail before we leave the range at the end of the day.  This year, I'm planning on using a portable generator and a shop vac on a small trailer to try to pick up as much brass as possible to avoid having to put the firing line area off limits to the hay equipment.  My neighbor Roger makes a real effort to give us a clean, close-cut range.  Let's try to return the favor by leaving him  as clean a hay field as possible the next time he cuts and bales it.

Thanks for your cooperation!

Jerry

 

Didn’t you have a flat trailer up there?  How about building a rolling shooting “cage” and all semi autos need to be shot from inside it?  Revolvers and bolts are not a problem if handled correctly.  ARs can be fitted with brass catchers?

That has to be the dumbest idea I have ever heard.
Tarp and done. 

Said the guy that will invest $500 and countless hours making a screw that cost .25.  As Paul said, a lot semi-autos will launch brass into low earth orbit some in many directions.  A tarp on the ground will catch a small percentage of brass and having owned livestock I understand the pain in the ass all that brass in causing.  Anyway it was just a suggestion.

That’s odd, I must have missed any threads you’ve  made on machining.  🤷🏻‍♂️

Anyway you slice it, enclosing  a trailer for 25 people to take turns shooting in and parking it on a hill is a  dumb idea. 

And a tarp of any reasonable size is almost useless.  Oh well... 

I certainly wouldn't want to question all of your years of tellicom experience but please explain how tarps would be almost useless. I would think covering the entire firing line to a depth of 12 to 18 feet  with tarps would probably keep most of the brass from touching the ground. In the eight or nine shoots that I've attended, I've noted that the majority of the brass covers a swath about six to eight feet deep, for the width of the firing line. Maybe there's some physics/space time continuom stuff that I'm missing so I'm more than willing to hear an explanation as to why a tarp is almost useless.

Jermanator

centermass556 said:

After 21 years of policing brass in the sand, rocks, grass, and snow I can tell you there is only one way to really get after it correctly Rakes and many many passes. In grass, it involves rakers and a few folks willing to get on their knees and watch for it. The big broad plastic rakes work the best. 

No matter how it is solved, I am willing to do it however Jerry and Roger determine it will work for them...Even if I'm they guy on the ground while someone else drags the rake. 

21 years experience, huh? You are hired! (that means you have to be there next year-- it was great seeing you last year. We missed your presence this year and it would be great to see you again.)

Jermanator

And how about Wambli building and bringing us 2 small cage prototypes? One that fits to the height of a standard folding table, another for standing shooters. If you want to give something a real life workout, that is the place to do it.. That also means Wambli has to show up next year.

Tarp people-- bring your tarps. Just get there. Between tarps, rakes, and cages, we should have things covered one way or another. Just get your butts there. I will see you with my rake and shovel.

rberglof

I use a large brown tarp to catch brass when I am shooting in my grass, some may make it off but it is right around the perimeter. Tarp is about 20' across.

Big Chief

If Ned would bring that big HAT of his again..............it could catch a lot of brass. 

centermass556

Jermanator said:

centermass556 said:

After 21 years of policing brass in the sand, rocks, grass, and snow I can tell you there is only one way to really get after it correctly Rakes and many many passes. In grass, it involves rakers and a few folks willing to get on their knees and watch for it. The big broad plastic rakes work the best. 

No matter how it is solved, I am willing to do it however Jerry and Roger determine it will work for them...Even if I'm they guy on the ground while someone else drags the rake. 

21 years experience, huh? You are hired! (that means you have to be there next year-- it was great seeing you last year. We missed your presence this year and it would be great to see you again.)

Thanks Jerm, I hated missing it this year. I hope to make it next year, I will be in the last month of Sergeants Major Academy. But, I think we will get a four day weekend for it. 

tennmike

The more I think about it, the more the tarp idea makes sense. 10'X12' plastic tarps from Harbor Fright are pretty darned cheap. And they could easily be staked and stretched to avoid the tripping hazard.

And if I can get my 'cheap and easily fabricated' brass catcher for rifles worked out, maybe Zorba and I can work out a deal; I send him the material and he sews it up!

Fisheadgib

I probably already have enough tarps to cover the width of the firing line back to the tree line behind it. I don't think it will be necessary for anyone to buy any more tarps.

jbohio

I 16x100 roll of Visqueen is what, $50?  Everyone chip in $2, throw it away when done.  

tennmike

Fisheadgib said:

I probably already have enough tarps to cover the width of the firing line back to the tree line behind it. I don't think it will be necessary for anyone to buy any more tarps.

No need for you to have to tote that mess up here. If a dozen people bring one 10'x12' tarp each, then that would be more than enough for the brass slingers to shoot from and catch nearly all the brass.

jbp-ohio

Plastic tarp + rain + old people =

Big Chief

If I had know Jerm was shootin .30 Carbine and if he didn't want the brass, I'd have gladly did a police call fer it and picked up any other brass in the AO.