Whether you own an AR-15 or another sporting rifle, once you break over from repeaters to autoloaders and burn a lot of brass in a very little amount of time, a brass catcher is just one of those accessories that’s worth the small investment. There are shooters that collect their brass and reload (especially in light of the recent ammo crisis), there are shooters that don’t like to litter the range or the field, and there are shooters that are bound by range or competition rules to use them. They’re cheap, effective, and multiply the convenient use of sporting rifles tenfold or more.
All casing catchers for AR 15 rifles and other sporters are not created equal, however. If anything, there might be the widest variance in quality among them of all the common accessories for AR-style platforms. Many of them are made of nylon mesh, or of some other synthetic material – but these are some of the biggest offenders in terms of practicality, and their shortcomings are the reason that a solid plastic brass catcher makes the most sense.
For those of you familiar with the bag brass catchers, these typically attach to a section of quad rail on the side of the rifle in front of the ejection port. This enables them to swing backward and forwards, covering the port at will. These mesh bags sometimes attach with a hook and loop webbing and contain a wireframe that holds the opening of the bag rigid. This enables the bag to accumulate and contain a given number of empty brass casings.
They quickly attach to the rifle and usually have a convenient zipper at the bottom of the mesh bag which makes emptying simple and easy. These brass catchers attach easily and they offer quite a convenient way to prevent spent brass from littering your shooting area. They also help to prevent hot brass from landing on shooters in the area.
This is where one of the main issues arises. Despite the fact that these brass catchers offer plenty of convenient features and claim to be heat resistant, the fact of the matter is that they have been known to melt or even to catch fire. When this happens, at best you’ll be looking at replacing your brass catcher. At worst, you’ll be dealing with a melted nylon mess that could seriously damage the works of your rifle. It is a situation best avoided, and one that can be entirely avoided with the simple use of a solid casing catcher for an AR 15.
A solid brass catcher like the Brass Goat by Magwell Mounts will solve this problem by virtue of its design, though it will solve a number of other problems as a result as well. Made from hard, molded ABS resin, the Brass Goat is shock and shatter resistant, amazingly tough, and perhaps most importantly, will most certainly not melt or catch fire.
That solves one of the biggest issues associated with mesh bag brass catchers, although the Brass Goat exceeds their performance in a variety of other ways as well. It not only won’t melt or catch fire – but it also won’t tear, rip or hang up on thorn or vegetation. It can also be mounted easily to Mil-Spec AR-15 lower receiver magwells in a matter of seconds with no tools required. Since it doesn’t touch your Picatinny rail, it also will keep your sight picture clear, if that is an issue you’ve ever experienced with other brass catchers in the past.
To learn more about the superior design and practical features of the Brass Goat, visit BrassGoat.com or contact their customer service team at 1-833-MAGWELL or at admin@magwellmounts.com.
