TacStar, a subsidiary of Lyman Products, announced an addition to their existing line of aftermarket long-gun products. The newcomer is the TacStar Brass Catcher, a device that mounts to the Picatinny rail of AR-platform rifles.
According to the company, the product’s aluminum component is fully adjustable and low profile, meaning it can be used in conjunction with most optics. No modifications are necessary. To attach the catcher to your flat-top AR, simply clamp it onto the Pic rail.
Once the catcher is clamped on your rifle, you attach the catch bag. The bag is black, made from heat-resistant Nylon, and listed as having a 120-round capacity (specifically related to .223 Rem brass). Emptying the bag is as easy as pulling it off the mounting component and dumping it. The catch bag can also be cleaned by unsnapping it from the aluminum deflector plate. MSRP is $34.98.
Those are the product details. On to the actual use.
The Brass Catcher is being marketed to reloaders, at least according to the press release. Catching the brass in an attached bag negates the need for reloaders to crouch over to collect it from the ground (of course, it isn’t only reloaders who collect it).
There are certainly possibilities here. Every time I hit the range, whether with a review gun or my own personal firearms – not that I have much time for my personal guns – I spend an inordinate amount of time collecting brass. Would it make my life easier to attach this to my ARs? Maybe.
Some ranges require you to pick up spent brass, some ranges forbid it. Some shooters collect spent brass because they or someone they know intend to use it. Some shooters hoard it like an old woman hoards those ceramic figurines with big eyes.
Our needs and uses vary just as our opinion of the Brass Catcher will. I’m curious and I can see how some shooters might make good use of it. I’d like to know how well it really works with optics and how severely it affects the rifle’s balance as it fills and gets heavier.
So…gimmick or gear?
If you’d like to take a closer look, Brownell’s has them on their site (click here).