[GOH]

I was at the range this weekend. In order to be able to find my brass after shooting my HK33 pistol clone, I draped a hand towel between the ejection port area and my range box. It worked fine for the entire session(50 rounds) with one exception. About 40 rounds in, the towel I used slipped down, and a brass casing was kicked back into the action. The bolt was only half closed and I could see the brass had nose-dived towards the magazine feed lips. When I turned the rifle to the side to clear the action, the round would not fall out. I removed the magazine and, to my surprise, the empty round had imbedded itself into the plastic feed lips of the magazine. I pried the brass away from the mag, which took quite a bit of effort, and it left this horseshoe-shaped cutout(sorry for the poor optical quality, but it's as clear a picture as I could get):

The spent round in the mag is to hold the follower down so you can see the cut. I continued to use the magazine, and the piece did not break; however, my MKE mags are definitely for range use only now. A shame, too, since I have had no other issues with these mags in hundreds of rounds.

 

[hkshooterusp]

Plastic. Expect such things.

 

[dbarnhart]

Dang.

Though it doesn't solve your problem, I use an E&L Manufacturingbrass catcher on my C93:

E&L Mfg Brass Catcher | ShootAndReload.com

I get 'stovepipes' the same as you describe, though I've not had one damage the mag yet.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I plan to buy and fit an 8 pack of them mainly for range use and pony up and buy metal mags for the real deal. Sounds like it still functions.. wish MKE would add steel or aluminum there, tho

 

[usmc_mwroseberry]

This is my first post here but my question is why fault the mag for this issue? No where in any combat situation I was exposed to (Fallujah 06' EOD security) have I ever attempted to retain my brass. The fault of the magazine was due to extremely hot brass (just fired) being directed back into the chamber which is in no way a normal condition. I am getting ready to order my clone shortly but from what I've seen of the mags that I received this week leads me to believe I should question them over this issue. Let your brass drop and you're fine.

Good luck,
Merritt

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Welcome USMC

 

[dbarnhart]

Welcome, USMC, and thank you for your service to our country. Some of us are cheap SOBs and we reload our brass. By doing so, my reloaded C93 ammo costs me $118 per thousand. These guns are known to throw their brass into the next county. Thus most of us HK clone-owning reloaders tend to use some kind of brass capturing thingy.

 

[GOH]

As you said, USMC, let the brass drop. Just letting the folks here know that there is a possibility of this situation happening. A remote possibility, but a possibility, nonetheless. I still like these MKE mags, don't get me wrong. They are a whole lot easier to use on a range bench than the 40 rounders that are so abundant, and they are far less expensive than the factory 30 rounders. They just won't be my first choice when the zombies start gathering on my doorstep(Sorry everyone--obligatory zombie reference).

 

[df662]

Buy a tarp, figure out where your brass is gonna fall, setup tarp. Problem solved . I have been using these mags since they first became available. Full auto, semi auto, never had a problem.

 

[11ACR_Vet]

Buy a tarp, figure out where your brass is gonna fall, setup tarp. Problem solved . I have been using these mags since they first became available. Full auto, semi auto, never had a problem.

Yep! One of the nice bright blue woven plastic jobs.

USMC, welcome to the site. Y'all did a helluva job mopping up their sorry asses in Fallujah.

 

[HKaltwasser]

These mags have been perfect for me. Like someone stated above, buy a real E&L brass catcher. They're big and clunky looking but I'm sure they work.

 

[Shattered Mind]

Buy a real Shattered brass catcher and have nothing hanging on your gun...

standing or prone... it's all good.

 

[retrodog]

Yep, use a real catcher. Anything else is interference.

 

[hkshooterusp]

Shattered, what is that and where can I get one? I couldn't care any less if I recover the empties but policeing them is a PITA, not to mention the device might save injury to some poor sap to my right.

 

[Shattered Mind]

It's a simple expandable/collapsable laundry basket and what I did was add two plywood disks to the bottom with an insert embedded into the bottom so the thing can be mounted to any camera tripod and thus adjusted to any height, standing, seated in a chair, kneeling, sitting on the ground or dismounted, even prone. The added weight of the plywood makes the thing less likely to get sent flying by the brass out of a 21. Plus it folds up to just a one and a half inch disk for storage. I made up a dozen and have two left besides my own. It DOES make cleanup a lot quicker at the range. You don't catch'em all, but you get better than 90% of the buggers.

Ready to go, I've been selling them for $25 plus shipping or you could make your own from a Walmart laundry basket.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Yep, use a real catcher. Anything else is interference.

I have my chick catch the brass. She is free and does not interfere with my gun. I can have as many guns as I want and she does not care

 

[Shattered Mind]

I have my chick catch the brass.

She catches the brass?? So she's out there some 20 feet ahead of the firing line running around catching the brass? You hate her or something? Aren't you worried about her catching a slug while doing that?

I'm not even going to comment on the "She's free..." part of it... errr, i guess I just did... :biggrin:

 

[Blitzkrieg]

She catches the brass?? So she's out there some 20 feet ahead of the firing line running around catching the brass? You hate her or something? Aren't you worried about her catching a slug while doing that?

I'm not even going to comment on the "She's free..." part of it... errr, i guess I just did... :biggrin:

I have her stand next to me and deflect them to the ground before they get more than a few feet from the gun. Technically she still has to pick them up but that a pretty sight, anyway. She's free to me but she is pretty good with her S & W .357 so anyone else had best not try for freebies :87:

 

[swiss_seth]

lmao. awesome

 

[Shattered Mind]

... but she is pretty good with her S & W .357

You know I'm just rattlin' your chains, right? :biggrin: