Shell catchers for ARs are more common in competitive shooting circles than they are amongst sportsmen. The vast majority of sportsmen don’t use autoloading rifles, and half of them are wingshooters slinging scatterguns, anyway.

All the same, there are some hunters who choose to roam afield with an AR in the sling instead of a single shot or a bolt action rifle. Those that do would be wise, in many instances, to hit the fall woods with a brass catcher in order to ensure they’re packing out what they packed in.

Rimfire AR Hunters: Take Notice
Let’s start with rimfire hunters. There are some AR variants that are chambered in .22 LR. While it’s probably an exceptionally small percentage of them, some bushytail hunters probably use these sporters instead of bolt-action rifles in the pursuit of their intended quarry.

There are a few good reasons to do so. Sporters chambered in .22 LR have higher capacities and higher rates of fire, enabling quicker follow-up shots. Some of them are also compact, light, and easy to carry.

But autoloading comes at a price. It’s easy enough to lose a squirrel in leaf litter. You think you’re going to find your spent .22 shells? Let us know when you do and we can sign you up for a professional haystack-needle contest.

Hog Hunters: Follow up Shots
Other hunters take their ARs, chambered in .223, into the field in search of hogs. Many hog seasons across the country allow for nocturnal harvest and are very generous with bag limits and equipment.

Sporting rifles allow for quick follow-up shots that can be necessary to dispatch wounded pigs; they are also highly modular, accepting lights, bipods, slings, and other night-hunting attachment that is less compatible with a traditional platform.

The same issue applies here, though. If you hunt with an AR for hogs at night and you do often take quick follow-up shots, getting back all your brass will be a trip. Better saddle yourself with a shell catcher for your AR, instead.

Coyote Hunters: Good Luck Finding Brass in the Dark
Finally, there is a contingent of furbearer hunters that chase coyotes after dark with sporting rifles. The thing about coyote hunting, though, is that it might require you to cover great distances and get into the thick of the brush before you can set up and start calling.

You might find yourself calling from the very bowels of the brush. Take a shot on a coyote and you’ll probably find that with proper shot placement, .223 is more than enough to dispatch them – but, in the dark, in the brush, you have next to no chance at all of recovering your spent brass.

Leave No Trace
Whether you hit the Fall timber for chicken of the tree or you prefer the care, snowswept, late winter woods for furbearers, an AR can be your best friend in the field. Just make sure you don’t leave your brass on the ground so you can follow the principle of leaving nothing behind but footsteps.

A shell catcher for your AR will help you carry out what you carry in and will prevent you from losing brass in the tangle of brush. Just make sure you’re prepared with the best the industry has to offer.

The Brass Goat, by Magwell Mounts, is engineered to a higher standard of quality than many other brass catchers. In lieu of a mesh bag with a hook and loop closure over a wireframe, the Brass Goat is made from durable, molded ABS resin; it mounts to the lower receiver Magwells of Mil-Spec AR-15 receivers without tools and, since it lacks mesh, will never catch on brush or twigs as you ply the woods and fields.

You can learn more about product specifics over at BrassGoat.com.

For more information about Best Ar-15 Brass Catcher Please visit: Magwell Mounts, LLC.