AR-15 Brass Deflector: A Neat Solution From KET

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So, picking up spent cases is a drag, particularly if your AR kicks them all over hell and high water. Which is what makes Kinetic Energy Tools brass deflector an out-and-out godsend.

How This Brass Deflector Cuts Clean-Up Time:

• Attaches to a scope or Picatinny rail.
• Deflects spent brass straight down in one spot.
• Made of heavy-duty, heat-resistant nylon and is durable for thousands of rounds.
• Folds up to fit in a range bag.

Some people fuss—even obsess—over AR-15 brass ejection direction and distance. I’m pretty easygoing about which way it goes and how far. Except.

Except when I have to pick it up. My gun club has a “you-shot-it-you-pick-it-up” policy. I know; I wrote the club’s rule book. Literally.

So, there’s your AR brass, strewn all over the range, even when you were standing in one spot. What to do?

Well, there’s the military or CMP gizmo, which is a plastic deflector that clips into the carry handle of your AR.

Oh, wait! No carry handle? And no desire to simply change the direction? And the CMP device is just there to keep from tossing brass on the guy next to you.

Kinetic Energy Tools To The Rescue

The Kinetic Energy Tools (KET) brass deflector is simplicity itself. You take one of the three plastic clips, and you attach the tongue to it. Then, slide the plastic stiffener into the tongue. Clip the assembly onto the top rail of your AR-15. Every AR has a top rail these days, right? Then, you attach the deflector cape onto the clip.

Voilà! Your brass is dropped at your feet. You could, if you were diligent enough, even put a cardboard box at your feet right where the brass drops and have the majority of it fall into the box and save you time.

If you have a scope attached where the clip would go, use one of the two scope clips (one clip is 1 inch; the other is 30mm). The three clips are necessary simply because some people, even though they have a top rail on their receiver, have the rail so crowded with optics that the only place left is on a scope.

The tongue has a length of hook-and-loop fastener on it, and you can adjust just where and at what angle the “cape” (deflector) sticks in place.

Now, someone will probably get the bright idea of “Let’s stick a bag on there and save the picking up.” Bad idea: The weight of the brass will hamper your aim, and you’ll build bad habits of swaying and compensating for the weight.

Light Bulb Moment

The deflector is made of heavy-duty fabric—what appears to be Cordura nylon—and you can have your brass deflector in any of six colors or color combinations.

There are also two hook-and-loop panels, so you can attach a morale patch, club patch or other extra if you wish to have that look.

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Because it’s lightweight and heat resistant (not that I expect to subject my brass deflector to any significant heat. But it’s nice to know that hot brass won’t be a problem), you can use it until it gets so grubby from powder residue, dirt, grime and mud from the range that you can’t stand to touch it. Remove any patches and just slosh it around in some soapy water, rinse, and leave it in the sun to dry—but don’t leave it where some light-fingered member of your gun club might see it.

When you’re done shooting, pop it off your rifle, fold or wad it up, and stuff it back into your range bag for the next time. The whole combo takes up less space—a lot less—than a 20-round AR-15 magazine.

This brass deflector is definitely one of those forehead-smacking, “why-didn’t-I-think-of-this?!” ideas. And, at the price ($33), you’d be wise to get two—not because it’s such a hassle to move it from one rifle to the next, but because you’re going to stuff it into a range bag or a rifle case at the end of the day and probably use a different bag or case for your next trip. In that case, what do you do? Why, you use your backup KET Brass Deflector, of course.

For more information on the Brass Deflector, please visit kineticenergytools.com.

The article originally appeared in the June 2020 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

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