Cast boolit target trap

[8mmFan]

Have any of you designed a trap to catch your cast bullets? It always pains me to see my Boolits and the hard-won lead there in deposited irretrievably into the dirt bank behind the targets at the range.

I'd love to find a design that will catch my cast boolits, along with my kids' .22 bullets, so that I can melt them down and re-use them again.

Any ideas?

8mmFan

[Bait O' Eggs]

I welded up one from 1/4 inch plate and it works well, We have shot it with 22lr, 9mm, 357 mag, 45 with no signs of damage, I think it could take a lot more punishment than I throw at it.

Pretty sure it wouldnt like 5.56/223 rifle ammo due to speed of bullet

[mdi]

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C...iw=994&bih=430 A bunch of ideas here...

[MyFlatline]

Yep works great..

[30calflash]

I think there's a post here on building one from wood and filed with rubber mulch used in gardening. Worked well, easy to sift out the lead and use it over again.

There it is! Too slow on the keyboard!

[MyFlatline]

lol Took me a minner to find the pictures..It stops the super fast bullets quicker than the heavy slow ones. 308 MX only goes 1/3, 45 colt almost hits the back. Thus I added a piece of steel just to be safe.

[rmatchell]

Keep an eye out on Craigslist. I got my trap for 50 bucks. Its good up to 1500 fps according to the label.

If you have access to a welder then you will be able to put one together without to much trouble.

[8mmFan]

Super! Thanks everyone. This is on my to-do list now. Very much appreciated.

8mmFan

[Leadmad]

8mm fan, I use a plastic 55 gallon drum, cut the top out & fill with crushed pumice from the garden centre, use the cut out plastic top for a baffle 1/3rd from the bottom of the drum then just put a piece of old carpet and plywood top in place of the cut out and lay drum over on its side, after the centre starts to get a bit shot out I lift the drum up and retrieve my lead, all sorts of high velocity calibres have never made it out the other side of the drum

Cheers

[GregLaROCHE]

I built one a year ago and it seems to work well. However, almost all the boolits seem to end up pulverized. Do others have the same results? Maybe I need to change the angles of the plates?

[JBinMN]

I have posted up pics of the ones I use elsewhere on this forum. I use several different kinds & sizes.

From screwed together 4x4 & 6x6s, to box traps filled with shredded tire mulch like shown above, as well as buckets filled with mulch.

I recover whole boolits like what was shown above as well. I like that better than the fragmented parts to recover from when someone uses the steel types, although I understand that some of the steel ones with the deceleration cylinder on the back recover the projectiles better than just hitting a plate.

I like the small ones I make for the portability. Even the box ones are portable, but start to get kind of awkward & heavy at 18x18x18 or larger. and I am no weakling. You would not want to carry one around by yourself too much. I am sure My Flatline would likely agree on that, seeing the size of the box trap in the pic.

G'luck! to those who make them. They are worth the effort, IMO.

[MyFlatline]

JB, you are correct. I would not carry mine at all, maybe put in the UTV or empty it out. I am fortunate that it can stay there for as long as I want. Now that I know that they work, if I built another, it won't be as large.

[OS OK]

The story...

https://thereloadersnetwork.com/2018...-works-part-2/

How it looks...after a few rattle cans of red paint...



Had to get help to mount it into the backstop...



Here's the business end where you get the lead back, it's in the bucket...



No problem stopping pistol cast but it has it's limits though, 170g. 'Jacketed' SP .30-30W rounds dug into the soft 3/8's plate steel...



It does catch the cast rounds from the .30-30W without any damage but I'll just stick with my 'Barrel-O-Rubber Mulch' for stopping anything from a rifle...



This catcher has a plug in the bottom so I only filled it 2/3'rds with rubber mulch, it's dang heavy and a pain in the tail to empty and retrieve the lead, takes a couple hours working alone...



I cut the top of the lid out to put a round 1/4" plywood face on it, you have to replace the plywood when you empty & reclaim lead...you need to stuff all the plastic bags the mulch came in behind the plywood to stop the mulch from migrating through the face after it starts to deteriorate. That gives it some longevity, a couple thousand rounds or roughly 60 lbs. of lead on each cleanout...



Final assembly, the mulch on the tarp behind the barrel, 8 bags I think...then the rubber floor mat is cut to fit on the plywood and stapled well, then your targets stapled after that and your in business...



Here's the pain with this backstop...the clean-out...You have to dump the mulch and let the cast rounds settle to the tarp as your scooping the mulch in small 3~5 gal. bucks and putting it back into the barrel and tamping it as you go...it's a pain, no doubt but this barrel will catch anything short of a 50 cal. ...



But, it's worth it to get all that lead back...especially the tin rich stuff...



Show us some pictures of whatever you build...OK?

[RU shooter]

The one I made up was simple and pretty cheap to make. Was nothing more than a 2' x 2' by 3' deep wood box made outa scrap 2x6 or whatever you have on hand . Cut a 12"square out of the front ,screw a piece of heavy rubber conveyor belt or old mud flaps to the inside of the box covering that 12"hole , fill with dirt ! Done

[Rich/WIS]

8mmFan, where are you located? Have a commercial trap rated to IIRC 1400fps. Never did get it into service and it is in my shed in WI. Yours if you want it.

[Mr_Sheesh]

If you used AR500 steel as the deflector behind the trap, and had the bullets hit a glancing blow against the steel, it should be able to handle harder impacts, longer? Have to be really solid thick meal if you were firing a 50 BMG or the like at it, of course.

[John Boy]

Pick one and other stuff ... https://www.pinterest.com/pin/364862007283533539/

[8mmFan]

8mmFan, where are you located? Have a commercial trap rated to IIRC 1400fps. Never did get it into service and it is in my shed in WI. Yours if you want it.

Rich/WIS... I DO just happen to be a Cheesehead! THANK YOU for offering that!! Private message sent!

Sincere thanks,

8mmFan

[8mmFan]

The story...

https://thereloadersnetwork.com/2018...-works-part-2/

How it looks...after a few rattle cans of red paint...



Had to get help to mount it into the backstop...



Here's the business end where you get the lead back, it's in the bucket...



No problem stopping pistol cast but it has it's limits though, 170g. 'Jacketed' SP .30-30W rounds dug into the soft 3/8's plate steel...



It does catch the cast rounds from the .30-30W without any damage but I'll just stick with my 'Barrel-O-Rubber Mulch' for stopping anything from a rifle...



This catcher has a plug in the bottom so I only filled it 2/3'rds with rubber mulch, it's dang heavy and a pain in the tail to empty and retrieve the lead, takes a couple hours working alone...



I cut the top of the lid out to put a round 1/4" plywood face on it, you have to replace the plywood when you empty & reclaim lead...you need to stuff all the plastic bags the mulch came in behind the plywood to stop the mulch from migrating through the face after it starts to deteriorate. That gives it some longevity, a couple thousand rounds or roughly 60 lbs. of lead on each cleanout...



Final assembly, the mulch on the tarp behind the barrel, 8 bags I think...then the rubber floor mat is cut to fit on the plywood and stapled well, then your targets stapled after that and your in business...



Here's the pain with this backstop...the clean-out...You have to dump the mulch and let the cast rounds settle to the tarp as your scooping the mulch in small 3~5 gal. bucks and putting it back into the barrel and tamping it as you go...it's a pain, no doubt but this barrel will catch anything short of a 50 cal. ...



But, it's worth it to get all that lead back...especially the tin rich stuff...



Show us some pictures of whatever you build...OK?

Now that's some serious bullet-trapping. The wife and I keep talking about moving to a place with more space. If and when that happens, I'll be coming back to this post. Thanks for posting the pics.

8mmFan

[crankycalico]

well its interesting what you guys have done, considering that a Crossman 760 at 10 pumps at 20 yards has the ability to put a .177 bb through MOST cookie sheets sold these days.

How much effort would be needed for tiny little roundball?