Bullet trap in my basement....

[Harry O]

I bought this at an estate sale several years ago. It has a "snail" type collector. It was in good shape except the cup under the snail. They could not find it.

I shot at it without the cup when I first got it. Worked great for the first one or two shots. Then the next shot invariably hit a previous one and it got ejected out the bottom, rolling who-knows-where.

I recently saw a Lyman lead casting pot on a gunshow table and realized that it was nearly the right size to replace the bottom pot. I did a little grinding, made a couple of "wings" for it, and brazed them on. I tried it yesterday with .38 Special reloads of 160gr 357446 at Bhn 14 and 4.8gr of Unique. No problems. I don't know how much it will take, but the thickness is about 3/16" steel.

I think I will be limiting it to .22LR, though. The noise. I have earmuffs, but I have no doubt that people outside could hear the .38 Special. If so, I can expect a knock on the door. The Mayor and Police Chief are very anti-gun-owner.

First picture from the front. It is 18" x 18". Can't very well miss it from 25 feet. The next is the side view. The new cup is in black. The next is the top view of the snail. Then the bottom view of the snail (without cup). Next a closeup of the cup on the snail. And last, the cup showing its "wings".

Does anyone know any of the history of this device?

[docone31]

That is amazing.
I tried to make a basement shooting range just to try out my loads.
.22 worked all right, .38, and .357 so-so. .44mag, forget it. Punched holes through 1/2" steel at the same angles.
Old school is good school.

[Avery Arms]

If lawful in your state you might consider getting a sound suppressor, worthless for a revolver but you could shoot 9mm or .45

You can also cut down the noise by placing a dampening material on the trap.

Be sure you have ventilation so you are not breathing large amounts of powder/lube/lead fumes.


PP

[montana_charlie]

I built a bullet trap. Doesn't look like yours, though.
Haven't caught a single bullet, yet.

What do you use for bait?

CM

[JimKirk]

Paper ...rectangle ...the larger the size ...the easier to catch ....boolits!
Jimmy K

[yondering]

Harry O, that's a really neat item you found there. Wanna sell it?

[robertbank]

You are one lucky camper! Is there a name of the manufacturer on the trap? I have seen photos of them before years ago but nothing recently. If I had any talent in making things that is exactly the design I would go for.

Take Care

Bob

[snaggdit]

Neat! Any decent welder could duplicate the plate part, but I'm sure the cast part is no longer made. Too bad, there would be a market for it.

[Three44s]

Did a search on X-ring bullet trap ........

Got this:


http://www.cornellpubs.com/Templates/Whelans-1939.htm

You find a reference way down at "X-ring products"

Looks like you've got an olde but a GOODIE!!!

Enjoy

Three 44s

[Harry O]

You are one lucky camper! Is there a name of the manufacturer on the trap? I have seen photos of them before years ago but nothing recently.

Take Care

Bob

It is an "X-Ring Centrifugal Bullet Trap". From the information I have so far, it is from the 1930's - 1940's.

[Harry O]

I was just sent this by e-mail. It has a lot of information on the X-Ring from a 1940 catalog. I note that it says "Recommended for .22 L.R." The trap part weighs 82lbs and cost $30.80. The pedestal is 44lbs and cost another $16.50. I guess I got took. I paid more than that for it.

[robertbank]

In the interest of International relations, I will be happy to correct your over payment and provide you with a small profit to cover the cost of shipping said item up here.

Generosity knows no International bounderies.

Take Care

Bob

[Nate1778]

That is hilarious, I can't even imagine my wife's reaction if I brought one of those home and told her what I was going to do with it. "Your going to do what, Where?"

[uncledeck]

Someone with some welding skills and a junkyard turbocharger housing might be able to fab something like the x-ring

But here you go with today's commercial version.

http://www.snailtraps.com/index.php

[Old Ironsights]

My basement bullet trap is made out of scrap lumber and hanging carpet samples.. about 12" deep..

I only use it for .22 Super Colibri, .38 Catsneeze and Slingshot, but it works pretty well for those. Never had a bullet make it all the way to the back where there is a slab of hardwood.

[TaylorTN]

I was thinking the same thing about the junk turbo housing, especially one from a tractor...heavier cast with a 2 or 3 inch inlet and outlet.

I was also thinking that a piece of pipe with wings to replace the cup, dropping slugs into a pail for collection, would be good.

just a couple of thoughts.....
TM

[scrapcan]

There is another old thread of this vary nature in the special projects section I think. I have been trying to come up with a junk turbo housing to make one out of and have had very little luck.

due to the nature of the the outlet being on the tangent to the shell, I am not sure you would have to have one that is very heavy. If you look at the one above it is not very thick.

I think you can make one using pipe aswell. You would need to weld you plate on so it is on a tangent to the curve so the curve of the pipe will allow the bullet to spin down. I have all the stuff but an not sure I can get a clean cut on the pipe.

Int he old thread there is another newer style trap that uses the above pipe method. If I remember correctly a 15 to 17.5 degree angle is best for the lead in to the slow down chamber. I have all the stuff but have no round to it.

Maybe this thread will give me a kickin the rear.

[Harry O]

Many, many years ago, my father got a roughly 3' x 3' chunk of 1/4" steel. We made a bullet trap out of that in the basement. We laid it down at about a 45 degree angle and built a wooden tray under it. 2x4 lumber around the sides with plywood on the bottom. We filled the tray with sand. Used it with .22LR's. It worked, but was somewhat of a mess. Had to clean the sand up around it and replenish the sand every once in a while.

I even bought a box of Winchester .22 Short gallery loads to try with it. For those who are not familiar with them, they were made from steel powder with an epoxy binder of some kind. They were loose packed in a yellow cube box about half the size (long dimension) of a .22LR brick. When they hit the backstop, they exploded in a shower of sparks and disintegrated. There was nothing to find in the sand. When I went away to college, I put the remaining ones (along with the rest of my ammo) into a steel army ammo box. It was about 20 years before I got back to it.

The first time I tried the gallery loads, I shot 6 rounds at a target. When I looked at it there were 12 holes in the target. 6 were like wadcutter holes and 6 were like normal .22LR holes. With great difficulty, I was able to retrieve a shot bullet without it disintegrating. The epoxy had dried and got brittle. It broke cleanly across where the front curve of the bullet met the larger cylindrical part of the bullet (look at a .22LR and it will make more sense). So I pitched the few that were left.

I also had about a thousand Federal .22LR's that my father bought me for my 15th birthday. He got a great deal and bought me 10,000 rounds. That was the best birthday present ever. Anyway, I started shooting them up when I found them but soon realized that they were 20 years old and working perfectly. So I put the rest away (in an ammo box again) and each year I brought out a box to try. A test, so to speak. After I got down to my last few boxes, I cut it down to 25 rounds every couple of years. I probably have 200 left and they are now just short of 50 years old. I have NEVER had a misfire or failure-to-fire with them.

[robertbank]

Take a look at the way they set up the modern version of the trap.
http://www.snailtraps.com/index.php

I am going to see if my welder friend can do the rolling of the steel. I think he can. The system pictured in the photos appears to be easier to make than going with a turbo part.

Take Care

Bob

[Wayne Smith]

Basement?? Basement. Oh, yeah, there are areas of the country where you can dig a hole and not have it filled with water. Around here they are indoor swimming pools!

Great find, Harry. You know about lead in primer dust, I assume you have adequate ventilation blowing past your head when you shoot.