Bullet Trap Idea's ?

[JDNC]

I really need to reclaim my lead as it's just too expensive to waste.

Does anyone have any ideas? I need a trap that I can move around easily on my range but tough enough to take the pounding of my 45. As for the high velocity stuff, it will probably still have to go in the burm.

JD

[Oreo]

Psha! Are you kidding?! This place is full of such ideas. Allow me to direct you to use the search feature.

One of the easier approaches is to use rubber mulch in cardboard boxes stacked up several deep. I hear the file boxes at your local office store work well.

Another idea is a thick steel sheet set at a 45° angle to the ground over a sand pit.

Another idea is a kind of steel funnel that goes perpendicular and offset from center into a steel pipe which acts as a deceleration chamber.

Use the search feature. There's lots of pics and discussion about it.

[jmorris]

I built one for my back yard.

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/IMAG0959.jpg

This photo while I was building it might give better scale.

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/IMAG0892.jpg

With a 5000 lb forklift it is easy enough to move around as long as it hasn't rained in awhile.

[Idz]

Sand works about the best. It doesn't splat the bullet like hitting a steel plate does. A screen box will separate the nearly intact bullets from the sand and any remaining sand just floats on top of the molten lead during smelting.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Morris: is that plate AR500? 8x16? wow. did you get a bargain on it? That's a lot of steel.

Randy

[Pakprotector]

I built like that, but on waaaay smaller scale. 1' x 1' mouth and a 30-degree slope off horizontal and a tub of sand in the bottom 4" thick to take the last few FPS out.
cheers,
Douglas

[vintagesportsman]

Portable trap: 5 Gallon sheet rock pail with sandbox sand. Duct tape holes as they grow. Good for a few hundred rounds, throw away bucket, start over.

[jmorris]

Morris: is that plate AR500? 8x16? wow. did you get a bargain on it? That's a lot of steel.

Randy

It is not AR500 but I am not sure exactly what it is other than 3/8" thick. Believe it or not when I bought it from the scrap yard it was an 8.5'x33' single sheet. The girl said it was drop from an outfit that built the bridges for the toll roads in North Dallas. It cost me almost $1000 but at least I didn't have to do dirt work and I can move it easy enough.



FWIW bullets only "splat" when you shoot at steel at 90 degrees. At 45 or less they get a flat on them from the plate and that's about it.

[JDNC]

Well, those are some monster traps. I'm trying to figure out a low weight trap that I can easily move. The bucket idea may be the best for my application.

Thanks,
JD

[W.R.Buchanan]

Morris: usually sheets like that are used for ship building. You got a deal on that one.

Randy

[Gunor]

Sorry, I thought I was in the Air Gun Forum - the trap system below will not work very well with .45 ACP rounds. But does work very well with .177 and .22 lead pellets that are launched from regular air guns.

Electrical Duct Seal

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gardner-Bender-Duct-Seal-Compound-Plugs-10-Pack-DS-110/100212441

Place a layer in a target sized box (with a metal liner between the two) and it is very quiet. Will it survive magnum loads (actually pumps or...) - no.

http://www.archerairguns.com/Classic-Mini-Silent-Pellet-Trap-3-pack-p/classicminitrap3pack.htm

Geoff in Oregon

Hang it on the door or wall....

[Silver Eagle]

Made one of the duct seal traps out of a 12 X 12 X 4 plain electrical box. Filled it with about 15 pounds of duct seal. Use a piece of cardboard cut to fit the front to hold targets. Cover got glued to the back in case anything manages to penetrate all of the duct seal (has not happened yet!)
The advantage to duct seal traps are:
Quiet
Portable
Lead is recyclable. Just dig out the masses of pellets that build up ever so often.
The build up of pellets actually "seasons" the trap and allows it to withstand more energy. A number of airgunners use their traps to stop 22 rimfire and larger rounds if the duct seal is deep enough.
There are calculations online that you can estimate FPE based upon the depth of penetration (relatively crude but a pretty close guess).

[jmorris]

Well, it turned cold today and waiting for the fire to warm up the shop I remembered posting this thread.

Not really a bullet trap but I quit shooting "real" bullets indoors except for matches years ago when my lead levels got too high and this allows for trigger time.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?138435-Free-reloading-for-air-gunners-and-indoor-fun&highlight=Dart

[GARD72977]

I made a pellet trap out of a 50cal ammo can. The RWS 350 magnum is a little much for it even at 45yds. I melted 5 pounds of lead in the bottom of the can. I seems to be working ok now. I use a magnet across the top to hold the target.


8960689607

[rattletrap1970]

I think the big plate you have at a 45° angle is a good start. I myself would have about a foot deep of beach sand or (if you are where they sand the roads in the winter) go to your public works department and get what they call "Dead Sand". My Dad used to work for the town D.O.T. He said that sand isn't good for anything because it was ground so fine from driving on it that it can't be used for anything. Not concrete, not planting, not re-sanding roads, nothing. About the only use is in those crash barrels on the road. Towns are always looking for places to get rid of it. Then, I would cover the sand with kevlar cloth. On that first bounce you are going to lose a lot (if not most) of your energy and the bullet will be mangled. I myself would give it a nice place to land so I could remelt them. I'd build up the sides with stacked railroad ties just to keep vermin out of the trap.

[destrux]

A 5 gallon bucket of sand does a great job of stopping .45acp pistol and .40sw rifle bullets for me. It will leak out the holes but I found that wetting the sand stops that till the bucket is chewed beyond its lifespan. I figured out now to lay it down and shoot into the lid. That way I can take the lid off and replace it since used lids are cheap or even free if you know a contractor or painter.

Just dont let the lead build up too much or it could ricochet same as an overly leaded berm.

I also thought of screwing some tires together in a stack then filling the whole thing with sand and capping the top with plywood. Then shoot the side where the tread is. Should last a couple thousand rounds before the tires start to fall apart and leak sand. It'd be like a giant rubber tree trunk. Stack a few zig zagged and you could build a wall.

[jmorris]

I made a pellet trap out of a 50cal ammo can. The RWS 350 magnum is a little much for it even at 45yds. I melted 5 pounds of lead in the bottom of the can. I seems to be working ok now. I use a magnet across the top to hold the target.


8960689607

You know, I have an old Benjamin air rifle target that has a hole in the center, along with a bell behind the hole so it would ring with an X hit, that would likely work pretty good if mounted like this.

Might be a little tricky as you would want it just past flush and the targets drop into it from the top.

[jmorris]

This is what it looks like.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/79574/message/1363799924/Benjamin+Air+Rifle+Bell+target+w-instructions+%26amp%3B+boxed+pad+of+paper+targets

I know where the targets are down at the farm but could build a new one faster than locating the one I have. It is only 10 or 11 gauge steel.