Propane tank 45/70 boolit trap

[Conditor22]

Propane tank 45/70 boolit trap

I've been working on a boolit trap for a 45/70.

1st attempt was a 5-gallon bucket full of compacted rubber mulch -- not surprising the boolits blew out the bottom
https://i.imgur.com/07nNcLo.png

2nd attempt a bucket packed with rubber mulch with a wood disk and saw blades in the bottom, the boolit would hit the blades and shrapnel cut the bucket sides
https://i.imgur.com/g3eRtNj.jpg

So I upped my game and got an old 8-gallon propane tank, prepared it for cutting then cut it where the radius started, wielded on some brackets and a handle then drilled about a dozen holes in the top and sides.

stood it up and filled the bottom to where the radius ended with compacted rubber mulch and put in two 12 inch saw blades. Then I finished filling it with the rubber mulch compacting the mulch as I went along. when I got to the end I screwed in a plywood disk I made.

I took it out yesterday and placed it on the stand I made.

I shot 3 different 45/70 loads into it at 50 yards, the stand wiggled a little but didn't fall and the propane tank was unscathed. No damage to the tank is seen.

https://i.imgur.com/CzoBzek.png

my only problem now is lead recovery, the boolits hit the sawblades and shattered denting the saw blade but there is no damage to the propane tank. But most of the 18 405 grain boolits ended up in fragments from hitting the saw blades
https://i.imgur.com/53aVXNG.jpg

this is what I recovered, the rest is still mixed in the mulch and around the sawblades.
https://i.imgur.com/qr978qr.jpg

All the lead was captured, now finding an easy way to extract it.

Lead is heavier than rubber, I could always sluice it out.

another option is to get another tank with both ends cut off filled with compacted rubber mulch and plugged with wood disks to hook on the front of this tank to see if the extra compacted rubber mulch will slow the boolits down enough so they don't shater.

[Went2kck]

See if the rubber floats. You know the lead will sink.

[jlm223]

Looks like you are on the right track, I have been wanting to do something like this, awesome post!

[Wots]

Have you tried using sand....lot easy'er to separate.

[redhawk0]

Maybe pea gravel might work too.

redhawk

[OS OK]

Hey...there's another fella over on another forum has the exact same trap! Best design I've seen yet for a portable.

Easy way to clean the lead is to dump it on a tarp.
Push it up in piles by hand, the lead falls to the tarp instantly.
Scoop all the mulch back up and put it back in as you go...the last little bit of mulch separates quickly as you scoot the mulch around a bit.
All that is left is lotz of boolits for the remelt.

Here my brother and I are starting to claim lead from the drum. Way too much work to do it very often.

https://i.imgur.com/pXGGZi2.jpg

[C. Latch]

When I lived in east TN I had a trap made from a 50-gallon barrel and sand. Before we left, I cleaned it out. The sand got wet - I left the top off the barrel and it rained - and reclaiming that lead was much more headache than just buying a 5-gallon bucket of wheelweights (which I could still get when we lived up there).

Your mulch idea looks much better.

[country gent]

There is also the scroll type trap. uses no mulch bullets go in and spin inside when energy is expended they drop out the bottom to a container.

[RP]

I heard a good brim mix lots of salt will float the rubber. If you have a big tarp dumping it out on one end and using a leaf blower will move the lighter material away leaving the lead that will work with sand as well. One fellow used scrap lumber nailing it together until it was big enough and thick enough to stop the bullets after it was shot up he add a layer on the front and keep shooting it. When it was at the end of its life he would burn it the lead will puddle and he would just pick it up. The draw back was nails stuck in the lead.
I think it depends on whats on hand and the area you live.

[JimB..]

Have you considered a piece of steel plate, angled down at 45degrees with plates welded to the side to stop any significant lead splatter and a kiddie pool full of water under it?

Have also seen a design that looks like a hood from over the stove turned on it’s side, the bullets get funneled toward a hole that then turns 90 degrees down so they fall into a bucket.

[Conditor22]

This is a portable boolit trap that can handle cast large rifle boolits.

I have this portable trap for handgun calibers.
It looks well used now LOL

https://i.imgur.com/d5vxMCL.jpg

Losing 400 - 500 grains of lead per shot really went against the grain.

[kevin c]

OS OK,

Does the trap stay on the wagon, or is that just for moving it around or cleaning it out?

[Conditor22]

kevin c the trap lives on the wagon, too heavy to take on and off. since this picture, OSOK built a large boolit trap, cut a hole in the backstop and installed the metal trap. Now he just sources the lead out of a container that holds the lead that's gone through the trap. A like a larger version of the one I posted in #11

[arlon]

This is a portable boolit trap that can handle cast large rifle boolits.

I have this portable trap for handgun calibers.
It looks well used now LOL

https://i.imgur.com/d5vxMCL.jpg

Losing 400 - 500 grains of lead per shot really went against the grain.

I have one just like it just without the stand and added handle. I really like mine. Sure is easy for getting the lead out of.

[pastera]

This is a portable boolit trap that can handle cast large rifle boolits.

I have this portable trap for handgun calibers.
It looks well used now LOL

https://i.imgur.com/d5vxMCL.jpg

Losing 400 - 500 grains of lead per shot really went against the grain.

Dimensions?

[redhawk0]

This is a portable boolit trap that can handle cast large rifle boolits.

I have this portable trap for handgun calibers.
It looks well used now LOL

https://i.imgur.com/d5vxMCL.jpg

Losing 400 - 500 grains of lead per shot really went against the grain.

Not a single bullet hole in the truck... I'm impressed.

redhawk

[OS OK]

OS OK,

Does the trap stay on the wagon, or is that just for moving it around or cleaning it out?

It stays with the wagon...a 55 gallon barrel is a good idea for having a larger target area and a bad idea for weight and volume of mulch. It was a pain in the butt doing the clean-out so I neglected that part about 3 months at a time...when I did do it I usually got 50 to 60 pounds of lead each time.

https://i.imgur.com/7KQEVZo.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/OMCtK0i.jpg?1

The barrel is not completely full of mulch, I made a plug for the bottom inside to take up 1/3 of the space, it still took 8 bags to fill the dang thing...looking back I wouldn't do it again except for the fact it'll stop any rifle so far.

https://i.imgur.com/egseNJu.jpg?1

I wanted my lead back easier & more often for pistol practice and I grew tired of repairing the face of the barrel...if I changed lead, I wanted to keep that separate too so I just built another trap.

Instead of this...

https://i.imgur.com/RZweOJ2.jpg

It is this...much more user friendly...

https://i.imgur.com/TQJ31yv.jpg?1

Retrieving the lead is as simple as getting this bucket from behind the backstop now...

https://i.imgur.com/flWBvRh.jpg?1

[Green Frog]

You’re just asking for the bullets to shatter if they are going to stop suddenly against a flat surface (the saw blade.) As others have stated, you will get better results by redirecting the bullets and their energy with a sloped surface or some device to spin the bullet and redirect it’s energy. There used to be a bullet trap made for rim fire that looked like a snail shell on the back of a funnel. It was made of surprisingly light steel because it never took the hits directly.

Froggie

[OS OK]

That's the idea with mine too...once they have ricocheted into the back they get a little spin before dropping into the bucket.

https://i.imgur.com/OTIC4Xa.jpg

[Misery-Whip]

I started using a round of straight grain firewood, one I would select for making kindling. When I need lead, I make kindling. Makes kindling funner too.

Havent given the wife a straight reason why there are rainbow paint stripes on the kindling....im sure she knows...


Conditor22: those heavy 45-70 slugs need more time to slow down. I think if you got another tank, removed the top and bottom, and extend your trap, you might recieve intact slugs.

[kmw1954]

It stays with the wagon...a 55 gallon barrel is a good idea for having a larger target area and a bad idea for weight and volume of mulch. It was a pain in the butt doing the clean-out so I neglected that part about 3 months at a time...when I did do it I usually got 50 to 60 pounds of lead each time.

https://i.imgur.com/7KQEVZo.jpg?1

The barrel is not completely full of mulch, I made a plug for the bottom inside to take up 1/3 of the space, it still took 8 bags to fill the dang thing...looking back I wouldn't do it again except for the fact it'll stop any rifle so far.

I have thought of doing the same thing, only using 1/2 a barrel with the same retaining ring and filling it with wood mulch instead of the crumbled rubber. Then the wood can just be burned down to reclaim the lead. First though I need to find an outdoor area to shoot at.

[MR45]

It’s a lot of work but I use cut up racing slicks in my trap just pull the layers out the bullets are all laying there on the bottom

[Conditor22]

I have several ideas in the works:
1) add a second tank in front
2) add a wood disk in front of the sawblades to stop/catch the frags
3) build a sand-filled tank where I set up the tank then pour sand into it. When I'm lone shooting let the sand out, pouring through a screen. I'd have two smaller buckets of sand that would be easier to handle. I can get all the free sand I want outside a sandblasting place about a mile from my place.
4) I thought about hanging a large 1/2 thick AR500 gong in the metal trap to stop rifle boolits [I'd have to put a mudflap or ? over the front of the trap to contain the shrapnel

[dverna]

I built mine last year and have not reclaimed lead yet. I have about $100 into it. Just a simple box about 2x2 ft square with 2x12 sides (2x8 at the top so there is a slot and I can fill it with sand as it settles or leaks out). I put 3/4 ply on the back as that is what I had about the right size. Built a slot in the front to hold a piece of 3/4 horse stall mat from TSC ($35 on sale and I get 6 fronts out of one). Like OS OK, mine sits on a little garden cart (think it weighs about 400 lbs when full) so I can move it if I need/want to. Got the cart at Sam's Club years ago so did not that add it into the cost above. Think they go for $60 or so.

It has stopped .308 jacketed and .450 BM factory rounds at 50 yards, but its main purpose was to handle .22's and pistol bullets. Plan on building adding stationary one at the 100 yard range. The current box may get moved there and wind up building one out of 2x8's for the moveable trap used at shorter range. Sand is an excellent medium to stop bullets. See below:

https://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-7-the-sands-o-truth/

The issue with sand is its weight. My new box with 8x2" sides will hold 2.33 cu ft - that is 225 lbs of sand plus about 50 lbs for the box. I am fortunate to have a range off my back porch so portability is not a concern. One option is to use the information from the article above and build two boxes. Boxes out of 2x6"s will hold 150 lbs of sand each. It appears the vast majority of bullets would be caught in the first box anyway making for less work to reclaim the bulk of the lead.

Like I said, I have not reclaimed any lead yet but hope it can be sifted out. Floating off the rubber kernels and dust seems less feasible for me. Plus I have thousands of tons of sand free and it will not deteriorate as it gets shot into.

[relic]

I built one just like that several years ago. Most of my boolits turn to coarse dust. How about you? Do your boolits disintergrate ?

[roverboy]

That's some great ideas guys, I especially like the one that directs them out the back and into a bucket.

[Conditor22]

I'm strongly thinking about sand.

https://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-7-the-sands-o-truth/

22, 223, 7.62x51, 12 ga slug, 45/70 510 grn, 308 passed thru 1/2" drywall and stopped in 5 1/2 in sand
9mm and 45 acp passed thru 1/2" drywall 5 1/2 in sand 1/2" drywall and stopped

No wonder the military uses it

12-inch diameter 1-inch deep slice of sand in a propane tank weighs approx. 7.85 pounds

7 inches should stop everything I shoot X 7.85 = 54.9n pounds :(

[Rizzo]

I can shoot in my backyard so I have several bullet traps set up at 7,25, 50, 75 and 100 yards to recapture my lead.

I originally made my traps 18" x 24" x 5-1/2 " (HxWxD) filled with sand, but now use 2x10 lumber on the sides for 18" x 24" x 9-1/2" because some loads were blowing out the back of the trap.

These "boxes" are mounted a few feet off the ground and attached to vertical 2x4's.
I use old 1/2" plywood for the front and back and screw some cardboard on the fronts so I can use push pins to attach the paper targets.

When the fronts get full of holes and the sand starts leaking out I put my wheelbarrow under the trap, between the two vertical 2x4's and remove the front plywood. The sand falls into the wheelbarrow through some 1/4" welded wire screening.

It works great!

[MrWolf]

Deleted. Started to hijack thread. Sorry. Will post as seperate thread.

[Petrol & Powder]

Not a single bullet hole in the truck... I'm impressed.

redhawk

:bigsmyl2: That's funny !!

[Frosty Boolit]

i had a 1/4 lead plate that stopped .22 rf bullets. maybe a disk of lead poured in the bottom of the propane cylinder would deform enough to stop that slug and when you need lead, melt down the whole dam thing

[Conditor22]

I've built a 1/3 tank model with a 12" AR500 steel gong wielded in the bottom and rubber mulch to stop bounce back with a plywood front [I'm looking for some thick conveyor belt to replace the plywood, it's supposed to be semi self-healing]

and this one with sifted DRY sand to where the pot was 12" wide, a couple of 12" saw blades, DRY sand to 1" from the top then either outdoor carpet or jigsaw rubber flooring and a piece of plywood.


https://i.imgur.com/aufwJ6K.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/ZQzwp5g.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/9C8pieS.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/wnhmrqL.jpg

(IF you use damp sand, the boolits will form a channel then punch a hole through the back of the tank :( -I wield it up, went to dry sand and no longer had that problem )
https://i.imgur.com/g4nCiIN.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/IZQ3s8m.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/4GKI48a.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/9aU5xH2.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/SfDqRZO.jpg

[Conditor22]

the percussion of the heavy boolits in the sand tore the plywood out of the screws. since this, I have wielded 4 nuts around the rim of the tank and hold the plywood in with bolts and fender washers
https://i.imgur.com/GKS9Ici.jpg

An 8-gallon propane tank with some rubber mulch, a couple of saw blades then filled with rubber mulch also works
https://i.imgur.com/k4QLKyc.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/ttGJhBf.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/Sk1ahiA.jpg

[Mr_Sheesh]

Conveyer belts, check with local quarries or gravel pits, anywhere that crushes rocks (or has a production line, like bottling plants)

Used to live by one. Their junk pile had a LOT of old tired belts. I imagine most have old ones or could let you haul one off when they change belts?

[Winger Ed.]

We used to have a indoor range in town that had a plate of salvaged battleship armor about a inch or so thick as a backstop.
It was angled at 45 degrees or so, and had a sand pit under it at the base.
Nobody ever mentioned that a bullet had ever bounced back off of it.

They wouldn't let you fire center fire rifle jacketed stuff though.
The concern was so many full house rifle shots in a small pattern might eventually chew a hole in it.

..

Another range had several layers of overlapping rubber sheets that looked like old conveyor belt material a foot or so behind each other.
There were piles of bullets on the floor under the first couple of layers, but not one ding in the cinder block behind them.

That concept should work with a 55gal. barrel and have 4-5 maybe 6 rows of 4-5 inch wide strips
that over lapped the gaps from the row in front and behind made from old tires or a conveyor belt.
Each row drops down in slots a few inches apart cut into the top/side and attached to a rod
or a board so the strips hung down inside the barrel.

[Conditor22]

My latest renditions:
1) DRY-sifted Sand ( with wet sand the sand will form a channel and the boolits can plow a hole through )
2) 1/2" AR500 12" gong in the back with rubber mulch filling the space to keep the boolits from bouncing back.

I got a 1" thick horse stall mat that I will use the next time I replace the front. So far these two have caught EVERYTHING I shot at them, 22-30-06 - 8mm - 45/70

[Winger Ed.]

Interesting project.

If emptying and sifting the Lead back out is a hassle, and ya don't want to get better and faster at it-
I'd just let it fill up more so I didn't have to do it so often.:bigsmyl2:
Besides, if sand can catch boolits,,, then certainly spent boolits can catch them just as well, or maybe better.

I have a strong belief that, 'what you do well,,,, you will also find yourself doing it often'.

[Conditor22]

I use outdoor carpet and/or rubber floor mats to help keep the sand in the trap. After a few uses, the sand will start running out.

These are portable traps and I want to keep them as light as possible, I'm not getting any younger :).

[oldcanadice]

I use 4 Home Depot buckets set one in the other on top of sawhorses. The rear two are filled with sand so there is no air space when the buckets are assembled. The next bucket is similarly filled with rubber mulch and the front bucket is stuffed with the stuff. When they are assembled, they make a solid unit. At 35 yards where it is set for load development and chrono work, the combo has stopped everything I have shot at it including 44 Mag and 358 win. Nothing has made it into the last bucket sand and most everything stops in the mulch.