Sandbox bullet trap

[curioushooter]

This is the second version of the sandbox trap that I've made, trying to make it smaller and lighter. This seems to work very nicely and is quite portable (bail out sand and put it in wheelbarrow). Can also be moved easily with basically any tractor loader/skid loader or even a 3-point hitch if you buy a couple pins for it. These of course still need a proper backstop.

I use old 1/2 plywood used for concrete forms and whatnot for the face.

Unfortunately a 2x8 is not quite thick enough. Heavyweight 44 SWCs at LOW velocities like 950 FPS like skeeterload will penetrate, while faster loads like the Keith load will not.

M855 perpetrators, M2 30-06 ball, and 9mm ammo don't get though interestingly. I borrowed the fine masons sand from my kids' sandbox.

If I were to make it again I would use a 2x10 or 2x12 side and equip it to be carried by a tractor's 3-point hitch.

Fine sand weighs about 100 lbs per cubic foot. So keep in mind how sturdy the carpentry needs to be if you scale it up. These are so cheap to make (lumber was a salvaged deck mostly) that you can afford to make one for each alloy you use and one for jackets. This makes it so recovery is very easy...basically infinite recycling of bullets.

264656

[rancher1913]

make sure that sand does not end up back in the kids sand box, there will be a lot of lead "dust" mixed in it. have you thought about a piece of steel mounted at a 45 so it deflects the bullets into a sand box of some sort below.

[kevin c]

Does much sand leak out of the plywood target backer? How many hits will it take before needing replacement?

[tazman]

I built something like that for a temporary backstop a few years ago. Sand does leak out the holes in the front. The sand will also "splash" out the top from a high hit.
If it gets wet, it will get really heavy.
A layer of rubber attached to the front will help seal it some but is not a perfect solution.
You still have to empty it to recover the lead or move it much.
Even with the downsides, it is still a workable solution. Much better than no backstop at all.

[dverna]

Mine is very similar. Made with 2x10 sides and bottom. 3/4" ply for the back as I had a scrap piece but thinner would work too. Put a 2x6 on the top to reduce sand flying out and to leave a slot that I use to fill the trap or top it off.

Mine is on one of those cheap garden carts and I can move it where I want. Added lifting eye bolts for the tractor as well as it will get a lot heavier as it collects more lead.

I use a horse stall mat for the front.

Nothing gets through 9.5" of sand.

[Winger Ed.]

Cool project.

I wonder if some sort of stretchy sheet rubber on the inside of the panels would slow down the leakage as the shot holes multiply.

Or, switch over to shredded tire rubber instead of sand with sheets of rubber on the inside of the flat panels.
The sheet of rubber lets a boolit go through, then tries to close up behind it.
It'd work like trying to drill a hole in a old style inner tube.

[tazman]

Cool project.

I wonder if some sort of stretchy sheet rubber on the inside of the panels would slow down the leakage as the shot holes multiply.

Or, switch over to shredded tire rubber instead of sand with sheets of rubber on the inside of the flat panels.
The sheet of rubber lets a boolit go through, then tries to close up behind it.
It'd work like trying to drill a hole in a old style inner tube.

I think the tire rubber would be a good alternative to sand. I have no idea how deep it would need to e to remain effective.
You can get the shredded tire material as mulch in bags at most places that sell mulch. It would probably be a bit lighter as well and unaffected by water.

[dverna]

You will need a lot more tire mulch to stop a bullet and sorting out the lead will be a tad more difficult. But at least it is light.

[BamaNapper]

The gun club here used to cut conveyor belt pieces for target holders. It's somewhat self healing, at least for a while. I would imagine a couple layers of it would make a good face for this type of trap.

I've never had to build a trap. What would be a recommended size for one? I know the answer depends on what I'm shooting and how good of a shot I am, but looking for a ballpark answer. Maybe 4 ft square for 25yd pistol or 100yd rifle?

[tazman]

A couple of indoor shooting ranges in this area use piles of tire much as a backstop. Every so often, they have a company come in and sift out the lead.
I don't know how thick the rubber pile is that they use.

[Winger Ed.]

Maybe 4 ft square for 25yd pistol or 100yd rifle?

The bigger it is, the more you can move your bullseyes around, and the less often you'll have to repair it.

[megasupermagnum]

This is a really good idea. I may have to give it a try. How much sand does yours use, about a 5 gallon bucket? Boy that would be slick if it could be portable enough to use regularly at the target range, then I could truly recycle my bullets. Maybe a tarp under the target to catch the stray sand?

[Mal Paso]

If sand gets wet the resistance to bullets goes down. Tests were run with a 50 cal on a variety of materials and sand varied by type and moisture content.

[Conditor22]

Catches 500 grain 45/70 boolits
https://i.imgur.com/ZQzwp5g.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/aufwJ6K.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/9C8pieS.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/wnhmrqL.jpg

[megasupermagnum]

Is that half a propane tank? Any problems falling off those cross sticks?

[Rizzo]

I also have sand bullet traps in my backyard.
I started with a 2x6 depth but that didn't work too well for rifles.
I ended up with 2x10's for the sides with scrap 1/2" plywoood for front and back.
I also mounted them on braced vertical 2x4's about 3 ft. high so that I can put a wheelbarrow under it and when I unscrew the front plywood the sand would fall into the wheelbarrow through some 1/4 metal screening.

I also use scrap cardboard on the front so I can use push pins to mount the targets.
My traps are 24" w x 18" h.
When the front plywood gets too shot up and sand starts leaking out I screw another piece of plywood over the old one.

Yes, it would be great if there was some relatively cheap "healing" type product that could be used.

Horse stall mats may be the answer but are not cheap unfortunately.

Those that use horse mats, do the "heal" fairly well?

[MrWolf]

I purchased some self healing material. Have not had a chance to test it as that project is a ways down the list. Maybe someone else has tried it.

[ioon44]

I use rubber mulch in 5 gal buckets, I get 20 to 30 lbs of of bullets before the lids have to be replaced.
I recently bought a bucket of Flex Seal Paste to repair the lids so far the Flex Seal is holding up better than the original lids, I I can get 2 to 3 times more use before cleaning out the traps it will be a huge time saver.

[ChuckO]

I use rubber mulch in 5 gal buckets, I get 20 to 30 lbs of of bullets before the lids have to be replaced.
I recently bought a bucket of Flex Seal Paste to repair the lids so far the Flex Seal is holding up better than the original lids, I I can get 2 to 3 times more use before cleaning out the traps it will be a huge time saver.

I use rubber mulch in buckets also. Found out that a few layers of the plastic bags that my water softener salt comes in work well directly under the bucket lid. Seems to be self-healing to keep the mulch from leaving even after the bucket lid is mostly shot away.

[Conditor22]

Is that half a propane tank? Any problems falling off those cross sticks?


close observation will show the tabs I wielded on the tank the fit in receivers on the 2x2. There is also a brace straddling the crossbar and holding up the tank.
the crossbar is cut at an angle to stabilize the system

This is my journey is trapping 500 grain 45/70 boolits

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?397834-Propane-tank-45-70-boolit-trap

[curioushooter]

To answer a few questions:

1) Of course the sand doesn't go back in the kids sandbox.

2) 2x8s are not thick enough for certain ammo. 2x10 is the way to go if you want 100% stoppage.

3) Any kind of rubber material that self-heals will cost a lot more than a FREE piece of plywood scrap I get from a local concrete company. Just accept the loss of the face of plywood as the cost of doing business like you do with paper targets. By the time it is ruined you will want to sift the sand for bullets anyway instead of letting too many accumulate in there. Even if you buy new plywood a 4x8 of 1/2 costs only about 15 bucks and will make 8 faces. You really can't afford $2 every couple hundred shots (potentially thousands with small bore stuff)?

4) Rain destroys cardboard. YOU WILL REGRET USING CARDBOARD unless you live in a desert or something.

5) A piece of wood, cardboard, towel or the target paper put over the top stops any splashing. Not a big deal.

6) Rubber mulch needs much more bulk to stop the bullet and I think it actually needs more total weight too. It is a less dense material and therefore takes MUCH LONGER to move into and out of the box. I can bail the thing out in a couple minutes with an old coffee can or animal feed scoop. Rubber mulch is bulkier, slower, more expensive, more difficult to source, will screw up the ground wherever it spills and they don't break down. Sand goes into the dirt, does no harm, and is cheap. SAND is the best material. I've tried pea gravel, too. I WILL RESTATE FOR EMPHASIS: SAND. Every military in the world uses sand bags because it is the best bullet stopping material known when all things are considered.

7) Big bore calibers cause more leaking, but not enough to matter. It spills maybe a half cup in after a 48 44s have gone through it. Since it is sand it doesn't matter if it spills in the dirt and a ton of it costs about $13, so a half cup costs two tenths of one cent.

8) 2x2 is about the biggest it will be and still be highly portable. Sand weighs about 100 pounds per cubic foot. A 2'x2'x10" That is 3.3 cubic feet of sand, which is about 330 pounds. That is a lot for a wheelbarrow. It is not a lot for a tractor so if you move it that way going up isn't a big deal.

9) Making anything round is a huge pain compared to right angles. This doesn't need to be complicated. I built this thing for the cost of a pound of deck screws basically and over the long term it will allow almost infinite recycling alloy, making the cost of casting (without gas checks) almost negligible.

10) Get a little hardware cloth that is pretty small and will catch any bullet but allow sand to rapidly pour through. A few 5 gal bucks, tarp, etc. and it's pretty easy to sift the sand and recover the lead.

11) USE SCREWS not NAILS. Screws can be recycled, nails are a pain.

13) I don't like things like steel plates that make the bullet break and produce lead dust. This sort of trap catches 100% of the lead reside in the trap making any kind of spill thing in front unnecessary. The only thing consumed is a $2 (if bought NEW at full retail price) piece of 1/2 plywood. I get my used plywood for free and already hauled off a lifetime's supply and stuffed it into my barn. Come to think of it old barns are covered with boards that are half rotten and those would work too. And OSB would probably work too if you to too cheap for plywood.

14) Have a backstop behind just in case. This isn't good enough of a system to rely on and if you put this thing out in a big hay-field and let bullets fly into the great blue yonder then that's your problem.

15) When sifting sand for bullet recovery do it outdoors with a breeze and wear a household respirator (not a silly surgical mask which does next to nothing).

[Menner]

264770264771264772264773264774

This is what I came up with a few years ago the flat rubber are stall mats from tractor supply and the tires are after I cut the side walls off and a 1/8" steel plate at the back just in case
originally used just the stall mats but they are not very self healing (and one note bolt the plate in the back because a 200 gr 35 Remington CB will unscrew it for you) but have not had anything touch the plate since I started using the tires
I just staple a piece of card board to the front to hang targets on

[megasupermagnum]

Maybe I can talk my gun range into letting me keep a tote of sand there. Hauling around 5 buckets of sand every time might get tedious.

[redhawk0]

How about some roofers ice dam membrane on the front. It seals around roofing nails. It would likely hold back sand. It could be replaced easily too. You could even put a layer on the top to keep sand from "splashing" out from high hits.

redhawk

[Conditor22]

Menner, you will need a lid or after a few shots, you will lose most of the sand.
You could use cardboard for the dividers, outdoor carpet behind plywood will last for a while

megasupermagnum I was looking at 3-gallon buckets, 5 gal is tooooo much

[onelight]

How about some roofers ice dam membrane on the front. It seals around roofing nails. It would likely hold back sand. It could be replaced easily too. You could even put a layer on the top to keep sand from "splashing" out from high hits.

redhawk
Or just heavy vinyl sheeting attached with staples or even a roll on one side that could be fed across the front of the box when necessary .

[Menner]

No sand used just the tire treads and stall mats added advantage you take tires and mats out boolits are mostly laying in the bottom have to pull a few out of the tires with pliers
It’s easy to transport I stack tires and mats in the truck bed and put box in beside it
Holds up to my 308 at about 1900 FPS no problem and when you take it apart and put it back together tires get moved around so you aren’t shooting the same area all the time

[rockrat]

Wonder about possible woven landscape fabric for the front, to hold in the sand.

[303Guy]

What about a double front board with a gap between them. Any leakage will fall between them. Even put the landscaping fabric or carpet pieces between them. Jammed up rag makes a good boolit catch too so maybe even stuffing rags in the gap. That will help slow the boolit some, making less splash in the sand. On the other hand, it would also be more effort so maybe not worth it.

Be aware that there will be fine lead particles in the sand that can get airborn by agitation.

[Rizzo]

Be aware that there will be fine lead particles in the sand that can get airborn by agitation.

That is a very good point.
I had not thought of that.
When emptying the sand to retrieve the lead there is quite a bit of "dust" that goes air born.
Although lead is pretty heavy, I'd imagine there are some lead particles in that "dust".

Thank you for bringing that up. :drinks:
I will be wearing a Covid-19 mask (grin) in the future when retrieving the lead.

[curioushooter]

How about some roofers ice dam membrane on the front. It seals around roofing nails. It would likely hold back sand. It could be replaced easily too. You could even put a layer on the top to keep sand from "splashing" out from high hits.

This seems like something worth testing. This stuff is comparably cheap to plywood.

I know what that horse stall rubber costs...way more than I'd be willing to spend.


That is a very good point.
I had not thought of that.
When emptying the sand to retrieve the lead there is quite a bit of "dust" that goes air born.
Although lead is pretty heavy, I'd imagine there are some lead particles in that "dust".

Sand itself is hazardous to breath. Silicosis has taken more lungs than lead has. I was a hazardous waste hauler for a while and OSHA required respirators when working with fine sand and certainly any sand contaminated by heavy metals.

And no, a silly Covid face diaper wont cut it. A household respirator should be worn. I wear them when I work with soiled straw as well. I know I guy that almost died from toxoplasmosis from cleaning up straw without a respirator.

[Conditor22]

Rubber mulch works, you just need a lot more of it than sand AND it's a pain to sort out the lead.

things we do in reloading that a N95 or charcoal filtered respirators really should be worn:
decapping primmers
smelting
cleaning boolit traps (sand,rubber mulch or metal )
vibratory cleaning of brass
casting without a good vent fan

[megasupermagnum]

Rubber mulch works, you just need a lot more of it than sand AND it's a pain to sort out the lead.

things we do in reloading that a N95 or charcoal filtered respirators really should be worn:
decapping primmers
smelting
cleaning boolit traps (sand,rubber mulch or metal )
vibratory cleaning of brass
casting without a good vent fan

Well smelting sure, cleaning traps sure. Vibratory cleaning of brass, it seems would be fine if you just ran it outside. I no longer use one myself for that reason. Casting, just cast outside. I think most people are smart enough not to trap themselves inside a room and cast without ventilation.

But decapping? How many millions, and likely billions of primers have been decapped by people, and never resulted in any health problem?