sheepdog
04-21-2009, 01:55 PM
After reading a side topic on a sticky regarding salvaging range lead I scaled down the idea of another poster to make a target that could reclaim the lead from.
Goals:
Stop and recycle 100% of boolits. Not just for lead but to know alloy consistency.
Cheap enough to pay for itself
Light enough to carry to the range
More repairable then most the ones I seen.
Use materials mostly accessible without cost
After looking at the boxes I had access to at work for free decided a box of printer paper and size small Fedex package boxes were the answer. Due to a certain department I can get gently used Fedex boxes I can reuse that normally get thrown out. Found that 9 to 10 stuffed boxes vertically fit nicely in the paper box. Boxes were filled with 1.5 bags of rubber mulch from wal-mart (roughly $10 worth of materials). Weight of the whole setup felt about 35 pounds.
Took the box to the range and tried it out with a variety of calibers. 22LR from pistol and rifle, 38/357 from a S&W 586, 40 cal from a CZ75, 45 acp from a Series 70 1911. Not a single round came through the back. All rounds stopped at the 6th box or less. If need be I might add a thin plate of steel in the back just in case but planning on sitting it on the berm anyway.
Boxes held up well, nice feature is the boxes towards the front can be replaced more often then the rear. Can use tape to keep the forward most box working a little longer but even if it "springs a leak" the box contents are fairly low. I have no shortage of used paper boxes or used fedex boxes so think this will work well for pistol (rifle not so much, but then again most rifle projectiles are light and a pain to get the lead out). Poured the contents out, most boolits looked reloadable minus the coloring from the mulch. 22LR projectiles took a beating though. 100% reclamation of lead.
Anyway hope this helps someone. If you got a rural area that you shoot in instead of a berm this might be a good solution for you. Pictures to follow soon.
Goals:
Stop and recycle 100% of boolits. Not just for lead but to know alloy consistency.
Cheap enough to pay for itself
Light enough to carry to the range
More repairable then most the ones I seen.
Use materials mostly accessible without cost
After looking at the boxes I had access to at work for free decided a box of printer paper and size small Fedex package boxes were the answer. Due to a certain department I can get gently used Fedex boxes I can reuse that normally get thrown out. Found that 9 to 10 stuffed boxes vertically fit nicely in the paper box. Boxes were filled with 1.5 bags of rubber mulch from wal-mart (roughly $10 worth of materials). Weight of the whole setup felt about 35 pounds.
Took the box to the range and tried it out with a variety of calibers. 22LR from pistol and rifle, 38/357 from a S&W 586, 40 cal from a CZ75, 45 acp from a Series 70 1911. Not a single round came through the back. All rounds stopped at the 6th box or less. If need be I might add a thin plate of steel in the back just in case but planning on sitting it on the berm anyway.
Boxes held up well, nice feature is the boxes towards the front can be replaced more often then the rear. Can use tape to keep the forward most box working a little longer but even if it "springs a leak" the box contents are fairly low. I have no shortage of used paper boxes or used fedex boxes so think this will work well for pistol (rifle not so much, but then again most rifle projectiles are light and a pain to get the lead out). Poured the contents out, most boolits looked reloadable minus the coloring from the mulch. 22LR projectiles took a beating though. 100% reclamation of lead.
Anyway hope this helps someone. If you got a rural area that you shoot in instead of a berm this might be a good solution for you. Pictures to follow soon.