Have an old bullet trap I found on craigslist, it had a sticker on it saying it was rated for handgun use only, but there was no manufacturer info anywhere. The trap weighs about a hundred lbs itself and has a curved top plate that deflects the bullet into a spot behind a baffle where the bullets collect. It is not a snail trap unfortunately, I think that would be better. I have not seen anything on the internet that is the same, but it clearly was a commercial product at one point.
Anyhow the trap works well for stopping handgun rounds, but it kicks up a visible cloud of lead dust when you use it, although .22 rounds don't seem to have the same problem so much. I believe the trap is at least partially made from armor steel as it is shattering the bullets it stops. Anyhow the lead dust is so bad that I haven't been using it until I figure out a way to not contaminate the area so much, and I don't want to breathe any of it in either. I shoot steel targets as well and the fragmentation off those does not consist of dust. All I can think is that each incoming round at the trap just keeps pounding fragments into the pile of lead in the trap, so it is constantly smashing the particles smaller and smaller until it can become dust and then it gets airborne.
So I was wondering if anyone has ideas. I am thinking of putting a rubber sheet over the entrance to the trap to stop dust from getting out, and now I am wondering if I should pour in a quart or two of oil to help trap the fragments. It will make a mess to clean it out, but I am more concerned about breathing that stuff. Plus the oil will just help flux when I smelt the lead right?
Another idea would be to dump in a bunch of the rubber mulch (shredded tires) to see if that might keep them from getting so smashed up.
Anyhow if anybody has ideas I would love to hear them. Hoping to be able to recover my lead, just not willing to breath any of it in the process.