Bullet Trap
Want to shoot suppressed 22s in the back yard. Have a few steel plates I’d like to use as targets. Need something to stop the bullets for both safety and, you know, that whole lead in the environment thing. Any suggestions on building a decent bullet trap?
August 21st, 2010 at 12:21 pm
I know someone who once filled a 55 gallon drum with sand and just put his target infront of it.
Once the drum got to the point where it was leaking too much sand, duct tape or replaced.
Its not very elegant, but it worked.
August 21st, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Angle the plate about 45 degrees downward. How is your budget? Twelve inches of tightly-packed cotton ticking (bed coverlets) from KMart on the front of it? Playground sand underneath?
Ricochets straight back have the lowest energy but they can still hurt. Goggles.
August 21st, 2010 at 12:40 pm
You’re a carpenter of sorts. If you’ll be shooting .22LRs, get that construction glue that they make for glueing paving stones and glue on some 4×4 pine to the steel plate. Better than my first idea.
August 21st, 2010 at 1:10 pm
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=172588
August 21st, 2010 at 1:23 pm
A copy of the US tax code would work very well, if you have enough space, that is.
August 21st, 2010 at 1:27 pm
You should talk to Mr. Completely when he gets back from competition in Cali. Both his indoor and outdoor practice spots are well done and safe.
August 21st, 2010 at 2:09 pm
I use a 12″ thick section from the trunk of an oak tree for .44 mag at 25 yds. captures the lead and lasts a long time. tighter the grain, the better.
August 21st, 2010 at 2:18 pm
I’ve found a large laundry detergent box stuffed with phone books or newspapers blocks 22 and 38 bullets with no problem, even at close range.
August 21st, 2010 at 2:21 pm
I’ve seen .22 bounce off fenceposts and dense wood, so I wouldn’t use oak, maybe pine, but how much becomes an issue.
I also wouldn’t shoot steel unless there is nothing within a couple hundred yards that might catch the bounce.
There are very well made .22 bullet traps made and sold at places like Midway. I’ve considered building a bigger version, but actually can’t, their price on steel is lower than what I can go buy.
My advice, buy a couple of them, and use them!
August 21st, 2010 at 2:24 pm
I just shoot at my neighbors car.
tits so far.
August 21st, 2010 at 2:43 pm
thats where those bullet holes came from!!! Thanks, now I don’t have to buy the little decals!
August 21st, 2010 at 2:56 pm
Hippies. It’s the only way to be sure. Plus it lowers the overall carbon footprint…
August 21st, 2010 at 5:09 pm
Not to be a spoilsport, but you might want to check if your locality has a minimum distance to discharge a firearm.
Even a suppressed subsonic .22 can be identified as a gunshot pretty easily by a neighbor over a back fence or a cop driving by with the windows open.
I live in an unincorporated part of a rural county, so theres no “in city limits” issue to deal with.
In my county, it’s 600 feet from an occupied structure not occupied, owned, or controlled by the shooter or a member of the party with the shooter.
Unfortunately, I have a neighbor that’s a bit too close (can’t get more than 500 feet from his house on my property). However, if we shoot together, it’s all good.
That said, I pop my suppressed .22 off indoors all the time. I’ve got a 10 yard long firing lane with a cinder block backstop, and a .22 trap that works just fine.
August 21st, 2010 at 5:58 pm
Cardboard boxes filled with sand, their front covered with flexible polyurethane expanding foam.
(shoe boxes stack easely)
August 21st, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Cut section of a Sweetgum truck about 24 inches across. Replace every couple of years. No clank and it soaks up the lead.
August 21st, 2010 at 6:36 pm
Depending on the size of the plates, if they fit inside an old tire, the steel belting will absorb the lead splash.
August 21st, 2010 at 8:05 pm
+1 to number 12. But, keep the steel for backing. When the old hippies are shot full, press the plates together, and recycle.
Just keepin’ it green,
Jerry
August 21st, 2010 at 10:33 pm
You might consider using Colibri .22CB caps. A friend and I shoot them in his garage and stop them with a couple of phone books. On the other hand you could set a piece of 1/4″ cold-rolled steel at a 45* angle over a cheap plastic wading pool or concrete mixing box. Fill it with about 12 inches of water and you’ll probably have no worries as long as you stay with standard velocity ammo. I would still suggest you consider the CB cap solution.
August 21st, 2010 at 10:38 pm
Paul Helmke’s face. His high level of douche liquid will stop any .22. Go ahead and shoot him full and then give his dead ass a sniff. It’ll smell like freedom.
August 21st, 2010 at 11:56 pm
I use a rubbermade tub filled with newspapers. I cut an 8.5 x 11 opening and post paper targets over the opening with blue painters tape.
My Ruger 22/45 with a tac innovations can (5.5″ bbl) with regular hv ammo makes no sound other than the bolt reciprocating and the projectile hitting the bullet stop.
Very quiet and easy to take in and out of my shed.
August 22nd, 2010 at 1:22 am
Lead in the environment isn’t an issue. Use sand to make your backstop so you can easily sift it later to recover the lead. I like JP’s drum idea, but your practical layout will differ depending on your backyard.
August 22nd, 2010 at 2:02 am
Lead bullets in/on the ground are not an environmental problem. A study done at Gettysburg battlefield found NO lead leaching. Seems the lead oxidizes rapidly, sealing itself up. Study was reported in one of the NRA magazines a coupe years ago. (One of these days I’ll find the darn thing!) Of course, the enviro-whackos won’t want to hear this bit of news, as it will interfere with their plans to try to shut ranges down due to lead “pollution”.
August 22nd, 2010 at 5:38 am
Regardless of whether lead leaches into the “environment” per se, it is still probably not the best idea to create a pile of lead in your backyard. Never know if you or future owners will plant a garden and grow some food there. No reason not to take the “NIMBY” principle literally!
August 22nd, 2010 at 9:18 am
You’re lucky to have this problem. I live in a small town in New Jersey. I have to drive forty-five minutes to a range to where I can shoot legally.
Enjoy the steel. Let freedom ring.
August 22nd, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Someone mentioned it already. Steel plate, 45 degree angle, with the farthest point of the plate closest to the ground. This will cause all rounds to ricochet straight down. Put this over top of a small sand pit and nothing to worry about.
August 22nd, 2010 at 1:11 pm
if you can get a bucket from an old frontend loader, that works great. you put it in the ground, put some sand in it, and you are ready to go.
August 22nd, 2010 at 2:33 pm
My friends and I set up a makeshift range in the basement of a house we rented a few years ago while in college. All we did was set up one of those .177 cal pellet traps at the far end and shot Aguila super colibris out of our .22 bolt actions. It worked quite well except that the welds on the trap showed signs of weakening after around 750 rounds or so, but the trap was only $10. Maybe not what you’re looking to do, but it worked.
August 22nd, 2010 at 3:00 pm
I have one of these: http://www.archerairguns.com/airgun-pellet-trap-s/6.htm in the 10×13 size with 3″ of duct seal in the back of it. I use it inside my apartment when I shoot my magnum-powered .22 cal. air rifles. Add another inch or two of duct seal and it’ll stop .22LR.
August 22nd, 2010 at 10:03 pm
A cat