A Living Room Pellet Trap

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bluemoon_wulf

bluemoon_wulf

Member
May 23, 2019
391
160
so cal, United States
I have read lots here about mulch and putty in boxes and buckets.

What I want to do is hang a trap on the wall in my living room. Maybe in a curio cabinet so it's not visible when closed.

So shooting 10-20 ft at 10-35fpe. Are there any slim traps that fit my desire?

I don't want a 12" box or 5 gallon bucket. I want it to disappear when the door is closed.

I hope my word picture is clear enough for you inside shooters to point me in the right direction???

Please direct me.

BTW I have my kitchen bullet trap that was built for bullets, so no need for high power. Just safe for .22, and tastefully attired like a wall painting or China Cup presentation case.

TIA for all suggestions
 
inevitably holes wind up in things trying to shoot in the house lol .. ive seen small metal traps though, its hitting the glory spot every time thats the issue indoors ... right now i have one of those 'specialty nails' holding one of mu baseboards on haha ...

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What I want to do is hang a trap on the wall in my living room. Maybe in a curio cabinet so it's not visible when closed.
TIA for all suggestions
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A loooong time ago at a gun shop called Collector's Firearms they had a trap on the wall which (as I recall it) was basically a dart board cabinet with putty inside. I test drove a Beeman P1 right there in the store and it worked from what I remember. How often the putty needs to be changed I have no idea.

Something like a curio cabinet would open up your options to use a deeper trap and maybe something prefabricated. The rubber sold at the place doesn't get the best review for airguns but the box is good and foam works.

https://supertargetsystems.com/portable-bullet-traps/pistol-traps/22-ammo-caliber-steel-bullet-trap-enclosed/

For something that is more flush to the wall and maybe hidden behind a picture I would ask how handy are you?

I have installed a few sunken medicine cabinets over the years. The most common spacing for stud in walls is ~16" and the space behind the sheetrock is ~3.5"-4". Maybe something like the box at the link below only bigger or a decent gauge piece of steel from one of the box hardware stores packed with foam or putty would work. Once it's flush mounted you could hang a picture on a piano hinge to hide it.

https://www.marine-deals.co.nz/fun-target-air-rifle-pellet-trap-and-target-holder
 
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Honestly, the best indoor pellet trap I have had is a 18” x 14” x 10” box filled the following way. Bottom layer filled with cheap sponges (2 layers) and them disposable wash cloths, under $10 for all, then some old rags and etc. I got the idea from Aaron Cantrell’s channel and modified it, not once did a pellet go through at 10 yards that was a 25 cal pellet going at 50 FPE at the muzzle. If you want an extra measure of safety, duct tap an old cookie sheet on the back of the box.
 
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I have a 1" super target system ballistic panel for my kitchen trap. I can attest, nothing under 20 fpe can pierce it. What does happen is the pellet bounces straight back to me 27 feet away. Not enough energy left to hurt tho.

If it is lighter, maybe using such a panel as a backing instead of steel?

The dart board cabinet is the right direction to look since my front door opens against the wall I want to use.

Hmmm... Keep the comments coming please
 
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... What does happen is the pellet bounces straight back to me 27 feet away. Not enough energy left to hurt tho.

If it is lighter, maybe using such a panel as a backing instead of steel?
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That's the reason I use a steel plate from the orange box hardware store. The pellets spatter instead of bounce. But, unless you contain the spatter, little bits of lead end up everywhere. That's why I was thinking some kind of foam to trap the spatter bits.

My steel is mounted in an old milk crate and the paper target in front of it keeps most of the spatter from escaping until the hole in the paper gets too big.

Not trying to talk you into it but if you take care cutting the sheetrock with a thin blade it's very easy to repair later unless there's wallpaper. But I understand your concern.

We have a piece of furniture that looks similar to like this only narrower, deeper and there's a shelf where the toilet would be. The one we have is either cherry or mahogany finish, if I can figure out what it's called I'll let you know.




 
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I don't shoot in the house, but if there was some fantasy world where I could, I would imagine my wife would be on top of me, demanding the pellet trap be some serious welded 1/2" plate steel box. What you fill it with doesn't matter too much. Old clothes should do. But in the world I live in, you would want the reliability of something that can't be damaged from pellet shots. 
 
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Buy this - https://www.pyramydair.com/product/big-shot-extreme-500-series-target?a=7397

Then cut it to your desired outer dimensions. Wrap some duct tape around it. This way, you'll have several sections to use over time.

I've been using a similar one for years. It's a bit thicker, but... It's sitting on a box at the end of my hall. I make up my own, or print targets from the net, Use an Allen key to attach the target to the foam.

It's quite, it's clean, there is no mess to pickup. Well, the paper will shred after a bunch of shots. I'm in at about 2-1/2 years with mine, and I'm still on the same face. I'll turn it around one of these days.

Mike
 
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I used three 5lb bricks of Duct seal in my nice hardwood trap. The bricks are two inches thick and held up to over 100fpe, at ten meters, although I tried not to shoot it in the same place too often when at that power level. I did manage to crack my hardwood trap though

So now I just set the bricks up in the corner of the basement. It's not likely you will shoot through it as the pellets expend and make a wall of lead after a short while.






 
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Delooper, sorry you can't shoot inside. If I didn't, maybe 4 times a year might be all I get for range time.

I have a old post on my search for a safe trap. If I had a strong enough rifle, which I don't anymore. I have 9 mm designed steel trap with duct seal inside and 1 inch ballistic panel in front. So easy 100 fpe+ on that trap.



Mike vv that is a super heavy puppy. Can't hang that on the wall. Guess that is why you said to cut it. Guess I need my shelf/cabinet to know what thickness will fit
 
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What ever type of trap you choose, the lead fragments/ dust must be completely contained for health reasons!!! I have made numerous traps over the years but never comfortable shooting in an enclosed room. Garage, yes..currently have a large trap in my basement....but my basement is a walkout type where we go in and out frequently and it also has 3 large windows with screens that open. The reason I mention this is ventalation, shooting in an enclosed area with limited ventalation can be a serious health issue. From my experiences I would consider a 1/4" steel plate covered with duct seal to trap the fragments. This would be contained in a wood framed box then cover the face with cardboard to hang targets on. You will need to clean excess lead frequently no matter what type of trap you choose. Make sure you have ventelation in the area!!! Good luck and let us see your final product...
 
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Hey Bio, I read your previous post about this, but I wasn't sure if you meant the 2 inches is it. No double layer bricks or 6 inch mulch behind that. Or do you mean 6 inch thick from 3 bricks in front of each other?
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Just three of the bricks stacked on top of each other in the hardwood trap. So, it is just a single layer, of the duct seal, that is two inches thick as that is the thickness of each brick. It's plenty for most of us. The extra behind the free standing trap is just so that the pellets don't get through the cracks between the bricks as they are set up bit sloppy in that way.

With the duct seal traps the pellets and any fragments of which there are few the pellets embed themselves in each other as well. I have not seen much in the way of dust around the trap thus far in my 20 plus years of using it. So, I have no extra venting or airflow. The trap seldom gets cleaned as once again the pellets embed in one another to form a large mass of lead which is added to as I shoot.

The cleaning is a bit laborious when it needs done though.
 
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12x12x4 metal junction box with duct putty. Encases lead, self healing and quiet. I use magnets to hold 12 x 12 targets. Weight allows it to stand on its own. You could hang it on the wall or even set it between studs for flush mount. It easily stops .30 cal at 100 fpe. 

Or a cheap flush mount wall safe with putty... and a suggested painting to cover.

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Since I got into airguns some 15 years ago, I've lived in a city where shooting outside is not allowed and in a triplex with neighbors that share common walls. My airguns are quiet enough I could shoot indoors and I had an ottoman type foot stool that had a storage area inside. I modified that ottoman which had solid wood walls and floor but was covered in a cloth exterior. I used it for velocity testing and initial setup but also for offhand shooting practice. My belief is that offhand shooting distance doesn't matter but consistancy does (especially with a springer). Anyway -- that cloth exterior got really dirty over the years so I bought a replacement and retired the old one. This new one turned out to be nothing like the old one's wooden framework (sides and bottom) so I had to modifiy the new one in many ways. I use old jeans held in a small trash can as the pellet trap (really quiet) and have a thick belting backstop on top of a solid wood floor. I used 8x11 paper with a weight on the bottom to tension the target, and set the angle of the trap using a 2x4 which is stored inside when done shooting.



If I could go back before I ordered this ottoman I would make sure it had solid wood walls and floor but this works for my needs now.

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