Best target for a backyard

[Airgun Capital]

Funny story...
We remodeled the bathroom and the handyman took out the toilet. Before he threw it away we took a few quick shots at it with a Gamo Varmint.
Turns out toilets are pretty resilient.

 

[L.Leon]

I like the idea of a 5 gallon bucket rather than a box. Should hold up for years outdoors. You can often get free 3, 4 and sometimes 5 gallon buckets from the bakeries inside large grocery stores. I have dozens of them that I use for storing lead, brass, whatever. If they don't have any 5 gallon buckets on hand, you could still grab some lids to replace those that end up shot full of holes on your 5 gallon.

I borrowed this idea from another member here @Franklink, 5 gallon bucket, 2/3-1/2 full of rubber mulch. Screws or nails to hold the mulch keeper in place. Lid cut in half or to suit. Target clip at front top of bucket. This setup keeps the target backer debris in the bucket. And any rubber mulch that might leak through.

 

[elh0102]

I use a cardboard beverage box filled with junk mail. I find no shortage of fill.

 

[Geezerhood]

I borrowed this idea from another member here @Franklink, 5 gallon bucket, 2/3-1/2 full of rubber mulch. Screws or nails to hold the mulch keeper in place. Lid cut in half or to suit. Target clip at front top of bucket. This setup keeps the target backer debris in the bucket. And any rubber mulch that might leak through.

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I like that setup! Is the circle holding the mulch in a lid with the rim removed, cardboard or something else?

About an inch of old shirts / pants layered on top of the mulch will help keep it from finding its way past the barrier. Even with holes the size of golf balls in my cardboard trap, with that fabric as the last layer before the target, very little mulch escapes. With all fabric inside, no mulch, all I get is a few bits of lint at the bottom of the target.

Funny story...
We remodeled the bathroom and the handyman took out the toilet. Before he threw it away we took a few quick shots at it with a Gamo Varmint.
Turns out toilets are pretty resilient.

I was hunting years ago and found a complete toilet sitting on the top of a small hill. The nearest road was several miles away. Not a single home or farm anywhere near. No clue why it was there. The bowl was full of plant material and weeds were sprouting out of it. I didn't have an airgun with me, but did have a 22 Cheetah loaded with 55 grain Blitz King bullets going 4000+ fps. The Cheetah won.

I use a cardboard beverage box filled with junk mail. I find no shortage of fill.

So true! I got a laugh on the endless supply of junk mail. Our post office has a bin for people to throw their junk mail in, but it is locked! I guess that is to protect people's information on credit card offers. I wonder if they just throw it in the dumpster or shred it?

 

[L.Leon]

@Geezerhood, it’s coroplast, same material election signs are made of…

 

[Geezerhood]

@Geezerhood, it’s coroplast, same material election signs are made of…

Thanks. That is good stuff!

Which reminds me, I think the date for legally picking up election signs that are on public property has already passed where I live. Need to go foraging!

 

[ignisuti]

Anyone tried a horse stall mat?

 

[beerthief]

horse stall mat ,works great for 20 < FPE do not know about higher power still back up with a sheet of ply wood , maybe mount at a 45% down to deflect to ground ? is what i use
double for high power?

 

[Hateful McNasty]

Define "best"...

For me its what works well and i spent no money on it..

 

[cavedweller]

Lol watch the side of the road for a flap that got ripped off a semi the thick black real rubber ones work best the hard plastic ones not so...

Agree - my .25 and .30 pellets blow right through the hard plastic truck flaps. Love a link for a better flap.

 

[Franklink]

I borrowed this idea from another member here @Franklink, 5 gallon bucket, 2/3-1/2 full of rubber mulch. Screws or nails to hold the mulch keeper in place. Lid cut in half or to suit. Target clip at front top of bucket. This setup keeps the target backer debris in the bucket. And any rubber mulch that might leak through.

Yep, been using this method for 5 or 6 years and will continue to do so since it works so well.

Want to point out that they also nest inside of each other and can be stacked to take up less room when not in use.

I've got three in constant use and it sure makes dope work convenient. Every time I walk out to move the targets I can come back and get dope data for 3 different distances. 5 or 6 trips is actual/verified dope for 15 or 18 different distances.

They even work well as a pellet trap for Chrono sessions in the garage.

I use cardboard as the mulch retainer/target backer. The nails hold the cardboard next to the mulch and targets can also be tucked in under the nails and to keep the wind from blowing them away. Any time something comes to my house in a decent sized box I cut out cardboard circles. Simple process, set the bucket on the cardboard and "trace" around the bucket with a box/utility knife. By using the smallest circumference of the buckets taper (the base) it prevents any issues with the cardboard not fitting all the way down to the mulch.

I'll clean em out every so often, usually when they get heavy. This was the clean out that was everything from early summer until about 6 weeks ago.

I've got 8 or so of those same plastic containers of lead now, probably about 95% good soft JSB. I estimate the container above to weigh about 12pounds. I've dabbled with casting for muzzleloaders and have molds in .50, .357 and also an NOE pellet mold that drops 19.6gr .22 pellets. Emptying out the lead is pretty simple, shake shake shake. The lead goes to the bottom, the rubber mulch stay on top. Gradually remove the rubber mulch into one of the other bucket and eventually left with mostly lead. I've considered making a filter out of hardware cloth, just haven't done it yet. Anyway, lots of lead collected for potential reuse versus just getting spread all over my property.

The 5 gallon bucket pellet trap is a dirt cheap and super simple method that just works.

 

[Simplemann]

I've been using a cheap hefty storage container filled with old towels and every now and then clean it out, its been working great.

 

[rcs9250]

My preferred target.

 

[Hateful McNasty]

Figured id clean this one up a tad and ditch the duct tape ..

Now you can see the 1/2 plastic 55 gallon drum as the flyer / oops catcher as well as the bucket trap .. i also reversed the stuffing and jeans and put the jeans in front of the stuffing to see if better or not. Also trash pellets it caught.