Horse Stall Mat 3/4 Inch as a backstop?

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Fenian

Fenian

Member
Sep 26, 2018
304
50
Mesa AZ United States
Hi Everyone,



So I want to shoot vermin in the backyard, without having to worry about ricochets etc or pellets straying off my property. I have neighbors so I do want to be responsible and as cautious as I should be.

I wanted to shoot in one section of my lawn, with no homes directly behind, so when a squirrel or whatever comes into the backstop area I can shoot.

Some people had mentioned rubber horse stall mat, I can buy 6ftx4ft 3/4 Inch mat from the Tractor Store, so this is available, and a good safe size...not to small, to use.

My question is, will this stop a .25 pellet from an Fx Wildcat MK2 .25 in its tracks? Or will it pass through? If so what would be sufficient to place behind it to not worry about the pellet continuing onward on an unknown trajectory? ie more plywood? Or what?

Will it stop ricochets? Will it bounce them back towards my house where im shooting from? 

Just let me know your thoughts....airguns are new to me, I did go to the local range and was amazed by the accuracy. I will only be shooting in the 30-100 ft range/distance.

Thanks in advance!

Ps I can double up the 3/4 inch horse stall mat, or go with a sheet of plywood or whatever you recommend.....the local airgun store people said that rubber ricochets pellets....recommended duct seal......but how big a back stop should I make??? in terms of height and width??? whats too small 
 
Well I actually have a similar set up. I'm using 3/4 in gym mat. To answer your question nope absolutely nope it will not stop a .25. What I did was buy 4x8 3/4 inch plywood and cut it in half. Placed rubber mat on top and 2 piece of ply wood in back. Just the plywood alone was not enough to consistently stop the pellets, but the rubber mat significantly slows them down and deforms them. When they make it through the rubber they are going so slow and deformed they down do much damage to wood. If you shoot at wood alone the pellets will beat at same spot and eventually break through. The rubber closes to a tiny hole so its very hard to hit same spot. It also softens the impact so you don't get that loud pellet impact sound. Oh I'm shooting a 22 so you much need more rubber. 
 
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I have been considering using some the of the large rubber horse stall mates to create a large outdoor pellet trap. I am using a large plastic tote/tub now full of rubber mulch. It does the job but the tote face of the tote gets shot up pretty quick and needs taping all the time.

I was thinking I would use the stall mates (2 layers) backed with plywood and angle them at 45 degrees so the pellet hits it and deflects into the ground or in my case a wood box filled with rubber mulch as the final trap. I want to be able to recover the lead for casting more pellets :)
 
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Fenian, thank you for inquiring about this, as I’m running thru the same problem with both my 25 and 30 cal. I shoot out my front lawn from inside of my garage, and I typically set up my duct seal pellet trap in between 35 and 45 yards. My 3/4” dog eared slat fencing is a good 40 yards past the pellet trap. So a total of almost 85 yards from muzzle to fence. My 30 caliber gets squirly on me with accuracy at times, and I’ve witnessed the pellets hitting the hard pan grass lawn in front of he target, bounce off the lawn, and hit that fence and it still blows thru. It doesn’t help that those slats are 20+ years old, either.

so, if you don’t mind me asking everyone on your tread about another material since it is topic related, it helps to know I didn’t hack into your tread.

i was in a storage building of mine the other day and noticed my crossbow target I bought from cabelas back in 1991. I only shot at it once, as I sent that crossbow back cause I couldn’t cock it due to a recent spine surgery shortly after I purchased the crossbow. But I kept the target thinking one day I may get another crossbow, or get into archery, but I didnt. That target is like 8” thick, and is self healing. Made to stop those bolt heads at distances as close as 25 yards. I’m tempted to use that as a backstop behind the pellet trap as it’s measurements are at least 30” x 36” tall. What does everyone think of those dense archery targets as a pellet stopper? Like I said I only shot into it once, and I remember it was a pain to try and pull that bolt out, and this was with a field tip, the ones without the razor blade edges. 

Thank you
 
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Find someone cutting a tree and get them to cut you a foot thick slice off the trunk. The lead will begin to build up in the target and it will almost create a duct seal condition, only made of lead inside the wood. Once it gets too old, you split it , place it on a piece of tin and burn it. The lead will be found on the tin under the ashes, so you can contain it or recycle it. Works for muzzleloaders shooting big slugs at much higher velocities, so it should have no problem with your air rifles.

You can also hang multiple pieces of carpet in a frame and shoot into that. The ability of the carpet to move when hit really strips the energy off the projectiles. Alternate carpet and wood works pretty well also. Works very well with arrows using just carpet.
 
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Hey

No problem with the thread hijack we are both trying to find out the same thing

if an archery backstop would work that could solve it as there seems to be more archery backstop options compared to airgun backstops

keep the ideas coming, seems like two layers of 3/4 inch stall mat with the very back later as plywood and slant the whole sandwich as a downward angle is the only thing suggested yet 



any more ideas?
 
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https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/another-pellet-trap/#post-305814

1539657681_3273816595bc54fd19e4dd1.64595392_IMG-0947.jpg

 
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In my shop I have a 24"x24"x16" deep box I made from 1/2" plywood with 1"x2" in the corners for assembly.

I placed a 16 gauge (.062) thick steel sheet in the back, then placed two 24"x24" rubber pavers https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/landscaping-materials/pavers-patio-blocks/smooth-24-x-24-rubber-paver/mt5001292/p-1453088148262.htm 

and then PACKED with rubber mulch. (Something like 8-10 bags).

It is stopping my .40cal at 300ft-lbs. The draw back is it is freaking HEAVY!!! (I cannot lift it by myself), and the face 1/4" underlayment plywood is getting chewed up real quick. Duct tape for repairs and to keep the mulch contained.

My main goal for outside is little to no maintenance, virtually silent when impacted, and large enough to catch a "miss"

I thought about just hauling in dirt for a berm but I think that leaves open for a ricochet because it would slope upward and away and not down and towards.
 
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Try the link now & I will post it here also

https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/another-pellet-trap/#post-305814

One thing I like about the steal trap is there is almost no mess with wood deteriorating and splintering. or filling falling out as the front is shot away. My duct seal trap leaves more mess.

It has been very maintenance free other than a little paint to keep the swingers fresh. The led for the most part is caught in the cup at the bottom of the rear tube. Just pore it right in to the led pot for melting down. 

The whole thing was made from one 4' x 4' sheet of 1/16 in steal. the opening is 24" x 24" I have even ran a few magazines into it for testing from my suppressed .22LR from close range and get no splatter back out the front. 
 
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Got it working that time! 

Thats definitely an option, so you use that as your trap and backstop in one?



what about this for another option!!

ballistic blocks are 10-12” of rubber. So if I got those large 48”x48”x3/4” horse stall mats, and stack several, even 10 of them, and then at the back place a 1/4” of steel the same size as the horse stall mat, would that work to stop all pellets, and stop ricochets, essentially being a trap and backstop in 1.



any thoughts?


 
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