How do I clean out the box target?

[PEP3]

I have this box target (chunk rubber mulch), well now it has approximately 4000 rounds of .22 cal. pellets and is getting extremely heavy, you can see the box bulging. What do I do with it? I don't want to just dump all that lead out in the yard, I put enough out there already from my spinner targets. I don't want to build some fancy contraption just to sift out the pellets. What does everyone else do?

 

[Metalmaniac]

See if your mulch floats. If it does put mulch in a tub of water, pellets will go to the bottom of tub.

 

[PEP3]

See if your mulch floats. If it does put mulch in a tub of water, pellets will go to the bottom of tub.

I bet it does, never even thought about that.

 

[BlackICE]

I have the same issue. I don't think that rubber mulch floats.

Does Rubber Mulch Float? + [Should I Be Worried]

Does Rubber Mulch Float? In this post, I will answer if rubber mulch floats, if it can float away, and other questions you may have.

bestmulchingtips.com

No, rubber mulch doesn’t float! Why? Rubber mulch is denser than water and thus doesn’t float away during rainfall. Its heavy density weight makes it hard to dislodge the rubber mulch and helps it to stay in place. Although it gets wet, it dries up quickly.

 

[woogie_man]

Are you wanting to separate the led from the rubber?

If not just toss it i the garbage can and build a new one.

 

[BlackICE]

Are you wanting to separate the led from the rubber?

If not just toss it i the garbage can and build a new one.

Taking the 5th, can't answer that one.

 

[Metalmaniac]

The only other thing I can think of is make a sieve out of 1/2 hardware cloth / rabbit wire on a 2x4 frame . Shake it and pellets go through into bucket mulch does not .

 

[Peashooter]

I would just put it in a sizeable container of some sort, jiggle / swirl it like you are panning for gold, and the lead should be in the very bottom layer and you should be able to just scoop the rubber mulch above it up.

By my guesstimate this should not take longer than 30 minutes.

Tool suggestions.

 

[PEP3]

Are you wanting to separate the led from the rubber?

If not just toss it i the garbage can and build a new one.

It's the tree hugger in me. I don't want to dump all that lead in the yard, but I probably will. Yeah, I wasn't going to try to reuse any of it, it's too cheap for that.

 

[Airgun-hobbyist]

The only other thing I can think of is make a sieve out of 1/2 hardware cloth / rabbit wire on a 2x4 frame . Shake it and pellets go through into bucket mulch does not .

I've seen that done for years, cleaning the berms at the shooting ranges and recycling the lead. 1/2" square holes will quickly sort off the big mulch from the lead and fine particles. The hardware cloth should be progressively sized down to 3/8" and then 1/4" for even smaller for sorting if the goal is to reclaim the lead. Otherwise, the big mulch goes back in a box and the small fines get donated or sold.

 

[PEP3]

I've seen that done for years, cleaning the berms at the shooting ranges and recycling the lead. 1/2" square holes will quickly sort off the big mulch from the lead and fine particles. The hardware cloth should be progressively sized down to 3/8" and then 1/4" for even smaller for sorting if the goal is to reclaim the lead. Otherwise, the big mulch goes back in a box and the small fines get donated or sold.

That is way too much work.

 

[Airgun-hobbyist]

Doing the gold panning method, shaking/vibrating a handheld container will quickly drop the weighted lead particles to the bottom of a container so the bigger pieces of mulch can be thrown in another box.

 

[Airgun-hobbyist]

That is way too much work.

I know. It was a job when I was a kid!

 

[cosmic]

if you stir the mulch in water the rubber will float.. Screen it off and the lead will sink to the bottom... I have recovered 50+ pound from mine...

 

[PEP3]

I would just put it in a sizeable container of some sort, jiggle / swirl it like you are panning for gold, and the lead should be in the very bottom layer and you should be able to just scoop the rubber mulch above it up.

By my guesstimate this should not take longer than 30 minutes.

Tool suggestions

I would just put it in a sizeable container of some sort, jiggle / swirl it like you are panning for gold, and the lead should be in the very bottom layer and you should be able to just scoop the rubber mulch above it up.

By my guesstimate this should not take longer than 30 minutes.

Tool suggestions.

Kinda like separating the seeds from the weed!

 

[woogie_man]

It's the tree hugger in me. I don't want to dump all that lead in the yard, but I probably will. Yeah, I wasn't going to try to reuse any of it, it's too cheap for that.

Where did the lead come from? The ground! You are just returning it to its home .. lol

 

[wdr2]

If the chunk rubber mulch is still fairly larger compared to the pellets, I'd use a brass separator like this one from RCBS:

 

[MikeAllen]

Maybe take the whole box - lead, rubber and all - to a local recycling center. For me, I just put it in with my regular trash/garbage.

 

[iAMzehTOASTY1]

Fire....

 

[Mike_Lenardon]

I bet it does, never even thought about that.

Mine didn't float at all. dust mask and cleaned it out by hand. Gave the lead to the range officers where I shoot.