Kevlar Sheets - Fabric Backstop?

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TitanFlyer

Member
Jul 25, 2018
214
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NC, United States
Hey Everyone… quick question.

I am trying to figure out how to create a very portable backstop to shoot in my house or even in the backyard. I thought perhaps a ballistic sheet of Kevlar or two, or something similar would work. I don’t want to (my wife told me no) do something junky looking like a carpet or box of rubber mulch, and it needs to be removed quickly if my wife pulls into the driveway….not kidding.

Let me know what you use indoors to help protect walls and such, or even outside that is very safe, light, and portable.
 
Not cost effective. Kevlar takes multiple layers to be effective and it slows Projectiles by being able to move and stretch. Very small things will slip between the thread weave ... Ballistic vests are not "knife proof" due to the fibers being cut and the blade being too small of frontal area to transfer energy to the fiber sheets. Several hundred layers of fiber sheets.... And that mass adds up. Once the fiber sheet has been stretched, it does not return to shape. Yup, single use.

Not really relevant to Airguns. Posted before I thought it through.
 
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I had the same problem, and the same thought about Kevlar. Having none handy, I figured I could start with a trap for my 10m rifle and pistol. I took an box from Costco and threaded from the top several rows of old rope spaced 1.5" apart side to side. Of course I can't upload photos so I'll describe further.

Repeat for 5 -6 rows. Behind that I put a rubber doormat, then 1" behind that an old rubber carmat, and 1" behind that an old plastic cutting board. The Ropes are probably not needed, but I think they would catch a rare ricochet. The mats absorb the energy of wadcutter pellets and they drop as whole pellets to the bottom of the box for easy removal - no dust or fragments. After maybe 500 rounds of ~6 f it is holding up OK. 

I shoot my 12fpe and above guns into my garage where lead dust is less of a concern. But I think replacing a row or two of ropes with hanging sheet(s) of kevlar fabric would do the job maybe up to 40 fpe. Moving the kevlar curtain + 2 rubber mats should absorb a lot of energy; once the pellet reaches the solid backer, compressing the mats should dump the rest. Not sure how it would hold up; hopefully several thousand rounds.




 
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Did a quick search on Amazon, and found the right stuff - see review below. Not bad pricing; for $18, I'll let my old luggage live a bit longer.

Xtreme Sight Line - 1680 Ballistic Nylon - 59/60"

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Use With Airguns Traps and Targets

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2021

Size: 5 Yard Length - by - 60 in. WidthColor: BlackVerified Purchase

I use 4 layers of this material as a "curtain" inside my pellet traps and as a backstop for an outdoor target stand. 4 layers really stops the pellets. I'm shooting ONLY lead free pellets up to 720 fps with .177 and .22 calibers. The pellets never reach the metal back plate. The material that came with my traps was chewed through in about 200 shots. This material lasts 10K shots, and then I just rotate the layers for even more longevity.
 
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What’s your FPE? I use wooden boxes with old clothing with 1 inch duct seal behind the clothing, they seem to hold up well to 40 FPE that I tried. After a while the trapped lead in the clothing forms a dense barrier that new projectiles hardly very reaches the duct seal. I then put the wooden boxes into a Costco plastic container surounded with shipping foam I had to throw away to quiet the impact down and secure the wooden boxes in the middle of the plastic containers. This made the whole thing super easy to move because I just tip them over, put the lid on and carry by the handle. Granted I don’t move them but when heavy rain is coming I just put the lids on and keeps the target boxes out of the weather. 
 
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What’s your FPE? I just used a wooden box with old clothing with 1 inch duct seal behind the clothing and it seems to hold up well to 40 FPE that I tried. After a while the trapped lead in the clothing forms a dense barrier that new projectiles hardly very reaches the duct seal. I then put them into a Costco plastic container with shipping foam I had to throw away to quiet the impact down more and super easy to move because I just tip them over and out the lid on and carry by the handle.
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I have pretty high FPE generally, but can lower down the impact quite a bit if I am shooting in backyard or indoors. I am going to use a good rimfire rated bullet trap to shoot at, but the backstop is really important to me for safety and my marriage.
 
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The review says he is still using a metal backplate, so that kills my portable requirement. 

I wonder how many layers it would take to just have it as a backstop. I do plan on having a trap to shoot at, so this is only for the random missed shots.

Great find though.. thank you!!!
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to have the traps and the full backstop big enough to catch occasional miss to be fully portable might be a hassle. Maybe make the trap portable and put the traps with natural backstop? Or build backstops that is part of landscaping or hidden by bushes or other features? One of my backstop is my rock wall and the other is a small “wall” (about 4x5) I built with rough 4x4 hidden by the bushes so it’s inconspicuous. 



To have the privilege of shooting in my back yard I only shoot 3-8 FPE, granted I live in suburbia and you might have more space but why take that chance of put your marriage in danger? IMHO the best way to approach the problem is to both have fool proof backstop AND also dedicate low power guns or guns can be tuned down for the yard. Not only it’s much safer it’s also a tremendous challenge to be able shoot 177 pellets @600fps in the wind at anything pass 20 yards. It’s sharpens the skills while being very safe. That’s just my approach and suggestion. my impact is 70 FPE and I don’t even bother take it out of the case unless I work on it. I love shooting at home so much that my crown tuned down to 7 FPE is the most expensive gun I own by a large margin. Why spend so much on a low power gun? Because I get to shoot it every day. 





 
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There's a couple of things that I use. The first target is a thick metal bullet trap, but it is loud and this does create dust at the front and under the pan that collects the lead. They are worth the money and a great product for reclaiming lead though. The seller makes them every week for a new auction too.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?isRefine=true&sid=mark_schluender

The second target is a large archery target (with a zippered top) filled with scraps from manufacturing window screens and sleeping bags. They sell them in about any sporting goods store that has archery equipment, though quality varies. Get the thickest bag target you can find, and even check the inside material contents before you buy it to see if you approve. 

This is a quiet target for indoor use. This type of target needs periodic maintenance to ensure that you don't pass through and shoot the stove in the kitchen. The fill materials can be emptied out and lead retrieved, then fluffed up and repacked to shoot again and again. Replace the inside front panel with a new feed store bag, large dog food bag, kevlar type of rolled roofing sheeting or new home kevlar wrap sheeting from Home Depot, or just a piece of cardboard before repacking the sorted and fluffed materials. Inside of the back of the target can get a sheet of deck wood or a large sheet of metal to ensure there's no passthrough and to give you an audible warning "ring" that you can't shoot at that spot anymore until the bag is re-fluffed. When the wife comes home just grab the top handle and put it in the garage.
 
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Years back my gun club used a fabric curtain as a backstop for our 10 meter match rifles indoors over the winter. The fabric was used by archers to stop there arrows indoors and worked very well to stop our pellets. Unfortunately I dont know the name of the material, but those in archery might be familiar with it... I have a truck tarp making company not far from me that has made some trailer covers for me some time back. These covers are tough, really tough !!! A small piece was used as a cover for the spare tire. That trailer was sold but the spare tire cover was kept. Last summer I stumbled across that tire cover and wanted to test it for toughness. I have shot that cover numerous times with my TX200 .....if the cover is taught, the pellets passes thru, but if the cover just hangs loose it traps the pellet and lets it fall to the ground. Try your local tarp making company and see what they have !!
 
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Years back my gun club used a fabric curtain as a backstop for our 10 meter match rifles indoors over the winter. The fabric was used by archers to stop there arrows indoors and worked very well to stop our pellets. Unfortunately I dont know the name of the material, but those in archery might be familiar with it...
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I looked at the archery backstop material, and it would work, however pricing is similar to that which is purpose designed from Creedmoor Sports-

https://lancasterarchery.com/products/high-performance-green-arrow-backstop-netting-10


 
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