Mega pellet trap
- Thread starter stoutblock
- Start date
Ditto on the loud factor . I have one in the basement also and I can't "plink " until the Queen is up and headed for coffee ! I've tried stuffing it w/ rags , I've put ductseal in it ( sticky/ messy ) but its a pain to try to do anything other than hang the target , shoot then dump the lead when needed . Note ; I use a HEPA shop vac to handle the dust & don an N-95 mask while at that task .
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Have you had any problems with ricochets? Seeing the warnings on it after I got it I was like um my basement isnt that big lol and I have dual 55" 4k tv's to protect.
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I have those Do All bullet traps and yes they are loud but here’s what I did with mine. I stuffed mine full of rubber mulch just like you would those plastic storage boxes. I cut cardboard and fold the sides in and at the bottom so the mulch doesn’t fall out and tape it over the front to hold it in. I cut additional square piece of cardboard to go behind this front price of cardboard to layer up the cardboard because I think it holds up a little longer and helps keep the mulch in place as I shoot out the center of it. I just keep taping up the hole as it gets bigger. When the cardboard is too shot up just replace as needed. I recommend blue painters tape as it doesn’t leave sticky glue residue behind. It works great. Much quieter and best part it has a built in backdrop so no chance for pass throughs. It’s smaller and and more compact and the “box” doesn’t wear out or get broken.
A pellet might reach the backstop with a powerful air rifles, my Taipan Veteran is shooting at 45 fpe, but the rubber mulch prevents any pellets fragments from bouncing out. The only mess I get outside the box is from fragments of paper and cardboard.
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Thanks for the pics and ideas. I was just thinking about how feasible it would be to fill with mulch. I also have alot of cardboard to cycle through.
Have you had any problems with flyers missing this since its small? I will have maybe ten yards shooting distance in the basement so I cant imagine it being too bad once the rifles are zeroed.
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MD , I did sometimes have some low speed ricochets . Depends on the pellet , the velocity & angle of the trap to line of sight . I've found that placing an old towel inside the "bin " area helped on rebounding from there. Also most ricochets only came out a few feet from the stand . I had an old 30 gal. container from job salvage that I stood on end where the pellets hit just below the sight line . It solved the issue & collected most of the lead .Obviously this may not work for everyone . The rubber mulch seems to beat out most every other trap so far for me . Oh , My shooting range is 12 yrds .
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No I’ve never had a “flyer” miss my target completely. I only have about 10 yards to work with also.
However, I did one time awhile back make a scope adjustment on a rifle in the wrong direction for some stupid reason and missed the target completely. The foundation wall is behind this wall so no risk of a pass through to another room where someone could be. Just a dumb mistake on my part. The target box was a little further to the right from we’re it sits in this picture because I just barely missed the target. So yes you still need to be mindful of of your backstop. I’ve probably should maybe make a bigger backstop in case something like that happens again but 2.5 years of shooting in this basement and only had that one mishap.
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I don’t do any indoor shooting but if I did I would not hesitate to use the same concept as the trap I made but with the 27 gal container. At very short range even the 17 gal version would work nicely. Mine is near silent now that the pellets have punched their path to the mulch.
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Reviving this thread to see if there's any new info on making a good, quiet trap for backyard shooting. Thanks to everyone who's contributed so far!
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I still have the trap based upon an electrical box I mentioned earlier in this thread. It is probably retired now based upon difficulty attaching targets and it being too shallow for enough mulch to prevent hitting the back.
I now use primarily wooden boxes sized to hold 6 to 9 inches of mulch and a 8.5x11 target. I also put a steel back inside the trap just in case a pellet gets through. I'd like it to be 16 gauge but I just use whatever I have on hand. The other steel part is even more important. I put 1/8th steel flat bar around the front of the trap so that the pellet has to hit the cardboard covering the mulch or the steel. My most powerful airgun is only about 50 fpe but it does not distort the 1/8th steel.
I have 3 of these traps. The deepest is about 9 inches deep and is made of 3/4 plywood. It weighs 21 lbs without any pellets. I use it for 40-50 fpe airguns. The other two are about 6 inches deep. One is made of 1/2 inch plywood. The other is made of reinforced 1/4 plywood. They both weigh about 15 lbs full of mulch with no pellets. I use them for airguns under 40 fpe.
If you need a larger backstop for stray shots I would use a horse stall mat or landscape timbers or something. I take my traps in at night. If you don't hit them a lot 2 inch thick concrete papers also work. I have them behind my know your limits target.
I now use primarily wooden boxes sized to hold 6 to 9 inches of mulch and a 8.5x11 target. I also put a steel back inside the trap just in case a pellet gets through. I'd like it to be 16 gauge but I just use whatever I have on hand. The other steel part is even more important. I put 1/8th steel flat bar around the front of the trap so that the pellet has to hit the cardboard covering the mulch or the steel. My most powerful airgun is only about 50 fpe but it does not distort the 1/8th steel.
I have 3 of these traps. The deepest is about 9 inches deep and is made of 3/4 plywood. It weighs 21 lbs without any pellets. I use it for 40-50 fpe airguns. The other two are about 6 inches deep. One is made of 1/2 inch plywood. The other is made of reinforced 1/4 plywood. They both weigh about 15 lbs full of mulch with no pellets. I use them for airguns under 40 fpe.
If you need a larger backstop for stray shots I would use a horse stall mat or landscape timbers or something. I take my traps in at night. If you don't hit them a lot 2 inch thick concrete papers also work. I have them behind my know your limits target.
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