New Backstop Idea: Rubber Stall Mat with Carpet

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DIYEngineer235

DIYEngineer235

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Jul 21, 2021
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Indiana, United States
Winter is slowly loosing its grip for the year and now its time for me to build a new backstop and I'd like to improve on what I used last year. After a little research, this is what I'm thinking of doing.

I plan on using a 1/2 inch rubber stall mat with a carpet front with about 2 or 3 inches between them. The idea is that the carpet slows the rounds (.177 and .22) enough to not penetrate and then stops the rounds from bouncing back. 

All of this would be hanging from a 2x4 between two A-frames. The 2x4 would also provide the spacing between the mat and the carpet. I also plan on making a trough to go under and between to catch the lead.

The reason I'm making such a wide backstop is I prefer to have more of a shooting gallery rather than a single paper target. Paper targets are fine, but its SO much fun seeing a metal target go PING is it flies off. 

Anyways, my only real concern is, will a single layer of carpet be enough to slow the pellets and keep them from penetrating the rubber mat, or will I need more? 
 
Winter is slowly loosing its grip for the year and now its time for me to build a new backstop and I'd like to improve on what I used last year. After a little research, this is what I'm thinking of doing.

I plan on using a 1/2 inch rubber stall mats side by side with a carpet front with about 2 or 3 inches between them. The idea is that the carpet slows the rounds (.177 and .22) enough to not penetrate and then stops the rounds from bouncing back. 

All of this would be hanging from a 2x4 between two A-frames. The 2x4 would also provide the spacing between the mat and the carpet. I also plan on making a trough to go under and between to catch the lead.

The reason I'm making such a wide backstop is I prefer to have more of a shooting gallery rather than a single paper target. Paper targets are fine, but its SO much fun seeing a metal target go PING is it flies off. 

Anyways, my only real concern is, will a single layer of carpet be enough to slow the pellets and keep them from penetrating the rubber mat, or will I need more?
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@DIYEngineer235 Check this thread out and maybe pick @Healthservice’s brain. I asked him about his backstop and he mentioned those mats. https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/uragan-compact-can-shoot-slugs-wtf😵/?view=all#post-1202578
 
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Do you mean hanging straight up and down or angled on the back A-frame?

In a previous thread another poster used high density polyethylene (HDPE) at a 45 degree angle and it withstood 50 FPE.

I've been tossing around ideas for something similar but now my boys are into archery so I want to keep that in mind.

Here is a link to that post I mentioned.

https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/how-did-you-make-your-target-backstop/#post-1046239


 
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I use old pieces of conveyor belt with cardboard that I put targets on. Below the conveyor belts are plastic 50 gal barrels cut in half length wise to catch the lead. I've test it with .22 rimfires with no pass-throughs.

Another idea you might find on the side of the roads, old truck mud flaps mounting so swings upon impact. 

I also have more portable target/backstop using 2x4 frame with ductseal. They get heavy after shooting them for awhile but it they are very quiet and transportable.

Hope this gives you some ideas.
 
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I skipped all the rubber mulch, carpet, whatnot and put a piece of steel plate at ~45 degree angle in a box over tray to catch the lead.

A sheet of FRP on the front of the box helps prevent splatter from coming back out the box and makes a good target backer.

A bucket would work just as good as the tray, maybe better. Easy to empty or reclaim the lead.

Basically a bullet trap, the thicker the steel the less the noise. It will even catch 22lr.
 
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If it is Quality carpet ? (as in tightly woven , heavy base) IF your not shooting High power, not over 18 FPE = lot of if's to consider . But (there's that word again) i have been considering the same mats Please Keep us informed .
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I'm actually using two industrial floor mats instead of carpet. Thick rubber backing so I think they'd slow the pellets down. I guess I'll just have to experiment. A LOT!😁

Do you mean hanging straight up and down or angled on the back A-frame?

In a previous thread another poster used high density polyethylene (HDPE) at a 45 degree angle and it withstood 50 FPE.

I've been tossing around ideas for something similar but now my boys are into archery so I want to keep that in mind.

Here is a link to that post I mentioned.

https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/how-did-you-make-your-target-backstop/#post-1046239

Click to expand...

The mats are hanging straight down. I've considered angled, but then I get concerned about cleanup. The air gap between the carpet and rubber stall mat should allow all the lead to collect in a small area so I can just use a tray of some kind for everything to fall into.
 
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I am currently using 3/4" thick stall mats as my main pellet stop (but they are backed up by stacked fire wood just in case).

I didn't attempt to allow them to hang and move when hit with pellets - I figured that since they are 95# each, they wouldn't be moving much.

I have been using 'sacrificial' shade cloth and a thin rubber floor runner directly behind the targets. These serve to give a nice background for seeing the targets, to slow the pellets down a bit before they hit the real target stop, and to prevent any potential ricochets from coming directly back towards the shooters. Both of these items are cheap and quick to replace.

The horse stall mats have worked well for the past few weeks since I installed it, and we normally have 5-7 shooters putting pellets down range on our weekly range days.

IMG_2512.1646786538.JPG


IMG_2513.1646786539.JPG

 
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In my area we have clay, yep just nasty old hard clay, but the good thing is....it grows rocks, big rocks!! Heavy clay soil forces rocks and such to the surface, so I have had to remove nunerous big rocks over the years when they stick up far enough to cause issues. Some of these rocks are 3-4 feet in length and up to a couple feet in height. Yep..a tractor is needed to move them. Anyway they make superb backstops! No pellet will ever pass thru, lead pellets are soft enough that there is no ricochet, they just disingrate quitely !! I leave a metal tray at the bottom to catch the lead particles. I put targets a few inches in front of the rocks on stands. After 22 years of being blasted on a regular basis, not one has ever worn out or had to be replaced !! Many just get a quick shot of flat black spray paint so I can shoot them and the lead splat looks like a silver hole on the face...great for sighting in... and absolutely makes no sound.
 
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Pellets will not penetrate but bounce back off of 1/2” thick ballistic rubber. We use that rubber at our club and found this out the hard way. They will come back STRAIGHT at you, so much so that it scares the crap out of you. The carpet may work for a few shots but personally I would not trust it.
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Eventually one comes straight back at you from a golf ball too. Lessons learned in a misspent youth.
 
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Pellets will not penetrate but bounce back off of 1/2” thick ballistic rubber. We use that rubber at our club and found this out the hard way. They will come back STRAIGHT at you, so much so that it scares the crap out of you. The carpet may work for a few shots but personally I would not trust it.
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I agree - I tried some of the horse stall mat and sure enough, it kicked a couple back through the facing. Just be aware!


 
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This summer my plan are to make a back stop at out 50 M range so we dont just pump led into a earth berm.

My plan are to have the pellets recoil off a metal plate at a 45 degree angle, that should dump the top of the speed, but i still intend to put one of these thick mats made of recycled rubber granulate at the bottom where the pellets will end up.

I did consider just putting a 3-4 " thick layer of sand there as we have plenty of that, but then we have to filter it now and then getting the lead out, and the rubber mats are actually not that expensive.

Of course i am also going to put something on the back of that metal plate so it do not act like a big gong.

Also going to have something hanging down like a curtain, cuz what ever i end up doing i figure there will still be some things "jumping" around, but a curtain of something i recon will keep most of that inside the box, targets are probably only going to be along the top of the opening facing the shooters, though shooting BR papers these are larger and will hang down about 50% of the way.

Along the bottom i recon we will put some spinners of some sort.
 
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I had an idea for what I thought would make an excellent pellet stop but I have never built one to test it. The idea is to use staggered sets of hanging steel chains to intercept and slow down pellets inside some sort of enclosure. Small size chain link would work with staggered rows, so that no matter where your pellet entered the box it would hit at least two or three chains. Rather than having mulch or carpet or something that gets chewed up and makes extracting the difficult, I thought that the pellets would bust up on the chains and fall to the bottom making clean out far easier.

Just an idea, never built one, throwing it out there in case someone has already or wants to try it.
 
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Pellets will not penetrate but bounce back off of 1/2” thick ballistic rubber. We use that rubber at our club and found this out the hard way. They will come back STRAIGHT at you, so much so that it scares the crap out of you. The carpet may work for a few shots but personally I would not trust it.
Click to expand...

I agree - I tried some of the horse stall mat and sure enough, it kicked a couple back through the facing. Just be aware!

Click to expand...

Lol, I made the mistake myself of shooting at a golf ball at 50 yards 1 time, the pellet missed me but I heard the impact of the pellet behind me. Never again, paint balls much, much safer. That's why I really started looking into a hanging backstop that would allow for it to sway to absorb some of the energy. Truck mud flaps or conveyor belts seem to work well with good life and much quieter that metal.
 
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I picked up an atlas target works rimfire sight in target. Planned on backing it with rubber mudflaps to muffle the ping.

I've done mudflaps and carpet...didn't last long. I do watch using rubber as a direct backstop bc as a kid I almost 'christmas storied' my eye out on a golf ball with a springer. 

I will probably end up just making a small berm and placing concrete pavers in it as its built up (have a huge stack of old rectangular pavers in the woods)
 
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