QBall’s cheap A$$ indoor lead-free shooting setup

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qball

qball

Member
Apr 13, 2020
8,144
3,889
CA, United States
Hey Gang 



I’ve been tinkering with my 1701p and now that it’s winter which means it get dark early and cold(I know I’m a softy CA wimp) I’ve been thinking about a indoor setup. One thing I’m very hesitant about is lead dust, I really don’t like that idea. Then today I saw a thread about lead free pellets for indoor shooting and a big light bulb went on! Why didn’t I think of that? Hell, I even have lead free pellets! So after a couple of hours of tinkering I think I’m pretty happy with my initial setup. 



Here are my requirements:

Cheap and with stuff I already have

safe so no more than 400fps 

lead free of course 



So here is my setup:

- frame/shell: cardboard box from deliveries 

- back stop material: old jeans as main back stop and heavier black T-shirt as the first layer 

- power : 420 FPS or 2.5 FPE 

- ammo: H&N green lead free pellet 5.6 grain(old stock)

53A18FC3-AC72-4161-BE70-65E9AFF12F41.1607063713.jpeg



One thing dawned on me is lead free pellets are usually made of tin and much harder than lead, my cheap a$$ immediately go.......that means I can reuse the pellets!!!



after some experimenting with different back stop materials I discovered the heavier cloth packed tightly is the best, it stops the pellet with mostly just a thud and the pellet simply falls to the bottom to be collected and rescued. I am shot for over 2 hours with the same handful of lead free pellets, they each has gone through the barrel probably a dozen times and they still shot fine and grouped well. I’ve hand pumped 3-4 times, went through 4-5 target paper and thoroughly tired from shooting and the over all coast is still basically $0!!! 
DA707568-0917-45DC-BE44-0AFFBF55F9C1.1607063793.jpeg


the pellets initial cost is a little high at 5 cents a pop but since I’ve reused them so many times it’s a fraction of a penny a shot and I’ll continue to use them till they aren’t usable anymore which I’m not sure when that would be. I also put my “pellet trap” into a larger but wide box so that the pellets gets collected eve they bounce a little. 


this thing has has been fun as hell and as cheap as hell! Best part of lead free is I can eat potato chips while I’m doing this! No black lead finger tips! 



Let me know what you guys think!!!


 
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After they get too buggered up through the rifling and diameter becomes too small you can try and use a little hammer on a hard clean surface and tap them them on the heads to open the skirts up a little.
Click to expand...

Great idea but not sure it’s worth the trouble, I’ve already put the same handful of pellets through the barrel over and over again for almost 3 hours. I’m actually really tired now. Finally have to throw away 2 pellets because the skirts are bent, most likely one got stuck on the T-shirt and second one hit it. 


this has been crazy, hard to believe myself how well it has worked. Almost 3 hours of shooting I’ve lost probably a few on the floor somewhere and 2 to bent skirt which can be prevent by having the box a bit more up right so they fall every time. 



so over 2 hours of shooting and I’ve spent maybe 30 cents on pellets and no lead in my lungs!!! 😂🤣😂
 
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At that range, you can use blowguns too 😝

Wait, you are in California, so zilch blowpipes for you, sir!

Have to go back to blowguns again after a long hiatus (2006 to present?).

Lots of Japanese old men use the Fukiya in Japan because it’s good for the health; i.e., lungs, heart, bowel movement, coordination, etc. 🤓

It is hard to source out a 1-piece, 4-foot blowgun in either .40 or .50 caliber nowadays though, the latter being my preference.


 
Upvote 0
At that range, you can use blowguns too
1f61d.svg


Wait, you are in California, so zilch blowpipes for you, sir!

Have to go back to blowguns again after a long hiatus (2006 to present?).

Lots of Japanese old men use the Fukiya in Japan because it’s good for the health; i.e., lungs, heart, bowel movement, coordination, etc.
1f913.svg


It is hard to source out a 1-piece, 4-foot blowgun in either .40 or .50 caliber nowadays though, the latter being my preference.

Click to expand...


50 cal blow gun??? You got 3 stage HP compressor for lungs? 


I’ll find way to stretch the “range” out a little today. Where I have it is a little over 10 meters and want to see if I can get 15 meter somehow. 


edit: blow guns are specifically mentioned and banned in some cities only 30 minutes away!!! Granted after seeing some of the “natives” I can’t blame them for banning pencil sharpeners. LOL 
 
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Cheap cheap and eco friendly fun continues this morning with the same 8 pellets from last night. Getting better at killing paper so the natural next step is plinking. Got plenty of acorns right at my doors steps so I lined up 4 of them for firing squad! 
CCF926B1-B054-4764-A986-EB87F14EA1E2.1607102550.jpeg



they are a bit harder to hit but I showed them who is the boss!!!

D8ED05BB-73ED-4421-9C77-B0B960C87A69.1607102597.jpeg





I did find 2 pellets with slightly deformed head so will retire them after their long service. Hope this gives people with limited space ideas on how to have safe fun with limited indoor space. It has been a blast so far for me, time to find other interesting, fun and safe targets to plink.
 
Upvote 0
At that range, you can use blowguns too
1f61d.svg


Wait, you are in California, so zilch blowpipes for you, sir!

Have to go back to blowguns again after a long hiatus (2006 to present?).

Lots of Japanese old men use the Fukiya in Japan because it’s good for the health; i.e., lungs, heart, bowel movement, coordination, etc.
1f913.svg


It is hard to source out a 1-piece, 4-foot blowgun in either .40 or .50 caliber nowadays though, the latter being my preference.

Click to expand...

https://www.coldsteel.com/4-foot-625-blowgun-b6254z
 
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