Made a bullet trap today...

[Mr_Shamrock]

and I have a question on the gauge of steel that others are using. I found a piece of 16 gauge stainless that seems to work well. I didn't think it would do but after a number of rounds hitting it today it just has the slightest dimples. You can't really see them but if you run your hand down the panel you feel the contact marks. I will post some pics of the trap tomorrow - I ran out of daylight. I made it where the back is hinged so the metal can be replaced in literally seconds. Metal is so expensive right now so I am going to keep an eye on the 16 gauge and hope for the best. I will let you know how it works.
My initial testing was shooting right into the metal (at a 45 degree angle) to see how it dimpled. The slower Colibri's just left a slight mark with zero denting. The CB longs are the ones that left the slight dents. Just before coming in for the night I added the sand so now the round will go through some sand before ever hitting the metal. Hopefully this will hold up - even 14 gauge is going to cost $100 for a sheet around here, but I can get 8 panels out of a sheet.
I am happy with the way it came out, but with the sand in it it is pretty heavy to move around even with the wheels I put on it.

[Mr_Shamrock]

Here is my bullet trap...



It has a handle on one side and wheels on the other that when tilted touch the ground. It is still heavy, but able to be moved if needed. That is a piece of 3/8" heavy rubber on the front that can be changed out quickly by just undoing the 4 wingnuts in the corners. I also put the piece of rubber I cut off this one rolled up inside. I don't think it is needed, but it just happen to be the perfect width when I trimmed the front one...



The sheet of stainless is obviously too big, but I made the trap where the metal can be easily removed in case I need to change it out. I may later on just grab a piece of 1/8" and I know that will do fine. It is set up for a 24" X 24" piece to fit perfect. Here is the backside...



The back is on hinges for easy access...



And the sheet of metal just pulls out (the piece of scrap rubber is usually rolled up on top of the sand, but it springs out under its own tension when the back is opened). I will probably leave it out and fill the remainder with sand though...





It is the perfect height for my spinner target with it's "custom" holder. It actually works great this way...



Well that's it. Tell me what you think.

[BETH]

i think u did a nice job it looks good to me but of coarse i have never used one.

[Mr_Shamrock]

Originally Posted by BETH

i think u did a nice job it looks good to me but of coarse i have never used one.

Thanks, I appreciate it!

[3/2 STA SS]

Looks quite solid...I used old phone books and a cardboard box...yours is very nice!

[gdmoody]

That is a pretty ingenious idea. If I had the steel plate, I might give making one a shot (pun intended).

[BETH]

hey MR why don't u put an add in the paper maybe u could sell them

[Mr_Shamrock]

Thanks for all the compliments!
Beth - not a bad idea, too bad my "honey do" list barely allowed me time to build this one. Plus I have to actually squeeze in some time to use it.

[BETH]

I hear ya

[mr.t7024]

Definitely works for me!

[stumper1300]

I was with yah till I saw the spinner pic. I have had a lot of ricochets using spinners. I am surprised a Cb or colibri would even penetrate the rubber after hitting the spinner. It looks great. I'm just overly cautious after catching a ricochet in the cheek a few yrs ago.

[1917-1911M]

One I welded together out of scrap. I don't think your plate is going to hold up. Why stainless, you can find some scrap steel plate for free just about any iron railing, welding shop. Some of those guys are shooters and will weld you up something for minimal costs. I'd shoot for 1/4" on that back plate. This one has about 100,000 rounds splattered on it. No bulging but it will not hold up to larger caliber pistol rounds and rifle rounds will go right through it.

Your lead is going to splatter off the the spinners so careful of what is up, below and to the side. You might make the backstop so that the spinner could sit just inside of it. The lead also splatters off of metal backings, notice in mine all of the lead plastered to the sides and bottom of the contraption. I've actually had lead splatter back out of these with enough force to draw blood at 50' if hit in the neck or face. So keep the eye protection on. I now put a board on the front to catch any splattered lead but that only works for just so long before it is shot to doll rags.




Make it large enough so that you don't miss should you try a little faster shooting action. My 2 cents. M1911

[Mr_Shamrock]

Originally Posted by stumper1300

I was with yah till I saw the spinner pic. I have had a lot of ricochets using spinners. I am surprised a Cb or colibri would even penetrate the rubber after hitting the spinner. It looks great. I'm just overly cautious after catching a ricochet in the cheek a few yrs ago.

I don't think there will be too many bullet traps that will catch a round after hitting a spinner target. It is there strictly for the one's that miss. The rounds I am using (strictly low power stuff) hit the spinner and flatten out and I can find them all around it within a couple yards or so, but most within a couple feet. The regular Colibri's will bounce back off the the larger spinner and that is why they will not be used any more - they won't even penetrate the rubber with a direct hit. The Super Colibri's penetrate the first layer of rubber and then the 2nd layer stops them. I find all of them where the 2 come together at the bottom inside the trap. I appreciate the advice and this is definitely a work in progress - hence the reason for the removable metal plate.

[Mr_Shamrock]

Originally Posted by 1917-1911M

One I welded together out of scrap. I don't think your plate is going to hold up. Why stainless, you can find some scrap steel plate for free just about any iron railing, welding shop. Some of those guys are shooters and will weld you up something for minimal costs. I'd shoot for 1/4" on that back plate. This one has about 100,000 rounds splattered on it. No bulging but it will not hold up to larger caliber pistol rounds and rifle rounds will go right through it.

Your lead is going to splatter off the the spinners so careful of what is up, below and to the side. You might make the backstop so that the spinner could sit just inside of it. The lead also splatters off of metal backings, notice in mine all of the lead plastered to the sides and bottom of the contraption. I've actually had lead splatter back out of these with enough force to draw blood at 50' if hit in the neck or face. So keep the eye protection on. I now put a board on the front to catch any splattered lead but that only works for just so long before it is shot to doll rags.




Make it large enough so that you don't miss should you try a little faster shooting action. My 2 cents. M1911

Thanks for the input. I got the stainless for next to nothing - it was a scrap at a fabricator that is near me. I definitely would not spend the money on stainless intentionally. The owner is ex-military and when I told him it was strictly for CB's and air gun pellet's he brought this out and was very confident in it's stopping ability. So far he was right. The only indentations were before the rubber and sand were added so it was taking direct hits. Even then it was only with the CCI's. I filled the rest of the trap with sand today so it should have a little more stopping power towards the top. If there wasn't any sand then I would definitely go with 1/4" or even 3/8" but most, if not all, of the rounds aren't even getting to the plate now. So I think, and I may be wrong, that between the rubber and the sand I should be OK. Plus there is a layer of 2X4's behind the metal that I check between mags as well - so far they still look new. I am definitely being careful and after each mag (10 rounds) I am inspecting the metal. Since adding the rubber and sand the metal doesn't have any additional dings. Thanks again for your advice it is very much appreciated! Please don't take this as I am arguing with any of you, I definitely am not. It is somewhat of an experiment and I am taking every precaution to make sure it is safe. So far I am the only one that is using it and will continue to do so until it has had hundreds of safe rounds through it. It has about 200 as of today.

[carver]

I've been thinking about a plastic storage container form Wal Mart. Something about 20" high, by 20" wide, and 30" deep. Fill it with sand, and chunks of wood, or rubber. I know it will work for .22's, but was wondering if you guys thought it would work for calibers up to .308?

[Mr_Shamrock]

Not sure about the .308, but was very surprised at the stopping power of sand with .22's and pellets. I can take my pellet gun and shoot clean through a large dog food can. Fill it with sand and it won't even put a dent in the back of the can.

[Mr_Shamrock]

Oh I forgot to mention, before I made this I asked a welding shop to make one up for me the same size out of 1/4" and I was quoted $400. I have around $60 in this one.

[scotgiant]

Thanks for the ideas here Mr! I've been playing around with making at trap but I like the frame you built.
Happy shooting!

[Mr_Shamrock]

One thing I have to address is the sand will tunnel where it is hit repeatedly and then I start to hear the bullets hitting the metal plate. I think it is because the sand was wet. With it living outside it might be tough to keep it dry. I may need to throw a cover over it.

[Mr_Shamrock]

Update - due to the rounds making tunnels through the sand and then being able to hit the metal plate I did start to notice some very slight dimples in it. I think it would have taken MANY to penetrate it (if ever), but I went ahead and found another welding shop that had a piece of 1/4" scrap that was the perfect size to get 2 - 24"X24" sections out of. I went ahead and had them cut it in half and bought both pieces so I can make my dad the same exact trap. I haven't shot into it yet but am 100% sure I won't have an issue. HUGE difference holding a piece of 16 gauge vs. 1/4" in your hand. That 1/4" is heavy! Here are some not so exciting pictures, but you can see the plate stuck in there...

[3/2 STA SS]

Originally Posted by carver

I've been thinking about a plastic storage container form Wal Mart. Something about 20" high, by 20" wide, and 30" deep. Fill it with sand, and chunks of wood, or rubber. I know it will work for .22's, but was wondering if you guys thought it would work for calibers up to .308?

Carver-I used to keep my old phone books just for that reason. I stacked probably 8-10 together,duct taped them in place so they would not shift and fired my 7.62X39mm SKS into it several times before there were any issues. It was not long term use but served my purpose well.

[Mr_Shamrock]

I tried some old catalogs and after about 100 rounds I had confetti all over the back yard. That was just .22's. It was cool to see how far they penetrated though and how much lead stayed in between the pages.

[Mr_Shamrock]

Just put 75 rounds of some Aguila Sniper SubSonic in about an inch of each other and the new plate doesn't have the slightest bit of indention. These were some big ole 60 grain rounds moving around 700 FPS. I think I found a winner!

[3/2 STA SS]

Originally Posted by Mr_Shamrock

I tried some old catalogs and after about 100 rounds I had confetti all over the back yard. That was just .22's. It was cool to see how far they penetrated though and how much lead stayed in between the pages.

I would just adjust my shot placement after 5 shots on each target with the .22's....7.62 was just 3 rounds.