Pellet traps

[jps2486]

Because I live in Wisconsin and am "trapped" all winter indoors, I shoot in my basement using a steel 22 cal rimfire bullet trap. While it is effective in containing anything from .177 to .30 cal pellets, it spits out lead particles up to 3 or 4 feet around it. I shoot a lot and am concerned about cleaning up this mess. I've watched videos of homemade traps using wood, cardboard, or plastic boxes with rubber mulch and/or duct seal to absorb the projectiles. How many pellets will these contain before you have to either clean them or scrap them? Do they spit out lead particles or dust? Your experience is helpful.

 

[Star7]

I use boxes purposely built to hold duct seal. They work very well and hold the lead until you can't lift the dang thing. Then you pry the big wads of lead out of it (I cast round balls for muzzle loaders) and add a plug of duct seal. That works well, but duct seal has gotten too expensive. Its benefit is that it stays where you put it even if you hang the box vertically on a wall.
In the future I would try to use rubber mulch but I would need some way of containing the mulch as that's a mess I do not need. Rags may be easier, but I am concerned about channeling.

 

[Treefrog]

A box filled with rags backed by a piece of plywood has been my go-to for the last few years. It's dust-free and relatively quiet. It takes a couple of tins of pellets before needing to be cleaned. 6 inches deep by 16" wide and 18" tall.

J~

 

[Blankshot17]

I tape over completely the opening of my rimfire trap with several ply's of white Gorilla tape 4 inch wide. For target use a marker to make a dot, or use self sticking splatter burst targets. When shot up, leave on and tape over with more Gorilla tape and start over. Holds back the lead splatter quite well.

 

[Rodeo]

I have used rubber mulch traps for a few years now. I built boxes out of plywood with a cardboard target front to hold the mulch but a cardboard box would work just as well (lighter but not quite as sturdy). I have had no issues with pellets or pellet pieces not getting trapped in the mulch. I either tape over the holes in the cardboard or replace the cardboard when it is shot up enough. I will get some pieces of mulch that fall out of the trap through holes in the cardboard face but it is not much. As my needs have changed I have built four different traps (two indoor and two outdoor). I have reused the same mulch in each trap and never bothered to try and remove the spent pellets.
I do not move the traps except to change the cardboard so the weight of the accumulated pellets is not a concern for me.
On a side note: Rubber mulch does not tunnel through no matter how much I shoot into the same spot.

 

[scottg0814]

Being in the northeast, I too am confined to shooting in the basement. I just built my first pellet trap using a 12 gallon tote filled with rubber mulch. Most videos I've seen show a piece of cardboard over the top and then a large hole cut in the lid to expose the cardboard. I elected to preserve the lid so that when they turn the heat back on outside I can put the lid back on the tote when I'm no longer using it or still have a usable tote if needed.
I put 2 metal plates on the bottom and some 2" wide metal strips around the top edges of the tote with double sided tape to protect the top edges. I then cut a piece of cardboard to cover the top of the tote and simply taped it to the tote. I've only put about 50 .177 pellets into it so far with a pistol so I can't speak for how it will perform over time as far dealing with any tiny bits of mulch. Not having the lid attached, per the videos, may allow for some of the mulch bits to leak out. I haven't tried any of my more powerful guns. Unfortunately, due to the odd shape of the basement, the trap is only a few yards away so I don't see much point in shooting at it with more powerful rifles. My HW44 in .177 is super quiet and impacting the target is also silent. In hind sight, only shooting lower power pistols in .177 I'm sure I didn't need the metal plates protecting the bottom of the tote but, they were scrap so they got put to good use.
The down side is that the trap is pretty heavy but I won't be moving it around. All in all it will do the job perfectly.

 

[Florida_Man]

I’ve tried the rubber mulch, but it always ends up creating a mess and requires maintenance. I’ve gone to discarded clothing, sheets, and blankets like others. Back it with some plywood. I dump it when I hear impacts to plywood. I just use a cardboard box and duct tape the whole thing. I’m in Florida and always shoot outside, but it’s nice having a quiet option. Neighbors kinda, mostly for the wife and baby.

 

[Mike_Lenardon]

I have the same bullet trap as you. What you need to do is cover the entire face of the trap so there's no opening. Poster board works good enough sometimes you get something ricocheting back out but not very often. Give it a try, I use the front and back panels from cereal boxes and it works fine.

 

[Gramps]

Took a tote I got at the local Farm & Home and cut a hole in the lid. Filled it with old folded bath towels. I took a clipboard cut hole to match lid in it. Bolted it to the lid to hold targets. Filled the area between the lid and clipboard with cardboard cut to size, these are changed as needed. About the only mess I have is cardboard & paper scrape. Which I clean up with a dust buster. This have been working well for me shooting in my basement.

 

[manabeknives]

I usually take a piece of cardboard to cover the mouth of my bullet box to keep debris from flying all over. I mainly use the same targets, which i spray glue onto another piece of cardboard to keep the holes a little cleaner. As long as i keep the same target style going for a bit, i am shooting through the same holes most of the time and can keep the same piece that is covering the openning for days. The trap i have has a piece of metal that flips in the front and holds the clip to secure the targets. I use this metal piece to hold the cardbord in fron of the openning. You might get more paper dust and fragments..but not nearly as bad as pulverized lead bits all over.
Also, I placed the bullet trap on a piece of thick foam, with a little bit extending in the front to help secure the cardboard and reduce the clank

 

[Raysfan]

The rubber mulch trap works great. Here is a picture of a small one. Small tote have to change the cardboard once in a while. Super easy and effective.

 

[bustachip]

I built mine from 3/4 plywood with a carry handle on top, inside there is a sheet of 1/16 stainless plate screwed onto a 1/2 piece ply wood and it tilts toward the front on an angle. Pellets come in hit the plate and deflect downward. The front opening is a little smaller than a sheet of paper and I use cardboard and duck tape over it. There are clips to hold the target on. I replace the card board when needed or add more duck tape until I do. It's not loud and no pellet has ever came out.
I painted the whole box camo and have been using it since 2007. It does get heavy when not emptied for several years..lol.

 

[Ezana4CE]

Because I live in Wisconsin and am "trapped" all winter indoors, I shoot in my basement using a steel 22 cal rimfire bullet trap. While it is effective in containing anything from .177 to .30 cal pellets, it spits out lead particles up to 3 or 4 feet around it. I shoot a lot and am concerned about cleaning up this mess. I've watched videos of homemade traps using wood, cardboard, or plastic boxes with rubber mulch and/or duct seal to absorb the projectiles. How many pellets will these contain before you have to either clean them or scrap them? Do they spit out lead particles or dust? Your experience is helpful.

@jps2486 A simple solution to cut down on the lead particles coming out of my steel trap is cutting a piece of cardboard with sides that fold and slide into the mouth of the trap, covers the top (flush with the target clip), and has a rectangular portion that folds and slides evenly beneath the trap. This way much of the lead is either caught in the cardboard layers, sent back into the trap, or caught in the bottoms fold of the cardboard and can be poured back inside of the trap. Let me see if I have any photos of what I’m talking about. I use this for shooting a Bulldog M357 outdoors.

 

[Berserkeley Mike]

Or one could shoot the lead-free pellets inside and not worry about lead. At some point it may be less work and hassle.

 

[rcs9250]

I have rectangular tote, maybe 5 gallon with rubber mulch. The lid has a rectangular hole cut in it. I have rectangular cardboard cut to fit just slightly tight into the rim for holding target in place with a piece of tape. I’m shooting almost 30 feet in basement so I center my 8 1/2” x 11” target in the lid. As long as I hit the paper (which is no problem) I don’t have to worry about the pellet going through the plastic portion of the lid.
I also have a sealing putty target with binder clips to hold target.
Neither one have ever had any pellets or fragments come out.
Which one is better? Both do a great job. Cleaning out pellets from mulch one is easy with a 1/4” mesh screen.
I have not put enough rounds in the sealing putty yet to require cleaning. I don’t see myself digging in the putty to retrieve spent pellets so probably won’t use that trap after that. The downside of the putty trap is, when done shooting, you need to lay it down flat because over time, even 24 hours, the putty slowly flows downward, getting thicker and thicker. It’s neat and quiet but more expensive and you need to remember to lay it down after a session.
If I had to do the mulch one over I would probably use the next larger size tote. I would use the same 8 1/2” x 11” target but have it low on the lid so that gravity is always keeping the mulch full behind the target.

 

[JimD]

I think I took 11 lbs of pellets out of my trap last time I cleaned them out. My current trap is an old electrical breaker box filled with rubber mulch. A piece of cardboard covers the mulch and supports the target. I have blocks of wood screwed to the breaker box to fasten metal pieces to that clamp the cardboard and target in place.

 

[Ezana4CE]

@jps2486 A simple solution to cut down on the lead particles coming out of my steel trap is cutting a piece of cardboard with sides that fold and slide into the mouth of the trap, covers the top (flush with the target clip), and has a rectangular portion that folds and slides evenly beneath the trap. This way much of the lead is either caught in the cardboard layers, sent back into the trap, or caught in the bottoms fold of the cardboard and can be poured back inside of the trap. Let me see if I have any photos of what I’m talking about. I use this for shooting a Bulldog M357 outdoors.

View attachment 425686

Ok I finally found the photos I was looking for. This shows what I’m talking about.

This type of cardboard cutout greatly reduced the amount of lead fragments that escape this steel trap. I’m shooting up to .357 slugs into this trap. Thicker and more rigid cardboard seems most effective. Keep in mind some lead fragments will lodge themselves into the cardboard. Eventualy some pieces will punch through. The edges that slide into the side of the trap will eventually become shredded.

 

[woogie_man]

Rubber mulch in a heavy gauge steel box. Have shot my 22lr into it and nothing gets through.

Take the time and build something of quality. If you cheap out you will be paying more to keep rebuilding it and making repairs. Build something nice and spend more time shooting.

 

[Corvid_hunter]

If you are worried about lead dust, at something like 600fps it start to exit the barrel with the pellet. Not sure of the exact fps though.

 

[Nkcaudill]

Because I live in Wisconsin and am "trapped" all winter indoors, I shoot in my basement using a steel 22 cal rimfire bullet trap. While it is effective in containing anything from .177 to .30 cal pellets, it spits out lead particles up to 3 or 4 feet around it. I shoot a lot and am concerned about cleaning up this mess. I've watched videos of homemade traps using wood, cardboard, or plastic boxes with rubber mulch and/or duct seal to absorb the projectiles. How many pellets will these contain before you have to either clean them or scrap them? Do they spit out lead particles or dust? Your experience is helpful.

I use an archery target from my local farmers supply store. Picked it up for about $20 and have used it for about two years without ever having a pellet or slug pass through it. Shot everything from .177 to .25 caliber with no issues.