I decided to rebuild my shot box.
With one that could easily be rotated and a $2.50 replaceable lid
With one that could easily be rotated and a $2.50 replaceable lid
After 6 years of abuse
- Thread starter Michael
- Start date
Should carve out most of the lid to where it can receive cardboard cut outs, would be very easy to tape up the holes in cardboard a couple times before replacing, at least with how much shooting over my chronograph I do.
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Is that bucket filled with charcoal? It looks like you're using your target as a charcoal powder maker.
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After shooting 10000's of pellets my mulch shows it's age. All the fiberglass chords separate from the rubber. Still works but it may be time for new mulch.
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How do you separate the materials? Mine has a lot of cardboard. I didnt like the dust and ran away.
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A little bit of gasoline and a match should help separate the cardboard from the lead.
Smitty
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The bucket is a great idea! I have been using a cardboard box, and always think it should have a handle.
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Mulch is the quietest projectile stopper. I put thousands of rounds into the last box, and depending on the depth you can stop some serious power (I’ve stopped at least 80fpe at point blank range).
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I’ve only ever used Duck tape to cover my holes, there was no dust to speak of.
After years of use my rubber finally started to break down. I just threw away the entire plastic box (which was ridiculously heavy from all the lead)
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This is a very cool idea, I like it a lot! You could even take a metal trashcan for around the bucket if you are ever worried about channeling and channel exits on higher calibers. Thank you for sharing!
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I don't use cardboard, I use 2" foam used for packing equipment. I lasts a lot longer than anything else I've tried. After about 2000 shots I separate most of the lead by dumping some at a time into a 50gal plastic trash can lid and mix and take out the rubber with a garden hand trowel. To remove the nylon and cardboard you could probably dump everything into a 50 gal trash can and fill with water and scrape off the trash. But that means you'd have to dry out the rubber. Which in my case does not float. Way to much trouble.
I try to keep my container light because I bring it inside during inclement weather.
I try to keep my container light because I bring it inside during inclement weather.
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Not being familiar with the design, do you cut out most of the lid and replace it with a piece of cardboard or two so as to keep the mulch in place ?
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My last shot box (Rubbermaid box) I simply shot into a small area through the plastic. When the hole got too big (meaning mulch would pop out) I simply put a piece of Duck tape over it, then shot through the Duck tape.
I only use this for tuning in my garage. Others have used a similar method for a target box. Here’s a great example
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My pellet trap is similar except the box is an old breaker box. I found the box in my shed, left here by a previous owner. So the price was right. It is made of steel that appears to be about 16 gauge. I can only pack about 3 inches of rubber mulch in it and a few shots have dented the back up high where the mulch was thinner after settling. But nothing approaching a hole. My highest fpe airgun is a little over 40 fpe. I melted down over 10 lbs of pellets out of it so far. Still in good shape.
I screwed pieces of 3/4 hardwood to the sides and bottom on the inside. Those have to be replaced periodically. A piece of cardboard holds the mulch in and is secured by pieces of little steel tubing I had on hand that is screwed to the wood inside the box. The same tubing traps the target on one side and the bottom. The top of the box has a lip for the lid which I slide the target into. So it is secured on 3 sides.
I have a 4x4 post with an old brake rotor on the bottom that holds the pellet trap up taller than the height of my dog when I am shooting into it. I have paving pieces at 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 yards and a permanent brick column at almost 35 yards. At less than 35 yards I set the pellet trap on the 4x4 that is at the selected distance from my bench. If I want to practice off hand or from sticks I do it from the back porch and then my maximum distance is 25 yards.
I separate the mulch from the pellets when the trap gets really heavy. I dump it out on my back porch and use a leaf blower to blow the mulch away from the pellets. Not a perfect process and some finesse is required, the blower will push pellets too, but it works for me. I put some blue jean material in the trap at one point over the mulch and the worst debris I have in there is from that experiment. But the cardboard also contributes debris but I just sweep up as much mulch and debris as possible and put it back into the trap.
It's a good setup for me.
I screwed pieces of 3/4 hardwood to the sides and bottom on the inside. Those have to be replaced periodically. A piece of cardboard holds the mulch in and is secured by pieces of little steel tubing I had on hand that is screwed to the wood inside the box. The same tubing traps the target on one side and the bottom. The top of the box has a lip for the lid which I slide the target into. So it is secured on 3 sides.
I have a 4x4 post with an old brake rotor on the bottom that holds the pellet trap up taller than the height of my dog when I am shooting into it. I have paving pieces at 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 yards and a permanent brick column at almost 35 yards. At less than 35 yards I set the pellet trap on the 4x4 that is at the selected distance from my bench. If I want to practice off hand or from sticks I do it from the back porch and then my maximum distance is 25 yards.
I separate the mulch from the pellets when the trap gets really heavy. I dump it out on my back porch and use a leaf blower to blow the mulch away from the pellets. Not a perfect process and some finesse is required, the blower will push pellets too, but it works for me. I put some blue jean material in the trap at one point over the mulch and the worst debris I have in there is from that experiment. But the cardboard also contributes debris but I just sweep up as much mulch and debris as possible and put it back into the trap.
It's a good setup for me.
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I tried the box stuffed with old jeans but after I ended up with 3 holes in the side of my airgun shed 
I went with the mulch. My
25 Sumatra just drilled a hole right through about 2 feet of tightly packed old jeans.
I went with the mulch. My25 Sumatra just drilled a hole right through about 2 feet of tightly packed old jeans.
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I built one 12x12x10 trap box with 2x4's, filled with electrical putty and the back plate is a 1/4 tempered steel plate. Worked well for several years in my garage but for tuning purposes unly.
Tinkering to place it in my backyard but the putty is not neigbours friendly.
I am planning to get a bag of rubber mulch but cannot figure how to prevent a spill at front.
Anyhow I could melt or fuse the rubber at least at front? Maybe just a layer of 1/2-1" ? ?
Tinkering to place it in my backyard but the putty is not neigbours friendly.
I am planning to get a bag of rubber mulch but cannot figure how to prevent a spill at front.
Anyhow I could melt or fuse the rubber at least at front? Maybe just a layer of 1/2-1" ? ?
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These are my design. Each 5 gallon bucket holds an entire bag of rubber mulch. I use a 1/2” rubber pad to hold the mulch in, and since this pic was taken I now also add a 2” thick neoprene close cell pad shoved inside the metal frame, to help make it even more quiet. The targets are on cardboard backers and held on with plastic clamps.
The pic of the bucket on a stand, the stand is actually a toilet seat extension, and the 2 x 4 is used to protect the upper portion of the bucket from strays. This is one of my 100 yard set ups
The pic of the bucket on a stand, the stand is actually a toilet seat extension, and the 2 x 4 is used to protect the upper portion of the bucket from strays. This is one of my 100 yard set ups
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