Highwild Bullet trap from amazon for under $50

[MrP]

I got this .22 rim fire trap off of amazon for under $50 delivered. Put it together - this seems perfect. All parts fit well, easy to assemble (just wait until the end to tighten all the screws). The hex screws are solid and heavy duty and the needed wrench is provided. Mine came with two paper targets. I believe the offer advertised 10 but who cares.

i had some leftover black caulking that I used to seal along the bottom seams. The metal is covered with a thin coating of rubbery material so it may be that there’s no need to fill these cracks - I would guess that if the screws are really tightened down it should all seal up pretty well.


I fired about five shots at 50+ FPE from 10 meters with no target. No deforming of the back plate at all. Not a surprise since this is rated for rimfire rifles but I wasn’t sure if this was going to be a cheap knock off, given the price. Some reviewers complained that the trap is very loud And recommend sticking a bunch of putty on the back of the outside just to dampen the vibration. I didn’t notice the loud noise at all though, probably because I’m shooting a TalonP indoors at 55 fpe without a moderator so pretty much anything will seem quiet in comparison.


Some tiny fragments do scatter out the front but that’s probably to be expected and all large bits were retained. Perhaps a strip of tape along the back of the inside of the bottom trap would help to catch these little stray bits...



I am hoping this will reduce the amount of stray lead bits and dust in my garage and also make it easier for me to collect scrap for recycling.



https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07MH44YS5?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

[tus]

Take a look at the customer pictures and review I have for the Amazon listing.

The thing does work, but it throws out a lot more lead than the more expensive pre-assembled version, which I also have. With the FPE that you're putting into it there will always be some dust coming out of something like this as the pellet/bullet shatters, but there's more coming out of the Highwild.

FWIW, the plastic parts I printed and cardboard have pretty much kept anything from coming out of mine.

 

[Mike_Lenardon]

Cover the entire face of the trap with cardboard and stick your targets to that. I have an old trap like that from I believe Outers. It actually stated to cover the opening completely to eliminate lead spatter. Try it, it works great and you can see how much spatter there was as it cuts into the cardboard. The more power you have behind each round the more spatter. I wanted a wider trap at one point so I bought 2 bolt together traps and welded then into one large trap. 

 

[MrP]

I actually read that review of yours and appreciated the heads up - I knew what I was getting into as far as the lead fragments.


I put a couple pieces of packaging tape across the front bottom and it’s catching all of it. The closeup shows the trapped bits from several shots.

 

[MrP]

I have ascertained that the lead fragments are coming from when the pallet explodes when it first hits the backplate, (not scattering back out of the trap in the bottom). I put some tape in the back that would’ve caught it if it was coming back up from the bottom trap part and that tape does not have any perforations in it or anything.

 

[tus]

I have ascertained that the lead fragments are coming from when the pallet explodes when it first hits the backplate, (not scattering back out of the trap in the bottom). I put some tape in the back that would’ve caught it if it was coming back up from the bottom trap part and that tape does not have any perforations in it or anything.

That is a big part of it. Here's a picture of mine which has been in use for a few months now. If you look at the sides along the back plate you can see the fine white lead powder from the splatter as the pellet breaks up when hitting it. I think the bigger problem is a shot goes off the back plate, hits the vertical back, and then hits the bottom at the back of the thing at close to 90 degrees, at which point it has lost enough energy that it bounces instead of deforming or breaking up more. It's the only way I can explain a relatively big piece of lead coming out over the top of the target/cardboard.

 

[MrP]

Those are big pieces... not seeing that yet but only 30 shots trapped so far. I’m also shooting heavier pellets at lower velocity. So I’m shooting at 50+ fpe but that’s a 47 grain pellet going at 700 FPS or so. I’m guessing bigger chunks would fly if shooting at 1000+FPS 





how much different is the geometry of your better trap? Anything obvious?

 

[tus]

Those are big pieces... not seeing that yet but only 30 shots trapped so far. I’m also shooting heavier pellets at lower velocity. So I’m shooting at 50+ fpe but that’s a 47 grain pellet going at 700 FPS or so. I’m guessing bigger chunks would fly if shooting at 1000+FPS 





how much different is the geometry of your better trap? Anything obvious?

The stopping and back pieces are a little over 90 degrees. I'm guessing that since it's the second surface and the angle, there's still enough energy to have the pellet deflect in a predictable way and go forward under the ledge. You're always going to have something coming out of the things if the FPE is high enough v.s. the pellet mass to cause it to shatter, but the larger chunks that are what's left of the pellet after breaking up from the initial impacts should stay in the thing.

I use my old trap in the house with low powered pistols, where there's only enough energy to deform the lead and not cause it to shatter. In testing the Highwild using a sub 450FPS .177 pistol, a surprising number of pellets ended up bouncing out of it, something that almost never happens with the older one.

[EDIT] Next time I go see my parents I'll have to remember to take a picture of the 45 year old version of these traps that I first starting shooting in, which my dad still has. Back then the stopping, back, bottom, front, and shelf surfaces all one piece, and that back corner is bent round like the front of the thing.

 

[MrP]

Thanks for those photos. I fired a bunch more shots and indeed I’m getting big chunks coming back out now including entire flattened pellets. Not too worried about it I just needed a backstop that was impenetrable and which would catch most of the pallet fragments, so this will do. For the most part they’re being held back by that tape I put across there and they’re not hitting it with much velocity.

 

[MrP]

So another 80 rounds fired into this thing. I would say about 4 or 5 pellets’ worth of crumbs were caught behind the tape I added to catch these bits, this would have been all over the floor of my garage. A little disappointing and I’m tempted to try bending the internal baffle up at a steeper angle.


I think you nailed the issue in your review - the place where the backstop changes from sloped to vertical is where some violent collisions occur and kick off shrapnel. On a better trap this would occur below the lip of the inner shelf that is bend back to trap the bullets, not on this one it is above the shelf and there is a little back scatter.


In summary if you were trying to get a zero dust or crumbs in an indoor shooting range This is clearly not the way to go. If you’re just looking for a cheap, big back stop to catch the bulk of all your pellets (and don’t mind a mess or tinkering a bit to prevent leakage) you might be happy. I feel like this is contaminating the environment a little bit too much to meet my needs so I’m going to have to modify it

 

[MrP]

So I was getting more back scattered bits of pellets from this - 40-50 fpe at 10m is too much for this design. The inner shelf that forms a pocket on the bottom is held in place by two screws. I removed the screws and bent the plate up an additional 10 degrees or so. Now it better occludes the impact points on the back of the trap where the pellets deform at abrupt angle changes. I shot about 20 pellets just now with it bent up like this and I had much less debris come out (but there was still some pellet bits). 


I can drill holes in the side matching the new angle and secure it with screws if needed. Seems durable enough just floating. 




The rounded back of the older model sounds like the correct design - slow them down centrifugally and not with perpendicular impacts. You are totally right about the back... it hits the bottom at 90 degrees because of the vertical back plate. So it bounces back vertically and ricochets off the sloped back back out the front. Need some kind of change in the back.




I went to a camp where we shot 22 rifles at paper targets. Their traps were filled with sand if i recall correctly... is this an option? I may try it out. I think their traps just angled down onto a flat tray full of sand. Maybe sand in this trap will act the same way... maybe not deep enough though. 

 

[MrP]

Just in case anyone out there is curious, I went ahead and put some pretty coarse textured sand in there. It was from an aquarium shop I had lying around. The sand grains are relatively large which I think affects the way they travel through the air after being hit by pellets. I imagine finer sand might be better for this. In any case adding sand to the trap is a mixed bag. The pellets are shattering less and way less scrap is coming out the front or accumulating on top of the inner shelf. So in that sense it’s an improvement. However probably to nobody’s surprise, a little burst of sand flies out the front every time if there’s not a piece of cardboard or something covering the front. So now instead of little bits of lead i have a little bits of sand... i’ll probably just leave the sand in there until it all gets kicked out and then just forget about it and just deal with the little mess of the lead that comes out.

 

[tus]

 

This is my final solution to the problem. 3d printed 2 pieces for the top that have slots for the cardboard and the stopping plate, a pair blockers to stick on the sides to keep stuff from getting past the cardboard there, and another piece to hold the bottom of the cardboard. I have different pieces of cardboard for the different targets I use and really only have to replace the one that's used when sighting stuff in because of the random groups that eventually merge and create a bigger hole. 

I can send you the files if you want them to print out. The side pieces are a little too long but since they're plastic it's easy enough to just cut them to the correct size.

 

[MrP]

Nicely done.

 

[Huncowboy]

I am shopping for some pellet trap. Something I can just put on the ground when in use. Like you have it on that bucket.

Does this thing make a good bit of noise when the pellet impacts the back stop? I would think it does. I am close to everyone (except the direction I am shooting) so I am always worried about making too much noise.

 

[MrP]

Depends on the power of the airgun. They can be pretty noisy. If you want quiet, i think rubber mulch traps or duct seal traps are the best bet.

 

[Huncowboy]

Depends on the power of the airgun. They can be pretty noisy. If you want quiet, i think rubber mulch traps or duct seal traps are the best bet.

Those are all "home made" though. Right? I don't see one for sale.

 

[MrP]

Oh… Yes, as far as I know.

I got a centrifugal trap off a guy on ebay. Very heavy duty, still pretty noisy but cleaner and a bit quieter than the .22 rimfire trap in this thread but still loud with heavy pellets at high power. It’s also not quite as convenient to use but i prefer it to the rimfire trap i had previously.

There will be some occasional bits of lead in front of the trap, but nothing like the box shaped one

Bullet trap 12" for use with .22 thru .44 magnum | eBay

For use with. 17 to. 44 magnum pistol ammo. Target area 12" x 12". Designed and built in USA.

www.ebay.com

 

[Huncowboy]

Oh… Yes, as far as I know.

I got a centrifugal trap off a guy on ebay. Very heavy duty, still pretty noisy but cleaner and a bit quieter than the .22 rimfire trap in this thread. It’s not quite as convenient to use.

Bullet trap 12" for use with .22 thru .44 magnum | eBay

For use with. 17 to. 44 magnum pistol ammo. Target area 12" x 12". Designed and built in USA.

www.ebay.com

I have seen a video of that. It looks very strong for sure. Probably a pain to move it around. That is an overkill for my .22 PCP. Most FPE I have shot was 31 grain slugs so far at 880 or so, but only because I had a box and just wanted to finish it. I am probably gonna stay with no more than 16-25 grain pellets, maybe slugs.

 

[MrP]

It’s heavy and because of the pyrimidal entrance in the circular trap in the back it requires a little finagling to get it to be square to the shooter on a flat surface. I have it up on a cinderblock in my basement at the moment. The lid all drops into a box underneath the circular part - I got it mainly because it convenient for reclaiming lead. Not as much dust, and not quite so much fragmentation.