Incognito Backstop?

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Just a quick thought. If your target is a smaller cardboard box filled with rubber mulch and reinforced with the fiber strand packing tape, could the shooting face be sealed/re sealed each session with some of the wide stretch-and-stick wrap for shipping goods? Thin enough to be quieter but also weak enough to need service each session.
I'm brainstorming for a future target for myself too.
 
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The backstop will absorb the energy from the pellet but still reflect the energy/ noise from the initial impact.

A friend asked how to muffle the pellet impact noise from his suburb backyard backstop. I suggested creating an anechoic chamber out of tires to attenuate the sound.

Roping 4 tires together and positioning them tight up against the backstop created a "baffled tube" similar in design to a silencer. It worked pretty well.

Guess that the number of tires required would depend on the power/caliber and hardness of the backstop face so some experimenting might be required to achieve an acceptable level of noise.

Cheers!
 
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If you have the space, there's the old standby of shooting the length of a bail of straw if near the op's energy levels. This doesn't work with high energy 22 cal + slug guns, don't make the mistake my group did.

This is a topic I have much interest in. My 22mag bullet trap is so loud I shoot in the warehouse before work hours and am crippled to 15 yard testing.
 
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Vana2 said:
The backstop will absorb the energy from the pellet but still reflect the energy/ noise from the initial impact.

A friend asked how to muffle the pellet impact noise from his suburb backyard backstop. I suggested creating an anechoic chamber out of tires to attenuate the sound.

Roping 4 tires together and positioning them tight up against the backstop created a "baffled tube" similar in design to a silencer. It worked pretty well.

Guess that the number of tires required would depend on the power/caliber and hardness of the backstop face so some experimenting might be required to achieve an acceptable level of noise.

Cheers!
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this sounds like the best way to really silence the impact. all one needs is the space to put it and the tires
 
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the back stop i have literally found for the pellet traps for the range, semi tire thread which have come off the truck tire.

I assume put so the pellets hit the inside at a shallow angle mean most energy will be dissipated and not so much get transferred to the pellet deflecting downwards CUZ only a wood bottom in the pellet traps i have on the drawing board.

1.jpg


This of course not related to noise as it is at the range, though i do think they will be fairly quiet, the big ? is can a fat truck tire hold up to repeated hits from .177
 
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Backstop? Get a Home depot rubber mat. $15-$25. Let it hang like a curtain just so it has about 2" of sway to absorb stray pellets.

Target box? I tried them all, IMO, best is to use Old clothes stuffed in a cardboard box wrapped in shipping/duct tape. Lots of old large bath towels work a little better. Close Suburban shooting quiet and lasts a long time! Simply open and shake pellets from clothing, Restuff, and retape. Back in business.
 
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PGinsandiego said:
Backstop? Get a Home depot rubber mat. $15-$25. Let it hang like a curtain just so it has about 2" of sway to absorb stray pellets.
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Just checked HD online and they have a 3/4" thick mat in three different sizes made from old tires and good for outdoors. I ordered the 2'X3' piece to put behind the 6" thick block of wood I currently shoot against in my urban setting.

Thanks for the HD suggestion. Way easier than driving around looking for an old conveyor belt.

Mat.jpg
 
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Bayward said:
Just checked HD online and they have a 3/4" thick mat in three different sizes made from old tires and good for outdoors. I ordered the 2'X3' piece to put behind the 6" thick block of wood I currently shoot against in my urban setting.

Thanks for the HD suggestion. Way easier than driving around looking for an old conveyor belt.

View attachment 563709
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Looks great, but I gotta believe it would be quieter if you put the mat in front of the wood backstop and shoot into it instead of the wood . . .
 
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AlanMcD said:
Looks great, but I gotta believe it would be quieter if you put the mat in front of the wood backstop and shoot into it instead of the wood . . .
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I will try it both ways when the mat gets here mid week next week. HD is only two miles from my house but they offered free delivery to my door.

I have not noticed nor yet had any neighbor comments about the noise. I am shooting a Ghost on power level 9 which has a pretty loud bark without the 0db attached. In the interest of keeping neighbors friendly I have asked if it bothers them.
 
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Those HD rubber mats look a lot like the 3/4" "Horse Stall Mats" I have been using, purchased at Tractor Supply when on sale. I had thought that they might actually be tough enough to stop pellets, especially if they were attached at the top and allowed to swing a bit on impact. But they don't (test gun: FX Crown .25 cal at 50 yards shooting 25.39's ~880 at the muzzle).

Now I just use these in front of steel plates to muffle sound a bit and to prevent ricochets. We shoot weekly in my back yard, and these mat sections line the steel plates behind the cocktail pick targets I put in place. Here is what they look like after a couple of months of weekly shoots:
Horse Stall Mat.jpg

Note that these are NOT mounted to be free swinging, so they take the full force of the pellet hits. We also regularly hear the 'ding' of the steel behind them, and sometimes (not very often) we still get a ricochet coming back at us (this is my 25 yard range).

The stuff is actually pretty dense, so you may well get some pretty good sound when hitting it. I would probably prefer a thinner, softer, free-swinging rubber sheet about 6 inches in front of this stuff, and then your wood backing for a little less noise.

One bonus of using the Horse Stall Mats is after a while they become recyclable - as rubber mulch nuggets!
 
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pat585 said:
I also use rubber mulch but I was wondering if anyone has tried Kevlar material? I see it's available in a lot of different sizes on Amazon. 1680 Denier Ballistic Nylon 60" x 36" for $19.95.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great backstop material.​

Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2025
Size: 1 Yard Length - by - 60 in. WidthColor: BlackVerified Purchase
I was building a backstop for my 68 caliber pellet gun and this fit the bill perfectly. Cut to just the right size it gives me an ample target area. Fastened to an inexpensive soccer net it makes the perfect setup. The attached picture is actually taken indoors, but when it's actually used, it is out in my backyard.
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@pat585
Does the Kevlar actually stop the pellets quietly?
Or does it simply slow them down & quiet them as they pass through?
The reason I ask is that my understanding has been that Kevlar requires multiple layers slightly separated from one another to be effective.

Thanks
Edward
 
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Note that the material which was linked in pat585's post was ballistic nylon, NOT Kevlar fabric. Ballistic nylon is more WW2 vintage, and was used to make flak jackets for bomber crews. Kevlar is going to be a lot "stronger" (does a much better job dissipating a projectile's energy to prevent penetration). Instead of nylon fibers, Kevlar is made from aramid fibers. Both materials work only when layered.

I'm thinking of trying some of the ballistic nylon as a multi-layered swinging curtain to slow (and maybe stop?) pellets.

Probably quietly too.
 
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As the old saying goes, "let it swing!" You mount the mat to swing free, in front of wood, The pellets will not put holes in the mat and just drop to the ground. Mine was mounted just front of the 2x4 on my fence, not directly on the fence wood. It allowed for 2" of sway. Perfect for years without major damage. It served just as a backstop for my cardboard target box. Suburbia aproved!
 
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I use old rugs for a backstop,in front of the rugs I place cardboard and tape my target to.There is a 8-10" gap between the cardboard and the rugs.Now since I have to make sure it is dead quieted I going to put sides around it....my backstop is 3ft by about 5ft.
I have plywood behind the rugs,fact is a use mulit rugs and it is safe.
 
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