Quiet pellet trap

[Maineiac]

I’d like to build or buy a quiet pellet trap that doesn’t make a lot of noise when I shoot at it. I’m using a rimfire bullet box right now but my wife would like something quieter if possible.

Is it as simple as building a box and filling it with rubber mulch? I’d love some plans or web links if you guys have ideas. I’m not super handy but I can follow directions.

 

[delooper]

I fill a cloth grocery bag with old clothes. Works great. The more penetration your gun has, the more densely you'll need to pack the old clothes in the bag. 

 

[kayaker]

5 gal .bucket with rubber mulch, I fill halfway, works good for 22 & 25 cal. The front is either 1/4 sheeting or pressed cardboard like you find in the bottom of dresser draws screwed to the lid the strip of metal & magnets hold the paper target. Should mention halfway in the bucket is a piece of plywood screwed to bucket (saves weight) as not having to fill the bucket all the way.

 

[Skydivingmiami]

AMAZON BOX filled with old towels or clothes, I normally put a piece of wood at the back end, just incase one pellet does get through, it will hit the wood. - then tape white paper targets to the front. Very quiet. 

 

[Mike_Lenardon]

Rubber mulch in a box. Pack it tight, tape it up. Done and cheap. If you like the results make a nicer one.

 

[wildcj5]

I also use a bullet trap. You can cover the back wall with duct seal. They sell it at Lowes in the electronic section by the zip ties. Works great, been using it for decades.



https://www.lowes.com/pd/Gardner-Bender-16-oz-Duct-Seal/4595233

 

[rsfrid]

I use commercial bullet traps and fill them with rubber mulch. I have one set up for 177, one for 22 and one for 25 depending on the face material. All shoot into rubber mulch. No sound from trap at all. You can use your existing trap.

 

[FredWA]

To Kayaker:

I needed an effective and quiet pellet trap or I would have to drive far from home to shoot. The rubber much is effective and quiet. the plastic bucket is great because everything is contained AND it comes with a handle. Simple, quick to make, and it works.

Thank you again my friend Kayaker

 

[rcarlisle]

I've been using a short section of 4 inch PVC pipe, I'd say about 2.5" deep, filled with 1 pound of Duct Seal. The pellet hitting the material makes a faint slap. Smooth it out when you change targets so pellets don't start driving through. I am shooting .177 so larger calibers will probably want more material. And I'd imagine they'll make a bit more noise. But being able to pick it up and put it anywhere (or put it away to keep the wife happy) has been very useful.

 

[Greg_E]

Pellet and bucket of mulch, stops up to about 200fpe. Using a couple of sheets of pizza box infront of the mulch to contain things until I make a big hole, then tape over it. Eventually need more pizza box to cover the top.



I used the lid and cut a big circle out of it, this presses the carboard into the bucket so easy to empty and change. Only other alteration is that I want to get a steel plate for the bottom of the bucket, a just in case measure that I think is wise.



I also have a bucket filled with folded up denim pants, this is probably good for about 400 to 500fpe, but once you rip a hole through, additional shots tend to go a lot deeper. This needs a steel plate to be safe at more than 200fpe. Probably switching back to mulch, cotton is cleaner, but the mulch settle back into the cavity for following shots. Recasting the stuff from the mulch smells bad due to the rubber all over the ammo.

 

[biohazardman]

I'm a Duct Seal fan from way back. It's about as silent of a trap as you can possibly get.

I use several the 2 inch thick 5lb bricks stacked on top or next to one another. A 2 inch brick is good for over 100fpe although I would not want to continually shoot it in the same place for long at that power level.

You can make nice box to put it in or just set the bricks out to do the job.





Yes it's kind of a pain to clean but you seldom have to do that. The pellets do tend to clump together in a mass which makes it last longer and also bit easier to clean.

I did make one of my friends a rubber mulch trap in a bucket, like the one pictured above, but that stuff really smells awful. Still it's great for outdoors.

 

[fusion]

I use a USPS large box. I think it is 12" x 12" x 5 or 6". I had a 1/2" thick sheet of Lexan cut to fit inside the box, and that goes in first, then I fill the box with rubber mulch until it's a little over filled and tight when I tape the box shut. I can shoot for months on this box. When it gets really heavy, I cut the back open to remove the Lexan plate, and throw the rest in the garbage. Then make a new box. It has worked great for me for years.



Mike

 

[Greg_E]

I use a USPS large box. I think it is 12" x 12" x 5 or 6". I had a 1/2" thick sheet of Lexan cut to fit inside the box, and that goes in first, then I fill the box with rubber mulch until it's a little over filled and tight when I tape the box shut. I can shoot for months on this box. When it gets really heavy, I cut the back open to remove the Lexan plate, and throw the rest in the garbage. Then make a new box. It has worked great for me for years.



Mike

You should be collecting that lead! People would at least pay shipping to have it for melting. The alloy is a bit weird, but I'd give it a go if you are ready to ditch another box. It is very likely that you have a large clump of lead because the pellets will pile up in that one area and it should be easy to dig out. Sort the lead out and put it in a flat rate box, you may even be able to get $1 or $1.50 per pound plus the shipping.

Pure lead is around $2 or $2.50 per pound, and often comes with free or flat rate shipping, so mixed alloy pellets need to be less as we don't know the alloys.

Only thing that would wreck this is if you mixed in a bunch of lead free pellets.

Loosen up the mulch so you can shake it back and forth, then shake a bunch. The heavier lead should settle to the bottom and you can scoop out the mulch into a new box to harvest the lead. Just a thought from one of the many that cast their own. I also shoot at a place where I can't trap the lead, tossing 450 grain (around an ounce) projectiles down range to lose them in the berm kind of sucks. I need to work on my club and get them to let me put up a trap when I'm shooting, I'll buy a nice metal spiral trap and haul it with me.

 

[Bigragu]

https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/finally-got-around-to-building-these/

 

[Maineiac]

https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/finally-got-around-to-building-these/

Thanks!

 

[Greg_E]

That style of bucket is not good for 185fpe, I was sending slugs 14 inches deep in the mulch. I have to shoot into the end of the bucket which gives a bit more length to stop things. I have not shot into the mulch bucket since going slightly over 200fpe to see how deep it goes.

 

[Bigragu]

That style of bucket is not good for 185fpe, I was sending slugs 14 inches deep in the mulch. I have to shoot into the end of the bucket which gives a bit more length to stop things. I have not shot into the mulch bucket since going slightly over 200fpe to see how deep it goes.

My design was meant for 40-100 yards out as I made a few of them to be set out in 10 yard increments. Pellets only, as I would not have made the target holder out of 22ga sheet metal if I were using slugs from the get go. These mulch buckets have a few pluses going for them, but the two best positives are portability and designed for weather.

For the power your shooting at, I do have this filled with duct seal for close up chronograph tuning for either slugs or pellets. It’ll stop most anything at being made out of 1/4” plate, snd holds like 8 lbs of duct seal-

https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/what-great-friends-i-have/


then a lighter version of a steel trap that followed a year later which I used exclusively for 40 yards and out for target shooting before the mulch buckets-

https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/built-another-pellet-trap/

Depending on distance, the lighter version would also be suitable for high power slugs as the rear wall was reinforced with 3/16” aluminum plate. The trap face is protected with that 1/4” plate frame

 

[rbeckey]

I was able to get two bags of rubber mulch at a big box store starting with an L for $1 each. They had small tears in the bags so the store put them in clear plastic trash bags on a clearance rack. If there was any missing from them I couldn't tell. Two different colors, but that is immaterial for a trap.

 

[Gr8Recreation]

I’d like to build or buy a quiet pellet trap that doesn’t make a lot of noise when I shoot at it. I’m using a rimfire bullet box right now but my wife would like something quieter if possible.

Is it as simple as building a box and filling it with rubber mulch? I’d love some plans or web links if you guys have ideas. I’m not super handy but I can follow directions.

Check out Aaron Cantrell on YT. Used a box packed with old clothes. Works amazing.

 

[B_y_r_o_n]

I started out with the duct seal box with clip board in front to hold targets. That was fine with my .177 guns but recently I've upgraded to .22 and .30 cal guns that generate over 110 fpe. I wasn't comfortable with the duct seal box even though it had 3/4" plywood back. Yesterday I began construction of a rubber mulch box with more surface area. I started with a 17 gallon HDX box and 3 bags of rubber mulch. Because I was worried about the errant shot going through the side I decided to line the inside of the box with 3/8" plywood I had handy. I was able to cut pieces that fit the recesses in the bottom of the box and interlocked with the lid. It made me feel better about a shot that may try and exit the box though the side or bottom. I left the lid intact figuring it would be better than the cardboard that many use after cutting an opening in the lid. I added a 1/4" luan frame on top of the cover with a piece of cardboard stapled to it to attach my targets. With 11" of rubber mulch in the main target area I figured it should be able to stop even my heavy .30 cal pellets and slugs. Besides that I can set two 8-1/2" x 11" targets side by side if laid on its side or have up to 19" if stood on the end. Hope to test it out in a day or two if the temperature drop below 100 degrees.