Quieting a metal pellet trap

[dens228]

What are you all using to quiet the pellet impact in the metal pellet traps?
I DON"T want to use rubber mulch as the reason going to the metal trap was to not have to deal with that mess.
I've tried rubber sheets which work for a few days until I'm shooting them to oblivion, maybe I'll try old carpet but history tells me it won't be any better.

 

[beerthief]

I opened tube s of silicone rubber caulk and troweled onto the inside and outside of a metal trap , got a sort of quieter hit , not worth the time or cost . Then i mounted the whole trap into a styrofoam cooler , still not close to quiet .
My opinion is to hang carpet about one inch apart and shoot at that , three pieces should stop most pellets .

source is carpet store dumpster for free .

 

[hawkeye69]

I made my own pellet trap using a piece of heavy I-beam. To quiet it down, I glued a piece of carpet to cpver the backside of the steel and it made a huge difference in the noise.

 

[woogie_man]

You could use the metal box, and then drape a conveyor belt to the back corner. The pellets should hit the belt and then deform the belt enough to slow them down and drop into your catch pit.

Other than that you are going to have a hard time trying to quiet down a metal trap. Being as you have to have to have a large opening at the front to shoot through.

 

[dens228]

I'm leaning towards gluing some carpet to the inside back AND hanging some off the front.

 

[Stubbers]

No replacement for displacement, rubber mulch will displace the empty space and self repairs more often than not with a box maybe needing a little shake every now and then...Anything else will grow in its diameter until all effectiveness is lost, requiring more frequent maintenance, seems like MORE of a mess to NOT use rubber mulch as a pellet trap, just my 2c.

-Matt

 

[DonC]

Shoot the end grain of a tree cross section. Free,no bounce back,no sound. When it gets very shot up you turn it around and/or get another one to shoot.

 

[Simplemann]

I have an old wooden toy box with fabric to catch and stop pellets works great. I'm shooting a 400 FPS air pistol, at the most Ive shot .22 pushing 525 FPS and have had no problems .

 

[AlanMcD]

If you want to quiet down the metal itself, you could apply dampener material to the back side of the metal on the trap - the side that does not get shot. IT will absorb much of the energy, and stop any ringing that occurs. It won't be as quiet as a rubber mulch trap, but it will help a lot. I put it on the back side of my spinners to quiet them down some.

Here is an example: https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics...398762&sprefix=auto+sound,aps,239&sr=8-5&th=1

 

[beerthief]

If you want to quiet down the metal itself, you could apply dampener material to the back side of the metal on the trap - the side that does not get shot. IT will absorb much of the energy, and stop any ringing that occurs. It won't be as quiet as a rubber mulch trap, but it will help a lot. I put it on the back side of my spinners to quiet them down some.

Here is an example: https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Sound-Deadener-14-5″-10-Piece/dp/B07XMF2V77/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1FIHZPWRLUXSV&keywords=auto+sound+deadening+material&qid=1692398762&sprefix=auto+sound,aps,239&sr=8-5&th=1

yes stops the ring but not the loud metallic thump . maybe i should say lowers the pitch but not any quieter.

 

[Hangtown-Shooter]

One pound bricks of “Duct-Seal” stacked tightly inside the back of the trap used to be to go-to method a few years back…

 

[PelletJunkie]

I used a rubber horse stall mat that I got from Tractor Supply and used double sided tape on the steel backing. I cut another piece of mat that I used spring clamps to hold the mat to the front:

Big Bang Pellet Trap Upgrades

I purchased one of the ThomasT Big Bang Pellet Traps from one of the forum members who had it listed in the Member Classifieds. It worked well but I wanted to make some changes to make it more quiet and to take higher FPE shots. I purchased a horse stall mat at Tractor Supply on the...

www.airgunnation.com

It has been working well so far and at 1000 pellets it is still holding up. I use multi-targets with 9 different bullseye(s) per page so I am not only shooting in one place. On the plus side I can now use thumb tacks to affix my targets.

-PJ

 

[JimD]

There is a youtube channel for Tilly's gunstocks that is often interesting. He has some that show how he used molten lead on the back of his trap to quiet it down. I haven't tried it but might be worth a try if you don't like mulch.

I experimented with quieting my mulch filled trap down and determined that a pellet hitting a target is about 85db. The trap can make it louder but if you want to shoot targets it is going to be about this loud. But I built a metal frame over my pellet trap and put towels on the frame. With a double layer of towels I reduced the sound about 6 db. So just under 80 db. While it worked I decided it was more trouble than it was worth. I use moderators on my guns to get them to about 85 db or a little less and call it good.

 

[HogKiller]

Flex Seal on the back side of the inner steel plate. I have a Big Bang and I like it but still not back yard nosey neighbor friendly, filled it with rubber mulch but next is going to be flex seal on the backside of the liner.

 

[Crabbypatties]

Old clothes works good

 

[Bigragu]

The HVAC industry has gone away with fiberglass for the inside insulation on ducts since the insulation breaks down with the air flow, and now use close cell neoprene. Up to 2” in thickness. The industry has found that neoprene is much quieter like when installing ducts in theaters and it is perfect for ducts used in hospitals and clean rooms.

I use that now to help quiet shots.

It self heals up to a point unless you keep shooting at the same spot.

That material comes in 1” and 2”. You can stack pieces to give yourself a really thick backing. Thd shop I used to work for, anything 24” x 24” and smaller gets chucked, so those smaller sizes are perfect for traps

 

[HogKiller]

The HVAC industry has gone away with fiberglass for the inside insulation on ducts since the insulation breaks down with the air flow, and now use close cell neoprene. Up to 2” in thickness. The industry has found that neoprene is much quieter like when installing ducts in theaters and it is perfect for ducts used in hospitals and clean rooms.

I use that now to help quiet shots.

It self heals up to a point unless you keep shooting at the same spot.

That material comes in 1” and 2”. You can stack pieces to give yourself a really thick backing. Thd shop I used to work for, anything 24” x 24” and smaller gets chucked, so those smaller sizes are perfect for traps

HUH, I've NEVER EVER seen fiberglass on the inside of air ducts, that's a short cut to severe lung issues. Yes, I know that the plastic flex lines are sandwiched glass.

 

[Bigragu]

HUH, I've NEVER EVER seen fiberglass on the inside of air ducts, that's a short cut to severe lung issues. Yes, I know that the plastic flex lines are sandwiched glass.

Oh yes. Throughout my entire career most ducts that are installed outside or on roofs are internally lined with 1” 2” thick fiberglass insulation. Also, ducts that are exposed like in a sports area or restaurant the insides are lined with insulation. Only ducts hidden up above ceilings are usually externally insulated.

Think that’s bad? Back in the earlier days the industry used duct board. Imagine 2” thick x 4’ x 8’ sheets of board insulation, foil face on one side. The shops use to cut and iron seams together to form square or rectangular ducts. It was lightweight and it saved on the costs of hiring an insulating contractor. I used to have to cut into those old systems to add a duct run off of a main truck and all that would be left on some areas inside the ducts were just the outside foil! Guess where the inside two inches of insulation ended up? In someone’s lungs, food, hair, etc.
So glad the industry switched over to neoprene for inside duct insulation.

If ducts weren’t insulated the outsides of the sheet metal would condensate/sweat. Just like a cold beer set out on a hot picnic table does in a few minutes. Just the sweating from temp differences(cold ducts / hot attics during summers) would cause stained ceilings, mold

 

[Chris_K]

Yes, I worked for an HVAC contractor and one of my jobs in the shop was to weld the pins on the sheet metal, brush on the glue, cut the fiberglass liner off a roll, stick it on the material while trying not to impale my hand on those pins, and then stick the retainer plates on the pins. Then the material went over to the brake for bending. I itch thinking about it.

In the field I got stuck pulling fiberglass insulation sleeves onto welded spiral ductwork. The shards of glass in that stuff looked like broken Coke bottles. I am itching just remembering it.

 

[EncoreUneFois]

Lead. Just that. Lead.

Melt some lead in an old pan (outside please) over a camping stove into a quarter inch sheet and screw it on to your backplate. Quiet as you like and 99% of pellets sticking on impact. When the lead ‘’flowers” build up to a level that they are impinging on your target paper simply melt the whole thing flat again. No waste, no fuss. After a while of slinging pellets at it you will have enough for another lead backplate.

100% recycling. Silent as it gets. No mess. I built mine into old power tool cases.

Genuinely, if you screw a lead plate to a thick bit of ply then your issues are sorted. I can take photos if you wish.