How far would you guesstimate a .25 caliber pellet would ricochet off of a rock after travelling 100 yards? The reason for asking is I'm firing alongside a hill on my property and into a partially carved out embankment with a lot of large rocks. I'm not concerned so much with the pellets that find loose soil but with those hitting large rocks. My target is simply a large box filled with rubber type mulch. Most of the pellets stay inside the box but sometimes some make it all the way through. My closest neighbor about 200 yards away is my concern.
How far richocet?
- Thread starter beeser
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A lot would depend on the angle of the impact if it's a glancing impact and your neighbor is below or at the same sea level as the rocks then I would be concerned by the off chance which could be reduced with adding another backstop
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Too many variables to even give you a guess. Velocity exiting the box, pellet distortion from impact, angle of impact, wind speed and direction and softness of pellets, just to name a few.
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I'd say your best bet is to modify the box so that no pellets go through it and to be sure to hit the box. 
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I am going to say if your 25 is shooting 950FPS at 100 yards, Its a box with the rubber bits in there, Comes out the box, Hits a rock, Its going to be a pretty well dead pellet
Its not going to go another 100 yards, or 50 for that matter, To much energy has been knocked off that little piece of lead,
Its pretty well dead when it hits the rock,
I did a test like this a few years ago the pellet could not even go through a piece of cord board box I set around the target.
Mike
Its not going to go another 100 yards, or 50 for that matter, To much energy has been knocked off that little piece of lead,
Its pretty well dead when it hits the rock,
I did a test like this a few years ago the pellet could not even go through a piece of cord board box I set around the target.
Mike
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I was shooting out to 78 yards with a .22 FX. I had a large half moon shape piece of steel behind the target...... The pellet followed that curvature and hit my house behind me. I found the pellet and it was flattened also. I was surprised that it still had the energy to come back another 78 yards distorted like that. I will never use a backstop with a curve anymore.
*Edit* I posted a couple pics above. Check out the lead trail as it whips around the concave metal stop.
I've heard a cast iron frying pan some use can do the same thing.
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Hmmm.. Looks like it may be a good idea to play it safe by putting a layer of 2x lumber on the back inside of the mulch filled box and then a large piece of sheet metal behind that. Those are the materials I have on hand. Think that'll do it?
Just out of curiosity, what do you guys use for an absolute foolproof backstop.
Dirte - That is amazing that a pellet would come back that far.
Just out of curiosity, what do you guys use for an absolute foolproof backstop.
Dirte - That is amazing that a pellet would come back that far.
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Use a portable .22 cal bullet trap.Rounds go in and don't come out, as it fragments the round on impact and catches them. I use one for my .22 power burner's, .25 Bobcat and my .25 Marauder. No rounds ever leave the trap and for $80.00 that's cheap insurance.
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Well I'm building a cross tie wall. 3 will be posts and the other 13 will make the wall(a cross tie bundle at lowes is 16). The back side of the wall will be back filled with dirt. On the target side of the wall will be a 4'x8' 1/2 inch steel plate at 30 degrees supported at the top with chains. Any thing that hits that plate will be deflected down. All of this is just for the backstop since targets and blocks of wood will be placed in front of the plate. But some of my rifles when not shooting air push the bullet 2,500 fps.
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I use a sage brush hillside behind my target stands. 190gr 30-06, no ricochet. Pellet traps are for inside.
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I was planning to construct a metal bullet trap but after putting some 2X lumber on the back inside of a cardboard box and filling the rest with the rubber mulch none of the pellets are finding their way through. Good enough for me and problem solved, at least for now.
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If you want to try and test out some different pellet trap designs and need lumber check neighborhoods that are building houses. I was rebuilding my pellet trap this weekend after leaving is outside all year and insects getting into it. I went into the neighborhood next door to mine and asked the contractors building the house if I could look the the scrap bin for lumber and they said to help myself. I found a 3'x5' piece of 3/4" tongue and groove plywood, which was more than I needed. I probably have enough left over to build 1, possibly 2 more traps. Just a thought for you guys to get some free wood if you're ok looking around.
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