No more lead... bullet trap?

A wire mesh front box of gravel stops cast lead way better than anything else I've found.

If you have spares, kitty litter boxes full of the same do much the same thing- just not very re-usable

If you can pick you up one of those cheap collapsible handle two wheel dolly's it will make your hauling one back and forth MUCH easier, and will come in handy for other things as well.

As for the trap, well here is a link that will go into about every type conceivable.
Bullet-trap-ideas-for-recycling-lead

I use 5 gallon buckets with screw on lids I get form work. They toss them when empty and they are scooped up by everyone there. What I use is simply the sandy loam dirt we have on the farm. I fill it up to the top a little at a time picking it up by the handle and dropping it from about 6-8" to pack it every 4-6" worth. Once full I screw on the lid, set it atop a stand, in my case an old 55gal barrel. Then I slap one of the stick on targets or staple one of my own up to the lid and go to it.

It will stop most average loads at 25yds, but some magnums will pass right on through so I shoot those at 50. If your simply wanting to stop them then a 1/4" plat in the bottom might work well, but if you read through the post linked above, you might also find it will splatter the bullets and actually cut the bottom off the bucket. What might work out better is to put a 3/4" plywood circle in about 1/4 of the way up the bucket ahead of the plate to slow the velocity down on your magnum rounds.

Personally with the 357 I haven't shot many into my buckets. Most of my magnums have been 41 and up. So you might very well only need either the plywood on the bottom or the plate it will just be one of those try and see things.

I use a piece of hardware cloth to sift everything out when I am done. I simply put it across a big plastic tub and start raking the dirt out using one of the little garden spades. Once I got to the bottom and have recovered my bullets I pour the dirt back in. If it is a bit dry I might add a half bottle of water to it to give it enough dampness to compact and clump. I have found if it is too wet, the bullets sail right on through, and if too dry they sail right on through as well. So there again just depends on what your using.

Hope this helps.

You don't want to make your impact surface from mild steel plate. For that part at least you'll want AR500 type armor steel. It isn't hard to get and not extremely expensive, but it will be much safer and less trouble than using mild steel.

Also, make sure your shooting club's bylaws allow you to bring something other than a paper target to shoot at. Even if it is a dedicated bullet trap, their rules may simply not allow anything but paper/cardboard targets down range.

You don't want to make your impact surface from mild steel plate. For that part at least you'll want AR500 type armor steel. It isn't hard to get and not extremely expensive, but it will be much safer and less trouble than using mild steel.

Click to expand...

If you angle it and don't use it for center fire rifles mild steel will work fine. Last time I bought any AR500 it was over $1500 for an 4X8 sheet.

I paid $1040 for all of the mild steel I used for my back yard bullet trap and it is 16x8 (11.6' on the hypotenuse) saved thousands of dollars along with yards less welding because of the size sheets of mild steel I was able to get.

I use it for carbine and even full auto but only pistol rounds.

If you're going to use sand, you might want to look for #10 Asphalt Sand. It's what they use for asphalt, and makes one of the best bullet traps. It's used in some of the newer range impact berms, since it stops ricochets and is easy to salvage lead from.

Hope this helps.

Fred

My newest and best trap:
-Old used propane tank (Found on craigslist for $10). Took my 4.5" angle grinder with metal cutting wheels and cut the top off of the tank. (Ensure all propane is out of the tank!) took like 10 min.
- Cut the top off of a 5 gallon bucket and insert it into the propane tank and secure with screws.
- Attach shed door handle. To carry and move bullet trap.
- Fill with shreded rubber mulch from Homedepot or similar stores. (1.5 bags per tank to fill)
- Snap on lid, staple on cardboard, staple target to cardboard.

Shoot and enjoy! 100% bullet recovery, bullets will be intact unless they hit another bullet. Way lighter option than sand, dirt, or gravel. Some lead will shatter if shot into gravel or sand. I did use just plastic 5 gallon buckets but was getting some pass throughs. With the propane tank, no such issue.

Took me about 30 minutes to make 2 tanks, one for me, and one for my wife! I'll post pics later today.

I made one out of rubber mulch and a plastic tote. It will stop anything up to 30 06 at 2150 FPS and 45/70 at 1500 FPS. Place a rubber paver in front and back of the rubber mulch and your good to go. The bullets come out beautifully and are a snap to dig out.

Lately, I went from a plastic tote t a wood box I made because in the really cold weather the tote can crack.

I did test a sliver of the drop with fmj 223 and 308, the 2 lower are 223 the 3 upper are 308. In the first photo. The end result was damage, so a no go.

Pistol rounds look like bird droppings so a transfer of lead but still a smooth surface.



Edit: supposed to be in the no more lead/ bullet trap thread. Maybe a mod can move it, I have to put the baby to bed.

Here are the pictures. Traps work great. So far have stopped .45 ACP, and 9mm.