BULLET TRAP - Ask the Experts - General Hunting Discussion

The Handloaders Bench > General Hunting Discussion > Ask the Experts > BULLET TRAP

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BULLET TRAP

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Posted: Sat Sep 26th, 2009 11:23 PM

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CaptQueeze
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Joined:	Sun Mar 29th, 2009
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Favorite type of cartridge to load?:	pistol
My favorite chambering is::	45LC
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Anybody got plans on building a ballastic(bullet) trap? I have the plate steel and welder, I just need help with the angles, ect.

Thanks

CaptQueeze

Posted: Sun Sep 27th, 2009 12:42 AM

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ghrit
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Can't help a lot with details, but the angle should be no greater than 45 deg above horizontal so at the worst deflection will be down and nothing should come back. Go steeper, and deflections and spatter could come back in front of the trap. Flatter has no ill effects other than needing more plate.

Plate thickness matters a whole lot, too. Half an inch of mild steel will bulge with a straight on hit with heavy 30s.

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Posted: Sun Sep 27th, 2009 12:47 AM

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CaptQueeze
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My favorite chambering is::	45LC
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Thanks for the info. I plan to shoot pistol - .45LC the heaviest and rim fire .22's. The steel plate I have for the back of the trap is 1/2" and 1/4" for the sides. Again, thanks for the info.

CaptQueeze

Posted: Sun Sep 27th, 2009 02:04 AM

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miestro_jerry
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I am going to play devils advocate on this, because I have seen this happen. A friend comes over with some horrible hand cannon and punches the 1/2" plate. Yes you can weld it up, but the welds aren't as strong as the original steel plate unless you are an experienced ship yard welder.

What happens when the bullets goes thru the plate and travels? How much liability insurance do you have. My ever growing backstop, which we will mine with a shovel and sieve to recover the lead, is 3 feet of dirt, then rail road ties. It stops every thing I have thrown at it, but I am building up the back of it. All of the magazines I get end up bundled and going into the back part of the back stop.

In another thread I posted pictures of some "bullet proof" polycarbonate, it worked O.K. on common 22s and 45 ACPs. 30 cal rifles bored right thru it, ending up in the dirt of the back stop.

I like your effort to build a back stop, but check out a commercial range concerning the angles and the lead trap, seeing how some one else has done it really helps a lot.

Good Luck,

Jerry

Posted: Sun Sep 27th, 2009 02:32 AM

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CaptQueeze
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Favorite type of cartridge to load?:	pistol
My favorite chambering is::	45LC
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Appreciate the comments Jerry, but, the highest velocity ammo I shoot is around 1250 fps and that's 9mm. I load to 900-1050 with the 45LC and only myself and my Grandson shoot at my place.

Posted: Mon Oct 12th, 2009 03:50 AM

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Harvey57
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Hello All,

I have looked at several systems for our club. If you are using a single sheet to defect into a reservoir or catch, it seems 45 deg or a little less. If you wanted to catch the bullets, use a trumpet shape. 30 degrees of plate top and bottom. At the end build a deceleration chamber. This looks like a snail or nuatilus. These and other designs can be had from the NRA range design hand book. They may be on the web too.

I like the deflected down approach with a water trap/catch. The water trap keeps down the lead dust. Another design that I like is a back stop made from shredded tires. This also keeps lead dust down. With the rubber back stop, I like an over head roof to catch deflected scrap from impacts. The rubber needs to be 6-10 inches deep. All of these ideas need to be cleaned from time to time. The rubber trap needs to be mined and rubber added as needed.

One more design and I'll let it alone. This design uses swinging or movable steel plates. From the front this trap resembles a Venetian blind. The slats are hinged at the top corners, slanted down from the front, and free to swing up when stuck by bullets. I would advise a double layer of steel on the leading edge. This edge should be ground to a dull knife edge. This will reduce any bounce back at ya's.

Last edited on Mon Oct 12th, 2009 03:53 AM by Harvey57

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Posted: Mon Oct 12th, 2009 01:42 PM

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CaptQueeze
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Thanks Harvey, I am tending to lean towards the trap with a "snail" type collector. What I plan to use is a section of 8" oil field casing at the back bottom of the trap.

Again, thanks to you and all who have responded.

Gary

Posted: Mon Oct 12th, 2009 04:12 PM

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Don Fischer
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I like the dirt back stop. Mostly to recover the bullets to shoot again as cast.

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Posted: Wed Oct 14th, 2009 12:52 AM

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miestro_jerry
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+1 on the dirt back stop.

Jerry

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