Bullet Trap & Backstop/Home shooting range

[SGTaylor]

I recently ran across the plans for a bullet trap made from a steel plate at this site: www.reloadammo.com/backstop.htm I'm thinking about trying it out and was wondering if anyone had ever seen or used one like this before.

Anybody got any other good ideas for a home shooting range/backstop?

 

[M2 Carbine]

This will give you a little idea of my backyard range.

I have two bullet traps and a 3/8 inch plate above and behind them.

The mound of dirt actually covers my storm cellar.
I don't shoot into the dirt, just at the steel.
The square plate on the stand is only 1/8 inch so it's 22 only.

Basically the more 1/4 and 3/8 inch steel plate you can get the better

Of course this is outdoors only.
There's a lot of lead dust from shooting at steel.

 

[Doc]

i think i posted this elsewhere.
the design allows for a larger trap, say 2x3 feet.
1x4's as a frame onto which is screwed a front & back
of 3/8" plywood to form a box. Put a
sheet of steel on the inside of the back 1/4" or so thick.

you post the target on the front plywood surface
through which the incoming rounds pass.
the steel stops and fragments the bullets,
the inside of the front plywood through which
the bullet just entered stops the fragments
from exiting.

 

[SGTaylor]

thanks for your comments.

 

[brian cooper]

Hello , new first posting, liked what I saw on the pistol back stops. You all refer to spatter. Would placing a sand trap say 2 inches thick below the steel back plate reduce the spatter to catch the spent lead or is it a waste of time?? Brian

 

[rcmodel]

OMG!

An 8 year old Zombie thread resurrected from the dead!!

rc

 

[TurtlePhish]

An 8 year old Zombie thread resurrected from the dead!!

Better than that St. Louis Gun Shops thread... that thing had a whole decade.

 

[Owen Sparks]

Some guy once posted pictures of a giant version of that back stop made from the salvaged scrap of a water tower that had been distroyed by a tornado. He was given the metal free just to carry it off. The huge pieces were slightly curved and appeared to be as big as the side of a bob truck, maybe 10 x 15 feet. They were mounted angled slightly forward with IDPA pistol targets hanging from the top very similar concept on the link you posted, just on a huge scale.

 

[NH_OPERATOR]

I have pretty much this same backstop at my house. We bought a 1/2 inch thick piece of road steel from home depot (The stuff they use to cover holes in the road when they are working on them) Its about 4ft x 4ft, with a wooden frame and a wooden box to hold sand in it at the bottom. What I have learned from using it over the last two years is that you really need to re-enforce the slanted wood beams with steel. When the round hits the jacket shreds and flys into the wood uprights/supports, over time this sereously eats away at the wood. Additionally you have the same problem with the sand in the base. Rounds push the sand back from the rear of the trap, and you just end up putting all your rounds into the dirt under the trap. I will be re-enforcing the sides and base after I rebuild it from scratch this spring.