Hooda Thunkit
Member
I use a few 5 gallon bucket bullet traps - some just a standard bucket, some stacked. I wheel them in and out of the barn to the "range" out back, by storing them in a heavy-duty wagon. I end up having to lift them out of the wagon to set up at the range, then lift them back in when i'm finished. As one can imagine, the more the buckets trap, the heavier they get.
I had a couple friends over a few weeks ago, and we went out back to shoot. As I was moving the traps, I noticed the buckets were getting a bit heavy. Or, I'm getting old. Or, a bit of both.
Be that as it may, it's time to empty at least one.
Just a 5 gallon bucket, full of crumb rubber.
The ribber is available at any garden store, it's sold as mulch. Sometimes it's only available shredded. I've used (and use) both - they both work, but crumb is a bit easier to work with.
I screw the lid on, and cut cardboard discs to staple (or stick/tape) targets to.
Take off the lid -
What looks like a rat nest in there is the cardboard shot off the discs. Instead of replacing the disc when it's ragged, I just stack more on.
Look carefully around the rim of the bucket lid, the screws holding it on are visible.
Dump it out-
I dump it out on a sheet of cardboard, a batch at a time. Pile the batch up and sort of wiggle it around with your fingers - the bullets work to the bottom. Carefully scrape away the overburden-
Pick out the goodies. Keep doing it. The bigger pieces of trash I pick out now. If one wanted to really clean the rubber, it could be dumped in water - the paper will float and can be skimmed off.
However, that requires drying everything prior to reassembly. I just pick out the big stuff. It's a bullet trap.
The lower power and lighter weight rounds all bunch up in the first few inches, as do the wadcutters/flatpoints. The heavier rounds and the round nose go deeper.
Look at the swag! Over 18 pounds. A combination of home-cast lead, and some plated 9mm that a friend shoots. I'll sort it further, separating the lead from the plated before I remelt. The lead is also separated into few different recipes of mine, and I can reuse all of it.
I refill the bucket with 3-4 inches of the reclaimed rubber, then pack it down with a length of 2x4 lumber. Keep filling and packing in lifts. Fill a bit over full, then jam a new lid down. Screw the lid around the rim, it helps to keep things in one piece. I'll staple a new cardboard disc on top.
I use a single bucket for handgun under 200 grain, and under 1100 fps. Anything faster or heavier goes in a double-stack bucket, into which goes a disc of 3/4" plywood at the bottom.
Too heavy, or too fast, it'll blow out the bottom of the bucket.
For rifle rounds, I built a 1 foot square box, 2 feet long. I fill it with sand. Nothing has ever come close to making it to the end of that trap, including 7mm Mag. Unfortunately, most of the bullets just explode in the sand, so it's a sieve-job to retrieve that lead.
I had a couple friends over a few weeks ago, and we went out back to shoot. As I was moving the traps, I noticed the buckets were getting a bit heavy. Or, I'm getting old. Or, a bit of both.
Be that as it may, it's time to empty at least one.
Just a 5 gallon bucket, full of crumb rubber.
The ribber is available at any garden store, it's sold as mulch. Sometimes it's only available shredded. I've used (and use) both - they both work, but crumb is a bit easier to work with.
I screw the lid on, and cut cardboard discs to staple (or stick/tape) targets to.
Take off the lid -
What looks like a rat nest in there is the cardboard shot off the discs. Instead of replacing the disc when it's ragged, I just stack more on.
Look carefully around the rim of the bucket lid, the screws holding it on are visible.
Dump it out-
I dump it out on a sheet of cardboard, a batch at a time. Pile the batch up and sort of wiggle it around with your fingers - the bullets work to the bottom. Carefully scrape away the overburden-
Pick out the goodies. Keep doing it. The bigger pieces of trash I pick out now. If one wanted to really clean the rubber, it could be dumped in water - the paper will float and can be skimmed off.
However, that requires drying everything prior to reassembly. I just pick out the big stuff. It's a bullet trap.
The lower power and lighter weight rounds all bunch up in the first few inches, as do the wadcutters/flatpoints. The heavier rounds and the round nose go deeper.
Look at the swag! Over 18 pounds. A combination of home-cast lead, and some plated 9mm that a friend shoots. I'll sort it further, separating the lead from the plated before I remelt. The lead is also separated into few different recipes of mine, and I can reuse all of it.
I refill the bucket with 3-4 inches of the reclaimed rubber, then pack it down with a length of 2x4 lumber. Keep filling and packing in lifts. Fill a bit over full, then jam a new lid down. Screw the lid around the rim, it helps to keep things in one piece. I'll staple a new cardboard disc on top.
I use a single bucket for handgun under 200 grain, and under 1100 fps. Anything faster or heavier goes in a double-stack bucket, into which goes a disc of 3/4" plywood at the bottom.
Too heavy, or too fast, it'll blow out the bottom of the bucket.
For rifle rounds, I built a 1 foot square box, 2 feet long. I fill it with sand. Nothing has ever come close to making it to the end of that trap, including 7mm Mag. Unfortunately, most of the bullets just explode in the sand, so it's a sieve-job to retrieve that lead.