Targets/Backstop for .22lr

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RedNeckRevolver

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So I'm having a little family shootout with some prize money and they're all a little scared of guns so I'm trying to make it as safe as possible without breaking the bank

I have some Tractor Supply fine wood shavings in 5 cubic feet bags that I'm going to pile up and shoot into the side of with a couple bags standing in the back for support and the target up front

My main question is a couple feet of packed wood shavings enough backstop for a .22lr revolver?
 
Hmmm...good question.

The nice thing about .22 is you don't have to have a really robust backstop. But .22 CAN be surprisingly penetrating.

I'd have to test this particular setup to see how it would work, but if it were me I'd go a different route.

I'd build a wood backstop with two layers of sand sandwiched between. Three sheets of 3/4" exterior grade plywood, cut to suitable backstop size. Frame it up using 2X4's as spacers. You should have a sheet of plywood, 2X4 frame, sheet of plywood, 2X4 frame. Also, alternate some vertical 2X4's as stiffeners between the back and middle as well as the front and middle sheets. (This way, no matter where the bullets hit in the middle, if theypass through wood they're going to hit sand.)

The top should be open so you can fill the voids with sand. The bottom 2X4s should have some drainage holes drilled to allow water from the weather to drain out.

Set the backstop up in your location, however you wish to brace it. Then fill it with play sand.

If you end up shooting enough to tear up the front sheet of plywood, take the backstop down, lay it on it's back, remove the front sheet and put another one on. Top off with play sand as required when you set it back up again.
 
Seems like a lot of shavings to get something both tall & deep enough to be safe and I'm not sure a couple feet is enough, I think 4ft deep by 4ft tall is better. Like others have said sand is a much better option.

I used to have a .22 and handgun target in my back yard. I used large 24" logs noodled in half, stacked 5' high and 6' wide. Then I placed more half logs facing backwards to fill in the narrow gaps. This caught 99.99%, behind that I had 6 rows of firewood stacked 5ft high and occasionally I'd find a 9mm or .45 round sitting in with the 1st or second row of firewood. The nice thing about this was you had a flat surface to staple targets, and the logs are easily replaced when they get too full of holes.

PXL_20210324_124842581~2.jpg
 
I’ve used a five gallon bucket full of mulch as a .22 back stop. The problem I found was that after relatively few shots a void started to develop where the shots where hitting. After a little while there was basically a cone funneling the bullets into the back. I had placed some plywood on the bottom and that stopped everything but i have no doubt the bullets would have escaped otherwise.
 
bassjam said:
Seems like a lot of shavings to get something both tall & deep enough to be safe and I'm not sure a couple feet is enough, I think 4ft deep by 4ft tall is better. Like others have said sand is a much better option.

That's how we have our set up , then we lag a couple of pieces of plywood to the front and we screw office clips to the plywood to attach our paper targets.

I used to have a .22 and handgun target in my back yard. I used large 24" logs noodled in half, stacked 5' high and 6' wide. Then I placed more half logs facing backwards to fill in the narrow gaps. This caught 99.99%, behind that I had 6 rows of firewood stacked 5ft high and occasionally I'd find a 9mm or .45 round sitting in with the 1st or second row of firewood. The nice thing about this was you had a flat surface to staple targets, and the logs are easily replaced when they get too full of holes.

View attachment 987123
Click to expand...
 
RetiredUSNChief said:
Hmmm...good question.

The nice thing about .22 is you don't have to have a really robust backstop. But .22 CAN be surprisingly penetrating.

I'd have to test this particular setup to see how it would work, but if it were me I'd go a different route.

I'd build a wood backstop with two layers of sand sandwiched between. Three sheets of 3/4" exterior grade plywood, cut to suitable backstop size. Frame it up using 2X4's as spacers. You should have a sheet of plywood, 2X4 frame, sheet of plywood, 2X4 frame. Also, alternate some vertical 2X4's as stiffeners between the back and middle as well as the front and middle sheets. (This way, no matter where the bullets hit in the middle, if theypass through wood they're going to hit sand.)

The top should be open so you can fill the voids with sand. The bottom 2X4s should have some drainage holes drilled to allow water from the weather to drain out.

Set the backstop up in your location, however you wish to brace it. Then fill it with play sand.

If you end up shooting enough to tear up the front sheet of plywood, take the backstop down, lay it on it's back, remove the front sheet and put another one on. Top off with play sand as required when you set it back up again.
Click to expand...
Why not just screw a new piece of plywood (or OSB) to the face of the shot out one with deck screws and refill the sand void from the top? No need to remove the old plywood, just keep it as a backer.
 
One problem I had as a kid was that I didn't realize that you are aiming for the same spots shot after shot. After a while they will go deeper and deeper until they start going all the way through. Which is why sand is a very good idea.
 
FWIW, years back I did a penetration test of .22 using 3/4" pine boards and shooting from 15 feet, Federal bulk .22 made it through 4 boards (3" of pine) and stopped at the 5th.
 
hanno said:
FWIW, years back I did a penetration test of .22 using 3/4" pine boards and shooting from 15 feet, Federal bulk .22 made it through 4 boards (3" of pine) and stopped at the 5th.
Click to expand...
Surprising how much one can do or can’t do. The power of a 22lr varies so wildly that I wouldn’t bet on anything short of plate steel. The poly tipped bullets I had at one point were nearly explosive, some of the copper washed hot loads like minimags seem to match what they are billed as for the most part, colibri bullets have been trapped by 1/8” chipboard, and anything “Standard” is somewhere in between colibri and minimag.
 
Rubber mulch is what you want. Expensive but it lasts forever.
I have a target box full of it. The exposed 'window' section goes:
paper target --> orange safety fence secured at edges --> plastic sheet (painter's drop / trash bag / dog food bag)
The nylon fencing gets replaced very rarely, the plastic sheet every few hundred rounds, and the rubber mulch gets re-used indefinitely.

Also it is the quietest possible target. ;)
PXL_20210324_214606460.jpg
 
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I have not idea if wood shavings will hold but I do know that a 22lr round will ricochet from certain backdrops that a centerfire would not due to velocity and weight of bullet. The 22 needs something softer that will hold the bullet without it penetrating to much.
 
Beat me to it with the target holder/bullet trap. Stack the rubber mulch bags around a bullet trap like that to catch any flyers and you’re good to go. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
 
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