I searched around and found one part answer to my question. I was thinking of making a bullet trap in my back yard and was looking to see if anyone else has . I had read other posts about using rubber mulch/ ground up tires in them to stop the bullets. I would be shooting only pistol caliber ammo into it, rifle I will still use an earth backstop. I came across one post (can't remember members name) saying they stoped .45 with 18" of rubber. My main question is has anyone made one and how much rubber did you use as far as how deep. I will be shooting 9mm, .357, .40, .45. I am just in the research faze right now but and I want to be able to recover the shot bullets easier than digging through the dirt. I don't really want to go through making a metal trap. It would cost more than I would prefer to spend and take too long, but that also depends on if the rubber is feasible for stoping the rounds. I do have plenty of land and distance to neighbors s I don't need to get into debates about that. Thanks.
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Rubber mulch bullet trap
- Thread starter Brian5582
- Start date
I don't have any experience with granular rubber for outdoor uses, but the gun club I belong to put granular rubber in the indoor pistol house and it made a big difference in the amount of lead dust people are exposed to. There are several companies that specialize in this, and the EPA has a guideline for developing outdoor ranges. There are some vendors listed in the appendix that you can contact for prices and ask them questions with how much rubber you would need.
http://www.epa.gov/region2/waste/leadshot/epa_bmp.pdf
http://www.epa.gov/region2/waste/leadshot/epa_bmp.pdf
I only know one person with a personal pistol range.
Built into a berm he used strips of old tires hung from a leantu type encloser over the berm. Although it didnt stop the bullets it kept them from going deep into the dirt.
Built into a berm he used strips of old tires hung from a leantu type encloser over the berm. Although it didnt stop the bullets it kept them from going deep into the dirt.
I am not looking to go nuts, I am not going to be shooting hundreds of rounds at a time. Just a couple mags here and there. I was thinking of a approximate say 3'x3 target area. Really my only concern was how deep I would need to make it to stop the rounds. If it was going to have to be too deep I was going to pass on the whole thing.
nothing like coming late to the party. I built a 30" deep bullet trap from 3/16" plate steel on the sides, back, bottom and a hinged cover on top so I could fill it with rubber mulch. I used rubber flowerbed mulch purchased from Lowes. the front of the trap is 3/4" plywood to allow the bullets to penetrate and not ricochet back at the shooter. I have shot it with multiple handgun calibers as well as .308, .556, 7.62x39, 45/70, 30-30, 30-06 and 7mm rem mag. none of the bullets has even dented the back of the trap. periodically, I do lift the top and ensure the mulch has not settled leaving a void at the top where bullets could potentially pass through without striking mulch.
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If I were to take on this type of project, I would use 1/2" AR500 as the back plate and horse stall mats as the front face.
If I where making a small range I would set it up to collect the lead.
old school
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifknjDTGl2k
or something a bit more modern?
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yadm6ZAD2FQ
one-eyed Jack
Manufacturer
I've always wondered if those square rubber mats that are used to lay on concrete floors to make volleyball and other courts would work if stacked together. Probably not too many needed for .22lr. More for hotter calibers. I mention this because I have a shitload of them about a foot square but am too lazy to experiment. Jack.
centermass181
NES Member
The berms at a few of the ranges down on camp edwards are full of rubber pellets, encased in a rubber membrane. Can shoot 5.56.
also, for those that been there, they are apparently covered with the worlds heaviest GD tarps.
also, for those that been there, they are apparently covered with the worlds heaviest GD tarps.
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Yes, a sort of hybrid of the two designs shown in your videos is what I was thinking. An angled AR500 face (or two) to stop the bullet and direct it towards the bottom of the trap, and a horse stall mat to prevent the spalling from coming back to the shooter, and a place to hang targets.
