Rubber mulch for bullet trap

bdutton

bdutton

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We at Pelham are refurbishing the indoor range and we are thinking about using rubber mulch/nuggets typically made from recycled tires.

Does anyone on the site have experience using rubber mulch in your bullet trap?
 
None for a bullet trap but i'm in the mulch business and the stuff is expensive. Looking at 255.00 a yard wholesale steel belted rubber mulch and w/o steel are looking close to 300-350 per yard.
 
We already have a backstop (angled steel) and the bullet trap we have now is (was) filled with sand. Cleaning this out was becoming a hazard (dust) and very heavy.

The rubber is lighter and should not create as much lead dust like now when it hits the sand (although dust is still created when it hits the steel).

The though was to get an industrial vacuum to suck up the lighter rubber bits then shovel out the heavier lead and copper from the bottom.

So far I have a quote from one place for $1300 delivered which doesn't seem that bad.
 
the Army uses rubber mulch at the bottom of the repelling towers on base. my concren is while it might be good at displacing the energy of a heavy object (like sombody falling) would it be good to displace the high speed energy of a bullet? if it was tightly packed i would say yes, but if its jsut sitting there i would guess no.

thoughts?
 
Ive been on a bunch of ranges that use it. All outdoor. Ive never thought of it as anything very special. The fact you end up getting rubber chips on the range and its cost are two reasons why I dont care for it. But Ive never seen any ricochets on a range using it. If you use rubber mulch in an indoor range its going to be a pain in the ass. Every time a round hits it, its going to kick up rubber chunks and it brings rubber dust/dirt into your range. I wouldnt recommend it. If you want to go that high speed route like that get with GreyGroup, their on here and ask what they recommend. It isnt a shoothouse or anything like that and the purpose of that range I think a Steel backer would be fine with a good ventilation system, or use sand for your backstop in conjunction with the steel.
 
Last edited:
Masterguns said:
the Army uses rubber mulch at the bottom of the repelling towers on base. my concren is while it might be good at displacing the energy of a heavy object (like sombody falling) would it be good to displace the high speed energy of a bullet? if it was tightly packed i would say yes, but if its jsut sitting there i would guess no.

thoughts?
Click to expand...

I did a test using a carboard wine case/box and filled it with mulch. I put 20 rounds of 185g jacketed .45 bullets into it at 25 yards and the last bullet just barely poked through the back of the box. That was at 18 inches thick.

The trap is going to absorb indirect hits so most of the energy will be gone.

I suspect that the trap would need to be raked occasionally to keep the rubber mulch even.
 
Rubber Mulch

You should get in touch with the folks at Mass Rifle Association in Woburn. They have had rubber mulch in the indoor range for a year now and seems to be working out from a shooters perspective (mine). But I'm sure their BOD will be happy to help you out.
 
I helped them set up the range at Original Bobs Shooting Range and Gun Shop in Sailsbury Ma. There were thousands of pounds of the rubber used then covered over with rubber almost like what you would find on a converyer belt. Its been in for a year or so now and worked out well but soon it will be time to get all the lead out of it. That will be interesting to see how that works out. I think the plan is to vacume out the ruber leaving the heavier lead to be disposed of. From what I have seen of the rubber chunks its just old tires run through a chipper but works well. My one thougth was if anyone shot the tracer ammo and got the rubber buring it would be a bitch to put out.
 
bdutton said:
We at Pelham are refurbishing the indoor range and we are thinking about using rubber mulch/nuggets typically made from recycled tires.

Does anyone on the site have experience using rubber mulch in your bullet trap?
Click to expand...

It creates dust, too.

It also makes a unique sound.

They seem to be very heavy. They must be even heavier when full.

bill
 
Go to the Ruger web site and look at their comercial bullet traps they make for indoor ranges. They look very expensive, but must be quite a system.

joseph
 
Call the NRA

Before you spend the $, give the NRA a call. They've seen it all, and I believe they just published a new book and CD on range construction.
 

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