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Pellet gun range

21K views 31 replies 26 participants last post by  evialvatar 
#1 ·
No sure if this is the right spot for this topic but as I'm building one thought I would start it here.

The family and I enjoy shooting but living in town it is hard to find time to head to the range every week. So I'm thinking of building my own pellet gun range.

I want something strong enough to catch the pellets so they don't bounce all over the place. My plan is Build a box with the rear wall slanted at about 35-45% so the pellets bounce down into the bottom where I'll place a rubber matt. But over all light enough to set up in our basement or move to the back yard.

Something kinda like this. http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...e=395165&creativeASIN=B001BR1Q72&linkCode=asm


Do you guys think 16ga slanted would stop pellets under 800fps? If not I might buy two sheets like
http://www.menards.com/main/tools-h...l-sheet-12-x-24-16-gauge/p-1466322-c-9215.htm

I know BB will bounce a lot more so might have a problem with them but don't plan on useing those.

Even if I buy two sheets I should be under $30 total. I already have some of the stuff in scrap wood and left over screws.
 
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#5 ·
I have two Pellet traps. One, many Years old, used Grease Putty ("Monkey Sh!t") that electricians use to seal Conduits, as the capture method. It is simply a Wood Box, with approximately Four inches deep of the Putty. a Cardboard coverlet to attach the targets to. A Drawer handle on top. It works well for my .177 Pellet Rifle, that operates in the 800-1000 FPS range.

The other is a Sheet-Metal affair, with Parallel Sides, and a Sloped Top/Back, angled at approx 50 degrees from Vertical, top edge towards the shooter, bottom edge away.

The Putty trap is much quieter, but requires the messy job of removing the pellets every so often.

The Sheet-metal trap makes Lead Dust, but is easy to empty.

For Indoor use, The Putty trap would be better - no Lead poisoning of area, or ventilation requirements.

If you are using "PBA" pellets, then the Sheet-Metal Trap would be OK, I guess, as the PBA Pellets are not made of Lead.

Please make sure You are telling the Kids Not to Eat during or after shooting until they have thoroughly washed their Hands, Face, and Blown Their Noses, as Lead is a pernicious poison for Growing Children.
 
#13 ·
I have two Pellet traps. One, many Years old, used Grease Putty ("Monkey Sh!t") that electricians use to seal Conduits, as the capture method. It is simply a Wood Box, with approximately Four inches deep of the Putty. a Cardboard coverlet to attach the targets to. A Drawer handle on top. It works well for my .177 Pellet Rifle, that operates in the 800-1000 FPS range.
This is the best way to go.
It's called duct seal at home depot. Get an electrical box and line the back of it with 1-1/2" thick of the stuff. Best of all, it's silent if you have neighbors or zoning codes. Stuff in more when it craters from repeated shots in the same place. It has no problem absorbing hits from my 36 ft-lb marauder.
 
#6 ·
that type of pellet trap is a good design. the bad idea is a rubber mat. any good air gun will sling the pellet/BB fast enough that it will bounce off the rubber and be considered a richochet. try filling the "trap" with cat litter or sand, something that will catch the BB & stop it right there. Building the "trap' section as a removable tray will allow you to pour the sand/litter through a screen and remove all the pellets in less then a minute.
 
#8 ·
I have a living room target box about 2'x2' on the far wall 25' from this very chair, with several layers of carpet samples inside. They are free, and always the same size. Piece of cardboard from a refrigerator carton cut to fit in front holds targets. Catches all the pellets. Gets too holy, replace a piece. My 5 year old learned to shoot right here. Works for me...
 
#9 ·
My son got his first pellet rifle and pistol for Christmas last year. :thumb:

I took an empty box (about 60 inches x 36 inches x 10 inches) from the playhouse my daughter got for Christmas and filled it with as many broken down cardboard boxes as I could jam in there - roughly about 10 inches thick of cardboard.

The pellets fired from his Daisy 880 and my Crossman 760 only penetrate about an inch before stopped by the cardboard. We shoot in our garage, about 20 foot distance. We don't shoot BBs, so I don't know how it would work with them.
 
#14 ·
I used 2 slanted 45 degree walls, bullet---------\ bullet hits the first 45 degree angle, then travels down for 2 feet, hits another 45, | traveling backing into 3 straw bales, that I rotate on a semi regular basis. \-------[][][]

I'm using 3/4" hardened steel plate for the angles, I find they are working for anything upto 5.56mm nato. Behind the straw bales are just regular earth, I changed that out last year, screed out the lead/bullets and replaced it.

Its overkill for what your firing into it, but I dunno about you, I personally prefer not to have anything come back at me when shooting.


You might try some of that ground up tire material, I know some of the ranges have been using it, an angled plate driving the bullet down into 5 feet of it. I'm told it can handle upto a .50bmg as well as full auto fire.
 
#16 ·
Ah pellet raps can be as simple as a box filled with old jeans.well packed paper etc up to shed sized all purpose units. I have a few. I have an outers 22 steel trap rated for up to 22LR, I have a home made larger version I found on craigslist , outside I even use soft logs faced butt side toward me, but I made a duct seal one using a metal box with a hinge a while back. It works great so far.










 
#17 ·
Be careful using a pellet gun in town. My cousins prize bird dog ran behind their pellet targets last summer while camping, and was accidentally shot in the gut. Hit a major artery, she was dead in minutes.
Just because they don't use gunpowder, doesn't mean they aren't dangerous.
 
#19 ·
Be careful using a pellet gun in town.
In town or not one needs to be careful with ANY pellet or BB gun as well as fire arms bows slingshots etc!

Some of today's airguns regularly take big game and are up to 72 calibre... I own a 50 cal airgun that shoots as hard or harder than a 45 acp/standard 45 colt load- I need a heavier backstop for that one though!
 
#18 ·
My pellet gun was much much smaller than yours max FPS was only 700 something, and it was pump so I could down scale it.

I used a box and put magazines on the back end of it, it usually went through the first three or four pages of a magazine at 2 pumps and through about 10-15 at 10 pumps(max 700 FPSish velocity) So a 100 page magazine X 6 is about what I had and i'd replace the front magazine every so often and move my target from middle to corner to corner, cheap easy and recycleing old magazines and cardboard from stuff. Plus I did this down my hallway in an apartment about 20 feet long, taught my girls fundementals. with it, again I had the option of only pumping once or twice so It would only be like 150 FPS But the concept was great and old magazines are easy to come by.
 
#21 ·
Mine is a DAQ Bandit 50 cal He also makes a .30 and a 458 Ya get three usable shots per 3000 psi fill or two depending on how ya are set up. There are several makers of "big bore" airguns anymore. Dennis was kind of the first "modern" guy to make em somewhat common. New guys are making even better versions. Folks have harvested deer,hog,elk and even bison with these modern day versions.

 
#26 ·
I'd suggest 12ga steel as the back drop and a couple inches of duct seal putty available at any home depot, etc for springer guns. The putty keeps things quiet and catches most of the lead dust. If your shooting a higher powered PCP air gun add more putty.

I shoot a Benjamin Marauder .22 Air Rifle in our basement from a seated position behind my bar :eek: at a target 44 feet away. This gun shoots silent so noise wasn't an issue aside from the trap noise. Originally I had setup a cheap trap with a 14ga steel back plate. Pellets are begin fired at about 48ft/lbs of energy which was enough to beat the 14ga steel into a cone and in many areas looked like the repeated shots would start to go through. I replaced it with 10ga plate steel and 4" of putty. I could fire my Ruger .22 10/22 rimfire rifle at this thing and it wouldn't go through... I don't though. :(

Btw, its not the speed of the pellet but its energy you need to worry about. Shooting a 900ft/sec pellet with 12ft/lbs is quite different and requires much less of a back drop then a 900ft/sec pellet with 45ft/lbs or more energy. Just some words for thought :)
 
#27 ·
What NOT to use

I remember, many years ago, my Dad shooting a pellet pistol (air powered) at a target taped to a telephone book. The pellet bounced back and hit his eye, actually breaking his hard contact lens. There was no permanent damage thankfully, and the next day he ordered a trap and some ballistic putty very similar to monkey poop. Hope this helps.

Mark
 
#28 ·
I used to use a card board box with my rag collection in it and a carpet square duct taped to the front. Usually using a lower powered slug gun ('70's vintage .177 BSA Meteor, lovely thing!), the carpet took ages to get tatty, I'd change to box a few times a year and occassonally I'd find a pellet in the rags I used, so what? :) My hunting air gun (Gamo Shadow .177) got fired outside at much longer range, bottle tops at 30 paces was my usual.
 
#31 ·
I have several different traps ,
1, -12"X16"x1/2" lead sheet ,it obsorbs every thing ,pellets just stack right up on on the other in the lead plate even obsorbs .22 LR quite well.
No lead is wasted or needs to be handled except for loading it in the pellet gun.
The lead is used in bullet moulds,so when melting it down all the paper form targets all burns up any way.
It is a very quiet trap.
Also took an old drill bit index box and poured lead in the base and trap pellets that way.
Lost track of where it is,, My son may have it. Pellets do not bounce ,they obsorb right in the lead base on impact.
I have a .22 bullet trap 10 ga steel construction ,It's ok but very noisey.
For BBs and arrows, I use card board stacked inside a card board box so the ammo is penetrating the end grain of the card board inside.
Arrows capture well in it, and are much easier to retreve than any other material I have tried .
In the lead base traps, If you are going to retreve the lead and re use it the lead base can't be beat.
After months of use, and I did not need to pour any bullets yet ,some times the build up would let pellets fall out eventually so I would take a propane torch and melt the serface and the pellets or .22 rounds, would melt right in . very little waste and little mess by comparison to every thing else .(if you are retreving the lead eventually)
If you are simply throwing the lead away ending up in a land fill , I suppose that the insulation foam or the puddy back stop would work just fine .
 
#32 ·
I had a 16 gauge steel safe that broke and couldn't be opened without destroying the lock mech I used as a pellet gun trap just fine. Just took the front door off after i had cut the locking mechanism apart. The pellets tended to splatter on impact and flatten almost completely.
 
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