[ScottMn]

I just acquired one and put 30 rounds of 22 and 14 rounds of 9 mm 115 grain white box into it. When I opened it up to inspect the lead collected I found mostly dust and a few thin wafers of the 115 grain white box.

Anyone have any experience with this type of trap? I wasn't sure exactly what to expect but having this much dust is a little surprising. The interior of the cylinder does have a few rough spots. I can smooth those out since I'm sure that they contribute to creating the dust.

If one of you guys owns one or something like it I'd be interested to hear your experience and what you think of The condition of the spent bullets.

Here are a few pics. Never mind the wood chips. I covered the front of it with a quarter inch piece of plywood to help hold the target.

View attachment

 

[mj9mm]

Yes, we use the same design,, with the same results.. we fill a pot with water…

 

[FullClip]

Looks a lot like the stuff I find under my swinging plate tree at the gravel pit. I have it mounted on a 2x12 about 3 4 feet long, and some imbed into the wood like little death stars.

What was the distance you were shooting??

 

[cciman]

Normal when lead bullets hit a solid wood barrier-- all the kinetic energy goes into mashing the bullet and creating wood chips. What did you expect?

Toxic, wear gloves and a N95 mask.

What's the purpose of this "trap"?

 

[Planter21]

I do not want anything to do with lead dust. Dust is easy to absorb. Like snorting coke. I won't tumble cases, either.

 

[ScottMn]

Good to know that he bullets disintegrating like that is normal. I would say at least 80% of the mass is "gone". More than I recall when recovering them after hitting steel targets for sure.

I would like to mitigate as much of the dust as possible so it looks like I've got some work to do. The water idea is interesting, I'll look into it for sure.

I understand the dangers of being exposed to lead that can either be inhaled or ingested. Handling the dust is something to not be taken lightly.

I'm sure the 1/4" I shot through had very little to do with the condition of the bullets.......it just added to the "mess".

 

[JDSTG58]

Just curious, how much do the traps cost? I cast my own and like to reuse as much lead as I can. I’ve just used a giant block of firewood.

 

[Borg Warner]

Normal when lead bullets hit a solid wood barrier-- all the kinetic energy goes into mashing the bullet and creating wood chips. What did you expect?

Toxic, wear gloves and a N95 mask.

What's the purpose of this "trap"?

I used to work for a gunsmith taking orders and doing counter sales and shipping an receiving and we had a bullet trap in the back of the shop for test-firing guns. It was made from a 50 gallon drum and I never did examine it to try to figure out It's construction.

We sold guns, ammo, powder and primers and one time a pretty girl came in and bought all the pyrodex we had and I asked her if she was a civil War re-enactor and she said, No, I'm the human cannonball at the county fair!

The "Cannon" was spring loaded and the powder was just for the noise and the smoke. I went to the fair that weekend and tried to hook up with the babe but my circus girl romance was not meant to be.

 

[rangerhgm]

I have pellet trap exactly like that and it collects quite a bit of dust.

 

[Mountain10mm]

I've done a fair share of range design. The centrifugal bullet trap, is a compact trap with drawbacks. For casual shooting they are OK, but better options exist today. I've seen some water mist that runs through the trap to "lubricate" the spiral and keep the lead dust down, other's have a water trough/bucket where the lead lands. In an ROTC range I ran, the traps would often clog, it was an absolute bit ch to clean them, and they often returned shrapnel to the firing line when plugged.

Any time a bullet hits hard metal it's going to deform and dust/microscopic particles will result. That's why lot of newer ranges use ground rubber style traps. Harder to maintain, but cleaner air, and almost no lead dust. Ventilation is your friend, you want negative air pressure at the backstop so any dust/particles are pulled away from the shooter and vented exterior or into a proper filter.

 

[MAG40 Student]

In the late '60s and early '70s, we had one in the basement of our home that we'd use with my father's .22 cal target pistol.

Certainly wouldn't pass muster by today's air quality and hearing protection standards, but we had a lot of fun.

It wasn't a whole lot different than this:

 

[ScottMn]

Just curious, how much do the traps cost? I cast my own and like to reuse as much lead as I can. I’ve just used a giant block of firewood.

Here's a link to the trap I bought. They come with a flat black coat of paint. Being a cabinet guy, I spent some time with a grinder and cleaned up some welding splatter and gave it a couple of coats of gloss black so it could be wiped down easily.

Items for sale by mark_schluender | eBay

Shop eBay for great deals from mark_schluender!

www.ebay.com

 

[glock_collector]

I use wax, and spray/roll it on. Lead will gall on bare metal and create potential backsplash. I have made several types of traps, the one I use the most is a snail trap design, and is 17 ft deep, 10 ft wide and 8 ft tall...weights about 8k. The typical clean out yields 193 lbs of lead/jackets.

 

[JDSTG58]

Here's a link to the trap I bought. They come with a flat black coat of paint. Being a cabinet guy, I spent some time with a grinder and cleaned up some welding splatter and gave it a couple of coats of gloss black so it could be wiped down easily.

Items for sale by mark_schluender | eBay

Shop eBay for great deals from mark_schluender!

www.ebay.com

Wow thanks, I’ve never known they were that inexpensive. I was thinking about trying to build one, but for that price I’ll just buy one. How much does that weigh? I didn’t see weight listed on the link

 

[Planter21]

Shoot into a log. Then you can burn it and get your lead back.

 

[JDSTG58]

Shoot into a log. Then you can burn it and get your lead back.

That is exactly what I’ve been doing for 30 years. It works well, but one of these traps may be less work. Very tempting

 

[JDSTG58]

I just acquired one and put 30 rounds of 22 and 14 rounds of 9 mm 115 grain white box into it. When I opened it up to inspect the lead collected I found mostly dust and a few thin wafers of the 115 grain white box.

Anyone have any experience with this type of trap? I wasn't sure exactly what to expect but having this much dust is a little surprising. The interior of the cylinder does have a few rough spots. I can smooth those out since I'm sure that they contribute to creating the dust.

If one of you guys owns one or something like it I'd be interested to hear your experience and what you think of The condition of the spent bullets.

Here are a few pics. Never mind the wood chips. I covered the front of it with a quarter inch piece of plywood to help hold the target. View attachment 1368976 View attachment 1368977 View attachment 1368978 View attachment 1368979 View attachment 1368980

OP
Thank you for posting this. I just bought one . Really looking forward to using it. I wouldn’t have found it without your post

 

[Tony Rumore]

I made one back in 1999. Been using it almost daily ever since. It's digested 30-378 and 460 Weatherby, no problem.
The circular section is one inch thick.

Tony