Plans for a home made bullet trap?

[Brett]

I'ld like to make a bullet trap for plinking with the .22 rifles and small caliber hand guns.   I have access to boiler plate and welding equipment but need a good set of plans for a trap.  I've searched high and low on the Internet but haven't really found what I'm looking for.   Any body out there ever build a trap or know of where I could get a good set of plans?   

[jmichna]

Brett,
here's a home .22 bullet trap thread that may interest you.  Includes link to plans.  Looks like it would be pretty easy to scale up to any desired size, too.

[Tom C.]

When I was a teenager, my father brought home a large piece of armor plate. We used it to set up a 50’ range in the crawlspace under the house. Forty something years, it is still there. Of course, I don’t live there and my 87 yr. old mother doesn’t use it. When I came home from the service, I tried it with .45 ACP Super Vel stuff. No problem with the plate, but it was so noisy it nearly drove my mother crazy.

Now, I just have a little $35 rimfire bullet trap set up in the garage to give me a 7 yd. range. Nice for use in the winter.

[Darrell Davis]

Afternoon shooters,

Shouldn't be hard to built.  Check out the plans listed on the first reply - I haven't - and I expect theuy will guide you through.

I made one out of 1/3" diamond plate years back and used it in the basement.

The city fathers are probably still flopp'n around in their graves as this is a LIBRAL!!!!! collage town we are talking about.

I used the plate for the top/bottom with about 1/8" or less for the sides.

Took a piece of about 4" steel pipe and cut a slit down the side, wide enough for the diamond plate to extend into the pipe.

I allowed the upper plate to extend farther into the pipe then the lower, probably by an inch or so.

This trap proved to be quite clean.

A leg of some sort needs to be welded to the bottom of the pipe to keep the opening of the trap in the correct angle/position to the shooter.

If this trap had a fault, it was the fact the lead was a bit hard to empty from the pipe. Shouldn't be much of a problem to cure.

Remember, the bullet will glance off the metal plate at about the same angle it strikes.

I do not recall the angle I used for the top and bottom plate, but expect it was something less then 90 degrees.

Not an over whelming project, so build, use and enjoy!!

Keep em coming!