Ruger Forum

3482jl · October 11th, 2012, 10:43 AM

Has anyone set up for indoor ( garage, basement, etc.) .22 cal. shooting using a "bullet trap". What's been your experience ?? A shooting friend has set up a 30 foot pistol range in his garage using a Champion Bullet Trap, and says it works great. Any comments or advice ??

Rivers2k · October 11th, 2012, 11:32 AM

I would be afraid of missing and catching a ricochet sounds kind of dangerous to me. But one piece of advice is make sure the area is well ventilated.

I know a guy that has owned a gun range under a bunch of stores for 20 years. He isn't all there if you know what I mean. People that have been going there for years said he wasn't always like that. They attribute it to the gun powder in the air.

benjammin · October 11th, 2012, 11:52 AM

I have one of these:Cabela's - Do-All Bullet Box customer reviews - product reviews - read top consumer ratings
in my basement. I made a wooden box around it with flanges to hold a couple layers of cardboard across the front; that really helps keep all the splatter inside the trap. A good idea would be sighting in while at a range to be sure you can keep the rounds in the trap.
I shoot both my 10/22 and my Buckmark in there, no problems of any kind. Generally I dump the lead out every 100-200 rounds.

brimic · October 11th, 2012, 12:07 PM

Unless you like lead exposure, I wouldn't use the inside of my house for range practice.

MZ5 · October 11th, 2012, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brimic

Unless you like lead exposure, I wouldn't use the inside of my house for range practice.

Neither would I.

andybothel · October 11th, 2012, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brimic

Unless you like lead exposure, I wouldn't use the inside of my house for range practice.

I agree, but there is a alternative. My father in law got a pellet gun (Looks like a S&W 686 or maybe Python, been a while since I saw it) that is CO2 powered which he shoots in his basement. Much more health friendly since there is no powder and the pellets don't go to dust when they hit the target. At first I didn't think I'd like shooting the plastic gun, but it's pretty darn fun.

gfw1985 · October 11th, 2012, 04:55 PM

Just call me chicken. No way in H. Just not enough margin for error. A few years back I had selsyn bales set up in the basement to practice with my bow. Had a release snap, arrow punctured a propane bottle for a lantern, and darn near crapped myself. End of my basement range.

Jack D · October 12th, 2012, 08:30 AM

I built my own bullet trap a couple of years ago and use it frequently. Maybe 500 rounds/month. .22's, .38 spl, and even .357 mag. (sparingly). The .357's do dent the back plate, so I don't shoot them much. In my shop, I can get up to 50 feet.

I cleaned out the trap a couple of months ago and "harvested" 50# of lead. Decided to buy a bullet mold and reuse the lead to make new bullets for the .38/.357.

I do live in the country, but shoot indoors to keep the noise level down (for neighbors sake) and it's nice in rainy or cold weather (a frequent occurance in OR).

3482jl · October 12th, 2012, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack D

I built my own bullet trap a couple of years ago and use it frequently. Maybe 500 rounds/month. .22's, .38 spl, and even .357 mag. (sparingly). The .357's do dent the back plate, so I don't shoot them much. In my shop, I can get up to 50 feet.

I cleaned out the trap a couple of months ago and "harvested" 50# of lead. Decided to buy a bullet mold and reuse the lead to make new bullets for the .38/.357.

I do live in the country, but shoot indoors to keep the noise level down (for neighbors sake) and it's nice in rainy or cold weather (a frequent occurance in OR).

Nice set up !! I'm going to get myself set up for winter shooting up here in North Dakota. I'm not worried about lead fumes shootin a couple times a month about 100-150 rounds per session, and opening the garage to ventilate as soon as I'm done.

Jack D · October 12th, 2012, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3482jl

Nice set up !! I'm going to get myself set up for winter shooting up here in North Dakota. I'm not worried about lead fumes shootin a couple times a month about 100-150 rounds per session, and opening the garage to ventilate as soon as I'm done.

Most of that smoke is from burning powder and lubricants. Lead is heavy and whatever there is, is soon settled. I have my doubts that lead in the air is much of a concern. However, I wouldn't want youngsters breathing the range air for long periods....just to be safe.

Lead bullets splatter when they hit the back plate so I put metal sides (4") to catch the splatter. Then plywood over the front to hold the targets. Like a 4" deep steel box with a plywood lid on edge . Back plate is 24"x48"x1/4".

3482jl · October 12th, 2012, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack D

Most of that smoke is from burning powder and lubricants. Lead is heavy and whatever there is, is soon settled. I have my doubts that lead in the air is much of a concern. However, I wouldn't want youngsters breathing the range air for long periods....just to be safe.

Lead bullets splatter when they hit the back plate so I put metal sides (4") to catch the splatter. Then plywood over the front to hold the targets. Like a 4" deep steel box with a plywood lid on edge . Back plate is 24"x48"x1/4".

Great info. !! Thanx

brimic · October 12th, 2012, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Most of that smoke is from burning powder and lubricants. Lead is heavy and whatever there is, is soon settled. I have my doubts that lead in the air is much of a concern. However, I wouldn't want youngsters breathing the range air for long periods....just to be safe.

Unless you are using some of the newer 'green' lead-free primers, your primers are going to be the main source of lead contamination. The priming compound is lead styphnate which vaporizes and/or sticks to debris when the round is fired. If you shoot and you taste a sweet metallic taste in the air, you are tasting vaporized lead. Lead in this state is far more easily absorbed through your mucous membranes and lungs into your blood stream than any lead splatter from bullets. Lead from the bullets themselves are a very minor source of lead exposure in comparison to the priming.

Jack D · October 12th, 2012, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brimic

Unless you are using some of the newer 'green' lead-free primers, your primers are going to be the main source of lead contamination. The priming compound is lead styphnate which vaporizes and/or sticks to debris when the round is fired. If you shoot and you taste a sweet metallic taste in the air, you are tasting vaporized lead. Lead in this state is far more easily absorbed through your mucous membranes and lungs into your blood stream than any lead splatter from bullets. Lead from the bullets themselves are a very minor source of lead exposure in comparison to the priming.

Interesting.

But how much lead is in the air from primers? Before I made a bullet trap, I used plastic bullets with primers only and never noticed much, if any, smoke or the taste you mention. A primer is a very small part of the recipe.

I really don't know how much airborne lead would be in the smoke from firing, but can't believe it is really that much. If primers are a major cause of lead in the air, it must be invisable or I would have seen it when firing primers only. No powder or lubricants are used with the plastic bullets. No smoke or visable "fumes" either that I could readily see. It's been awhile since I used them, so my memory could be playing tricks on me.

I'm talking about a "home" range, with only myself shooting...not a public range with many shooting at the same time. Also my shop "range" is 32'x60' with 20' ceiling, so it would take a lot to fill it with smoke from shooting.