$8.00 Silent Pellet Trap

[hiroller]

I was at Home Depot this morning with a cart full of lumber in preparation for my trap when I passed a plastic bin that caught my eye. The bulb came on in my head and I thought, "what the heck - I can have one up in a few minutes and be shooting right away!" Here's the list of materials:

1. XL Plastic Storage/Tool Bin - $4.99
2. Metal Paint Roller Tray - $2.97

Total = Less than 8 bucks



When I got home I realized I may have not needed the tray, but it'll be nice to have when cleaning.I'msureyoucanfillitdirectlyinthebinoruseanyotherole'containerthat'llfitinthebin. I filled the tray with 15lbs of duct seal and just let it drop into the plastic bin. I also added a piece of wood to the bottom to keep trash from falling out, then cut a piece of cardboard to fit the handy target grooves the bin makers decided to include. Icannowuse all sized targets andit works like a charm; plus, the materials (not including the duct seal) cost me about 8 bucks. Plus, I won't worry too much once it gets fubar.

[Curioguy]

Jay, very nice low-cost and innovative design.  I’ll keep your design in mind if my current silent trap ever goes tango uniform.

[Splash]

That's using the old noggin. Nice work and thanks for sharing.
Mike

[BayouHawk]

On behalf of all the ones  running to get the parts as we speak...THANKS!

                               Keep the Great posts coming

 Steve!

[hiroller]

Update - I shot 2 rounds into it at 10 yards (Whisper) to test and found out and they went all the way through the duct seal but stopped right at the metal pan (didn't even dent it).  I used a large roller pan and 15lbs of duct seal is a lot, but not deep enough for the surface area I'm working with (gives me about 1 inch at the shallowest and 2 at the deepest).  I'd suggest anyone who's going to put this together to maybe use the smaller bin - mine is an XL, or an even pan (like a baking ban) that's deep enough.  Or use a steel backstop.

In any event, I took the duct seal out, cut 2 sections of wire screen (to fit in the pan) out and overlapped them at the base of the pan, kinda like setting it down before pouring concrete.  I worked some of the seal into the mesh wire and then put the rest back in.  The mesh wire is holding them back really well now.

[Timmyj1959@yahoo.com]

Hey Hiroller, Tim here.  Ive been using duct seal for a while now. I prefer about 3" thickness, no chance of pellets getting thru & even after many shots the lead builds up & is just as quiet. I sometimes dig out a big chunk of lead & touch up with a little new "putty".  Is the duct seal you are using black & comes in 1 lb. "bricks"??  The stuff I use I could never push thru wire mesh, Im thinking you may have the wrong stuff. Look thru recent posts I have made here on my traps, on one of them I posted pics. of the right seal & bar code numbers. Great to see Im not the only one that likes an effective silent trap, keep up the good work! Tim.

[hiroller]

Yeah Tim it turns out I had the wrong stuff - what I had was duct seal(ant), but not the black one I should have been using.  The guy at Depot gave me these 5lb buckets that say "duct sealant" on them and told me it's the same.  DO NOT get DUCT SEALANT (it's much lighter in color and is for plumbing).  It's probably similar to plumber's putty.  The big trap I made measures 11.5 x 17 and since the bullets punch further in, I'm using it at about 30 yards outdoors.  It's working well for that.        

I had a feeling I had the wrong stuff and wanted a smaller bin as well, so I went back to the depot and found the small sized one that measures 7.5 x 12 and went to the electrical section and found the exact duct seal I need - the black ones individually wrapped in 1lb blocks.  Those fit in the small bin lengthwise perfectly (directly in the bin) and you can stack up to 15 in that little bin for 3" depth, or 10 of them for 2" depth.  I'm using 2" right now and it's working very well - I'll be using the small trap for indoors.  These bins seem to work really well provided you don't shoot the bin itself and what I love about them is the stacking slot that they come with - it's perfect for sliding targets into.

[Timmyj1959@yahoo.com]

Hiroller,, PM me or E-Mail me,, If you would like I will make you a Gamo Target trap, no charge. Glad to hear ya got the "right stuff"!! timmyj1959@yahoo.com  Ya got duct seal now, can you get Gamo targets?? Tim.

[DanoInTx]

I made one with the same idea a couple years ago:
http://www.gatewaytoairguns.com/airguns/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=1778&mid=9937#M9937

Missed shots from my PCP's eventually tore the plastic apart and being such a large chunk of duct seal it ended up flopping out and being a nuisance.  What I use now is those steel two outlet electrical boxes filled with duct seal.  They are only about 5"x5", but I have a couple of them and can completely fill one with about 2 sticks of duct seal.  I have shot at these from about 3 feet away with my 44FPE Talon and have never had a penetration, not even a dent.  Of course because they are so small I still have a "backup" backstop of 15"x4"x4" blocks that are stacked behind the little traps, but "if" I don't miss I never need those:)  I have put MANY thousands of shots into these two little electrical boxes and NEVER cleaned them out, just flattened the glob of duct seal every few hundred shots with a small chunk of 2"x4" and a hammer.....I think all of the lead actually helps stop the fast lead:)