CHRONY CAUTION WITH REBOUNDING PELLETS

[Supaflee]

Yesterday while shooting some chrony figures with my HW 45 Pistol I got whacked on the forehead just above my left eye with a pellet coming back at me . Two other pellets went behind me and hit the wall during the testing . ( Altogether I shot 120 shots )
 I was 6 feet away from the Chrony. The backstop was 6 feet behind the Chrony .
 I had safety glasses on .
 If I was not wearing them , and the pellet was 1" lower , I would definatey have lost my eye .
 I was using a massive backstop of old books and papers and wood right at the rear side of the backstop .
 Take Care .
 Supaflee
 

[Kailua]

That is excellent info.  Not given much to new shooters to wear safety glasses.  Other safety things like holding cocking arm while loading spring airguns and balk firing are nice to know.  I am sure there are a lot more things to consider.  Not sure ir there is a safety listed post on the GTA.

[QVTom]

I'd consider a proper pellet trap at that range.  We all need these reminders one and a while.  Glad you are ok.

Tom

[RedFeather]

What kind of pellets were you shooting?  (And thanks a thousand per cent for mentioning the bit about eye protection.  Can't begin to mention the number of pictures with members' kids shooting without any.)  Lead will usually either congeal into a lump or splat but, that close, you might be picking up some bits and pieces.  Hard pellets will be the absolute worst.  Hope you weren't shooting PBA's or similar hard alloys.  A nice steel plate, maybe 1/4" thick, angled at 45 degrees into soft material will prevent 100% rebounds like the one you experienced.

[robert w]

and always check your safety too. its just as important as any other fucction on any gun that has a safety. i have to wear glasses as im not the best on eyesight . when i get new glasses i get safety lenses

[Norm_m]

You said one pellet hit your forehead and two others went behind you and hit the wall. Well for me personally I would have stopped after the first pellet came back at me and fixed the back stop so it would not happen again. I do not care how many safety precautions you take as soon as one pellet comes back at you at that close distance it is time to stop and solve the issue. Not to continue and shoot 120 shots!
JMO
Norm

[Bryan Heimann]

Two words- DUCT SEAL!!!!!

[Booger]

What kind of pellets were you shooting?  (And thanks a thousand per cent for mentioning the bit about eye protection.  Can't begin to mention the number of pictures with members' kids shooting without any.)  Lead will usually either congeal into a lump or splat but, that close, you might be picking up some bits and pieces.  Hard pellets will be the absolute worst.  Hope you weren't shooting PBA's or similar hard alloys.  A nice steel plate, maybe 1/4" thick, angled at 45 degrees into soft material will prevent 100% rebounds like the one you experienced.

I hardly wear any eye protection, I rarely wear my glasses (I also have glaucoma). I also hardly ever  load my rifles holding the barrel. These are things I really need to work on. I make my kids do it, I should also make myself do it. I have 130 yard range and I never have hands near the trigger when I load. I also prefer automatic safeties, but I never put my faith in safeties. Thank you so much for the reminder, because my ex father in law lost an eye because of a BB gun when he was a child.

[MustangMike]

go to pets mart and buy 2 large dog beds, cheapo brand is is perfectly ok... then on the way home stop somewhere and buy ur wife or gf  or your self if your single something in a box big enough to tightly pack the dog beds into and then tape the lid back shut.. perfect indoor/garage/chrony pellet trap

also throw a old pair of jeans in it either in front of or behind the dog peds in the box.. in case the dog beds arent enough a couple of layers of denim will be

[Supaflee]

Norm_m. I should have explained myself better for you .
 As I was shooting Chrony , 10 at a time with 5 different pellets , one pellet hit me on the forehead . It was not pellet Number 1.
 To stabilise the pistol , I'd put maybe 50 - 60 through it , and then commenced the tests.
 I crapped myself because the one that came back at me stung like 2000 wasp stings. Similar to your closing comment about me carrying on with another 120 shots .
 I then rearranged the backstop materials and carried on . During the next 40 or so shots , two others went behind me and hit the wall .
 What this said to me was  , when aiming at a single point (as you do with chrony tests) , there is a large lead buildup in the backstop  , so , it requires shifting to enable another buildup to occur in a different place ,reducing the reflecting pellet risk.
 To maintain a good safe risk free backstop , I now only ever put 10 in one "place" , then shift the backstop.
 I could say that they all go in , one on top of each other , through the same hole , that would make you smile now wouldnt it ?
 Happy New year to you all out there, Wear glasses anyway !
 I love my Weirauch HW 45 cal.
 Supaflee

[Nikoman]

Two words- DUCT SEAL!!!!!

I concur.
I've never shot into any other backstop, only duct seal and the times I don't the backstop is a large field.
Thank goodness you were wearing safety glasses.
Duct seal is safest material for a backstop and it's not expensive.

[QVTom]

Just a note on safety glasses.  If you feel like a nerd with the HomeDepot/ OSHA style glasses please invest in a pair of  real shooting glasses from MidWay or other source with a large selection.  They will optically superior and make you look like a cool customer as well.

Tom

[Norm_m]

Regardless if it was pellet #1 or pellet #100 any more than 1 pellet coming back at you is IMO a safety issue you did not fix.
You stated " I then rearranged the backstop materials and carried on . During the next 40 or so shots , two others went behind me and hit the wall ." having two more pellets come back at you during the next 40 shots tells me you do have a very dangerous setup.
My 10 yard indoor range with my chrony permanently set up has had well over 3000 shots into the same backstop and not one pellet has ever come back at me. Nor has there even been a pellet ever come out of my backstop. I even shoot my 70 FPE 32 caliber Disco into it without a problem.
Duct Seal is possibly the best and safest backstop material you will ever see and I think my backstop is a great example of that. With well over 3000 pellets in that 10" X 14" box with pellets stacked one on top of each other and never , NOT ONCE has there been a pellet even come close to coming out of it.

So if you are happy with only having 2 pellets flying back at you carry on and have a good time. As for me my safety standards are way above that.

End of subject for me!
Norm

[Supaflee]

Norm-m , would you mind describing the construction of you backstop so I can duplicate it here please ?
 I fully realise now ,  the method I'm currently using is inadequate , and from what you have described thus far you have a good setup that is very safe .
 Thanks
 regards Supaflee

[Bryan Heimann]

Yes!  Duct seal is where it's at!  Just go to home depot and buy up whatever they have left, and use that to start your new backstop!  The backstop you already have is sufficient for catching a random stray that completely misses the target, the duct seal back stop just need to be big enough to put your targets on, or a little bigger if you like.  You can just lean your duct seal trap on your current back stop.  Mine just has 2 layers of duct seal bricks piled up on top of a rubber mat that i cut from one of those mats for dropping iron weights on.  dead center of the mat i set the steel plate from a plastic Crosman pellet trap that did not stand up to the abuse of a 13 fpe breakbarrel.  I wrapped the whole thing in cardboard cut to fit, and taped it all together.  The front of the cardboard has long since become dust from shooting, and it's currently wrapped in saran wrap.  A 13 fpe breakbarrel shooting Crosman pointed (best lead .177 pellet I know of for penetration) couldn't penetrate that mat all the way through, and the steel plate in the middle is extra insurance against penetration.  When I'm punching paper indoors, I just keep plenty of room between my targets and the edges, and i try to keep most of my shooting inside a 6" by 6" area in the center.  But honestly, I don't think any of my air rifles have penetrated the duct seal all the way yet.  And the way the pellets stack up on each other, it just makes the back stop sturdier and more resistant to future penetration.  Lead pellets just become one big cluster of lead and duct seal.  You know, you could probably just take one of those big books and lay out two layers of unwrapped duct seal bricks across the from of it, wrap it in saran wrap, and voila!  stick your targets on there and lean it against the rest of the backstop!  Quick and easy

[Norm_m]

Supaflee if you go to this link http://www.@#$%^.com/airgun-pellet-trap-s/6.htm it will give you a very good idea on how to make one.
If you go to Lowes or Home Depot you can get the wood and duct seal you need for a lot less money then those in the link.
What is nice is if you have a spot that gets a little too many shots and the pellets begin to hit the back of the pellet trap just pack in a little duct seal into that area to fix it. Like I said mine has well over 3000 shots into it and it still works fine but I must say it has gotten very heavy with all those pellets trapped in there.
Wish there was an easy way to get the pellets out as I would melt them down to use in making ammo for my 32 Disco
Norm

[Onebaddj]

I have 2 traps that work very well. Not a single ricochette yet. One is an ammo can with a kevlar vest insert in the back with a 6 inch thick peice of heavy foam in front of it. No way for pellets to come back from thats one. The other is easy its about 15 inches of phone books and magazines duct taped together and put in from of a 5/8 in plywood peice. When you have shot up the books burn them in the grill over a cooky sheet and get alll the lead back for fishing weights. Just got about 2 lbs of lead out of my last phone book backstop.

[Sqrl Klr]

Norm I got this bullet trap at walkmart. I had to use electric tape on the edges to keep all the pellet debris inside the trap where it would not fall out between the cracks which is no big deal to do and I have had a lot of pellet debris in it every time I emptied it so it does a nice job of collecting them.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Portable-Bullet-Box/17510873

[Supaflee]

Thanks Guys.
 Supaflee

[Onebaddj]

Thanks for posting the reminder to wear glasses and be careful while shooting. Ya never know when things can go wrong. Your thread here just let everybody know to be careful. Good thing you had your glasses on.