Backstops For Home Target Ranges

[JimL911]

I use an electrical box lined with 10-12 lbs of duct seal with a couple of clips attached top and bottom to hold 8.5X11 printed targets. This is silent and solves repeated shot placement from going through. This is attached to pressure treated 2X8 decking screwed between fence posts. Stacked 6 high this gives a large area as a safety margin. I mounted resetable and knock down targets to them as well. I went with individual boards as opposed to a sheet of plywood so when needed I only have to replace a single board in stead of the entire sheet of plywood. At 6" from the muzzle a 16fpe pellet just barely goes in flush, so this set up will last quite a long time.

[eatsShootsAndSleeps]

The pellets were actually "stacking" behind the paper from using the same 5 bull ten meter target.

Impressive stacking! Looks like something you might expect to see crawling around in a sci fi flick.

[Gertrude]

Well, since my pellet energy at 50 yards will be only half of the 15 FPE at the muzzle, I'll go ahead and use the half-sheet of 3/4" plywood to stop the lead, with a piece of carpet tacked on to help deaden the impact sound.

I want to thank all the contributors with their original ideas for backstops.

HAL the ELDER  (Union artillery battery at our annual Civil War Reenactment at Calico Ghost Town in the High Desert)

Hal,
Do you know Fred Ellerman ? I believe he is a "private" in the Civil War Reenactments.
I used to travel all around the world with him while working for Boeing.
we were in a department called R.A.M.S

[Bullit]

A good winebottle box filled w/ interleaved newpaper works here.  Quiet.

[the1stkim]

I use six used car tires. Three stacked atop of each other, and three stood up on tread in a row, such as all the centers align and terminate at the three stacked.  I screwed a peice of cardboard at four corners into the first tire and use staples to attach the targets printed from computer

[Hal the Elder]

HEY RON,

No, I don't know Fred Ellerman, and there are many Privates among the local High Desert skirmishers.

I retired from Boeing (Long Beach) in July, 1998, and moved from Orange County to the High Desert.

I'm familiar with the RAMS group.

HAL

[Hal the Elder]

NO BRICKS UP HERE...

Our High Desert building materials stores (Home Depot, Lowe's), do not sell duct seal in BRICKS.

They sell it in 64-oz TUBS, at $11.95 per tub.

That's all.....

HAL

[Bullit]

You try looking in the electrical dept. That's what dept it should be in. Probably boxed up on the floor level, as it is heavy stuff.  Or contact any larger contract electrical company. They'll know what it is.

[Ol'DeadEye]

Lowes...

Gardner Bender 1 lb Pug Duct Seal

Item #: 13591 |  Model #: DS-110


    Gardner Bender duct seal compound plug is a dough-like material that is easy to handle and simple to install
    Material helps seal and protect gaps, holes and conduit openings against dust, moisture, drafts and noise
    This material is non-deteriorating, non-toxic, non-corrosive, non-conductive and non-staining
    Under normal conditions the material will not harden or form a skin
    Adheres at -20 °F (-29 °C)/will not slump after 1 hr. at 350 °F (175 °C) (Flash point is over 550 °F)
    Not for use outdoors
    Viscosity: ASTM D-217 300-gram load - 7.0 -11.0; ASTM DS-S2 100-gram load - 9.0 -15.0

[02stampede]

NO BRICKS UP HERE...

Our High Desert building materials stores (Home Depot, Lowe's), do not sell duct seal in BRICKS.

They sell it in 64-oz TUBS, at $11.95 per tub.

That's all.....

HAL

That stuff in the tub is water based and way too runny. It's made for air ducts. Not what you want..

Homedepot.com shows the bricks available at the Apple Valley location. Lowes has some too. They may not know what you are asking for but it's there! Have them them look it up in the system.

[mobilemail]

Anyone use one of the high density archery targets available at the big box stores? 18-24" on a side, six side to bang on.  I'm sure they could be shot through *eventually*, but it seems they would last well if targets are shifted slightly from round to round.

[Hal the Elder]

 
Well anyway...whatever stuff I get, it will be outdoors until I get tired of my backyard shootin' range.

(Wait 'till I tell you about my design for the target end!)

HAL

[bbv13]

I made this one for my back yard. The stop has a 1/8" steel plate bent to fit inside of it. It stops the pellets but it's not quite. I think the sound of the pellets hitting it is as loud as the rifle I have. No complaints from the neighbors so far.

Bryan

[Bullit]

That looks plenty tough Bryan.  yeah, I bet it sounds like a loudspeaker.  Can you sandwich an inch or so of newpaper between some cardboard box material, and make a cheap disposable sound baffling backing board?  It'll close up the front, give an airgap, and muffle your metal deflecter.
 I use wineboxes and newpapers, and I need an enclosure like yours for a weatherproof enclosure.  I could use half the paper with your design!

[bbv13]

That looks plenty tough Bryan.  yeah, I bet it sounds like a loudspeaker.  Can you sandwich an inch or so of newpaper between some cardboard box material, and make a cheap disposable sound baffling backing board?  It'll close up the front, give an airgap, and muffle your metal deflecter.
 I use wineboxes and newpapers, and I need an enclosure like yours for a weatherproof enclosure.  I could use half the paper with your design!

You have me thinking now. I think I could put a foam backing inside of it and on the door. Fix the door in place and cut a large hole in it and put a hinged door on that hole. It would still be big enough to shoot through and I could put a catch latch on the new door to hold it open when I want to shoot. The one problem I have is that some water gets in it now. It really cracks when a pettlet hits it and something like you described along with a new door may solve both problems.

Thanks

Bryan

[Bullit]

For mine, I'll tell you... I'm going a layered 3 door, with (2) hinged sides and the Top hinged door outermost.  Open it up and rest the top on it, and it gives me 3 sides with a wide open front.  The winebox/paper fills the opening inside. I think you get the idea.

[bbv13]

For mine, I'll tell you... I'm going a layered 3 door, with (2) hinged sides and the Top hinged door outermost.  Open it up and rest the top on it, and it gives me 3 sides with a wide open front.  The winebox/paper fills the opening inside. I think you get the idea.

I'm going to put some shingles on this one and allow them to lap over the door on the front so it will be dried in. I'll also going to cut a new hinged door into the plywood front but leave it where I can pull the door out of the top by lifting up the shingles so I can replace or add sand. I think this alone will quite it down some. If anyone complains I may add some foam to quite it down more. It's pretty big and with the steel, sand and wood it's really heavy so I'm going to add some handles on the sides so two people can carry it. Thanks for the ideas.

Bryan

[Tater]

You could also hang a piece of carpet over the front of it. It would muffle the noise, keep out rain and even if you shoot through it, the metal behind would keep things safe.
The backing on the 2'x2' carpet squares is usually rubber too, making it more waterproof.

[bbv13]

You could also hang a piece of carpet over the front of it. It would muffle the noise, keep out rain and even if you shoot through it, the metal behind would keep things safe.
The backing on the 2'x2' carpet squares is usually rubber too, making it more waterproof.

There is one post from a guy that made a pellet stop out of mud flaps. I don't know exactly what I'm going to do? I'll post some pictures after I finnish it up.

Thanks

Bryan

[bbv13]

For mine, I'll tell you... I'm going a layered 3 door, with (2) hinged sides and the Top hinged door outermost.  Open it up and rest the top on it, and it gives me 3 sides with a wide open front.  The winebox/paper fills the opening inside. I think you get the idea.

I have finished it up for now and it's a lot quieter even without insulation. In the future I may make the door bigger and set it up so I can put a removable spinner target in it. The again I may just make a small spinner for it the way it is now. It rained really hard last night and it's dry inside. I still have it set up so I can remove the front to clean it out or add sand if needed.

Thanks for the ideas.

Bryan