Pellet trap autopsy.

[scrane]

Hi,
I cleaned out my pellet trap today for the first time that I've been using inside for over a year. It is just an old cardboard box that I've refaced two or three times with additional cardboard panels taped on. I staple printed 8 1/2 x 11 targets one on top of the other until I have a stack of 20 shredded sheets. 25 bulls per sheet. 5 shots per bull. Then I take everything off and reface.

The box is filled with rubber mulch and is about 8"deep. I mainly shoot 12 fpe, but occasionally up to 30fpe. Today when I separated the rubber from the pellets the mulch looked brand new. Only three pieces of mulch had a pellet embedded in them.

Over the last year only one pellet has been lucky enough to make it all the way through the trap and punch out the back!

The only reason I decided to dismantle the trap is because it was starting to bulge alarmingly. Enclosed are a couple of photos  of the trap disassembled. Note that the shot out portion of the trap is about 12" x 12" and the pellets removed are in a 1.8 quart juice bottle.

I think I got my money's worth.

[Tater]

Looks like more than one hole in the back of it, or am  looking at it wrong? That's a heck of a lot of pellets!

[N6CRV]

You could sell the lead to the recyclers or cast your own pellets.

[scrane]

Looks like more than one hole in the back of it, or am  looking at it wrong? That's a heck of a lot of pellets!

That's the beauty of the design- reversible! Although I shot the back side only a little.

When I took it apart I poured all the contents into a 5 gallon bucket full of water. Although the rubber would sink, the lead sank faster. I pulled the rubber from the top and pretended I was panning for gold. 
 

[longhunter]

gotta do that to mine. my home dump bucket is getting pretty darn heavy.

[Pine Tree State]

That's great information on the durability of your pellet trap.  Maybe next time you could use some old boards at the back of the box for an extra safety margin against a pellet getting out.

[Busta Cap]

Thanks. I saw that recommended by one of the utube videos and touted as working very well with the rubber.  Where did you get the rubber.

[scrane]

Home depot stocks it in the garden section.

[scrane]

You could sell the lead to the recyclers or cast your own pellets.

As far as metals go, lead is not my favorite. For years I've been a reluctant spectator to the decline of my mental capacities. I sometimes imagine myself having eaten paint as a child. Anyways, there is an interesting hypothesis that lead pipes, cups, and cooking utensils contributed to the decline of ancient Rome.