.22 Magnum Bullet Trap Question/Ideas Needed

[T191032]

Hey folks!

On the plot of land I have, I'd like to make a way to *reliably* catch .22 Magnum bullets rather than rely on the ground (after all, "Mr. Murphy" will show up one day and give a ricochet I fear). I remember Paco talking about his experiences with the .22 Mag and steel, and what happened with one of his "silent" loads and a 70 lb bullet trap, so I thought I would post a "got any ideas" request. I'm gonna guess that something in the 3/8" to 1/2" range of thickness at a 45-degree angle, but would like some more "experienced" thoughts and ideas on it so I can know what to do/get into.

Thanks a bunch!

[Wind]

Hey there T191032 - Here are some pictures of the bullet trap that has lived in all my living rooms or basements. It is about 16" square. The sides are about 1/8" thick, the top and bottom 1/4" thick and the round part is 1/4" thick also. It was built at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard out of armored plate. It has stopped a 45 ACP semi-wadcutter, but I don't recommend it. You can get an idea of the shape from the side picture welds. Might be you could build something similar on a heavier scale and it may cover your needs. Possibly bury it in a berm. The little white flecks all over the inside are the remains of Plaster of Paris target discs I cast and shot by the thousands when I was a kid. Over the years is has been downgraded to pellets as the .22's use to freak out some of the neighbors in the smaller apartment buildings I've lived in!! Hope this helps. Watch yer top knot. Wind

[Blaine]

Nothing beats a large dirt berm.....Wind's trap is way cool!!

[Pete44ru]

The trap pictured is a less-curved version of the classic Savage snail bullet trap invented by Ron Coburn - modeled after a coiled snail's shell.

http://www.snailtraps.com/

The shallow-angled throat sides(4) feed the bullet into the snail smoothly, wher it goes round-n-round until it runs out of steam to drop to the bottom.
IIRC, there are both "wet" and dry versions.



.

[Andrew]

Wind, that is a very cool trap you got there! I am planning on building on and will keep your model in mind.

[Wind]

Hey there Andrew - Yep, it works good. If I were to do it over, I would get the lower curl a little fuller, kinda like the "snail" unit. This one was built in 1946. Long before Coburn started messing with the idea. I'm sure there may be better steel alloys out there and that prolly will take some research to sort out. Best of luck on the project. Watch yer top knot. Wind.

[Leverdude]

Looks like they made yours with a piece of pipe, pretty neat!

[Gobblerforge]

Wind's pictures are almost identical to mine. My plate is 3/8" top and bottom. It is mounted in my garage for shooting rim-fire in the winter up to 50 feet. It will take a 38-40 cast without any noticeable marks. However a 303 Savage put the least little dent and the copper jacket left a nick and some copper so I'm done with that. I've wanted to take it outside and try a 20 gauge slug but haven't yet.
Gobbler