Bullet trap ideas for recycling lead

[sheepdog]

The 24' H x 48 W x 48 D box sounds great as a stationary target where weight and bulk arent a concern. I'd probably build a little troth in front below the target to catch rubber as it flows out. Maybe a cut channel on each side of the front to slide fresh cardboard or pvc signs in the front to sure up the front form leaking now and then.

Markshere that sounds pretty good but think if you cut the soft but durable sidewalls out of tires and use those in overlaping bands as your front might be more self healing.

[briang]

How deep do you guys think a box of crumb rubber would have to be to stop J word bullets out of a 30-06? I'm thinking 30"

[JIMinPHX]

Jim, you will want to build that thing with a top that opens so that you can get to the crumb rubber & fluff it up once in a while to get rid of the tunnels that form.

[Jim_Fleming]

good point! I think my wife just lost her floral rake, LOL!

the other reason for a "loose" top is so as to remove the contents, then replace the crumbs after lead removal...

Has anyone come up, yet, with a good easy way to float the rubber off of the lead...? The one idea I'd read was using extremely salty water, aka brine...?

Jim, you will want to build that thing with a top that opens so that you can get to the crumb rubber & fluff it up once in a while to get rid of the tunnels that form.

[JIMinPHX]

Forget the brine. I tried it. It's a total mess. With my small traps, I just pick the boolits out by hand as a move handfuls of crumb rubber from the trap into a cardboard box. Then I dump the box back into the trap & I'm done.

A better method for the volume of material that you will have is to use a basket & employ a method similar to the way that old time farmers used to separate wheat from chaff. Take a bunch of crumb rubber/boolit mix in a quarter-half full basket & toss it up in the air about 6 or 8 times. The boolits will settle to the bottom & be easy to separate after that. Then have two receptacles, one for the boolits & one for the separated rubber. 15 or 20 batches later, you should be about done. I expect it would take about a half hour to clean out all the boolits.

[Jim_Fleming]

KISS principle seems to almost always be the best principle.

And that half hour would be a SMALL investment when considering the amount of bullets one would get in return.

My box would hold about 32 cu.ft. I've yet to pay attention in Wal-Mart to the rubber mulch bags, but Mr. Jim I like everything you've said, plus the fact it's going to save me a few hundred dollars...

One thing I think I'm going to try and do though is use Homasoat instead of cardboard. It would seem that the 1/2 thick material would hold up longer, and is just as easy to push pin targets onto. Plus the Homasoat comes in 4x8 sheets which would be easy to rip down to 2x4 sheets.

Incidentally www.homasote.com is a real live website and viable company. Interesting!

Forget the brine. I tried it. It's a total mess. With my small traps, I just pick the boolits out by hand as a move handfuls of crumb rubber from the trap into a cardboard box. Then I dump the box back into the trap & I'm done.

A better method for the volume of material that you will have is to use a basket & employ a method similar to the way that old time farmers used to separate wheat from chaff. Take a bunch of crumb rubber/boolit mix in a quarter-half full basket & toss it up in the air about 6 or 8 times. The boolits will settle to the bottom & be easy to separate after that. Then have two receptacles, one for the boolits & one for the separated rubber. 15 or 20 batches later, you should be about done. I expect it would take about a half hour to clean out all the boolits.

[sheepdog]

How deep do you guys think a box of crumb rubber would have to be to stop J word bullets out of a 30-06? I'm thinking 30"

I remember a guy in this post or another, don't recall which, that made one that was 41" long that would stop anything he could throw at it including J-boot 30-06, 54r, all that mean stuff except 50 bmg. Me thinks 50 bmg might take a refrigerator box full of rubber to slow it down enough to hit an AR500 plate without damaging it.

[JIMinPHX]

Jim,
for a trap with a front face that big, I would have envisioned a wooden lattice on the front, maybe made out of 2x2 or 2x4 wood, with a bunch of 1-foot square cardboard, or in your case homasote panels. I think that a single sheet, the full size of your front face, would not last nearly as long as a bunch of smaller panels on a framework would. If the 2x2s or 2x4s take a bunch of hits, they would be pretty easy to replace.

[Jim_Fleming]

Mr. Jim...

I had planned on doing exactly that... Subdividing, as per your idea, because Homasote is almost of the consistency of ceiling tile. No strength what so ever. But it DOES hold push pins nicely.

Say, a couple sub-dividers in center, put in on 12" or 16" centers, creating several smaller panels Yeah, 2x2's would be nice, nice and easy. I have a feeling that when you maintain your boolit catcher, (not a trap, LOL!) When you maintain it, a BIG wheel barrow is your best friend to hold the crumbs while you're working, etc.

Like you said, Sir, even if the 2x2's get hammered up it's not a big deal, although they shouldn't take as much wear as the center of the 16x24 area will. One nice thing about this is, that at LEAST three shooters can plink away all at the same time. Nor would it be difficult at all to put four targets on it, allowing for even more fun and games, LOL!

I'm getting excited about finally being able to get this thing rolling... I might've even gotten a source for range lead, at a local fish and game club, but that's a tale for another thread...

Jim,
for a trap with a front face that big, I would have envisioned a wooden lattice on the front, maybe made out of 2x2 or 2x4 wood, with a bunch of 1-foot square cardboard, or in your case homasote panels. I think that a single sheet, the full size of your front face, would not last nearly as long as a bunch of smaller panels on a framework would. If the 2x2s or 2x4s take a bunch of hits, they would be pretty easy to replace.

[JIMinPHX]

Sounds like a plan.

[Jim_Fleming]

Another question for the readers and writers on this thread...

Just off of the top of your heads, can anyone tell me about how much is a bag of rubber crumbs?

Thanks,

[sheepdog]

Another question for the readers and writers on this thread...

Just off of the top of your heads, can anyone tell me about how much is a bag of rubber crumbs?

Thanks,

Think I paid $6.78 or abouts at Walmart. Its the same size as a 40 pound compost bag. Pictures of it further up the post. Rubber is about the size of popped popcorn. Comes in dark red and dark brown, made of old shoe soles.

[Jim_Fleming]

Sheep Dog, thanks for the prompt answer...

[Bgddy]

Here is a supplier of mulch near me however they have a few locations around. Black playground grade for .19cents a pound plus shipping and if you are close you can pick it up.

http://www.perfectrubbermulch.com/

[Jim_Fleming]

Bgddy, I just took a bit of a look at that URL/Site you posted, thanks!

I'm not 100% sure about the weight per cu.ft. but... As I seem to understand it, the crumbs seem to weigh in at about 700-800 lbs. per cubic yard.

The box I'm thinking of building would hold 32 cu. ft. If my mathmetiker wirks guut...?

I'm thinking it would take nearly 900 lbs to fill my box... wow!

Anyone else see a mistake in my clacullations...? er, make that calculations...

[Baryngyl]

Not sure what size you are planing but a 2ftX2ftX5ft would only be 20 cubic feet.

If I were to build a box it would probably be 1½X1½X 3 or 4 for a total of 6.75 to 9 Cubic feet.

To get 32 cubic feet you would need a box some wheres in the size of 2X2X8 or 3x3x3½.


Michael Grace

[Jim_Fleming]

I am planning on making a box 4x4x2...

4 wide x 4 deep x 2 high

[Bgddy]

Jim your calculations are correct 32 cu ft 700 to 800 lbs per cu yd (27 cu ft) at 800 lbs cu yd that is nearly 30 lbs per cu ft so 960 lbs

[Jim_Fleming]

In that case...

I'll guessestimate that the whole kit and kaboodle will be in the near neighborhood of around $200 for nearly everything.

Not bad compared to nearly $400 for the steel that would've made the impact plates of the conical/funnel shaped trap I had in mind at first... That wouldn't include the frame work to put and hold everything together.

The last detail would have to be making some sort of support capable holding that big of a box. What I had in mind was a pair of saw horses with legs made from treated lumber to keep the legs from decaying from contact with the ground. And I'd run the spines of the saw horses parallel to the flight of the bullet to ease the inevitable damage from stray rounds.

I'll take photos and post them, when I get started and as the project goes along!

Thanks Everyone!

[JIMinPHX]

There are several bulk suppliers of crumb rubber. Here are a few that you might want to consider -

http://www.tirerecyclingcrumbrubbers...ber-crumb.html
http://www.crumbrubber.net/a/1320.html
http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/TIRES/Produc...r/Producer.htm