Silent Pellet Trap Home-made and effective

[markasaurus]

Here's the materials.  A bucket from Ace hardware (i got the smaller one although any bucket wiill work).  Two steel electrical junction box covers for $2.99 each.  And some Duct seal (you will need a whole lot more then the amount shown in the picture, i already had about 4 pounds from my other pellet trap that didn;'t work so i just used that.)

I got the plans from somebodby else on another air gun site.  And the basic idea is simple. 

1.  Put down a fist size layer of duct seal (or plumbers putty) on the bottom of the bucket.
2.  Place one of the steel box covers over this layer, dead center.
3.  Put down another layer of duct seal on the steel plate, and place the second piece of steel over that.
4.  Add remaining duct seal over the steel plate sandwich.  The steel should be covered with several inches of the putty.  Add enough so that it will stop your pellets depending on how powerful your air gun is.  (I think you will need about 5 pounds or so, that is what i need for my marauder, although you might be able to get by with less.  I wound up with about a six inch thickness of duct seal.)
5.  Place bucket on its side with open end facing you, of course.  Place your target directly over the duct seal - it will stick to the duct seal.  (Don't forget to tell anybody shooting with you to remember which part of the inside of the bucket they want to shoot at, the part with the steel - )
6.  Shoot! 

The type of duct seal or plumbers putty to buy, should say "non hardening".  All the same i am covering my trap to help keep it from drying out.  The great part about this thing is you can just throw more putty on top after shooting a lot, to fill the pellet holes in the putty.  You'll want to pick up your loose pellets that fell out of the trap, the ones that are stuck in the putty, just leave them in there or throw more putty over them - it makes the trap stronger! 

I'm thinking you can vary the container and the amount of duct seal, plus the number of steel plates and their placement depending on the range you want to shoot etc.  I think with enough duct seal you could probably stop a .22 LR but i'm not trying that. 
The good thing about this pellet trap is the more pellets you shoot at it, the stronger it gets.  If your container breaks, just transfer the duct seal and steel plates to another container .

[Crosshairs]

That's perfect for my outdoor range never thought of the plastic pail my last one I made of wood and put 5 coats of poly on it so it won't get messed up with the weather. Thanks for the idea.
    Mike

[markasaurus]

Mike yw, i wasted a bunch of money on a wooden planter, and put the duct seal into a plastic paint tray, and it might have been good enough for my 1322, my p rod just blew right through four  inches of putty.  So i googled "home made pellet traps" and found this one someone had made.
The steel plates are the best touch, no lead pellet is getting through all of that, the putty makes it very quiet.  The maker said its not very good for bb,s as they can ricochet off the steel plate but for lead pellets this arrangement is perfect. 

[chongman]

Very cool...and cheap 

[ballistic]

Nice job, great idea!

I wanted something similar, something that would blend in to the landscaping, not scream TARGET!, and be very quiet for verifying zero (my .22 Talon SS and .25 Airwolf MCT Tactical with Hugget are extremely backyard friendly). It also works indoors for my 2240.

1 Gallon paint can
Flat black spray paint
16lbs duct seal
sheets of rubber
target backer board cut to opening
paintball camo netting

.25 cal pellets from my Airwolf MCT Tactical only penetrate about 2 inches. H&N Barracuda Greens out of my 2240 barely embed themselves in the duct seal up to the rear of the skirt. Pellet impact is almost silent. Placed in a landscaping bed @ 25 yards it's invisible if you don't know where it is.

[markasaurus]

Ballistic that's really a good idea, and a lot smaller then t the one i made.  Meaning lighter and you need to use less putty.  And you can just put the lid on it when not in use, keeps the putty from getting dirty and it won't dry out!

The next one i make i will add some more steel plates so the entire inside is covered under the putty, kind of like fanning a deck of cards.  That way i can shot anywhere inside the target and it won't penetrate