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Sawdust bullet trap?

alinwa

Has anyone here built/used a sawdust bullet trap?

It's been 6yrs since't we've had a decent snowbank so I gotta' do something.

I'm building a sawdust-filled trapper I think, a local mill is offering 1000lb bags of sawdust for 20 bucks/bag

Fir, cedar, hemlock, alder, maple etc ......OR...... I just spoke with him and he said "I have a hard time getting rid of Black Walnut"

I can probably get the Black Walnut for free.....

I'm thinking I need about a ton and a half of sawdust.

Any thoughts?
 
Al I have never used sawdust just shot into water tank, it doesn't take much. resistance is pretty high when firing into a liquid. I doubt you will need that much..
 
George, you recovered the bullets completely unscathed? You could measure them up? I've had bad luck with bending bullets sent into water, what's the trick?
 
I kinda' forgot to explain..... I sometimes trap bullets to examine them. Measure them up. I've trapped a lot of bullets up to 30 caliber in snow but have always read/known through the years of folks building sawdust traps. I thought the term "sawdust trap" was self-explanatory..... it ain't.

Now I want to trap big 300gr 338's and 750-900gr .50 cal's so I plan to build an enclosed box maybe 2ftX2ftX20ft long to shoot into them find the bullets with a metal detector or sieve/net.

Sorry about lack of detail but my intended usage is trapping big bullets un-damaged.
 
Dusty Stevens said:
Id be able to shoot into a snow trap one day about every 5yrs!!
Click to expand...
Yeeahhh, that's my problem. It's been 6yrs since we had a snowbank big enough to shoot into.

A couple yrs it'd snow, I'd go shoot a bunch then a couple weeks later go pick up my bullets. But I can't count on it.

And I've never tried it with big bullets. I do know that my big subsonic 50 will plow a furrow thru 12ft of sod, come out the other side and rattle the trees downrange like it never happened! Cuz I was recoil testing one night in the pitch dark, set the sled a liddle low and next morning my yard looked like a plowed field....

Caddyshack nuttin.... I was ready to NUKE them moles!.....



but it was me.




I walked out and rolled/stomped the furrows and went off to work.
 
I've used rubber mulch to trap bullets, but the amout of damage had a whole bunch to do with velocity, and I never tried anything over 200 grains.
A trap the size you describe would be rather expensive as well using rubber mulch.
 
how about one of those water drums they have at gun ranges to check guns to be unloaded? surely water is easier on the bullet than sawdust?
 
Dusty Stevens said:
how about one of those water drums they have at gun ranges to check guns to be unloaded? surely water is easier on the bullet than sawdust?
Click to expand...
Al's cannon would probably blow through the barrel of water then bust the sidewalk below
 
I know it's not what the OP is looking for but I stack old tires up 4 high and fill them up with sand from a gravel pit about 300 yards from my house. After a few years stack a new set either move the sand and lead over or dump and refill with fresh.
 
I did a lot of cast bullet testing several years ago.We took a full sheet of 1/2" plywood and ripped it into four 12"x96" sections. Made a "U" from three, screwed together. Framed the bottom and sides with 2x4"s. I had access to unlimited 12"X 12" X 12' boxes tile came in at the local flooring place. We got large plastic grocery bags, set one in each box, and then filled them with sawdust. Set the box (es) in place, and shoot as much as you wish. The boxes are easy to lift out, and I made a box frame about 24" square, and put 1/4" mesh on the bottom. Just dump the bag onto it, and rub it around with your fingers. The box frame was positioned over my big wheelbarrow. Finish collecting your bullets, grab another grocery bag, set it in the box, and refill with sawdust. If you are lazy, errrr more energy efficient, buy a cheap metal detector at the pawn shop and use that.

Most penetration I ever got was 7 boxes from the 800gr straight Linotype bullets from my 550 Gibbs wildcat at about 2600fps. My brain would stop functioning for about fifteen seconds after each shot. Eleven pound bolt rifle with brake.
 
Al, yes they were intact. it was at a police ballistic lab. tank was maybe 6-8 ft deep maybe more but I don't think so it was a long 30 + yrs ago shot straight down
 
The only thing I know of that will capture a bullet unharmed, other than snow, is oiled sawdust........ and I've only read about it, never used it.

The snow thing I came up with myself about 25yrs ago, I'd never read about that.

Water has never worked for me.
 
Water can trap a bullet. Undamaged? Not likely unless it's a low velocity projectile.
Curious - why is oiled sawdust supposed to be better than un-oiled?

I always thought snow banks work because there is little possibility of heat build up. But that's just a guess.
 
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