I made this Magnum Pellet Box to handle two problems, the first being the power behind my new Benji Trail 1100 in 22 Cal., and the need to stay quiet so I could plink in my basement without alarming anyone. I was also scared of Richochets, or pellets that could escape in any way. I looked around the web and I found a lot of quality information from Archer Airguns site.
The Archer Airgun Pellet Trap is the basic design for my own. While I have never used one, it appears to be an excellent trap:
http://www.archerairguns.com/airgun-pellet-trap-s/6.htm I was able to built mine from scrap wood/screws/etc. that I already had. The only thing that I had to buy was the Duct Seal. I decided to beaf up the design with extra wood at the back.
I also came across a youtube video of a home built silent pellet trap. I would guess it was designed for use with a low power airgun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRdTYIxi35gSo I also decided to add foam to my design. It might help to help keep the noise down, and to catch any possible bounce back/ricochet. I used closed-cell foam carpet under padding (more scrap that I had). I laminated two pieces together (to try and reduce the curve that they had from being in a tight roll for so long, using a spray adhesive).
So this is what I ended up with:
For a pellet to escape it would need to penetrate through the paper target, through 9 inches of Carpet Foam Underlay, 2 inches of Duct Seal, and 1.5 inches of Spruce (the solid backing), then 0.75" of Pine (the box).
I covered the surface with a target holder made from a (scrap) piece of foam core. I simply tape my targets to it. The targets I use are a single and a 9/up that can be found here for free to print yourself at
http://www.targetz.com:
http://targetz.com/targetzlib/10141.pdfhttp://targetz.com/targetzlib/10146.pdfThe trap works extremely well, and it is very quiet. I can only hear the rifle firing, I can not hear any significant impact noise. I opened the trap up after the first 20(ish) shots and found that my Benji Trail 1100 shooting Crosman 14.3g HP's through the foam but it was stopping them after penetrating about 0.75" into the Duct Seal.
After 100 rounds I have disassembled the trap and pounded the Duct Seal back in shape. So far I have not bothered prying out the pellets - I might do that later (500 rounds). The foam is getting worn out, but I have never had once a shot bounce back/out. At 500 shots I imagine I will need to replace the foam, but the Duct Seal should last forever. I wanted a pellet trap that I could place, unsupported and take the impact of magnum powered airguns, be whisper quiet, and last for years. This one does the trick, but it is HEAVY. it's rough dimensions are about a square foot, and I used a dozen 1lb blocks of Duct Seal so the whole unit is close to 20 lbs. The larger trap size allows me to shoot a 8.5 x 11 paper with 9 targets per at 45 feet (maximum indoor length for my range).
I'll try to attach some pictures.