Bullet trap

Last updated July 10, 2024

A bullet trap (or pellet trap when used specifically for air guns) is a device to stop and collect projectiles fired at a shooting range to prevent overpenetrations and stray shots. Bullet traps typically use friction, impact or gradual deceleration to stop bullets. They can function as a backstop by themselves or be part of a larger backstop, e.g. placed in front of a thick rubber wall or a bay of sand.

The bullet trap may also provide means to recycle bullet materials and/or prevent release of toxic heavy metals (such as lead dust from fragmented bullets) from the shooting range. Some bullet traps include a negative-pressure system to filter dust from air within the impact zone and capture area.^[1]

Deceleration traps

Deceleration-type bullet traps direct bullets into a helical or circular chamber in which the bullet will slide against the curved chamber wall until it gradually loses velocity from friction and drops to the bottom of the chamber, where it can be later collected. For use with multiple firing positions, the helical chamber often resembles a horizontal pipe, into which bullets are directed by upper and lower steel plates. The upper plate slopes downward and the lower plate slopes upward to a horizontal slot in the side of the helical chamber. Alternatively, some narrow deceleration traps for single firing positions employ vertical plates to direct bullets into a helical deceleration chamber resembling a vertical pipe from which spent bullets drop out the lower end.^[1] Lightweight versions suitable for capturing airgun pellets are often used behind electronic scoring systems on ranges configured for ISSF 10 metre airgun events. The plate slopes are shallow (about 18° ) so bullets may be deflected relatively intact rather than disintegrated upon impact. Some deceleration traps use an oil or water coating to reduce friction and capture dust.^[2]

Impact traps

Impact-type bullet traps typically use vertical or angled 500 Brinell scale steel plate at least 3⁄8 in (9.5 mm) thick for centrefire cartridges.^[3] Plate thickness of 0.16–0.24 inches (4–6 mm) may be adequate for rimfire ammunition. Sloping plates deflect bullets downward into sand, water or some other capture material; but the plate angle is often steep enough to largely disintegrate the bullet upon initial impact, and bullets are expected to disintegrate upon impacting vertical plates to prevent dangerous backward ricochets. Shooter protection for firing positions within 25 metres (82 ft) of the impact plate may require an anti-splash curtain of self-healing material hung in front of the plate to contain any fragments of “back splash” as well as dust. Rifle bullets may be partially melted by the energy of bullet impact. The spray of molten metal may solidify as dust, and soft lead bullets often leave a smear of lead upon impacting the steel plate. Smeared metal may be converted to additional airborne dust by subsequent bullet impact.^[2]

The popularity of vertical plate installations for indoor ranges is largely down to their minimal footprint compared with sand, granular or helical bullet traps and can consume less than 1 foot (30 cm) of a room’s available length—comprising the thickness of the steel plate, the thickness of the anti-splash curtain and 10 to 11 inches of air gap between.^[4] However, sloping steel plates will tend to wear less quickly—particularly on precision target ranges where fixed targets result in fire being concentrated into small areas. In such cases, small sloping plates or sacrificial vertical wear plates may be placed behind the targets as the primary bullet trap, whilst a large vertical plate covers the remainder of the wall as the defence zone to catch errant shots. The small plates can be easily changed as frequently as necessary whilst the main back wall will need little maintenance from occasional scattered fire.

Friction traps

Friction bullet traps slow and capture the bullet more gently than steel plates. This allows more effective capture of contaminants and reduces the production of dust as well as allowing for the capture of higher energy projectiles which would wear an impact trap too quickly and necessitate uneconomical levels of maintenance. The most common form of friction trap is a berm of granular material such as sand; earth or granulated rubber. In some circumstances a wall of railway ties, intact vehicle tires or blocks of shock-attenuating concrete (SACON) or other proprietary materials may be used.^[1] SACON is a fiber-reinforced concrete substituting expanded polystyrene beads for gravel aggregate.^[5] For ISSF 50 metre rifle events, individual bullet traps comprising a metal box filled with plastic beads are often used behind the electronic scoring systems used for such events. Such systems require less space than earthen berms whilst being quieter than steel impact or deceleration traps, which can be a significant consideration for urban outdoor range complexes. Individual bullet traps of this nature would typically be backed by a concrete wall to protect from negligent discharges or mechanical failures causing a bullet to miss the target entirely but which is not expected to be struck during the course of normal firing. Intact vehicle tyres are generally only suitable for higher energy projectiles which will easily penetrate their surface. Handgun bullets and shotgun pellets may ricochet back. Granulated rubber (often from shredded tires) is a convenient capture material from which bullets may be separated by gravity during agitation by subsequent bullet impact.

Weapon Unloading Facility

A weapon unloading facility or weapon clearing station is an area provided for loading or unloading firearms safely, for instance when a patrol returns to a base, or a guard returns their firearm to an armoury after their duty.^[6]

Usually comprising a deceleration trap ("snail trap") or a sand-filled box, the firearm is aimed into the facility whilst loading and unloading. A discharge will be safely contained in the event of a mechanical failure during loading, or a procedural error during unloading that leaves a round chambered.

Related Research Articles

Gun safety is the study and practice of managing risk when using, transporting, storing and disposing of firearms, airguns and ammunition in order to avoid injury, illness or death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5.56×45mm NATO</span> Service rifle cartridge

The 5.56×45mm NATO is a rimless bottlenecked centerfire intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, L110, and SS111 cartridges. On 28 October 1980, under STANAG 4172, it was standardized as the second standard service rifle cartridge for NATO forces as well as many non-NATO countries. Though they are not identical, the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge family was derived from and is dimensionally similar to the .223 Remington cartridge designed by Remington Arms in the early 1960s.

A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. They are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax; and are made in various shapes and constructions, including specialized functions such as hunting, target shooting, training, and combat. Bullets are often tapered, making them more aerodynamic. Bullet size is expressed by weight and diameter in both imperial and metric measurement systems. Bullets do not normally contain explosives but strike or damage the intended target by transferring kinetic energy upon impact and penetration.

A cartridge, also known as a round, is a type of pre-assembled firearm ammunition packaging a projectile, a propellant substance and an ignition device (primer) within a metallic, paper, or plastic case that is precisely made to fit within the barrel chamber of a breechloading gun, for convenient transportation and handling during shooting. Although in popular usage the term "bullet" is often used to refer to a complete cartridge, the correct usage only refers to the projectile.

An air gun or airgun is a gun that uses energy from compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized and then released to propel and accelerate projectiles, similar to the principle of the primitive blowgun. This is in contrast to a firearm, which shoots projectiles using energy generated via exothermic combustion (deflagration) of chemical propellants, most often black powder or smokeless powder.

A ricochet is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost as dangerous as before the deflection. The possibility of ricochet is one of the reasons for the common firearms safety rule "Never shoot a bullet at a flat, hard surface." Ricochets can occur with any caliber, but short or round ricocheting bullets may not produce the audible whine caused by tumbling irregular shapes. Ricochets are a hazard of shooting because, for as long as they retain sufficient velocity, ricocheting bullets or bullet fragments may cause collateral damage to animals, objects, or even the person who fired the shot.

External ballistics or exterior ballistics is the part of ballistics that deals with the behavior of a projectile in flight. The projectile may be powered or un-powered, guided or unguided, spin or fin stabilized, flying through an atmosphere or in the vacuum of space, but most certainly flying under the influence of a gravitational field.

A gun barrel is a crucial part of gun-type weapons such as small firearms, artillery pieces, and air guns. It is the straight shooting tube, usually made of rigid high-strength metal, through which a contained rapid expansion of high-pressure gas(es) is used to propel a projectile out of the front end (muzzle) at a high velocity. The hollow interior of the barrel is called the bore, and the diameter of the bore is called its caliber, usually measured in inches or millimetres.

Internal ballistics, a subfield of ballistics, is the study of the propulsion of a projectile.

A shotgun cartridge, shotshell, or shell is a type of rimmed, cylindrical (straight-walled) ammunition used specifically in shotguns. It is typically loaded with numerous small, spherical sub-projectiles called shot. Shotguns typically use a smoothbore barrel with a tapered constriction at the muzzle to regulate the extent of scattering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vehicle armour</span> High-strength plating used to fortify important vehicles against bullets, shells etc.

Military vehicles are commonly armoured to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, shells, rockets, and missiles, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include armoured fighting vehicles like tanks, aircraft, and ships.

A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue, or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice, or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by military or law enforcement agencies, though the majority of ranges are privately owned by civilians and sporting clubs and cater mostly to recreational shooters. Each facility is typically overseen by one or more supervisory personnel, known as a Range Officer (RO), or sometimes a range master in the United States. Supervisory personnel are responsible for ensuring that all safety rules and relevant laws are followed at all times.

The lock of a firearm is the mechanism used to initiate firing. It is a historical term, in that it generally refers to such mechanisms used in muzzle-loading and early breech-loading firearms. Side-lock refers to the type of construction, in which the individual components of the mechanism are mounted either side of a single plate. The assembly is then mounted to the stock on the side of the firearm. In modern firearm designs, the mechanism to initiate firing is generally constructed within the frame or receiver of the firearm and is referred to as the firing or trigger mechanism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jatimatic</span> Finnish submachine gun

The Jatimatic is a Finnish 9×19mm Parabellum submachine gun developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Jali Timari. The submachine gun made its debut in 1983. The Jatimatic was manufactured in very limited numbers initially by Tampereen Asepaja Oy of Tampere and later—Oy Golden Gun Ltd. The firearm was designed primarily for police, security forces and armored vehicle crews. It was never adopted into service by the Finnish Defence Forces, although the later GG-95 PDW version was tested by the FDF in the 1990s.

The .408 Cheyenne Tactical (designated 408 Chey Tac by the C.I.P. is a specialized rimless, bottlenecked, centerfire cartridge for military long-range sniper rifles that was developed by Dr. John D. Taylor and machinist William O. Wordman. The round was designed with a possible military need for a cartridge for anti-personnel, anti-sniper, and anti-materiel roles with a precision range of 2,200 yards. It is offered as a competitor to the most common military NATO long-range service cartridges such as .338 Lapua Magnum and the .50 BMG.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pellet (air gun)</span> Non-spherical projectile designed to be shot from an air gun

A pellet is a non-spherical projectile designed to be shot from an air gun, and an airgun that shoots such pellets is commonly known as a pellet gun. Air gun pellets differ from bullets and shot used in firearms in terms of the pressures encountered; airguns operate at pressures as low as 50 atmospheres, while firearms operate at thousands of atmospheres. Airguns generally use a slightly undersized projectile that is designed to obturate upon shooting so as to seal the bore, and engage the rifling; firearms have sufficient pressure to force a slightly oversized bullet to fit the bore in order to form a tight seal. Since pellets may be shot through a smoothbore barrel, they are often designed to be inherently stable, much like the Foster slugs used in smoothbore shotguns.

The following are terms related to firearms and ammunition topics.

The C14 Timberwolf MRSWS is a bolt-action sniper rifle built by the Canadian arms company PGW Defence Technologies Inc. In 2005 they won the contract to supply the Canadian Forces Land Command with the C14 Timberwolf MRSWS for $4.5 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic scoring system</span>

Electronic scoring systems or electronic targets are automated scoring systems used for sport shooting where the shot placement and score is automatically calculated using electronics and presented on screens to the organizer and shooters. The score may also be shown on a big screen for audience at the shooting range, improving the spectator experience.

In ranged weapons such as firearms and artillery pieces, the act of sighting in or sight-in is a preparatory or corrective calibration of the sights with the goal of having the projectile placed on a predictable impact position in relation to the sight picture. The principle of sighting-in is to shift the line of aim until it intersects the parabolic projectile trajectory at a designated point of reference, so when the gun is fired in the future it will repeatably hit where it aims at identical distances of that designated point.

References

1 2 3 Evans, D.D.; Young, R.S. "Bullet Trap Feasibility Assessment and Implementation Plan" (PDF). United States Army Environmental Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
1 2 Boyles, Carolee Anita (Winter 2011). "Backing and Trapping" (PDF). The Range Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
↑ Wilcher, Larry D. "Use of Bullets Traps and Steel Targets" (PDF). United States Department of Energy . Retrieved 3 March 2017.
↑ "Defence ranges safety (JSP 403 Volume 2, Chapter 3: Indoor Ranges)" (PDF). UK Ministry of Defence. 20 May 2015. pp. 6–8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
↑ Hathaway, Mike K. "Shock-Absorbing Concrete Bullet Traps for Small Arms Ranges". United States Environmental Protection Agency . Retrieved 3 March 2017.
↑ "JSP 403 - Chapter 32 - Weapon Unloading Facilities" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. pp. 1–3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2024.

External links

UK Ministry of Defence Range Construction Guidelines (JSP 403 Volume 2)

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[usa-1] 1 2 3 Evans, D.D.; Young, R.S. "Bullet Trap Feasibility Assessment and Implementation Plan" (PDF). United States Army Environmental Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.

[cab-2] 1 2 Boyles, Carolee Anita (Winter 2011). "Backing and Trapping" (PDF). The Range Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2020.

[3] Wilcher, Larry D. "Use of Bullets Traps and Steel Targets" (PDF). United States Department of Energy . Retrieved 3 March 2017.

[JSP403-4] "Defence ranges safety (JSP 403 Volume 2, Chapter 3: Indoor Ranges)" (PDF). UK Ministry of Defence. 20 May 2015. pp. 6–8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2017.

[5] Hathaway, Mike K. "Shock-Absorbing Concrete Bullet Traps for Small Arms Ranges". United States Environmental Protection Agency . Retrieved 3 March 2017.

[6] "JSP 403 - Chapter 32 - Weapon Unloading Facilities" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. pp. 1–3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2024.

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