Pellet trap/Target holder

I've been messing about trying to make a holder for A4 sized paper targets, i had been using a lump of wood and a pin to hold them previously.

Part of the idea was to put a bit of tension into the paper to keep it flat as it has nothing backing it up.

A couple of pics....


Starting off with a bit of 3mm plate to make a funnel to direct the pellets to the back




About a 4 inch square hole at the back...it could be too big and might need altering.





The start of the tube at the back that's supposed to collect the pellets





The tube finnished...the top is open but the bottom closed in. The back plate is 12mm thick





Top hinged plate covered in rubber to hold the top of the target.




The cam to hold and tension the bottom of the target...made from a tube with
a smaller round bar welded to one side (inside).




A bit of a spring tension sort of device so the bottom cam can be removed for any repairs.





Glueing rubber onto the cam so it can get a bit of grip on the paper target.





Top plate and bottom cam with a couple of 30mm round bars stuck on to give the clamping force






The bottom cam open with room to slide the target in behind it.






The bottom cam closed,






The clamping bits finished.






The bottom cam works well and pulls the target pretty tight.






It weighs in at around 12kg's at the mo so will need a reasonable stand to hold it up.
I'll have to see how it goes as to whether it needs any modifications.

i like that a lot , the cams a cracking idea , nicely done
i've used the bisley ones before where the target just slips in the front but yours looks a lot better

The only slight problem I can see is that your backplate is vertical and central so if your hitting the centre of the target you'll hit the plate straight on and likely get ricochets. You'd be better with the backplate at a 45ish degree angle to deflect the pellets down. What are you shooting at it that needs a 12mm back plate?

Thanks Chris....i'm just printing out targets from a pdf so they are pretty thin and i thought a bit of tension might help.


I can see what you mean outofthefire ...i might alter that tomorrow to have an angled plate at the back.
The 12mm just happened to be the right width.

i don't see it been a problem , the bisley and the smk ones are made the same way ! i would guess a .177 or .22 pellet hitting the back of that will just flatten out and drop out the bottom , have you tested it out yet ? let us know how it goes please

I did have one shot at it but was a bit close...maybe 3-4 yds and i couldn't find too much lead left in the bottom.
I will experiment a bit tomorrow with a sensible distance and maybe an angled plate.

I have been an airgunner for years, odd as it is, cos i can have a proper .22 rifle on my licence as easy as an airgun!
Mind you i used to shoot a 50ftlb daystate huntsman with .22 bullet heads, done foxes and relished the magpies evertime i got them.hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm memories!!!!!!!
Sorry for hijacking your thread but ..................

hang a piece of heavy plastic mat inside against the back.... fork truck curtain or similar... no need to angle for what you are firing

Finished it off this afternoon by making a stand with adjustable height.

I gave it another try out and nothing seems to be flying out of it so i'll carry on with it as it is.



A bit of welding at the bottom of the stand.









What was caught in the bottom of the back tube.

I love the design, good ideas.

A good build thread and if you give up shooting, you could turn it into a microwave transmitter!

Fired a few pellets at it today and at about 25 yds they do seem to bounce back and mark the inside of the target.
So i might need to knock up an angled plate to fit in the back square tube.

All we did on the WWMLRA club grounds was use old building society plastic sign boards and use clothes pegs to hold the edges . We used thin white masking tape to cover the holes once in a while . the boart was clout nailed to a 2x2 post at the sides and it all stood up in one of those concrete feel you find on the security fencing at building sites.

The targets got anything from .177 hornets to 1/2 " from all sorts of rifles & muzzle loaders.. inc some very serious modified 7.65mm + modern military gear.

A bit of old carpet taped to the backplate might help to stop the ricochets and would cut down the noise too (although looking at your pics I'm guessing your neighbours are not too close)

JimM said:

(although looking at your pics I'm guessing your neighbours are not too close)

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Yeah but in todays namby pamby society etc what they dont know about they cant complain about.

hareng said:

Yeah but in todays namby pamby society etc what they dont know about they cant complain about.

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Aint that the truth, nothing better to do, I lived/worked on a farm, and the neighbour over half a mile away whined about me doing guitar practice.

Nice machine that, I thought you might have had issues with the paper spliiting in two when the pellet hits it with the tension accross it, but from the photos thats not an issue.
I used to make targets when I was at school, only with a micro switch connected to parts of the target, connected up to a car horn so you knew when you hit, now that would annoy the neighbours.

Nice pellet trap. Now show us your Rilfe.

shox dr said:

nice pellet trap. Now show us your rilfe.

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It's a Weihrauch HW100s .177

just shove some rag inside, an old towel or jumper will do. it is quite amazing how much it will slow a pellet down. no need to pack it tight either. it is also very quiet.
i chrono my rifles before each outing, better safe than sorry these days. i fire into a bag of rag in the garage never had any ricochet and they never penetrate more than a few layers.
i am still a fan of the old bell type targets for zeroing, simply a square steel plate with a 6mm hole in and a bicycle bell mounted behind the hole so that you know when you have hit. the plate can painted with a non drying white paint so you can tell what adjustment is required.
regards
bill

Nice rifle Wyn. Got a Mk1 Rapid myself, a long with a few centre fires. Mate has just bought a AA 400