7/23/2019 Bullet Trap Comparisons, Pt. 1

1/18

BULLET TRAP COMPARISONS (PT. 1)By:Ac'onTarget

7/23/2019 Bullet Trap Comparisons, Pt. 1

2/18

Formanyyears,bullettraptechnologyhasbeen

miredinconfusion,misunderstanding,and

misinforma'on.Thevariousapproachestobullet

containmentanddisposalhavebecomeasdiverseastheyarenumerous.Thepurposeofthisar'cleisto

provideaccurateinforma'onandvaluableeduca'on

byexaminingvariousbullettraptheories,

technologies,andapplica'onsinanobjec'vemanner.

7/23/2019 Bullet Trap Comparisons, Pt. 1

3/18

TYPES OF BULLET TRAPS

SandorDirtBerm

PitandPlateTrap

WaterandPlateTrap

Vene'anBlindTrap

TheEscalatorTrap

7/23/2019 Bullet Trap Comparisons, Pt. 1

4/18

THE SAND OR DIRT BERM

Thesandordirtbermusesthemass

ofthebermitselftostopandstore

bullets,andonoutdoorrangescanliterallybethesideofamountain;on

indoorrangeshowever,sometypeof

structureorbarricadeisgenerally

usedtosupportthebermandhold

backthesand.

7/23/2019 Bullet Trap Comparisons, Pt. 1

5/18

THE SAND OR DIRT BERM

Concentra'onsoflead(calledhotspots)

canformbehindtargetscausing

subsequentshotstoricochetandbounce

backtowardtheshooter.

Sandanddirtbermsarecomingunder

increasinglyharshenvironmentalscru'ny

duetohighleadlevelsintheground

aroundthetrapandthetendencyofthe

leadtoseepintosurroundingground

water.

7/23/2019 Bullet Trap Comparisons, Pt. 1

6/18

THE SAND OR DIRT BERM

Ul'mately,benefitsofasandberminclude

lowcost,rela'velylowmaintenance,and

theabilitytouseanykindofammuni'on.

Weaknessesincludepoten'al

environmentalhazards,expensivemining,

andhotspotricochet.

7/23/2019 Bullet Trap Comparisons, Pt. 1

7/18

THE PIT AND PLATE TRAP

Inapitandplatetrap,asteelplateisused

toredirectbulletsintoabedofsand.

ThesteelisoRencalledaSmashplatebecausetheacuteanglecausesbulletsto

smashintosmallpiecesonimpactbefore

theyarescaeredonthesandbelow.

Undermoderatetoheavyuse,athicklead

build-upcandevelopinthebackcornerof

thetrapcausingbulletstobedeflected

backtowardtheshooter.

7/23/2019 Bullet Trap Comparisons, Pt. 1

8/18

THE PIT AND PLATE TRAP

Thebenefitsofapitandplatetrapinclude

lowerini'alcostandsimpleinstalla'on.

Weaknessesincludebulletfragmenta'ononimpact,leadbuild-up,ricochet,and

highmaintenance.

7/23/2019 Bullet Trap Comparisons, Pt. 1

9/18

THE WATER AND PLATE TRAP

Awaterandplatetrapissimilartothepit

andplatetrap,exceptthesandisreplaced

byalargetroughofwater;bulletss'll

fragmentintosmallerpiecesaRerimpact,

butbulletfragmentssimplysplashintothe

waterandsinktotheboomofthe

trough.

7/23/2019 Bullet Trap Comparisons, Pt. 1

10/18

THE WATER AND PLATE TRAP

Leadmustbeshoveledorscoopedfrom

thewateranddisposeofitproperly.

Thewaterinthetroughmustbereplenishedduetoevapora'on,andthe

evapora'oncancauseincreasedrange

humidityandven'la'onsystemproblems.

Thebenefitsofawaterandplatetrap

includelowerleaddustlevelsandno

ricochetoffotherbullets.

Weaknessesincludebulletfragmenta'on

onimpact,maintenanceofthewater,and

thelimita'ontoindooruseonly.

7/23/2019 Bullet Trap Comparisons, Pt. 1

11/18

THE VENETIAN BLIND TRAP

AVene'anBlindtrapusesaseriesof

angledsteelsmashplatestoredirect

bulletstothebackandboomofthetrap,

withsomeversionsofthistrapincluding

smashplatesmountedlooselytohelp

absorbsomeofthebulletsenergy.

7/23/2019 Bullet Trap Comparisons, Pt. 1

12/18

THE VENETIAN BLIND TRAP

Tokeepbulletsplaerfrombouncingback

attheshooter,rubbercurtainsareoRen

mountedacrosstheen'refaceofthetrap.

Becauserubberisdestroyedevery'meits

shot,thesecurtainsmustbereplacedor

patchedfrequentlytomaintaintheir

effec'veness.

7/23/2019 Bullet Trap Comparisons, Pt. 1

13/18

THE VENETIAN BLIND TRAP

Thebenefitsofavene'anblindtrap

includethedurabilityofsteel,nosandor

granules,andasmallfloorspace

requirement.

Weaknessesincludebulletfragmenta'on

onimpact,splaerandricochet,noclose-

rangeshoo'ng,andmaintenanceofthe

rubbercurtains.

7/23/2019 Bullet Trap Comparisons, Pt. 1

14/18

THE ESCALATOR TRAP

Theescalatortrapisanotherold-fashioned

steeltrapthatusessteeplyangledsmash

platestostopbulletsanddirectthe

fragmentstoanopencollec'onarea.

7/23/2019 Bullet Trap Comparisons, Pt. 1

15/18

THE ESCALATOR TRAP

Somemanufacturersrecommendthatthe

impactplatesbecoatedwithoiltoreduce

fragmenta'on,however,thisoilcanbe

washedawayintothesurroundingsoilif

thetrapisnotprotectedfromthe

elementsinoutdoorapplica'ons.

Thesamesystemofprotec'verubber

curtainsmayalsobenecessarywiththis

trapduetotheacuteangleofitssteel

smashplates.

7/23/2019 Bullet Trap Comparisons, Pt. 1

16/18

THE ESCALATOR TRAP

Benefitsofanescalatortrapincludethe

durabilityofsteelandnosandorrubber

granules.

Weaknessesincludebulletfragmenta'on

onimpact,noclose-rangeshoo'ng,

maintenanceoftherubbercurtains,and

poorleadstorageandcollec'on.

7/23/2019 Bullet Trap Comparisons, Pt. 1

17/18

Althoughbullettraptechnologyhasbeenmiredin

confusion,misunderstanding,andmisinforma'on,

thatdoesntmeanthatbullettrapconstruc'onneeds

tobeconfusingordifficult.

Ac'onTargetsrangeexpertscanhelpanyshoo'ng

rangegetanswerstotheirques'ons,ensuringthat

therangehasacost-effec've,efficient,and-morethananything-safebullettrap.

7/23/2019 Bullet Trap Comparisons, Pt. 1

18/18

eadmoreandcommentbyvisi'ng

www.Ac'onTarget.comandclickonAc'onTargetJournal

- OR -

Gettheredirectlyat

www.Ac'onTarget.com/bullet-trap-comparisons-pt-1