I am going to fill a tote to contain/slow down .50 bmg bullets. I heAr sand works best How well would road millings or gravel work? Thanks
Pic of tote:
Pic of tote:
Back stop materials?
- Thread starter deersniper
- Start date
Tannerite Would make the best fill for that. Just sayin
I've filled a 5 gallon pale with dirt packed tight with a self healing target on the top, shooting length wise, Stops 100s of rounds of 300 Norma mag no problem. I don't see anything going through that thing you got. I would be more concerned about the dirt coming out and a good way to keep it in. Cutting a section out of the plastic and sealing it with a large self healing target, would work well.
Sand, dirt (cheapest choice) or gravel will all work equally well. If you cut away the metal over target area and fasten a section of conveyor belting, truck mud flap etc. (all pretty self sealing) it will help prevent your fill leaking out after a lot of shooting. Since you will have cut the top out to be able to fill the tote, you will need either periodic Round-up applications or some sort of top covering to prevent weeds from becoming an eye-sore.
The More dense the material the better off you’ll be. Sand or compacted dirt will work better than millings or gravel. Both are more angular leave natural void space making it not as efficient.
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If you want to really go for the gold placing the sand in about a foot or two at a time and vibrate the sand. Renting a concrete vibrator and tossing it in the water hauler would do the trick. Vibrating closes void space even in sand and will make it more dense while still allowing for it to have some give to the bullets unlike say concrete which would fracture.
I talked to a local range owner once. His backstop was the ground up tires. He said the 50BMG only penetrated about 18 inches....that is what he said, so take it for what it's worth.
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