GB2290370A - 'Encapsulator' dual-system bullet catcher for use in lead-free indoor ranges - Google Patents

Abstract

A bullet catcher for use with firearms in indoor ranges comprises a first portion 1 for use behind target positions, and a second portion 4 for use in the remaining areas. The first portion consists of an open-faced Butts a containing one or more shelves 2 stacked with fine granules of soft, unvulcanised, synthetic rubber 3 with the surface of the stacks of granules sloping down towards the shooter. The second portion consists of a Wall comprising a front plate of a self-sealing plastic material a rear plate of steel, plywood or a range wall, a series of vertical stiffeners between the front and rear plates and the spaces in between the front and rear plates filled with coarse granules of soft, unvulcanised, synthetic rubber. <IMAGE>

Description

"ENCAPSULATOR" DUAL-SYSTEM BULLET CATCHER FOR USE IN LEAD-FREE INDOOR RANGES This invention relates to a bullet catcher for use with small arms firearms shooting in indoor ranges that is safe and economical, allows easy separation of bullets from the bullet catcher and that is strongly anti-pollutant.

The present invention comprises a dual bullet catcher system: One portion of the bullet catcher is for use in areas of high shot concentration, such as directly behind target positions, and the other portion is for use in the remaining areas of the bullet catcher zone which receives less bullet impact.

The first portion consists of an open-faced Butts in the form of a horizontal bin containing one or more shelves stacked with fine granules of soft, unvulcanised, synthetic rubber of a size passing a 5 mm mesh sieve, with the piles of granules sloping down towards the shooter at the natural angle of repose of the fine granules and presenting at any point along its slope a backing of granules sufficient in horizontal depth to stop the calibre and energy of firearms projectile the bullet catcher is required to stop.

vhe second portion consists of a Wall comprising a front plate of a self-sealing plastic material commercialls- known as 'Gunpell-board', a rear plate of steel, plywood or a range wall, a series of vertical stiffeners between the front and rear plates also made of 'Gunpell-board', and the spaces in between the front and rear plate filled with coarse granules of soft, unvulcanised, synthetic rubber of a size passing a 15 mm mesh sieve.

In both the Butts and Wall portions of the bullet catcher the synthetic rubber granules safely stop firearms projectiles fired into it without shattering the bullets or creating lead dust and encapsulates the projectiles within the bullet catcher, thereby preventing contamination of the range atmosphere. The invention comprises materials that are not easily destroyed by firearms fire and therefore the apparatus is long-lasting, all materials can be recycled, and the invention allows easy and rapid separation of the bullets from the granules.

All safe firearms shooting regulations require that a bullet catcher be used to stop the fired projectiles. Conventional bullet catchers in indoor ranges are made of steel . These bullet catchers have several well-known disadvantages. Bullets striking steel bullet catchers shatter and thus increase the surface area of lead. The particles ie exposed and the lead dust and toxic vapours produced are difficult and expensive to remove from the range and in recent years have resulted in the closure of many otherwise satisfactory indoor ranges. In addition steel bullet catchers require the use of anti-splash rubber curtains as protection against bullet ricochet and splash back and these rapidly get shot away in the areas behind the targets.In theory these should be replaced or repaired immediately, as a safety measure, but in practice repairs are delayed due to time or money constraints, and shooters are exposed to bullet splash-back and ricochet.

There is a market for a safe and economical bullet catcher that is not easily destroyed by firearms fire, that safely stops all bullets fired into it without causing ricochets or splash back and without fragmenting the bullets, that encapsulates the bullets within the bullet catcher so that bullets are not exposed to the range atmosphere, that is conveniently de-leaded and whose materials can be recycled. Such a bullet catcher aill be safe and convenient to use and to maintain, inexpensive to purchase and which will substantially reduce lead pollution in indoor ranges.

An object of the present invention is to provide a bullet catcher for use with small arms firearms shooting that will carry out at least the following functions: (a) Allow the bullet catcher to be safe (b) Allow the bullet catcher to be economical (c) Allow the bullet catcher to be made from materials that are not easily destroyed by firearms fire (d) Allow all bullets fired into it to be stopped and to remain substantially whole without producing lead dust (e) Allow the bullets to remain encapsulated within the bullet catcher so that lead and lead vapours are locked in (f) Allow the bullet catcher to be easily de-leaded (g) Allow the bullet catcher materials to be recycled To this end apparatus according to the present invention comprises:: - means for allowing the bullet catcher to be safe - means for allowing the bullet catcher to be economical - means for allowing the bullet catcher to be made from materials that are not easily destroyed by firearms fire - means for allowing bullets fired into the bullet catcher to be stopped and to remain substantially whole without producing lead dust - means for allowing the bullets to remain encapsulated within the bullet catcher.

- means for allowing the bullet catcher to be easily de-leaded.

- means for allowing the bullet catcher materials to be recycled The preferred embodiment of the present invention is a bullet catcher that comprises two separate systems: A Butts portion and a Wall portion.

The Butts portion comprises the following parts: A steel bin protected against bullet ricochet and splash back containing one or more shelves stacked with fine granules of soft, unvulcanised, synthetic rubber of a size passing a 5 mm mesh sieve, with the piles of granules sloping down towards the shooter at the natural angle of repose of the fine granules and presenting at any point along its slope a backing of granules sufficient in horizontal depth to stop the calibre and energy of firearms projectile the bullet catcher is required to stop.The purpose of the steel bin with its shelves is to carry the fine granules and the purpose of the granules is to progressively slow down. stop and contain all the projectiles fired into it without causing bullets to ricochet or to produce splash back and without rendering itself unserviceable.

The Wail portion comprises the following parts: A frond plate of a self-sealing plastic material commercially known as 'Gunpell-boal d' which has the property of allowing firearms yrojectiles to pass through it and to then self-seal the bullet holes without suffering any substantial damage, a rear plate of steel, plywood or a range wall, a series of vertical stiffeners between the front and rear plates also made of 'Gunpell-board', and the spaces in between the front and rear plates filled with coarse granules of soft. unvulcanised, synthetic rubber of a size passing a 15 mm mesh sieve. The purpose of the front plate is to contain the coarse granules within the Wall and to allow projectiles to pass through it into the bullet catcher without any ricochet or splash-back. It will accept a plurality of bullet stakes without any bullet hole being produced. The purpose of the rear plaLe is to hoid the granules within the Wall and the purpose of the vertical stiffeners is to structurally support to the front plate from the rear plate. The purpose of the coarse granules is to progressively slow down, stop and contain all bullets fired into the Wall and to interlock together to form a plug for any hole that may be produced in the front plate and thereby prevent anp of the granules from spilling out of the Wall.

The depths of the coarse and fine granules varies with the calibre and energy of the firearms projectile the bullet catcher is required to stop. The depths are designed to allow all projectiles to come to rest entirely within the granules. Bullets are progressively slowed down and eventually stopped without fragmentation. Thus there are no fine particles of lead and no lead dust created. Also because the bullets remain encapsulated within the mass of granules there is no lead contamination to the range atmosphere. In the Butts portion of the bullet catcher the fine granules allow bullets to be separated from the granules by sieving as the fine granules pass through a 5 mm square mesh sieve, whilst all bullets of 0.22 inch and 5.56 mm calibres and greater are retained by the sieve.The projectiles that enter the Wall can be separated from the granules by removing the mixture of granules and bullets from under the front plate and picking out the substantially whole bullets by hand. The fine and coarse granules can be reused whilst the lead which remains uncontaminated can be recast into bullets or sold as pure lead or lead alloy. Thus all materials can be recycled.

Use of the preferred embodiment of the present invention gives rise to the following advantages: (1) It allows the bullet catcher to safe. Both the Butts and the Wall portions allow bullets to enter the bullet catcher without any ricochets or splash-back even when the bullets are fired at close distances and at acute angles to the bullet catcher. Thus the bullet catcher will be safe to use.

(2) It allows the bullet catcher to be economical. The heavy duty Butts portion is only required in the areas directly behind the targets while the remainder of the range back wall which forms the major area is covered with the Wall portion. This portion need not be as robust as the Butts portion and thus the overall costs can be kept low and will result in an economical dual system bullet catcher.

(3) It allows the bullet catcher to be durable against firearms fire. The vast majority of bullets fired in the range will strike the Butts portion and will be stopped by the fine granules without any damage being caused to the bullet catcher. Although the granules will deform in shape when struck by bullets their ability to function in their intended manner will not be diminished. The minority of bullets that strike the Wall portion will hit the 'Gunpell-board' front plate and enter the bullet catcher without rendering the front plate unserviceable. The stiffeners also being of 'Gunpell-board' will also remain substantially intact even if hit by a large number of bullets. All the component parts of the bullet catcher will be durable and thus the bullet catcher as a whole will remain serviceable for a long time.

(4) It allow all bullets fired into it to be stopped and to remain substantially whole without fragmentation or producing lead dust (5) The granules interlock loosely together to form a mass that restricts the flow of air to the atmosphere. In addition the bullets remain substantially whole with verv little fresh lead surface area produced which further limits the production of lead rrapours. Thus the toxic effects of lead will be locked in.

) Allow the bullet catcher to be easily de-leaded. The mixture of bullets and granules can be removed at any time and separated by sieving in the case of the Butts portion and bv hand picking in the case of the Wall portion.

(7) Allow the bullet catcher materials to be re-cycled. The fine and coarse granules can be continuously reused and the extracted lead can be recast into bullets or sold for other uses.

In order that the invention be well understood, the presently preferred embodiment thereof, which is given by wav of example only1 will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawling, ia which: Fig 1 shows the bullet catcher in front elevation Fig 2 shows the bullet catcher in sectional plan Fig 3 shows the bullet catcher in sectional side view A detailed description of the components of the invention followed by its operational functions are listed below with reference to the accompanying drawing: In Fig 1, item 1 is a bin with the front face open.

item 2 is a shelf in the bin. The rear portion of the shelf slopes from the back to the front.

item 3 is a mass of fine granules that rest on top of the shelf and slope from the back to the front.

Items 1, 2 and 3 form the Butts portion of the bullet catcher.

item 4 is a front plate made of 'tJunpell-board.' in Pig 2, item 5 is a rear plate made of steel, plywood or the back wall of the range. It is secured to the wall and floor of the range and forms a false wall.

item 6 is a vertical stiffener made of 'Gunpell-board' that is fixed to the rear and front plates and supports the front plate from the rear plate.

item 7 is a mass of coarse granules filled into the space between the front and rear plates.

Items 4, 5, 6 and 7 form the Wall portion of the bullet catcher.

item 8 is the back wall of the range.

items 9 are the side walls of the range.

items 10 are pieces of wood that cover the edges of the bullet catcher. These cover gaps at the top and bottom of the front plate which facilitate the filling and removal of the coarse granules from the Wall portion of the bullet catcher. They also trim the edges for cosmetic effect.

In Fig 3, item 11 is the floor of the range.

item 12 is the ceiling of the range.

OPERATION OF THE 'ENCAPSULATOR'

BULLET CATCHER Fire almsl?rojectiles fired in the range will hit either the Butts portion, items 1, 2 and 3 or the Wall portion, items 4, 5, 6 and 7, of the billet catcher.

The majority of these projectiles will hit the Butts portion and will enter the mass of fine granules, item 3, and be progressively slowed down and brought to rest with the mass of granules. The impact of the projectiles will not disturb the overall configuration of the fine granules hut merely cause them to splash upwards and to settle back again along the slope. A plurality of projectiles can be accommodated within the Butts portion without destroying the bullet catching function of the Butts. Apart from occasionallv raking the slope and removing spent bullets the Butts portion will require very little maintenance or replacement of parts.

A minority of projectiles will hit the Wall portion and will enter the bullet catcher through the front plate, item 4. The bullet hole produced in the front plate will instantly self-seal and thus prevent any of the coarse granules from falling out. The projectile will continue into the mass of coarse granules, item 7, where it will be stopped within the mass of granules. If a large number of projectiles strike the front plate in the same spot a small hole will eventually be produced. However even then no granules will exit the Wall, as the granules interlock together and form a plug around the hole. The granules themselves only suffer deformation when hit bv projectiles. Thus the Wall portion will likewise accept a plurality of bullet strikes without impairing the ability of the bullet catcher to stop bullets.

When a sufficient quantity of bullets are fired into the bullet catcher they can be extracted when required. In the Butts portion, thep are removed by pouring the contents of the bin through a 5 mm mesh sieve. The fine granules will pass through and fall into a receptacle and the bullets of 0.22 in. or 5.56 mm calibre and over will be retained on the sieve. In the Wall portion the contents can be withdrawn by removing the bottom wood piece, item 10, and digging out the mixture of granules and bullets through the gap at the bottom of the front plate. After hand picking out the substantially whole bullets, the granules can be replaced through the gap at the top of the front plate.

Although the invention is described as having a Butts portion and a Wall portion the bullet catcher can be used equally well with only one of the portions described.

Although the bullet catcher is described as having front plates made of 'Gunpell-board' the apparatus can be used equally well with front plates made of other self-sealing plastic, rubber, conveyor belt rubber, fabric or other materials.

Although the invention is described with granules made of soft unvulcanised synthetic rubber the invention can be used equally well with granules made of natural rubber or other materials.

Claims (2)

1) A Dual-System Bullet Catcher for use with small arms firearms in Lead-Free indoor ranges that combines a Butts portion in areas of high bullet concentration such as directly behind targets with a Wall portion in the remaining areas of the bullet catcher zone that do not receive a large number of bullet strikes: the Butts portion compflsing an open faced bin with one or more shelves stacked with fine granules of soft unvulcanised synthetic rubber of a size passing a 5 mm mesh sieve with the granules sloping down towards the shooter at the natural angle of repose of the fine granules and presenting at any point on the slope a backing of granules of sufficient depth to stop the calibre and energy of the fire arms projectile it is required to stop; the Wall portion comprising a front plate of a self-sealing material known commercially as 'Gunpell-board' a rear plate of steel plywood or a wall of the range a series of vertical stiffeners between the two plates also made of 'Gunpell-board' and the spaces between the front and rear plates filled with coarse granules of soft unvulcanised synthetic rubber of a size passing a 15 mm mesh sieve.

2) A bullet catcher as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the fine and coarse granules are of sizes different from those described 3) A bullet catcher as claimed in Claims 1 and 2, wherein the granules are of natural rubber or similar soft material 4) A bullet catcher as claimed in Claims 1, 2 and 3, wherein other self-sealing materials such as plastic or conveyor belt rubber pieces are used in place of 'Gllnpell-board' 5) A bullet catcher as claimed in Claim 1, wherein only the Butts portion or only the Wall portion of the bullet catcher is used