After using my cheap homemade silent pellet trap for a week or so, I decided I wanted something a little larger and more robust. So, I ordered one of Archer Airgun’s Classic Silent Pellet Traps in kit form. I put it together this week and used it for the first time this morning.
The kit is well designed and made. The two sides, top, bottom, and lower front piece are made from poplar. The back is 1/2” thick MDF (flake board). The front piece that slides in and holds the target is made from a clipboard with most of the inside cut out, leaving a frame around the edges. All the cutting and milling of slots is done for you. You need to provide glue, finishing nails, the duct seal filler, finish, and if you want a handle or feet you also need to provide them
To put the trap together I used Titebond III wood glue and some 1.5” finishing nails. Archer’s instructions recommened 1.25” nails but the longer nails are what I had. I drilled pilot holes for the nails before driving them in to prevent any splitting and minimize my tendency to bend nails.
Here’s how mine turned out:
I stained the outside with some Minwax cherry stain and a coat of Minwax tung oil finish. After it warms up I’ll probably take it outside and give it a coat or two of spray polyurethane.
I added a handle to make it easier to move around. It’s a door pull from Home Depot.
Here’s the inside after 30 rounds from my Geco Diana 27 Sport:
There are two layers of duct seal in the trap, 15 pounds’ worth. The pellets from the Diana 27 are stopped by the first layer.
Hidden by the duct seal is a piece of 22 gauge sheet steel. I had it left over from another project and felt it would be a good idea to add it to the back in case I shoot a more powerful air rifle into the trap. You can buy a suitable piece of 11 gauge steel sheet from Archer Airguns, also. I’d recommend it if you’ll be using the trap with a magnum airgun.
I added the piece of 2x4 scrap at the bottom. It sits against the back wall of the trap and behind the lower front piece. I’m not going to be shooting into that area so by adding the scrap wood, I was able to make the duct seal thicker because it didn’t have to cover that area.
One other thing I did that wasn’t in the kit instructions was to take a couple small blobs of duct seal and mush them into the bottom of the slots at the front of the trap. This will prevent any pellets from falling out.
The Archer Airguns Classic Silent Pellet Trap is a very nice accessory for airgun shooters. Using this kind of trap is much quieter than a steel trap, and less messy than a box filled with old newspapers. Highly recommended.
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