Amazon.com Reviews
Average Rating: 4.0 out of 5 Stars
The following review received 17 helpful votes out of 17 total votes:Review Date: 2005-03-27"Handy, sturdy and ideal for the indoor range"I've been using this trap for quite some time and find it to be very compact and handy for indoor range shooting. The metal is the heaviest guage with which I have personal experience in a commercial pellet trap; this is important due to the power of magnum air rifles that predominate in the US market and for shooting at close range (25 to 33 feet).
The trap is mounted to your solid backstop by hanging it on a single, sheet metal screw. It is, therefore, very essential that the screw be as tight to the backstop as possible because the impact of pellets can and will cause the trap to move and pivot your group to the left or right. I've considered modifying the keyhole to allow for a larger sheet metal screw, but have not done so as yet. A second keyhole would be better, but to add one after purchase would be beyond the average consumer. Another negative is that the pellets tend to collect toward the front of the trap behind the target instead of in the well that is at the rear of the trap; when you remove the target, the pellets fall out the front of the trap onto the floor. This is a little inconvenient but not much more than the bits of paper that pellets punch out of the targets especially with match (wadcutter) pellets -- they end up on the floor, too. This trap does not use ballistic putty so that's one less thing to mess around with.
All of the fired pellets do not remain in the trap, and at first this fact was disconcerting. While it's impossible for me to say why they get out, my experience shows about 10% do. They seem to either fly out the top of the well at the back of the trap or they fall out at the bottom front of the trap. There is a slot into which the target is inserted and held in place, but the slot doesn't extend the entire way across the bottom or sides so there is a gap between the target and the trap and the flattened pellets seem to slide out in that area. I have reduced the fliers by laying a rag over the hole at the top of the well. While I have used only match and pointed pellets in .177 caliber (4.5 mm), I definitely would NOT recommend the use of hunting or magnum pellets with this trap and DEFINITELY NOT BB's or round pellets.
The targets from Gamo are a perfect fit for this trap. Made of tagboard (a type of card stock), they are excellent for shooters who are interested in group size and accuracy. At distance, they are bright and easy to see with open sights, red dot or a riflescope.
All in all, this is a good value trap for the air rifle shooter especially with the most common .177 caliber (4.5 mm) pellets. 4 stars Review Date: 2008-02-04"One pellet, 2 holes in target"I agree with all of Daniel R's review, but first time I fired at my target with my CROSMAN PHANTOM (a really nice 1,000 fps break action spring pellet rifle) using a pointed lead pellet from 25 ft I noticed 2 holes in my NRA paper target. A piece of the disintegrated pellet had ricocheted out of the trap back through the target. This happens occasionally with fragments coming back and landing at my feet or bouncing off my jeans. ALLWAYS wear eye protection, everyone in area, when using any type powered projectile or power equipment.
Jim O (Cincinnati) 4 stars |
