Blue Collar Prepping: Product Review: Champion Traps and Targets .22 Bullet Trap

Monday, April 23, 2018

Product Review: Champion Traps and Targets .22 Bullet Trap

& is used with permission.

I was recently given a SimpleShot Torque slingshot as a survival tool. I was intrigued by the notion of having a compact, low-tech means of gathering food for a bug-out bag, so I picked up a Marksman Laserhawk at my local Walmart so I could compare the two.

Before I could test them, though, I needed a proper backstop. As a responsible gun owner I know that I am responsible for every bullet that I fire, and that applies to shot launched from a sling as well. Ideally, I wanted a backstop that would not only stop launched stop, but also hold a target.

Enter the .22 Bullet Trap by Champion. I bought this last year when I was given a .177 air gun and needed a backstop for it, as well. Due to the exceptionally high pressures that my air gun produced, it would end up shooting through all of the air gun traps I could find, so I ended up buying a trap that was robust enough for a .22LR bullet. My thinking was "If it will stop a .22 caliber propelled by gunpowder, it will definitely stop a .177 caliber pellet propelled by air."

It did, and quite handily at that; the .177 projectiles hit the trap and disintegrated, the pieces falling into a catch-basin at the bottom. I haven't yet shot it with a .22LR (the neighbors would object to the noise and it would violate local ordinances, and the local range won't let me shoot at anything other than paper), but as you can imagine, it is both well-suited and ridiculously overbuilt for catching slung shot.

I'm still learning how to use my slingshots*, so a review of them will have to wait, but I am very pleased with my Champion trap.

https://amzn.to/2HWoW7l

Pros

It's solidly built, as you would expect from a steel trap meant to catch bullets.
It comes with a clip to hold paper targets.
The catch-basin makes cleanup a breeze and prevents lead pollution.
The angle of the trap deflects any ricochets downward. All airgun pellets disintegrated, but the steel shot I was using would sometimes bounce off the back plate and come to rest an inch or two in front of the trap.

Cons

It's a hefty 22 pounds, as you would expect from a steel trap meant to catch bullets.
It's welded steel, so it can't fold up for storage. Once you buy it, you're stuck with a roughly cubic foot of steel trap.
Although it comes with a protective coating, even .177 pellets at 30 feet removed the paint where they hit. Be wary of rust in the target area if you leave it outside!
It's not cheap. Retail is $90ish; Amazon has it for $70 and free shipping for Prime members.

My Rating: A+

Yes, it's hefty. Yes, it's large. Yes, it's expensive. But despite all that, I feel that this product is a tremendous value for your money, because if you treat it right it will last a very long time, and you can use it for air rifle and slingshot practice as well as .22 shooting.

*One Last Thing...
If you do decide to get a slingshot, it can often be difficult to find the point of impact if you miss the target completely. If you find this is the case, pick up a container of Powder Balls. For $10 you get a bottle of 50 balls that explode in a cloud of chalk-like dust when you hit. These are a great way of learning your slingshot's elevation and windage (especially if you are new to the hobby and worried about hitting your expensive slingshot in the fork with a steel ball), or as a way for children to learn marksmanship without worrying if they will injure themselves or others. Plus, they're biodegradable!