# How do you catch a bullet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 30, 2004, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807 "2004-04-30T05:01:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/1 "2004-04-30T05:01:09Z")
As some of you may know, from the MPSIMS thread I started a few weeks ago, I have been involved in a search for sources of silver bullets. Well, I got one, and will soon be the proud owner of eight silver bullets. (Finished rounds, I mean, ready to fire.) So, I intend to fire one, to be sure that they work, and then load the other seven into a magazine to keep, just in case. (Silly? Perhaps, but think how silly it would be to need one, and not have it.) I want to fire it over at least 15 yards, so as to know that it flies true, and I also want to fire two regular rounds, one before, and one after, to be sure that it loads, fires, and ejects appropriately from my pistol. Now, these suckers are expensive! So, we come to the point of my OP. How do you catch a bullet? I need a portable target that will reliably stop three rounds, and hopefully not entirely destroy the slugs. My best advice so far is a plastic trashcan filled with wet newspaper, crammed in tight and shoot into the open end, with the trashcan horizontal. (That way I can tape a target over the open end, to measure accuracy.) Any idea what sort of shape the bullet would be in after this? (999 fine silver, pretty soft, but harder than lead.) Would it reliably stop a bullet fired from a .45 ACP with a standard load? Would it knock it over, or off a pair of sawhorses? (I figure a trashcan load of wet paper is fairly massy.) This has to be the right place to find this bit of esoteric knowledge. Thanks Tris ---
**Author:** ![Thaumaturge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Thaumaturge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thaumaturge)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/2 "2004-04-30T05:11:53Z")
I think a barrel full of sand is your best, cheapest bet. Tape a cloth over the end to keep it from spilling out. ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/3 "2004-04-30T05:19:42Z")
Well, I don’t want to pick a fight with anyone who considers a barrel of sand to be portable, but. . . Anyone else thinking of something a bit lighter? 🙂 Tris ---
**Author:** ![Thaumaturge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Thaumaturge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thaumaturge)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/4 "2004-04-30T05:19:50Z")
Forgot to add: I think the bullet would likely go comepletely through a plastic trashcan full of wet newspaper and get lost somewhere on the other side. I’ve shot up various things for fun, and it’s sometimes surprising how far bullets can penetrate. For the sand, use one of those 55 gallon steel cans, sure it will be heavy, but the bullet won’t go through. To find the bullet, just use a seive. Hard to say how damaged it will be, since I’ve never dug up one of the many bullets I’ve shot into the ground, which would likely have similar damage. ---
**Author:** ![Thaumaturge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Thaumaturge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thaumaturge)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/5 "2004-04-30T05:23:59Z")
Ahh…you want portable…a 4x4 peice of wood will stop most bullets( Has succesfully stopped magnum rounds in my experience), but likely cause more damage than sand will. You just have to determine it’s size by how well you think you can hit a target when you don’t want to lose the bullet and you are shooting from 15 yards. I guess you could burn it to get the bullet back…though that would damage the bullet more. ---
**Author:** ![Danalan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/6 "2004-04-30T05:25:47Z")
NOT sand! Every bullet I ever fired into sand just plain vaporized. Even if the silver can handle it, the sand will erode the bullet to some degree. Get a big water bottle, like from the cooler at work. Fill it with water, then blast away. A busy office going through a lot of water won’t miss one empty bottle – although security could be a problem. You could get some blue coveralls and a clipboard… Actually, I think I’ve seen large water bottles for sale at some upscale groceries. If you’re concerned that the bullet will penetrate, use several bottles in line. If you fill the bottles with a really thick gelatin (think super Knox blocks), you may get even better results. ---
**Author:** ![Danalan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/7 "2004-04-30T05:28:50Z")
Better, more portable, cheaper idea: plastic milk jugs full of water (or gelatin). Since you’re talking about ‘bench’ shooting, you can line up 20 jugs if you like. The bullet will be in the last half-empty one… ---
**Author:** ![Thaumaturge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Thaumaturge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thaumaturge)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/8 "2004-04-30T05:33:34Z")
If you don’t shoot exactly in-line, and have the bottles similarly perfectly in-line, the bullet could possibly get deflected and go who-knows where. I would hardly call that safe. I thought of the gel or a deep barrel of water, but that would require firing downwards, and the OP wanted to shoot from 15 yards away. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/9 "2004-04-30T05:49:35Z")
> [@Triskadecamus](#): > > As some of you may know, from the MPSIMS thread I started a few weeks ago, I have been involved in a search for sources of silver bullets. You have a problem with Werewolves in your area ? Declan ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/10 "2004-04-30T06:59:38Z")
Check out [http://www.actiontarget.com/Bullet\_Traps.htm](http://www.actiontarget.com/Bullet_Traps.htm). Sounds like shredded rubber is the material you want. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/11 "2004-04-30T07:05:29Z")
Got a swimming pool? or a friend with one? ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/12 "2004-04-30T07:45:16Z")
- - - At old “woods” shooting spots, I have seen.45 FMJ bullets wash out of dirt embankments, nearly unscratched. How far they originally _went in_ to the dirt I don’t know, however. I never recovered “unexpanded” hollowpoints from any pistol caliber that I recall however, so if your ammo is hollowpoint, you may be SOL. - What I would do is a variation on the plastic sand-filled bucket: fill it with sand, and then pour water into it until the water rises just above the sand. That’s about the easiest, cheapest “heavy” material you will find. Or you could use dirt+water/mud I suppose, but sand would be heavier. You want the bullet to have at least 3 feet of -whatever- to travel through, so use as many buckets as needed to accomplish that. … - And you will _want_ to be at least a few yards away, because at least some of that sand (or mud) is probably going to go _flying_ out the top of those buckets… ~ ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/13 "2004-04-30T09:49:39Z")
Through my childhood, I heard this, “An arrow can pierce through a phone book, where as a bullet can’t”. Guess that’s a myth then? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/14 "2004-04-30T09:58:05Z")
> [@Danalan](#): > > Better, more portable, cheaper idea: plastic milk jugs full of water (or gelatin). Since you’re talking about ‘bench’ shooting, you can line up 20 jugs if you like. The bullet will be in the last half-empty one… I think the last one will actually be half _full_. ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@matt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/15 "2004-04-30T11:02:28Z")
> [@Who Stole My Name?](#): > > Through my childhood, I heard this, “An arrow can pierce through a phone book, where as a bullet can’t”. Guess that’s a myth then? Re my GQ question on .380 ACP penetration, **Brutus** kindly reported that a phone book stopped his 9mm x 18 rounds. More powerful rounds might not be stopped. Not sure about the penetration of an arrow though - I guess it would vary depending upon the arrowhead, bow draw strength and range. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=243984&highlight=briefcase+wadded](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=243984&highlight=briefcase+wadded) ---
**Author:** ![svirone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@svirone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svirone)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/16 "2004-04-30T11:18:10Z")
I’m surprised no one brought up the episode of the Sopranos from a few weeks ago…I phone book might just work. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/17 "2004-04-30T12:56:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Ahh…you want portable…a 4x4 peice of wood will stop most bullets( Has succesfully stopped magnum rounds in my experience), Odd. In my experiance, a 4x4 wouldn’t stop anything except a .22. And probably not a .22 magnum. What kind of magnums are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/18 "2004-04-30T13:05:03Z")
Just use a really, really fat werewolf. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/19 "2004-04-30T13:13:25Z")
The bullets may be expensive to purchase as individually crafted items, but at 6.00 per oz the metal value of a the silver contained in a bullet is not likely to be great enough to justify the effort for recovery scheme that involve any real expense or effort. ---
**Author:** ![dec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@dec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dec)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807/20 "2004-04-30T13:37:34Z")
I can tell you from personal experience, the swimming pool works just fine. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-catch-a-bullet/242807.md?page=2)