DIY .22/.177 Bullet Trap By: ElricFate

I was at the school I've been painting for a few months and decided I'd bug one of the electricians for a few spare parts. I grabbed a square electrical box and some electrical box covers. I brought it home and thought to myself, "What can I do with this?" ... So I grabbed some metal tape (duct sealing type with the grey goo on the other side of the metal tape, REAL STICKY STUFF!), and started putting together a .22 trap.

It was actually real simple. All I used was two large electrical box covers, three small electrical box covers, a chunk of steel girder (for reinforcing the back), metal duct sealing tape, some foam rubber pieces, regular duct tape (to cover the box after the fact), and a small piece of welding rod.

I made a crude diagram of how I put it together, and am going to include some pictures of the finished product. For targets I just cut out some cardboard pieces and stuck a few 1" targets from http://www.MyTargets.com .. I think it came out rather well. And because those electrical boxes are all steel, I know the bullets will stay IN the box. This is a fact that I've tested before, shooting the covers with a .22 from 15 yards with a subsonic load and they didn't even dent, they just made a ding sound and flattened out.

Here's the diagram, pretty crude, but it gives an explanation of why I did what I did. The support rod is two fold, 1) it keeps the walls from moving even the slightest bit, because I also reinforced all the seams where the metal meets with the electrical tape to force it into place, and 2) it keeps the electrical cover I used on the top to cover it from sliding backwards and it gave me a good mounting point for the plate, before I decided to put the piece of steel girder on the back to reinforce the back. As you can see, the back plate is at an angle to deflect the bullet downward into the foam rubber, so it's caught in the foam rubber if there's any kinetic energy left after hitting the back plate.




The parts I used are simply:


and




And the finished product:










As you can see, it only damaged the tape on the inside. There's still lots of the metal tape covering the outside, as well as duct tape reinforcing that too. The paint came off the reinforced steel, but did not dent.

Also, you can see where I concentrated about 15 of my shots into one ragged hole (not hard to do at 15 yards), and I walked a few others around the target just so you could see how solid those electrical covers really are.






LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Don't do stupid shit. If you put this together incorrectly, or hurt yourself while shooting at it, etc... It's all on you. I did this for my own satisfaction, I won't take the blame if you do some assanine.

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Water Purification By Shiner86

I thought here we could talk about different options for purifying the water we drink in an emergency situation.

In our BOBs and EDCs, TFB and I carry Katadyn MicroPur MP 1 Water Purification Tablets.

Amazon.com - Katadyn Micropur

For home use, we've always kept unscented chlorine bleach on hand. I think I may switch over from bleach to pool shock, though. I hope it's not too late in the season to pick some up. Also, a small bag of pool shock might make a good addition to the BOBs. I've had (admittedly, off brand) water purification tabs go bad on me before. If I can figure out the dosing for pool shock when working with a small container, I might go ahead and carry some.

This government page discusses the use of chlorine bleach and calcium hydrochloride (pool shock) to treat water. I think the most important thing to remember when purchasing chlorine bleach or pool shock is that it has to be plain. No whiteners, brighteners or lemony fresh scents in the bleach. No additional algecides in the shock.
EPA

TFB also carries a small Katadyn water filter.

Amazon.com - Katadyn Hiker

Let's hear what you use! :D

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The Importance of Hydration

Whether you are running in the summer or for whatever reason, hiking in the winter, staying hydrated is very important. For those who have served in the military, everyone constantly nags you for keeping hydrated and during training I'm sure you can remember hydration formations.

I'm sure everyone knows that your body is made up of approximately 2/3rds of water but what makes hydrating so important is because our body needs the nutrients in it to keep functioning. When your body sweats, obviously you lose water so that your body can stay cool. The reason why hydrating when we are cold is so important is because our body does feel cool and therefore we don't drink as much water as we would when we are warm or outside working in the heat.

We are told to drink 8-10 glasses of water per day which to some people seems insane and I know that when I was first told that I thought my health teacher was insane, but it keeps our body moving and our brain going.

Now, if you are at home, work, or other such controlled environment, it's easy for you to keep track of how much water you are drinking but if you are out camping or somewhere less controlled, there is one thing you can do to make sure that your body is properly hydrated and ready to go.

Take notice the color of your urine when it comes time for you to urinate.

Clear to light yellow urine indicates proper hydration.

The darker the urine color, the greater the dehydration level.

Stages of Dehydration:


If your tongue looks like this:

You are probably on your way to dehydration. Although you cannot see your own tongue, in a lot of cases unless you are gene Simmons, have your friend look at it for you if you aren't feeling up to par.

Signs and Symptoms

Mild to moderate dehydration is likely to cause:

* Dry, sticky mouth
* Sleepiness or tiredness — children are likely to be less active than usual
* Thirst
* Decreased urine output — fewer than six wet diapers a day for infants and eight hours or more without urination for older children and teens
* Few or no tears when crying
* Muscle weakness
* Headache
* Dizziness or lightheadedness

Severe dehydration, a medical emergency, can cause:

* Extreme thirst
* Extreme fussiness or sleepiness in infants and children; irritability and confusion in adults
* Very dry mouth, skin and mucous membranes
* Lack of sweating
* Little or no urination — any urine that is produced will be dark yellow or amber
* Sunken eyes
* Shriveled and dry skin that lacks elasticity and doesn't "bounce back" when pinched into a fold
* In infants, sunken fontanels — the soft spots on the top of a baby's head
* Low blood pressure
* Rapid heartbeat
* Fever
* In the most serious cases, delirium or unconsciousness
* Kidney Stones

Other Ways To Prevent Dehydration (As taken from here):

*Acclimate to the heat over a period of 10 -14 days by beginning to exercise during the hot parts of the day for 10 -20 minutes and gradually increase your exercise time working up to 1 – 2 hours.
*Be sure to drink plenty of proper fluids during the acclimatization period.
*Drink fluids containing sodium to keep your urine clear to light yellow
*If you sweat a lot, or heat conditions worsen, be sure to take in extra sodium during the day with your meals and/or or rehydration beverages containing sodium.
*When exercising in the heat, cloths should be breathable and allow for proper sweating and evaporation. Clothes that get wet and hold on to the sweat need to be changed regularly.
*Alter intensity and frequency if exercising in the heat. Always make adjustments as the heat and/or humidity increase.
*Hydration breaks should be more frequent and longer as the heat and/or humidity increase.

Other Sources:
WikiPedia
Games Development
Natural Medicine

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