DIY Airsoft bullet catchers

So you have an airsoft replica and want to take some shots in your backyard? You don't want to shoot your pets and you don't want BBs flying everywhere...

Despair not, for I have the solution for you:

(Nearly) Free airsoft bullet catchers!

List of materials:

• Couple of empty plastic 5 liter or 1 gallon jugs (1 for each bullet catcher)
• Duct tape
• Old newspapers
• Some scrap thin card

Other supplies:

• Knife and/or scissors
• 15 minutes of your time

That's it...so the only stuff that costs you anything is the duct tape...

Let's get on with it.

Step 0: Don't use jugs that contained anything hazardous

Even if they are empty, they always have some left over liquid inside, so it's best to use jugs that contained something harmless like milk, water or maybe some household cleaning product.

Rinse out the jugs with plenty of water... do this at least twice to get out most of the residue.

Step 1: Cut the side out of the plastic jug

Be careful not to cut yourself or any bystanders... you want these bullet catchers free of any liquids...

... and that's also why you should dry them out using a paper towel.

Step 2: Fold some newspaper and line the bottom with it

This prevents the BBs of penetrating the back side of the jug. Make sure you add a couple of layers. In this case, more is more... unless it's too much, then you need less. (5mm of paper is more than enough)

Step 3: Fill the rest of the jug with crumpled newspaper balls

Take care not to squeeze them too tightly. You want them to slow down the BBs but you don't want them to stop the BBs like the folded newspaper in step 2.

Just put them inside so they fill up the container, don't compress them to stuff more of them inside... we need some air in there as well.

Step 4: Cut a piece of card the size of your jug

Don't worry too much about the size, but make sure the ends don't stick out too much. This is just to make the next step a bit easier.

Step 5: Attach your piece of card firmly over the filled jug

Make sure it's nice and tight. Your BBs should easily penetrate the card layer, then get slowed down by the crumpled newspaper and finally get stopped by the folded newspaper, thus effectively being caught by the bulletcatcher.

Step 6: Get shootin'!

If you consistently cut out the same side of the jug, you can easily stack them to create different arrangements of targets.

Don't draw your target immediately on the card but stick a target on the front. That way, you can just stick another paper or card target over the hole you shot into the card through the previous target.

Once in a while, it's a good idea to remove the duct tape, clean out the BBs from inside and stick on another piece of card. Otherwise, the BBs will start pouring out of the hole in the card.

If this post has inspired you to create your own bulletcatchers, show them off in the comments!

--------- Disclaimer: please don't use these bulletcatchers with real firearms... they won't catch any real bullet, only airsoft BBs