# Backstop material for catch box



## Harry Knuckles (Sep 28, 2020)

Apologies if this has been discussed already. I wanted to post this in case anyone else was looking for a good backstop material that did wear out after a few 1000 shots.

I've been using this ballistic nylon mesh I got from Amazon for about 1 month now and it still hasn't worn out. I shoot about 300 shots a day. I started to run out of old t-shirts and towels to use for my catch box. I was also sick of having to constantly take the time to replace the backstop.

This is the link (nonaffiliate) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y3QK95Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## Stankard757 (Apr 20, 2020)

Hmmmm. Interested might have to look into this. My catch setup is pretty big I currently run with a twin size bed sheet. Thanks

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## Tobor8Man (Nov 19, 2020)

Great idea. How do the bounce-backs compare with t-shirts and towels?


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## Harry Knuckles (Sep 28, 2020)

Tobor8Man said:


> Great idea. How do the bounce-backs compare with t-shirts and towels?


About the same. I would like to say less but I didn't track that so I don't have any real data to compare. The holes in the mesh make it pretty light for how robust of a material it is. One layer gives way easily to catch the ball without a lot of bounce back.


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## StringSlap (Mar 2, 2019)

I said the same thing as Stankard... Hmmmmmm! Might just be worth a shot (pun intended!).


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## StringSlap (Mar 2, 2019)

Hey HK, how are you hanging the material? Fixed in some way or just draped? Single layer or two? Thanks.


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## Harry Knuckles (Sep 28, 2020)

StringSlap said:


> Hey HK, how are you hanging the material? Fixed in some way or just draped? Single layer or two? Thanks.


I cut it down to size and have it hanging/fixed from the top so it doesn't touch the sides or bottom of my catchbox. Just a single layer is all I've needed. I've been shooting mostly 3/8" steel at it.


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## Tag (Jun 11, 2014)

Thanks for sharing


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## Ibojoe (Mar 13, 2016)

Gonna try this. Thanks for the info.


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## snydes (Jan 9, 2021)

curious - anybody tried a piece of rug ? I learned I can't attach it to the back of my catchbox, but if I keep it a few inches from the back, it has room to recoil & doesn't allow the shot to come forward. I'm not sure how long it will hold up though ... let me know if anybody has any negative experiences with using rug material ... thx !


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## Ordo (Feb 11, 2018)

I tried rug once. Bouncy.


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## Harry Knuckles (Sep 28, 2020)

snydes said:


> curious - anybody tried a piece of rug ? I learned I can't attach it to the back of my catchbox, but if I keep it a few inches from the back, it has room to recoil & doesn't allow the shot to come forward. I'm not sure how long it will hold up though ... let me know if anybody has any negative experiences with using rug material ... thx !


I tried a lot of different materials in my backstop before I ordered this stuff. I found that the lighter material makes for less bounce, but the problem is the light materials often wear holes in it really quickly. The more consistent I became the more the shots were hitting the same 3" area. I would wear a hole in a t-shirt in a few shooting sessions. I still have yet to wear a hole in this stuff, I'm guessing to have close to 5000 shots at it so far and it's still going strong. It would say it has the same amount of bounce as t-shirts or towels.


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## StringSlap (Mar 2, 2019)

I got this same material from Hobby Lobby (Have a thread posted "Significant catchbox upgrade"). It's the best material I've used so far. You'll have to tweak it to get it set right for your own particular catchbox, but once you do it should work extremely well.


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## snydes (Jan 9, 2021)

Great intel man - will def be ordering some of this ballistic mesh on my next amazon order - it's dirt cheap, so have to try it - Thanks !!


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## craigbutnotreally (Nov 6, 2019)

I bought the same material a couple weeks ago after seeing this post originally. Nothing bad to say. Has held up better than other things I've tried. And I get less bounce outs too. With the pillow case before I'd estimate I was getting 10% bounce outs. This I get maybe 1 out 100. But that's my experience with mesh in general. It's just never lasted long for me. So far so good on this material though. I tried GZKs mesh last time. Bounce out rate was the same but within a week it was tearing out in the middle behind my spinner.


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## TimR (May 22, 2011)

snydes said:


> curious - anybody tried a piece of rug ? I learned I can't attach it to the back of my catchbox, but if I keep it a few inches from the back, it has room to recoil & doesn't allow the shot to come forward. I'm not sure how long it will hold up though ... let me know if anybody has any negative experiences with using rug material ... thx !


I use rug with pellet guns but not with slingshots, and I shoot at the edges.

You cut a bunch of strips of rug, wide as your catch box and a few inches deep, stack them between a couple of 2x4s, and use all thread and nuts to compress them. It catches pellets well and you can unbolt and recover if you want but I don't usually bother.


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## bottlecap (Jan 16, 2021)

I hung a mop head from the top of one of my catchboxes, zero bounce outs. Probably a smaller area coverage than most like in their boxes but it worked beautifully in a 5 gallon cutout style.


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## TimR (May 22, 2011)

bottlecap said:


> I hung a mop head from the top of one of my catchboxes, zero bounce outs. Probably a smaller area coverage than most like in their boxes but it worked beautifully in a 5 gallon cutout style.


Wait - you can hit a 5 gallon pail every time?

<shakes head in stunned admiration>


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## vince4242 (Jan 11, 2016)

Tim a 5 gallon bucket six months ago would have been impossible for me to imagine hitting every time. Now I have two spinners in my 5 gallon catch bucket. I use normal cotton dark blue sheet material for curtains inside it. I have 3 curtains inside the 5 gallon bucket. No bounce outs and when not using it I put the top back on to keep everything sealed up.

Cheers


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## bottlecap (Jan 16, 2021)

TimR said:


> bottlecap said:
> 
> 
> > I hung a mop head from the top of one of my catchboxes, zero bounce outs. Probably a smaller area coverage than most like in their boxes but it worked beautifully in a 5 gallon cutout style.
> ...


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## snydes (Jan 9, 2021)

Harry Knuckles said:


> Apologies if this has been discussed already. I wanted to post this in case anyone else was looking for a good backstop material that did wear out after a few 1000 shots.
> 
> I've been using this ballistic nylon mesh I got from Amazon for about 1 month now and it still hasn't worn out. I shoot about 300 shots a day. I started to run out of old t-shirts and towels to use for my catch box. I was also sick of having to constantly take the time to replace the backstop.
> 
> ...


Picked up this ballistic mesh material for $10 on amazon & it works great !!!!!!!! THx for telling us about this


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## Crazy Canuck (Dec 20, 2018)

I also picked some of that mesh up and really like it so far.


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## Harry Knuckles (Sep 28, 2020)

I'm glad the mesh is working out for everyone. I wanted to do an update and make some suggestions after 4 months of using it.

1. Cut the mesh extra wide for your catch box, about 1.5 the width so you can bunch it up accordion-style on your hanging system. I've noticed that after a while (a long while) the edges will begin to curl in and not fully cover the sides of your catch box.

2. Do NOT try to tie the sides or bottom down with anything, leave it to hang loose. Tying the sides will cause the mesh to tear prematurely from the sides.

3. Multiple layers with an airgap between helped reduce bounce-outs for me. I wasn't getting a lot of bounce-outs but adding a layer of mesh with the gap has almost eliminated them.

I've been using the same piece of mesh for almost 4 months, shooting around 300 shots a day (4*30*300=36,000) and just recently replaced it with a new one. I believe the first one only wore out because I tried to tie the sides out when it started to curl in. Tying the side made the mesh rip horizontally.


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## Facewizard13 (Dec 28, 2020)

Im wondering if sewing a thick piece of canvas all around the outside edge of it would prevent all that

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## Crazy Canuck (Dec 20, 2018)

I used the full yard, but cut in half with an 8" overlap in the middle where most shots hit. I folded over the top and sewed in a pocket to run some bankline through to hang it. Hangs about 3-4" off the bottom of the catchbox. Been about 1.5 months so far, and still looks new (~200ish shots a day).


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## Hermit (Feb 7, 2014)

Thanks for posting. I've been thinking about getting something like this..

Rich


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## Harry Knuckles (Sep 28, 2020)

Sad news. I reordered another yard of my favorite backstop material and what showed up was very different from what I got the first time. Obviously, I'm not bothered by the color difference but this new stuff is so stiff it will literally stand on its own. The picture below shows the original mesh on the left and the new mesh on the right. I plan on contacting the seller to see if they sent me the wrong stuff but I as it stands now, I can no longer recommend it

Needless to say, the stiff mesh causes a lot of bounce-outs.


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## Facewizard13 (Dec 28, 2020)

Harry Knuckles said:


> Sad news. I reordered another yard of my favorite backstop material and what showed up was very different from what I got the first time. Obviously, I'm not bothered by the color difference but this new stuff is so stiff it will literally stand on its own. The picture below shows the original mesh on the left and the new mesh on the right. I plan on contacting the seller to see if they sent me the wrong stuff but I as it stands now, I can no longer recommend it
> 
> Needless to say, the stiff mesh causes a lot of bounce-outs.
> 
> ...


Was this from amazon?

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## Harry Knuckles (Sep 28, 2020)

Facewizard13 said:


> Harry Knuckles said:
> 
> 
> > Sad news. I reordered another yard of my favorite backstop material and what showed up was very different from what I got the first time. Obviously, I'm not bothered by the color difference but this new stuff is so stiff it will literally stand on its own. The picture below shows the original mesh on the left and the new mesh on the right. I plan on contacting the seller to see if they sent me the wrong stuff but I as it stands now, I can no longer recommend it
> ...


Yes. I went back in my history and clicked the "Buy it Again" button. Should've been the exact same stuff...


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## Teep (Mar 16, 2017)

I'm fairly new to this but have tried a lot of different materials (had a huge bag from a second hand clothing store to work with) and have been using a piece of double nit fabric from the back of an old blouse. I have well over 1000 shots at it using 3/8" steel and it is showing very little wear. I am finding the lighter the material and hanging as free as possible works the best to stop bounce outs.


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## Harry Knuckles (Sep 28, 2020)

Teep said:


> I'm fairly new to this but have tried a lot of different materials (had a huge bag from a second hand clothing store to work with) and have been using a piece of double nit fabric from the back of an old blouse. I have well over 1000 shots at it using 3/8" steel and it is showing very little wear. I am finding the lighter the material and hanging as free as possible works the best to stop bounce outs.


I started out using old clothing and towels like most others here. I found this material a while back and have put almost 100,000 shots at it with 3/8 steel. Most other fabrics lasted me 1 day, sometimes 2 before I wore a hole in it big enough to allow my ammo to pass through. I shoot around 300 shots a day. Long story short, the first time I ordered this mesh it was a game-changer, I no longer had to worry about changing my backstop. I'm pretty miffed they changed it and I hope I can find more like the original.


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## Facewizard13 (Dec 28, 2020)

Harry Knuckles said:


> Facewizard13 said:
> 
> 
> > Harry Knuckles said:
> ...


That sucks....keep me posted if you're able to find the same material

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## StringSlap (Mar 2, 2019)

Harry Knuckles said:


> Teep said:
> 
> 
> > I'm fairly new to this but have tried a lot of different materials (had a huge bag from a second hand clothing store to work with) and have been using a piece of double nit fabric from the back of an old blouse. I have well over 1000 shots at it using 3/8" steel and it is showing very little wear. I am finding the lighter the material and hanging as free as possible works the best to stop bounce outs.
> ...


I get it from Hobby Lobby.


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## Covert5 (Feb 7, 2018)

I too took your recommendation about this material and it works great thank you! I'm hoping the seller will contact you and fix your order so we can continue to use them as a supplier!

Sling-On!


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## EllipsisNL (Mar 2, 2021)

I use canvas drop cloth with a squishy cotton quilt behind it, and it works like a dream, I've never had to replace it since I started using it in 2017


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## EllipsisNL (Mar 2, 2021)

Edit: double post


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## SlinginDylan (Jan 7, 2011)

Harry Knuckles said:


> I'm glad the mesh is working out for everyone. I wanted to do an update and make some suggestions after 4 months of using it.
> 
> 1. Cut the mesh extra wide for your catch box, about 1.5 the width so you can bunch it up accordion-style on your hanging system. I've noticed that after a while (a long while) the edges will begin to curl in and not fully cover the sides of your catch box.
> 
> ...


How did you tie it to your catchbox? Did you just hang it over a dowel or rod? How did you tie/fix the top?


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## Harry Knuckles (Sep 28, 2020)

I folded the top over to make a loose hem and sewed it with a nylon carpenters line. I used a bent piece of copper wire as my needle. Once the hem was sewed up, I stuck a rod through the hem and used the large black paper clips/clamps to pinch it between the fabric on the top of my catch box. I originally did this so I could play with the distance that the backstop was from the front to prevent bounce-outs but it worked so well I didn't bother changing it.


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## thepigeonpoacher (Aug 23, 2021)

I break every catch box 😕 canvas might be a good idea 🤔


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## ukj (Jan 10, 2021)

I cut apart trashed kite bags that have this mesh, works great!
Semi sew to thin f glass rod on
top of c box. 
Seems to last, less rebounds, black
To contrast white spinners and cans.
8 mm steel shot with starship albatros does sometines rip tiny holes though,
ukj


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