When I was offered the opportunity to test a "portable encapsulator" I thought someone had mistaken me for someone else. Then I remembered I knew the person making the offer, so I asked for a little clarification.

http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/image_archive/2070558.jpeg> The portable encapsulator-the mil-spec description for a portable bullet trap that really IS portable and really DOES trap bullets, from .17HMR up to .308 Winchester. Jim Shepherd photo.

Turns out a "portable encapsulator" was the mil-spec description for a really nice portable bullet trap. that I was absolutely interested in giving a try. In-Range Supplies (http://www.inrangesupplies.com>inrangesupplies.com) has just started offering them into the civilian marketplace.

They were originally designed for United States Marine Corps use in their live-fire shoot house training. Today, the USMC is only one of many military and law enforcement groups using the Portable Encapsulator.

Having run a few hundred rounds into -and absolutely none through- the test unit I was provided, there are a couple of observations I can make with absolute certainty: 1) portable doesn't mean "man portable" and 2) it absolutely does exactly what is promised- it traps bullets.

That's made possible through the use of a five-high stack of patented Dura-Bloc ballistic rubber. The Dura-Block captures rounds with a minimum velocity of 600fps all the way up to 308/7.62. The blocks are large enough to be engaged by the average shooter at virtually any range. It's 24"x45" size makes it pretty simple to put rounds into the big black blocks. The Dura-Bloc panels, in turn, absorb those rounds without three big concerns when you're shooting: ricochet, spatter and lead dust.

Rather than powdering, deforming or simply blowing up a projectile, the Dura-Bloc just absorbs it. And testing says the blocks should each be good for up to 5,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammo. Each block is also replaceable- with a $79/per block MSRP.

http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/image_archive/2070560.jpeg> Range officers inspect the portable encapsulator. They were universally impressed with the fact it had already stopped 60+ rounds of .308/7.62mm ammo. Not only were the rounds contained, they were "handled" as efficiently as possible. Jim Shepherd/OWDN photo.

There shouldn't be any need to replace the framework or wheeled portions. They're heavy-duty as should be the case when you're rolling around 736 pounds of 3/8" AR 500 steel. Granted, the unit comes with those heavy-duty casters and handles for moving it around, but we quickly learned that the unit, if not properly attended, was large enough that most objects didn't have a chance in a collision.

Since I have neither a shoot house or an appropriate parking spot for a major target holder of this type, I had it delivered to Hoover Tactical Firearms. As a member of their private range, I figured I wouldn't have any problem getting other shooters to test the 5,000 round promise.

What I didn't figure was that the unit would sit on a pallet until one of HTFs employees jumped on a forklift handed me a chain and said "let's put this beast together." We did, and surprisingly, it was heavy - really heavy- but it wasn't anything difficult to put together. After about 10 minutes with the forklift, chain and aforementioned behemoth, we'd gotten it unpacked, upright and bolted together enough to take it to the line, stick an alignment target on it and start blasting.

http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/image_archive/2070562.jpeg> Everyone wanted in on the fun of the gun and the new Portable Encapsulator. Lots of powder was burned, but no lead was in the air during the process due to the Dura Bloc's voracious appetite for bullets.

Short review- wow. No spatter, even when rounds were barely inside the outer edges. The rubber material was nearly magnetic the way it just made rounds disappear.I should have figured as much, after all In-Range Supplies has been around since 2005, offering bullet traps from the portable encapsulator size to movable bullet walls, steel targets, gun-cleaning devices "forcible entry tools" and a wealth of paper targets.

Their Portable Encapsulator is neither flimsy nor inexpensive (MSRP $1599 and replacement blocs $79/each). But it's certainly not out of the reach of shooting clubs and organizations who want a robust and durable option for a variety of shooting scenarios from precision competition to the shoot house or even out on the long-range shooting line.

Good enough for the Marines generally means it's much more than sufficient for normal civilian usage. In-Range's Portable Encapsulator fits the bill.

--Jim Shepherd