Isothermal News

Det. Sgt. Billy Scoggins (center) show the new bullet catcher to Sheriff Jack Conner (right) while deputy Mike Benfield looks on.

In the past, Det. Sgt. Kelly Aldridge and Det. Sgt. Billy Scoggins would have to drive to Hickory each time they needed to fire a gun into a bullet catcher - a device that captures a projectile with minimal damage so it can be forensically examined and catalogued for future investigative reference.
“This could have happened several times each week,” said Aldridge. “We will still have to send the fired projectiles to the Hickory Police Department lab for analysis and so they can be entered into the database for the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network. However, now that we can test fire the guns locally, we will save a substantial amount of taxpayer money on the man-hours and the fuel and maintenance on county-owned vehicles. Now, we’ll just ship the bullets up to the lab.”
Deputies analyze bullets found at crime scenes and from weapons taken from criminals routinely. The data is used in investigations and is also entered into a national database, which can help match guns with various locations and individuals.
“It’s similar to a database of fingerprints or DNA,” said Aldridge.
He and Scoggins recognized the need for a bullet catcher some time ago. But due to the price tag of up to $6,000, the purchase of the equipment did not seem like it would become a reality.
“We knew what we wanted,” said Aldridge. “So we just thought, why not try to design and build one on our own?”

Officials from the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office and First Choice Armor in Spindale recently gathered in the isothermal Community College welding shop to thank the students for their work in building a bullet catcher for detectives to use.

So the detectives started looking for some donations of materials and asked Nathan Fisher, a welding instructor at Isothermal, if his students could put it all together.
The device itself is both high-tech and low-tech. It is basically a thick-walled, 53-inch-long steel tube with a reinforced end and an opening in which to fire bullets. The interior is lined with scrap Kevlar fabric, donated by local body armor manufacturer, First Choice. Hatches on the side allow access to the cylinder once the bullet has been fired.
In the right configuration, the Kevlar fabric “disperses the projectile’s kinetic energy to the point of stopping while keeping deformation to a minimum,” said Aldridge. The unit was tested at First Choice’s private indoor firing and testing range with bullets ranging from 9mm pistol rounds to 30-06 steel core, armor piercing rounds.
First Choice’s Dale Taylor, Mike Barella and David Jones worked with the deputies on the project. Shaw Construction’s Terry Gray donated the materials. Fisher’s welding students built the device. Gary Arrowood of A&W Sandblasting did the sandblasting and priming. Ed Smith of Ed Smith Paint & Body Repair painted the unit. Byron and Michelle Collier of Images Sign Service designed and applied the graphics on the bullet catcher. Aldridge said the only cost in the unit that was not donated was $40 for a set of hinges.
“We just appreciate everyone who has donated their time, services and materials in making this project a tremendous success,” said Sheriff Jack Conner as he thanked the welding students last week. “This bullet catcher will go a long way in helping us make Rutherford County a safer place for all.”

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