How would you built a gun range?
I have some land not far from where I live. I want to build a gun range. I wish I could built a 100 to 500 yard range, so I wouldn't have to go over to my granfathers everytime I wanted to shoot. but I don't have a long enough stretch of land for that.
So I was thinking maybe 100 yard range. I was going to put the bench on top of a big hill and shoot downhill. But the hill isn't that steep so I would still have to build a backstop. What would be a good back stop? It's all in the woods, so getting a bulldozer or even a bobcat would be almost impossible. Plus if you go about 150 yards past the back stop you would hit a national forestery and there's a horse trail maybe a mile or two past that.
Is is this a bad idea because of the public land behind me?
Thanks.
So I was thinking maybe 100 yard range. I was going to put the bench on top of a big hill and shoot downhill. But the hill isn't that steep so I would still have to build a backstop. What would be a good back stop? It's all in the woods, so getting a bulldozer or even a bobcat would be almost impossible. Plus if you go about 150 yards past the back stop you would hit a national forestery and there's a horse trail maybe a mile or two past that.
Is is this a bad idea because of the public land behind me?
Thanks.
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Clear out as long a stretch as you desire, rent a bulldozer to build a berm at the target end, set up target stands, keep the lane clear and enjoy!
If you don't want to rent the bulldozer, you can always use a shovel.0 -
a the wyoming antelope range, they just havea giant dirt hill as a back stop, there is a road probably 300-400 yards behind that. i say you just build a giant dirt hill behind it. thought without a back hoae or anything, that could be too big a project. Also their dirt hill is about 20-30 yards thick and maybe 20-25 feet high. 0 -
I have the use of a dozer and bobcat, but this range will be in the woods. Don't want to clear any trees to get them back there.
"Also their dirt hill is about 20-30 yards thick and maybe 20-25 feet high." How many shovels loads is this?[V][V][V]0 -
why not build it at the bottom - mark off 100 yards - and cut into the slope of the hill? 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Cutiegirlracing
"Also their dirt hill is about 20-30 yards thick and maybe 20-25 feet high." How many shovels loads is this?[V][V][V]
Dunno, Go find out for us! [:D][:D]0 -
quote:Originally posted by Jacob2008
quote:Originally posted by Cutiegirlracing
"Also their dirt hill is about 20-30 yards thick and maybe 20-25 feet high." How many shovels loads is this?[V][V][V]
Dunno, Go find out for us! [:D][:D]
I don't know, but I'll bet it takes less licks to get to the bottom of a tootsie pop than shovel loads to build a dirt stop.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Cutiegirlracing
quote:Originally posted by Jacob2008
quote:Originally posted by Cutiegirlracing
"Also their dirt hill is about 20-30 yards thick and maybe 20-25 feet high." How many shovels loads is this?[V][V][V]
Dunno, Go find out for us! [:D][:D]
I don't know, but I'll bet it takes less licks to get to the bottom of a tootsie pop than shovel loads to build a dirt stop.
I'm just making a suggestion for all you tree huggers who are reading this forum and not posting, that's all. That way you don't think ALL of us are oil chucking, grease burning conservative asshats...oh, wait, we are; go away you tree huggers.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Zulu7
quote:Originally posted by Cutiegirlracing
quote:Originally posted by Jacob2008
quote:Originally posted by Cutiegirlracing
"Also their dirt hill is about 20-30 yards thick and maybe 20-25 feet high." How many shovels loads is this?[V][V][V]
Dunno, Go find out for us! [:D][:D]
I don't know, but I'll bet it takes less licks to get to the bottom of a tootsie pop than shovel loads to build a dirt stop.
I'm just making a suggestion for all you tree huggers who are reading this forum and not posting, that's all. That way you don't think ALL of us are oil chucking, grease burning conservative asshats...oh, wait, we are; go away you tree huggers.
Tree huggers. HMFF. My dad has knocked down THOUSANDS for his job.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Cutiegirlracing
I don't know, but I'll bet it takes less licks to get to the bottom of a tootsie pop than shovel loads to build a dirt stop.
There's a dirty joke in there somewhere.
quote:Originally posted by Jacob2008
Tree huggers. HMFF. My dad has knocked down THOUSANDS for his job.
Trees or tree huggers? Either way, bravo.0 -
I would like to build my range on the Texas/Mexico border and use Nuevelaredo (sp) as the backdrop. 0 -
Depending on what your shooting you could probably get by with a dirt and wood backstop, bring your chainsaw out cut down some trees do some sort of a log cabin type stack fill the middle in with dirt, should stop most things short of a .50bmg have heard they can shoot threw 20 feet of dirt...
Make it small at first shoot your biggest round at it if ya see splinters on the oposite side ya need it thicker with more dirt, of course do this as safetly as possible.
Now that I thought of it I think I will do that for my birms beats building a hill of dirt thats just going to fall down from rain.0 -
No .50 BMG can penetrate 20 feet of earth! 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Zebra
No .50 BMG can penetrate 20 feet of earth!
Ofcourse it cant, It can just glide through trees and cinderblocks.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Jacob2008
quote:Originally posted by Zebra
No .50 BMG can penetrate 20 feet of earth!
Ofcourse it cant, It can just glide through trees and cinderblocks.
Like I said I only heard that I don't know if its true or not, but if I had one I would certainly check to see how much it was penetrating.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Cutiegirlracing
I have the use of a dozer and bobcat, but this range will be in the woods. Don't want to clear any trees to get them back there.
"Also their dirt hill is about 20-30 yards thick and maybe 20-25 feet high." How many shovels loads is this?[V][V][V]
Better to cut a few now, to get the machine in.Than kill a bunch of trees with lead in the future..[;)]And ,oh yeah... Chicks dig "penitration"...[;)][;)][;)]
Jeff0 -
quote:Originally posted by Plain ole bubba
I would like to build my range on the Texas/Mexico border and use Nuevelaredo (sp) as the backdrop.
Can I help? I plan on being back home in Texas next year and I'm looking for some land to buy so I can build a rifle range.0 -
I once did the math and found out that if you shoveled constantly, it would take 30 straight hours to fill the back of my friend's Mack dump truck. 0 -
Just thinking from Engineering training - I would think it would be better to shoot into the side of a hill, rather than from the top of a hill and shooting down -
Shooting downhill would mess with sighting and the ballistics - would be useless for sighting in a hunting weapon.
Shooting into a hill would guarantee that the bullets would not "Shoot through" your backstop.
Logging out your land would provide a lot of income to rent dozers, etc.. You might be able to barter some terraforming from the logger dozer/equipment operators, and avoid paying tax on the logging "Income".
Not sure I would use Logs or wood for backstop - flammable!! Same reasoning for clearing woods from near the range, and would probably want a fire lane around the whole range, so that if woods did catch fire, could get to it without running over/through the range buildings and structure.
Will post pics from our range here in the Washington woods as soon as/if I can, or will e-mail them to you, if you wish. Our range has been here since 1944, may soon be closed by encroaching city. One feature of our range is that we have heavy wooden beams that run across the shooting lanes above the line of fire, such that if the shooters elevate much beyond any reasonable angle, the rounds will hit the beams, and not escape the range. Lately, we have covered the nearest beams with Kevlar mats that keep the rounds from penetrating the beams.
All the above IMHO, and I am not a Certified Constructor of Gun Ranges, and hereby deny any "indemnify and hold harmless" liability.
I'll bet that the NRA might have help for you, if you ask them.
Trees are a RENEWABLE resource, and they are FREE to you, for use in constructing your range - use whatcha got!0 -
There is an organization dedicated to the building and maintaining of shooting ranges called NASR (National Association of Shooting Ranges). They have some excellent resources for anyone interested in building a range here:
http://www.rangeinfo.org/resource_library/resLibDetl.cfm?CAT=Facility%20Management0 -
Call the NRA. They have a range division. Can clue you to range construction. 0 -
Berm design and materials are obvious points, but there are a couple of often overlooked details that can greatly improve your range quality.
Ideally, a range in our hemisphere should face north. This keeps the sun out of your line of sight at all times of day.
When doing dirt work for your berm, crown the center of the target line so it's slightly high. A target line is the high traffic area of any range and you want decent drainage in order to prevent a potential mud wallow from forming over time.0 -
Here's a cheap way. Stack some old railroad ties between some (4) 4x4's stuck in the ground like fence posts.
You could make it double thick to make sure no bullets penetrate.
RR ties are about $8.00 apiece at my local farm store. Not sure what 4x4's currently cost. But I'd bet they're cheaper than hiring a bulldozer.0
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