How do I build a backyard range?

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husbandofaromanian

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After a long search I am purchasing 2.5 acres and putting a new house on it. I am pouring a slab behind the house (covered) to create a rimfire shooting range(private club). I have about 200 yards from the back of my house to the back of the property. How do I cost effectively turn this into a range (walls,berms,backstop). I have considered dirt filled tires, railroad ties and dirt berms. I sent an email to Barrett (not very far from me) asking for financial & constructive help.
 
building contractors/ graders/ logging companies are often looking for a place to dump dirt. post in craigslist that you are willing to take 2 or 3 dumptruck loads of fill/ spoil pile / any kind of dirt (so long as its not contaminated, obviously). nothing stops bullets like a couple strategically placed hills of earth.
 
yea, you need lots of dirt. Be prepared to deal with lots of weeds that WILL appear on the pile of dirt. Be cautious of big heavy-duty tires. Some of those industrial/farm tires are 20ply steel belted and are tough. a .22 won't penetrate, and maybe even bounce back.

getting the dirt won't be a problem. It will take more than you think. dump a BIG pile where u want, (5-8 ten wheeler dump truck loads) hire a backhoe to compact, and contour it, then dig out your shape of berm from the pile. a big smooth contour will allow u to seed and mow it with a mower. you dont want to weed-eat a gullied out mtn.


I have my own dirt range, it is a joy. I urge you to keep working/planning and get-er-done. Nothing better than walking out the door and testing a new reloading formula at your own range.
 
First check what the requirements are for shooting on your property to find out if there's any point to building a range. Other houses may be too close under county rules.

Look at the following links for design advice.
http://www.hss.doe.gov/secpolicy/pfs/range_design_criteria.pdf
http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/destinations/shooting_ranges/outdoor_shooting_best_practices.pdf
http://www.nssf.org/ranges/rangeresources/library/NSRS/12TechTrackOutdoor/RangeDesign.pdf
http://www.nrahq.org/shootingrange/sourcebook.asp
http://www.nssf.org/ranges/pdf/asr_catalog.pdf

I sent an email to Barrett (not very far from me) asking for financial & constructive help.
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Why would you ask Barrett for financial help?
 
The best thing I can say is DON'T DO IT.

The lowly 22 L.R. has a range of over 1 mile. Your puny 2 1/2 acres is not even close enough to think about covering that distance.

You need to think about neighbors, homes, livestock that live in a 1 1/2 mile radius of your home.

What you are probably going to find out is 2 1/2 acres is a pain in the rear to keep mowed and not large enough for livestock such as horses.
 
BSA1 said:
The best thing I can say is DON'T DO IT.

The lowly 22 L.R. has a range of over 1 mile. Your puny 2 1/2 acres is not even close enough to think about covering that distance.

You need to think about neighbors, homes, livestock that live in a 1 1/2 mile radius of your home.

What you are probably going to find out is 2 1/2 acres is a pain in the rear to keep mowed and not large enough for livestock such as horses.
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Uh, did you read the part about building a backstop? Did he mention livestock? He just wants a place to shoot .22s. 2.5 acres is plenty for what he needs to do. I built a backstop from cottonwood stumps the local city forester gave me. I shoot everything from .22 to .30-06 on a 50 yard range.
 
Congrats on The Land!

I think it's obligatory upon you to throw a big old "THR Shindig" for the Grand Opening ;)!
 
Uh, did you read the part about building a backstop? Did he mention livestock? He just wants a place to shoot .22s. 2.5 acres is plenty for what he needs to do. I built a backstop from cottonwood stumps the local city forester gave me. I shoot everything from .22 to .30-06 on a 50 yard range.
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SO??? Depends on where he lives. Where I am, you need 10 acres before shooting on your property won't result in a call from the Sheriff

He needs to look into the local ordinances in his locale; IF legal, he will want a large dirt berm as it is real easy to have a bullet hit the ground before the berm and skip over it - every bullet sent downrange has a lawyer attached to it
 
Once the backstop is built, I am planning on shooting through a tube to guarantee a bullet will not leave my property. I am not within any city limits. This is a rural, farming area. I looked hard to find a property that would work. In the future, I would like to buy the unused 5-acres behind it to make it a 700 yard, rimfire range lol.

Also, the property has no restrictions. I've already signed contracts and paid money. This is now a done deal.
 
BSA1 said:
The best thing I can say is DON'T DO IT.

The lowly 22 L.R. has a range of over 1 mile. Your puny 2 1/2 acres is not even close enough to think about covering that distance.

You need to think about neighbors, homes, livestock that live in a 1 1/2 mile radius of your home.
Click to expand...
I don't think I've ever heard of any range anywhere that has that kind of safety margin. If that was the criteria we'd probably only have one or two outdoor ranges east of the Mississippi. The key is having a good backstop.
 
I live in Florida and have 40 acres with a 300 yard range with berms at 100 and 300 yards. I have neighbors about 1300 yards past my 2nd berm, through mature pines the whole way.

ALL highpower must hit dirt or you go home right then. There is more threat from the 3 tree stands that border the farm field North of me than my range represents.

You must have 10 acres to shoot in my county.

I could very comfortably shoot rimfire on 2.5 acres. Your county law enforcement may, however, disagree. I'd find out first.
 
By the way, to get a .22 long rifle to go a mile and a half you would have to shoot about 300 feet over my 300 yard berm.
 
Check with the NRA

When we built our range it was originally “way out” and there was nothing behind the berm that needed any precautionary measures. :)

Then civilization moved in and we raised the berm another 10 feet and put in equally high berms on the sides of the range. A few months after that some rounds went over the berm and there were ensuing threats of closing us down. :(

Enter the NRA. We obtained free plans from them with the solution. We erected baffles on cheap, serviceable telephone company poles. No more rounds over the berm and no more problems. :)

The OPs solution of shooting through a tube would be cheaper, but he better be wearing high eficiency ear muffs. :eek: Shooting through lined up used tires might solve the noise problem as well. :)
 
if you hunt around, there plans online to create "shooting tubes", something like
shooting thru 10' long x 12-18" pvc or other pipes (not sure of the exact length)
These "attenuate" the sound and have the added advantage of having zero horizion
(not being able to shoot outside the area of yer backstop)
The Swiss use these for shooting clubs, running their govt. issued service rifles
thru them for practice.

I would cover this with your 2 or 3 sided shooting house. Good luck.
 
I am not within any city limits. This is a rural, farming area.
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I'm in East Tennessee and not within city limits and there are still requirements with respect to proximity to other people's buildings and property that I have to comply with so don't assume that you're good to go because you've moved to the county.

Using a concrete tube to shoot through is a very good approach to make sure that you won't inadvertently shoot over/around the backstop. Shooting through a tube will also limit the noise the neighbors to each side of you will hear. Be sure to line it with sound absorbing material or the noise you'll experience will be more than simply unpleasant.

WRT maintenance, I'd fence the acreage and put a couple of goats on it to keep from having to mow it. BTW, I have more area to mow than the OP and even in hilly E. TN (the only flat part of my property is where the house sits) using a riding mower it takes me less than an hour to mow without any problem (and my dear wife has planted various berry bushes making the mowing pattern somewhat of an obstacle course) . Of course I've fenced half of it and have 2-3 goats keeping it clear so I don't have to mow that part. I suppose it all depends upon what you're used to and what you're equipped to handle whether it is a problem or not.
 
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Regarding shooting tubes:

In my youth, a friends family bought a place upstate NY. The previous owner had built a small range on the property, which had a row of truck (tractor?) tires in a frame. We soon discovered that this made for some very quiet shooting, to the point that someone about ten feet away didn't need ear plugs, even when shooting higher caliber rifles.
 
I had a link at one time; seems like Univ. of Michigan had online plans. I was going to
try it with PVC pipe with carpet inside. Maybe someday when I get a real backstop

HSO's second link shows shooting thru 5' diameter concrete pipes; the ones I've seen used in switzerland were more like I described; 18-24" pipes you basicilly stick your bbl. into & shoot; 2' diameter is enough to get you a good sighting on the target without being cramped.
 
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Unless there's a bunch of constantly uninhabited rise in elevation beyond it, I think a "shooting range" on 2.5 acres sounds like a risky idea, regardless of caliber or backstop. Sorry.
 
regardless of caliber or backstop
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.

If he has the culvert at the shooting station to ensure impact below the berm and and a 15-ft dirt berm you'd still consider it unsafe? Without the culvert I'd agree completely, but implementing that control prevents shooting above or outside the berm. I wish everyone would consider building a good high berm and using some means similar to this to ensure the POI had to be on the berm.
 
"What about the all shucks round that goes over the berm?"

I am a member of a club with a 100 yard high power range.

Along with the huge berm, there are overhead baffle for the first 25 yards (four of them, about 3.5 inches thick with plywood on each side filled with pea gravel) that make it so you cannot even SEE the top of the berm, let alone get anything over it.
 
hso, I didn't read your suggestion about the culvert pipe before posting. My bad.

That's great input, and honestly something I've never seen before. Maybe I don't get out enough.

I'm on 110 acres in the sticks of Western Piedmont NC, and currently have only two homeplace ranges I consider "safe", both in deep draws. Your post gives me some new ideas though. Thanks for that!
 
win1892 & oneounceload: I’m not trying to hijack this thread but where are you guys getting the 10 acre thing from? As far as I know in Florida no city, county or local government can make rules or laws related to firearm usage that is stricter than state law. And to the best of my knowledge the only state laws pertaining to the discharge of firearms would be:

1. Florida Statute 790.15 which states: “Any person who knowingly discharges a firearm in any public place or on the right-of-way of any paved public road, highway, or street or whosoever knowingly discharges any firearm over the right-of-way of any paved public road, highway, or street or over any occupied premises is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.”

2. HB463 which amended 190.15 and was signed into law July 1st. This amendment makes a 1st degree misdemeanor to recklessly or negligently discharge a firearm on property used primarily as a dwelling, or zoned exclusively for residential use.

I don’t see anything about 10 acres or anything like that. Just curious where either of you have gotten your information from so that I can better understand the law.

Thanks and sorry for the thread hijack.

Dan
 
I was told that 10 acres was required for shooting by a fellow landowner. He is a retired naval officer and a stickler for detail, so I assumed it was true.

You have aroused my curiosity and I am going to contact the Sheriffs dept to find out.
 
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