How Many Dumptruck Loads?

[USMCsilver]

I'm wanting to do a backstop to allow for shooting across an ~2.5 acre section; or maybe 120 yards.

I'm wanting some dirt, on which I'll plant some fast-growing crap to keep it in place.

Got any educated guess as to how many dumptruck loads I'll need? I'm thinking two for a nice, somewhat large backstop.

(There's a house "in the general direction" in which I'm shooting. No other option on direction in order to keep "some" distance.") :banghead:

Discuss.

 

[BudW]

5-6 10 yard dump truck loads

 

[tekarra]

Two loads is not very much. How much rain do you get? You may need to stabilise the backstop to prevent it eroding in the rain.

 

[USMCsilver]

Two loads is not very much. How much rain do you get? You may need to stabilise the backstop to prevent it eroding in the rain.

Uhh...varies I guess. This time of year...well, after hurricane season, I guess it's...well...average; hence my wanting to plant some quick-growing grass to keep it intact.

 

[oneounceload]

L x W x H in feet divided by 27 for C.Y. dimensions - most trucks carry 8-10 CY

 

[Armored farmer]

That depends on if the house "in the general direction" is mine!

BudW is probably right. At least 6 loads.

 

[USMCsilver]

Anyone know the "average" goin' rate for dirt???

 

[Hatterasguy]

You can usually get fill for free if their is a job site around with extra. However paying someone with a truck to load it and move it is expensive. I live up north so my numbers are going to be way, way higher than someone who lives down south. You need to call up some local company's to get some numbers.

How big is the berm your making? Your going to need a lot.

 

[medalguy]

Kinda depends on what you're shooting. Rifle or pistol? I made a range on my property for rifle, 300 yards, and the backstop is made of built up RR ties for the back, 12 feet high, 12 feet or dirt fill front to back, and it's about 30 feet wide. There are 3 ties high in the front to help hold back the sand, so the whole thing took about 150 yards of fill. There was a line of big 20 yard trucks bringing dirt for two days. I think I paid about $8 a yard several years ago but I'm sure the price is higher today, and this was not particularly good dirt, but good enough for a backstop. No concrete or anything, mostly sand and some plant material so it was cheap.

 

[Owen Sparks]

It is not the amount of dirt that counts but the angle of the slope. Any hill, no matter how big can act as a ramp and lob a bullet onto your neighbors property. What you need is a good 90 degree wall of dirt. Unfortunatly rain tends to wash dirt cliffs into hills so you have to stay on it with a bull dozer. Anuone who has shot any surplus military tracers knows how bullets bounce off angled surfaces like a bank shot on a pool table.

 

[alsaqr]

You need to build a three sided revetment with railroad ties. The revetment is then filled with sand or dirt. The revetment should be at least six feet tall: Eight feet would be much better.

 

[ultradoc]

A full size pickup truck can haul about 2-3 c.y. of dirt volume wise. Go to a construction site and see if they would haul out the excess dirt to your place.

 

[Tilos]

USMCsilver:
My club built a pyramid of free used tires and covered them with dirt, using a lot less dirt.
Probably not something the EPA would approve of, but old tires have to go somewhere.

 

[Flintknapper]

Depending upon the property and how large a berm/backstop you want, it might be more cost effective to have a dozer come in...and push up a backstop for you, instead of having dirt brought in.

Some operators require a minimum "hours worked", but you might want to compare the costs.

 

[svtruth]

Never done it,

but I would consider the berm as a prism. Then the volume is length times area of one end, add 5-10% for ends.
A lot of dirt.
Prolly should be screened so no rocks for riccochets.
Good luck.

 

[elgin111]

couple of options

I just added a berm to my property and had a dozer and backhoe come in and build it up - 40' wide, 8-9' tall, 10' at the base, probably 4' on top.

Alternatively, in response to Tilos' comments, SC is actually pretty good with use of tires. PM me for a contact, but DHEC is okay with using them although they want plans and will provide a permit.

Ed

 

[Zombie_Flesh]

Can you feed old tires into a wood chipper? would that work?

 

[330d]

Can you feed old tires into a wood chipper? would that work?

I wouldn't, unless you like to pull the belts out of the knives before you have to replace them.... It would seem the dirt piled over stacked tires would be better than shredded tires, but plain old dirt would be the easiest and most simple.

 

[gunnutery]

I paid $50 for one dump-truck load of dirt (plenty of clay in it too) at the begining of the summer. I called a contractor that had done some cement work for me. I'd suggest maybe up to 10 dump-truck loads for a berm, but I have yet to do it myself.

 

[heeler]

A friend of mine did just what Flintnapper suggested.
He bought a 60 acre place and had the small existing tank(pond for you non Texans) enlarged into an acre and a half pond.
He used the dug out soil for the pad he poured his new homes slab on and used a lot of the rest to build a 100 yard and a 200 hundred yard rifle range.

 

[millertyme]

I'm thinking Flintknapper has the right idea if you have any sort of hills or valleys on your property. Hire a guy with a dozer to come in an push the dirt up against a hillside or into a small valley for the backstop. If you have the means you could sink a few 10" columns vertically in the ground and place the RR ties between the flanges to the height you plan on building your range to then back filling it with the dozer and building your revetment around it. As long as you're only using for personal practice and only occasionally bringing friends out to shoot it should last a good while and you won't have as much of a worry about ricochets getting out.

 

[Yarddog]

Dig a pond & use the dirt ; )
Y/D

 

[Hk Dan]

Okay, God is going to make 45 degree "walls", so take the height times itself, times the length in feet. Divide by 27 for cubic yards--a fully loaded dually dump truck CAN haul 14 yards, but 8-10 is more common.

Stand by. It's goingto take a massive amount of dirt--think in the hundreds of loads area to do a modest pistol berm 12 feet tall.