New Gates

[wristtwister]

I shoot at a public range most of the time, and we've had trouble with people "breaking in" on days when it's closed and tearing up things and making a mess that the range officer has to clean up. The gate into the place is made of pipe, and not very substantial, which allows them to simply duck under and go, even with motorcycles (they can go around).

Yesterday, I went to Tractor Supply Company, and got a catalog for new steel gates, and I'm going to have the range officer select what he wants to stop the problem. It'll probably stop me from buying a gun that I'm after, but it's worth it to get the "infiltrator" problem stopped.

When we discussed the problem last, he wondered how I would stop the "around the gate problem"... simple... scatter a box of roofing nails out along the field where they run around the posts, and after they push their bikes home for a few days with flat tires, they'll stop coming in to wreck the place. I had a similar problem once with bikers cutting across my yard to get to their "field" where they could ride dirt bikes...

Anyway, it looks like we'll get gates to stop the illegal traffic for about $250 and a little effort. Wonder if the DNR would include a free hunting/fishing license in that?

Anyway... problem solved. Sometimes, you just have to step up if you want to get things done.

WT

 

[Hk91-762mm]

Rose and raspberry Bushes planted from the fence to the line --===Natures razor wire

 

[dogmush]

Triple strand Concertina wire on each side of the gate.

The U.S. Army's razor wire.

Way to take initiative though.

 

[everallm]

A fast grower with dense thorns that is also quite attractive (until you get snagged) is Berberis, sometimes called Japanese barberry or pepperidge bush.

Barberry is shade tolerant, drought resistant, and adaptable to a variety of open and wooded habitats, wetlands and disturbed areas. It prefers to grow in full sun to part shade but will flower and fruit even in heavy shade.

It's a deep crimson in color so makes a good visible boundary deterrent

 

[txgho1911]

Maybe post a new sign warning of a spilled shipping container full of roofing nails?
Maybe they can think a little first.

 

[kevindsingleton]

Raspberrys make good fencing, as well. Is there any danger of the miscreants throwing the roofing nails into the main drive path, forcing you to change the occasional tire? I'd try to think of a better way of dealing with the go-around problem than vandalism, especially if it can bite you on the ...tires.

 

[Robby]

obviously, you do not have the property totally fenced. Do members go around the gate? (Nails could be a problem). If there is just an area, unlimited distance where cycles can get thru, then the addition of a deterent, would add to the costs to keep them out. One possibility, I have thought of, is a series of posts, spaced tightly enough that you do not get a motorcycle thru them. Non Barbed wire, strung between posts high and low, if spacing is further apart.

If all else fails, a couple dozen claymores, on trip wires might work.

 

[Sindawe]

Nix the roofing nails idea, they stay around a LONG time and I can see a jury finding the club at fault in a future injury case from someone stepping on 'em.

My HOA is using Pyrocantha sp. to good effect in cutting foot traffic across our property and to a nearby bar. Planted a few years back and mingled with some large rocks makes a very obnoxious impediment to casual shortcuts.

 

[MinnMooney]

I fully agree with nixing the "nails" idea. Too many ways that it could go wrong. Lawsuits and 'used against you and other members' are real posibilities. Bushes will take longer but they are a great long-term solution.
Ditches, mounds, barbed wire, nails and claymores only work for a short time and only with certain vehicles.

Sorry to hear that those idiot vandals are causing you to spend your hard-earned money to keep a fun sport available to others.

Thank you for that.

 

[foghornl]

As much as I like the roofing nails idea, is just is NOT a solution....

Members also end up with flats

Some miscreant gets hurt stepping on nail, etc and sues your range's figurative pants off.

Kinda falls under the 'Not allowed to booby-trap something' heading.

 

[wristtwister]

Good Ideas...

I tend to agree with the use of pyrocantha bushes along the borderline. I had those planted at the lower end of my house and still have scars from digging them up. Mine had 2" thorns, but they're beautiful bushes, and provide an excellent border to keep out intruders. If you're too stupid to stay out of them, you'll get what you ask for... I'll suggest that to the range officer.

WT

 

[Newby101]

Catch them and prosecute them.

While I would do the gate with STRONG latch and do put up some kind of sticker bush / tree , I would add- put in a camera. Catch them before they get fustrated with your efforts and burn the place down. It happens all to often someone goes above and beyond only to loose it all when the trouble escelates and all is lost. Hunters cameras positioned at a strragiclly open area can often get the time and or a plate or a face, something to go by. Think about it are these actions directed just at your range or is it a matter of free raoming individuals with nothing better than trouble on their minds? Because if it's ya'all their upset with there must be a history and thus someone to pinpoint and identify. If it is free roamers then by securing your place you are just sending them on to the next place easier to get into. Catch them and prosecute them.

Doors and locks only keep out the honest ones, they just slow the others down, if at all.

Good luck let us know what happens.

 

[Richbaker]

Game cameras would provide photographic proof and with aggressive prosecution, would prob'ly solve it.

 

[dmazur]

+1 to Pyrocantha. This stuff grows fast (a maintenance chore here in the NW) and has very nasty, hidden, thorns.

We have it around the house under the windows, and are planting more on a property line.

A very effective natural deterrent, with less liability (I was told) than razor wire.

If only we didn't have to worry about the injuries suffered by trespassers, life would be much simpler.

 

[wristtwister]

The range is also attached to some public dove-hunting fields and has neighborhoods bordering one side of it, so there's always "infiltrators", but usually it's not near the gun range area (locals cutting across the property, etc.). The rash of vandalism appeared to be local kids, and the DNR, while wanting to stop it, still wants to maintain some modicom of public relations with their neighbors... so while they might like to bury the little buggers for their crimes, they would probably end up putting them on trespass notice and banning them from using the property when it was open.

In any case, they'd probably steal the game cameras, so it's just a better idea to make it painful to be an infiltrator... plus the pyrocantha bushes have lots of berries, which would encourage wildlife. It might be a while, but I'll let everyone know the results when we get it all done.

WT

 

[wristtwister]

Well guys and gals,
A trip to Farm Tractor Supply Company and $264 later, the shooting range has their new gates. I've left it up to the range officer to get them installed, and we're expecting one of the power companies to come drop a couple of poles for us to mount them in.

Now, everytime I go shooting I can look proudly at the gates and think to myself... there's half of my new XDM (that I don't have)...:banghead:

Can't complain though, in the past few months, I've picked up about $275 worth of spent brass and filled my empty nights with sorting it and boxing it up to send to the ammo manufacturer I do business with. I had planned to spend it on a new XDM, but the new gun wouldn't do me much good if I didn't have a place to shoot it. Hopefully, this will solve the trespassing problem, and I can start collecting again and get one later. Then I can go...

WT

 

[Kentak]

Forget the nails. Bad idea.

The better gate, thorny planting, and, most of all, some after hours patrols and enforcement.

K

 

[MattTheHat]

Unfortunately, those gates are incredibly simple to disable, if one knows how, and apparently many bad guys do. I have two sets of them on my property, and both have been breached in the last couple of months. The bad guys ended up with a couple of .452" holes in the radiator, which convinced them to stop trying.

The way the gates are normally mounted is that there are two clamps on each gate. Each connects to a hinge pin that's normally installed through the planted timber. One pin is pointed down, the other pointed up. All the BG has to do is remove or cut one of those 1/4" clamp bolts, and then he can lift the gate off the other pin. Then he uses the chain normally attached to the other side of the gate as a hinge, and just pivots the gate open.

There are a couple of thing you can do to prevent this. You can use a bunch of red Loctite when installing the clamp bolts. Once it dries, the bolts aren't coming out without a lot of heat. You have to do the same thing to the threaded end of the hinge pin that goes through the planted gate timber, or they will just use their handy adjustable wrench on that.

Now the BG needs bolt cutters. Problem is, the bad guys carry bolt cutters, so the above will only slow them down. The hinge pin is usually large enough that it would take a HUGE set of cutters to break it, so the little 1/4" clamp bolt is the problem. A few thick bushings on the bolt, inside the clamp will make it much harder to cut the bolt. If the diameter is large enough, it's just not going to happen.

If the Loctite doesn't work, those bolts could be welded. You'll still need the bushings to protect the clamp bolts, though.

Of course, your chain and lock have to up to snuff. Master makes a huge lock with a solid body and very thick shank. It takes big bolt cutters to break it, but it can be done. But, if the chain is just as thick, the lock will still hold, unless it's cut a second time. (The lock loop is kept captive, so it can't be swung out of the way--the other half of the lock loop would also have to be cut off. I have two of these locks. The bad guys were able to cut one, but not the other.

If they want in bad enough, and all this has thwarted them, they'll either find a section of barbed wire to cut and drive through, or they'll come back with a battery powered Sawzall and cut through the fence pipes. (They aren't thick.)

Bottom line is that if they want in, they'll get in. In my case, what it's come down to is they I've made it difficult enough that they don't want to frig with it.

 

[KiltedClaymore]

try this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bougainvillea

 

[Wildfire]

Trail Cameras.

Hey There;
I know it's been said. But , Hidden trail cameras don't lie. We put ours up high enough that they could not reach them.

We had kids cutting thru our range even when we were shooting. You can not always hear a dirt bike when wearing muffs. Lucky kids. We had to put a stop to that right away.

But The trail cameras worked.

 

[wristtwister]

Well, it's up to the range officer now. I've done my part... I bought the gates and they've picked them up. The rest is up to them.

Oh yeah, I had a "no trespassing" sign added to the order... it says "ABSOLUTELY NO TRESPASSING... SURVIVORS WILL BE PROSECUTED".

WT

 

[btg3]

Cheapest and quickest barrier to protect our schools ball field from recreational vehicles was posts and cables. So far, so good.

 

[lions]

I have very vivid memories of a certain type of thorn bush I encountered while growing up. I think it is called a firethorn bush, and it sure lives up to its name. Not something anyone in their right mind will mess with more than once.