Plans for outdoor pistol range on private property?

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Sour Kraut

Sour Kraut

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Does anyone know of any published construction plans for a private outdoor pistol range? I am looking for property in the country and would like to "build" an outdoor pistol range. Obviously, the lay of the land will somewhat dictate what I can do, but I was wondering if there are suggested layouts with space requirements including appropriate backstop/berm requirements available.
 
No plans, but check out hickock45 on youtube if you want to see a pretty nice back yard setup.
 
The NRA has help for that.

You do belong to the NRA, right?

http://range.nra.org/sourcebook.aspx

Also, make yourself VERY Familiar with any local zoning laws, close neighbors, and assorted nut cases who can shut you down two days after you fire the first shot if they whine to local government loud enough.

rc
 
If you don't want to spend the money on the NRA range design book, at least google safe range design info... there is a LOT of info on the internet about it.

It is fairly easy to summarize tho:

0) You cannot put a 4 foot tall pile of tree trimmings at your neighbors property line and call that a safe backstop.

1) Your backstop must be at least 20 foot tall
2) Your backstop must be at least 4 foot thick
3) Your backstop must be at least as wide as the shooting range distance plus 10 degrees each side
4) You must OWN and be able to be sure NO ONE will be BEHIND this backstop - for 5-6,000 feet. Ie., you cannot put a safe home range on less than about 25 acres property.

For example some sites you might want to visit and read:

//rangeservices.nra.org/

http://rangereport.org/lessons-learned-by-a-range-developer/

http://www.gunslot.com/pictures/des...anges-these-are-not-pics-story-will-find-post

http://energy.gov/hss/office-health-safety-and-security

http://www.saps.gov.za/crime_prevention/firearms/forms/sabsstd.pdf

www.nssf.org/ranges/rangeresources/library/NSRS/.../RangeDesign.pdf

http://www.nssf.org/ranges/RangeRes...ign/baffles_berms.htm&CAT=Facility Management

sabsstd.pdf

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a293257.pdf

http://www.townofdurhamct.org/filestorage/28562/27588/31013/Final_Report_of_Blue_Trail_Range.pdf

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/destinations/shooting_ranges/outdoor_shooting_best_practices.pdf

http://www.e-bookspdf.org/view/aHR0...vcGVybHkgQ29uc3RydWN0ZWQgQmFja3N0b3AgQmVybSAy
 
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phillip69 said:
If you don't want to spend the money on the NRA range design book, at least google safe range design info... there is a LOT of info on the internet about it.

It is fairly easy to summarize tho:

0) You cannot put a 4 foot tall pile of tree trimmings at your neighbors property line and call that a safe backstop.

1) Your backstop must be at least 20 foot tall
2) Your backstop must be at least 4 foot thick
3) Your backstop must be at least as wide as the shooting range distance plus 10 degrees each side
4) You must OWN and be able to be sure NO ONE will be BEHIND this backstop - for 5-6,000 feet. Ie., you cannot put a safe home range on less than about 25 acres property.

For example some sites you might want to visit and read:

//rangeservices.nra.org/

http://rangereport.org/lessons-learned-by-a-range-developer/

http://www.gunslot.com/pictures/des...anges-these-are-not-pics-story-will-find-post

http://energy.gov/hss/office-health-safety-and-security

http://www.saps.gov.za/crime_prevention/firearms/forms/sabsstd.pdf

www.nssf.org/ranges/rangeresources/library/NSRS/.../RangeDesign.pdf

http://www.nssf.org/ranges/RangeRes...ign/baffles_berms.htm&CAT=Facility Management

sabsstd.pdf

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a293257.pdf

http://www.townofdurhamct.org/filestorage/28562/27588/31013/Final_Report_of_Blue_Trail_Range.pdf

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/destinations/shooting_ranges/outdoor_shooting_best_practices.pdf

http://www.e-bookspdf.org/view/aHR0...vcGVybHkgQ29uc3RydWN0ZWQgQmFja3N0b3AgQmVybSAy
Click to expand...
So for #3, are you saying a 200 yard range needs a 200 yard wide backstop? Plus 10 degrees? Just trying to understand that one.
 
Yeah I dunno about Philips post, 20 foot high berm? To go out and plink with a 22 I dunno if you need that. Just my opinion. I shoot down hill at a pile of logs stacked neatly 4ft high 6ft wide 6ft deep maybe. Swap them out as they fall apart.
 
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The range design book is worthwhile. The big point is that you are responsible for every shot fired remaining on your property. Most modern clubs and/or commercial ranges use baffles to prevent bullets leaving the range. Those that don't usually own the land beyond the backstop.

YMMV, especially if you are the only person using the range.
 
1) Your backstop must be at least 20 foot tall
2) Your backstop must be at least 4 foot thick
3) Your backstop must be at least as wide as the shooting range distance plus 10 degrees each side
4) You must OWN and be able to be sure NO ONE will be BEHIND this backstop - for 5-6,000 feet. Ie., you cannot put a safe home range on less than about 25 acres property.
Click to expand...

Hi.

NRA guidelines I've read say minimum backstop height is 15' for example. The NRA suggests the backstop extend 5' from the outside target position and that's only if the side berms are not backstop height ... the backstop for a 100 yard range could be 15' long and still meet NRA specs. Side berms are strongly encouraged by the NRA guidance I have seen. They also encourage safety baffles in place of owning all the possible land down-range of the backstop.

I'd say it is hard to meet the standards in less than a quarter acre...maybe an eighth, but you should probably have at least 10 acres to put your pistol range on just to put some distance between you and your neighbors.
 
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sorry for poor wording stonecutter... 10 degrees either side of your normal fire line.... so of 200yds, then backstop needs to be 200*tan(10)=35yd each side so 70yds across.

The 20ft min height IS for handguns & .22 rifles too: it is directly from NRA sourcebook! I spoke with NRA range person this weekend at the NRA national convention and he confirmed 20 foot minimum.
 
20 ft...phooey. Just find ground that has a slope to it, give it a facelift so you have a large square target stop with plenty of hillside behind it in a direction that bullets aren't flying towards anybody's house or barn. Make sure your target area has good drainage so that you don't end up with a swamp at your backstop. Now if you want to measure an angular escape from direct line of fire upward, that's what the hill is for. Go ahead. No reason whatsoever you need a 20 ft tall berm unless your shooting full auto shoulder fired weapons and plan on a 6 year old giving it a go.
 
WestKentucky said:
Go ahead. No reason whatsoever you need a 20 ft tall berm unless your shooting full auto shoulder fired weapons and plan on a 6 year old giving it a go.
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I think much of what would constitute a safe private range is different than what constitutes a safe public range, just because of the amount of shooters using it and the experience of those shooters. That said, lay of one's land, what's directly behind the backstop and the attitude and closeness of neighbors will dictate construction as much as backstop height. So do the local regs and ordinances. If you are in a neighborhood where everyone shoots out their backdoor, and there are no regs against it, no one will notice you shooting. If the neighbors are only 300 feet to either side, there are local noise/shooting ordinances and they aren't gun fanatics, odds are, if you shoot regularly and often, you will get a visit from someone with lights on the top of their car.

I have two private ranges I shoot at. One is on my son's land and one is on a brothers land. Both have natural berms(hills/ridges) that are hundreds of feet high and encircle the range. One would have to shoot at a 60 degree angle or more to get over them from the shooting bench. Both properties are many miles from the nearest community and consist of 80 acres to 220 acres. In both instances neighbors either shoot at their own ranges or come over and shoot at ours. That said, I still get shivers whenever I hear a ricochet either off the target stands or a rock in the dirt behind us. Rifle calibers are shot very seldom, mostly it's just handguns, handgun caliber carbines and shotguns, so distance of danger is quite small. Still, one is responsible downrange for every shot. Last year, a good friend with many years of shooting experience, but little with lever carbines, bumped the trigger on my Rossi .357 lever while jacking in another shell. The gun was pointed upward. Now there is nothing for several miles in the direction the shot was fired, but still, I worried for a week about where that bullet landed.

I know of guys that shoot regularly behind their house with the only backstop being the trees for the remainder of the 20- 40 acres they shoot on. Sometimes it's a road or a farm behind those trees. Because they cannot see thru those trees they feel they are safe to go. I dunno, I won't shoot there.
 
I'd take the NRA guidelines with a grain of salt. Those are more for public ranges, and the drafters of those guidelines had a team of lawyers breathing down their necks scrutinizing every word.

For a safe private range on private land, the most important thing you need is common sense. You'll need to know the state & local laws, of course, locations of nearby houses, neighbors, structures, etc., and then layout & build accordingly with the intention that EVERY bullet fired stops where you intend it to. Keep in mind that rocks cause ricochets, the rocks gotta go. Even if they're covered with dirt they're not safe.

And FMJ rifle bullets, like most any flavor of milsurps, will penetrate a LOT more than you may suspect! Those require more caution than soft point or hollowpoint bullets. .30 class rifle ammo made for combat wasn't designed to be stopped easily.

A good tractor with a front loader bucket and a scraper blade will be the most important tool you'd need, buy/borrow/rent one if possible. With that, you could cut a really nice shooting spot into a small hillside.

I would LOVE to be able to do this! My major pipedream! I'd be in heaven.
 
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So who here shoots with people who have a vertical spread at 200 yards of 20ft? Even with handgun 2 ft would likely be manageable. And yes I would say screw the NRA guidelines. Those are lawyerized so much they might as well be modern production .357 ammo. Make your berm at least head high and you should be good...at any range. This gives 5-6 foot of variance so +-3ft. Windage is a bigger deal, so make it wide enough for 2 or 3 targets and on windy days don't shoot the edges.
 
IMO, the best way to be safe is to place your targets as close to the backstop/berm as possible, then adjust your shooting position accordingly. Keep the targets close to what's intended to stop the bullets. Putting your targets out far in front of the backstop and just assuming "that big pile of dirt will stop the bullets" is a poor plan and asking for trouble.

JMHO.

When I shoot, it's at my club's range, which is 560 acres of private land in the middle of nowhere and VERY well designed and laid out. But I still adhere to my personal rule of placing my targets right up as close to the dirt berm as I can, and then moving the shooting bench to the distance I want. I may hear other members bullets whizzing into the sky after ricocheting off the ground, but nobody's gonna hear MY bullets do that! Not if I can help it.

I should mention that our club has multiple individual ranges of varying lengths, both pistol and rifle. The majority are long and narrow, with tall dirt berms the full length of the sides. So a shooter can have a range all to himself and guest(s), and adjust his distances as he wishes. There's only 3 ranges there with fixed firing lines. It's an awesome place!
 
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rondog said:
For a safe private range on private land, the most important thing you need is common sense.
Click to expand...

Exactly. While some complain because the NRA guidelines are "lawyerized", there are good reasons. Stray bullets are very dangerous things. One bullet leaving your range could impact your livelihood, your standard of living and your way of life forever on top of affecting another family's life with the loss or injury of a loved one. What are the odds of stray leaving the range? Depends on how much the range is used, how safely folks use the range and the overall design of the range.
 
The big point is that you are responsible for every shot fired remaining on your property.

Unfortunately not everyone who shoots believes this....

Just find ground that has a slope to it, give it a facelift so you have a large square target stop with plenty of hillside behind it in a direction that bullets aren't flying towards anybody's house or barn.

This is probably ok - as long that 'behind it' is 5,000-6,000 feet of YOUR property.

Unfortunately, city folks move to the country every day and assume that neighbor's farm field suffices for them since they don't have a 15+ ft backstop.

I think much of what would constitute a safe private range is different than what constitutes a safe public range, just because of the amount of shooters using it and the experience of those shooters.

Unfortunately a lot of people have this same attitude.... It is like the lottery: how may times do you have to shoot to have that ONE errant bullet that flies past and kills the neighbor? But since it is private range, less shots, so that 1 in 100,000 chance MAY not happen for a while compared to the higher volume public range....

I'd take the NRA guidelines with a grain of salt. Those are more for public ranges, and the drafters of those guidelines had a team of lawyers breathing down their necks scrutinizing every word.


If you buy the book you will see the words say PUBLIC OR PRIVATE all over - there is NO distinction when it comes to safety. Unfortunately, there are too many who think this is true. Only takes one errant bullet to kill someone...

layout & build accordingly with the intention that EVERY bullet fired stops where you intend it to. Keep in mind that rocks cause ricochets, the rocks gotta go. Even if they're covered with dirt they're not safe.

Excellent comment! Funny, the NRA guidelines address this too: any rocks need to be 18-24" BELOW dirt....

So who here shoots with people who have a vertical spread at 200 yards of 20ft?

A LOT of us in the country do! And it is not a 'vertical spread of 20ft' - that is NOT sufficient without definition of the ANGLE of that 20ft rise; NRA guidelines say 45 degree MINIMUM - not 1/2 mile.

Another idea to consider. Take a look at the "Low cost backstop alternative"/"bullet box" early in this PDF (which is mostly dealing with larger public ranges. http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/destina..._practices.pdf


Good point! There are alternatives to a 15+ ft backstop - but NOT a 5ft pile of anything.

One bullet leaving your range could impact your livelihood, your standard of living and your way of life forever on top of affecting another family's life with the loss or injury of a loved one. What are the odds of stray leaving the range? Depends on how much the range is used, how safely folks use the range and the overall design of the range.

EXACTLY. Some are willing to bet their next 20-30yrs life in prison for manslaughter charge based on the ODDS?

We get hot on this subject because we are almost daily fighting this issue with new city slickers moving out here to the 'country' onto 1,2,3 acre plots and putting a pile of tree trimmings or a single 10" diam stump, at their (their neighbor's) property line and claiming they don't miss! In the country we often have real life Barney Fife local police who have no clue what is and is not safe. We are working with the NRA range design team to educate these local police. When they see the "ODDS" are that they may not hurt anyone for a long time, it gives them strength to continue unsafe practices.

[/OFF Soapbox] sorry.
 
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Let's get back to the point of this one. Pistol range on private property.

It's a pistol range, the original post doesn't tell us how far he wants to shoot so it's wide open but I'm betting 200yds is a touch more than intended. Realistically a pistol range out to 100 yards is fairly long so IF we take the numbers from NRA book then that tells us that the range berm should be bench width plus 35 yards so assume 50 yards. Backstop/berm height is now the issue. If your shooting square into something the chance of ricochet is minimized so long as it's thick enough to stop a bullet. If your using an entire hillside your good to go. If your shooting into a crater, your good to go. So height is the factor now, and is realistically the only arguable point. If you as a shooter are not capable of preventing a nd and you can guarantee you can hit the target every time why would you need a 20ft tall berm? I know of plenty public ranges without that big of a berm. Now, to the point of range beyond target, again that's a function of your backstop. If there is no way a bullet can get beyond the backstop then fire away...that's how they have indoor ranges in town.

Now to the point of risk...life is all about mitigation of risk. If your making this argument then you should not be driving a vehicle or shooting a gun period because they both have associated known risk that is deemed acceptable (by most). To say your going to overbuild a shooting range to prevent you from killing your neighbor is the opposite approach to most things in life. You don't only drive on closed roads to avoid running over pedestrians do you? Of course not. You find the level of risk acceptable to you, you consider the laws and your abilities, then go 10mph over the speed limit because everybody else does it.

Figure out what you know beyond shadow of a doubt you can hit, give yourself room for error, and whatever you decide on is your acceptable risk. You may have people disagree which is fine, but their opinion does matter, even if it is purely emotional (unless they just say guns are evil).
 
Phillip69...

It sounds like you perceive a problem in your local area with people shooting on small lots, and so have been asking questions of the NRA about safe range design. They have been providing guidance appropriate for building a public shooting range without accounting for specific use because that is information you could not possibly provide them in your (self appointed?) role as a private land shooting activist.

Do you shoot?
 
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