Shooting range Ideas

[horsemen61]

Ok guys so let’s say you have your own space and you’ve been given the green light to build your own range it’s 100 yards is the distance available


So what would you do/like to see in your private range?

 

[Barbaroja]

Ability to hang tarp to catch brass.

 

[ericuda]

Good solid bench and shade.

 

[Bazoo]

I've got a range in my property that has a good hill for a backstop, with brush at the top of the hill to help stop any outliers. Concealment from the spying neighbors with plenty of cedars and brush. A decent parking area for friends to visit. But I only have 1 friend that comes down with any regularity.

I need to add a burn barrel for targets, backers, and trash. For a good while, I had a burn ring for a campfire, but I moved it. Maybe I should move it back.

 

[Chuck R.]

Tall backstop, preferably on 3 sides creating a pistol bay. I like a few permanent swingers but prefer movable stands so I can change up the CoFs depending on what I'm practicing on. Gravel (fine) so I can find my brass. My gravel is on the large side, need knee pads for policing brass. My basic berm (I cut into a hill) is OK, but wish I'd dug deeper in to provide sides and at least 180 degree shooting. I use a small garden shed to store my steel and supplies and it's about out of room due to swingers, poppers, and my moving target. Would like to get a larger one, or a smaller add on to store steel plates.

My range for ideas:

Backstop and graveled in pistol range, the backstop also serves the 200 yd rifle range.



TGTs on portable stands:



My 100-300 yard bench sits on a concrete slab that I should have made larger. It's OK, but could have used more room for position shooting practice.






Target shed, it filled up quickly with stands etc.

 

[CapnMac]

Drainage to the middle so both firing point and butts are dry. Baring that, drainage through the berm to keep the butts area dry.

And the first thing I want is another 4' high on the berm--Unless there's a natural hill or embankment available..

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

I like marked 25and 50 yard target areas. Depending on what you use for target holders bury some 3/4" or 1" foot long sections of PVC or Galvanized pipe so the targets are easy to install or remove. I like making target holders from 10' long 1/2" EMT conduit. Make a 90 degree bend about 40" from each end and bolt a piece of plywood, paneling, or wafer board to it and you have an economical easily replaceable target stand.

 

[Seedy Character]

Outstanding, Chuck

We have a hill, topped with cedars. Dualing tree, a couple swingers and target stands.

Need to build a bench. We just shoot offhand, now. Would love to have 300 yards. The land is there to go 1/2 mile, but no berm.

 

[Chuck R.]

Outstanding, Chuck

We have a hill, topped with cedars. Dualing tree, a couple swingers and target stands.

Need to build a bench. We just shoot offhand, now. Would love to have 300 yards. The land is there to go 1/2 mile, but no berm.

We were pretty fortunate, hills in KS are at a premium!

I tell everyone that it's 'a work in progress' as every year I add some tgts or another shooting spot. I keep thinking about making another concrete pad for doing more distance work, but for now my M37A1 Mobile Shooting Platform (MSP) is working out Ok. It also makes it easier to transport all the chit we use and we say out of the ticks & chiggers:




It took a while to find a place that had both a natural backstop and some distance, I can and do go out to 760yds with a small berm for a backstop. I'd love to have things set up slightly differently IE shoot to the north, rather than west etc. More distance would also be nice. Finding the elusive "perfect" spot for a range AND affording it is difficult unless you'd like to live way out west...or hit the lottery.

 

[mope540]

Ability to hang tarp to catch brass.

Good solid bench and shade.

Great suggestions!
A permanent bench made out of treated 4x4s, along with a mesh catch net is my goal.
I would like to turn this property into a 100-150 yd range (the dots represent 100, 150, and 200 yd marks from the stake). I wish the area beyond 100yds was flat, but this is the longest clear stretch available for shooting in a safe direction.There is another hill behind the trees, but i will probably build a berm just past the 200 yd mark anyway

 

[horsemen61]

Great thoughts everyone I like what I’m seeing here!

 

[lightman]

Having built a couple here are a few things that I like. A sturdy bench that can be used either right handed or left. A cover over the bench. A slab is nice to have around the bench. It keeps you from wearing a hole under the bench that holds water. A sturdy target holder, with an easily replaced frame. And an adequate backstop.

The above covers the basic needs. The following make it even better. A place to store target frames, tools, ect is nice. So is electricity. Secluded and out of the publics eyes is a bonus. Controlled access is a plus.

 

[Walkalong]

Some steel to shoot at.


A solid platform and bench to shoot off of.

 

[mope540]

We were pretty fortunate, hills in KS are at a premium!

I tell everyone that it's 'a work in progress' as every year I add some tgts or another shooting spot. I keep thinking about making another concrete pad for doing more distance work, but for now my M37A1 Mobile Shooting Platform (MSP) is working out Ok. It also makes it easier to transport all the chit we use and we say out of the ticks & chiggers:

View attachment 1047558
View attachment 1047559

It took a while to find a place that had both a natural backstop and some distance, I can and do go out to 760yds with a small berm for a backstop. I'd love to have things set up slightly differently IE shoot to the north, rather than west etc. More distance would also be nice. Finding the elusive "perfect" spot for a range AND affording it is difficult unless you'd like to live way out west...or hit the lottery.

Not to be a bossy know-it-all, and I'm sure that your aim is good, but it looks as though you're aiming down that transmission line right-of-way... If someone accidentally hits one of those hanging insulators the result could be bad and very expensive. The resulting insulator failure may be immediate or it could take time to happen, but the utility will go hard after anybody destroying their line structures or equipment.
Aim a little to the right, please.... Signed, retired lineman

 

[Chuck R.]

Not to be a bossy know-it-all, and I'm sure that your aim is good, but it looks as though you're aiming down that transmission line right-of-way... If someone accidentally hits one of those hanging insulators the result could be bad and expensive for you. The result may be immediate or it could take time to happen, but the utility will go hard after anybody shooting up there equipment.
Aim a little to the right, please. Lol. Signed, retired lineman

Yup, the TGT berm is about 25' to the right of the line (note wind flag, 90% of the time wind is south, 9 O'clock). They're right of way is 75' from center. The only rifles that I have that could be concerned with trajectory height would be my BPCRs.

I put multiple plates out to the max distance starting at just over 300, so in effect you're 'walking' rounds into it and adapting o the windage increase. Without a hit on a plate, you don't get to progress. Long before we even get to the longer range, I've got a course set up from 200-400 that pretty much weeds out the folks that can't get to 760 safely, there's only a small handful of us that shoot the longer stuff, and that's with the precision rifle setups.

I do technically own every round that's fired on my place.

 

[Seedy Character]

We were on a 1000 yard range. My buddy has a Sniper 91 Moisin Nagant, he decided to try it 1000.

He flipped up the fernier sight, set it to 1000 (meters) and took aim.

The shot goes off and we are counting
1000 and 1
1000 and 2
1000 and 3
1000 and 4

"tink"

He jumps up, "I hit it! I actually hit it!"

Spotter pipes in, "yeah, the 700 yard Hong. You are 55 feet low."

 

[buck460XVR]

Good solid bench and shade.

This.....not only is shade well appreciated when the hot sun is shining, it also helps keep one dry in the rain and snow. Many has been the time when the roof over the bench on my range saved the day when folks had planned on shooting that particular day/weekend. Having an auto-feed clay pigeon thrower has been a great addition too as the covered platform with it's movable bench can double for practicing with shotguns too.

 

[Capybara]

All I would need is a copy of Hickok45s range and I would be in heaven.

 

[eyeshot]

All I would need is a copy of Hickok45s range and I would be in heaven.

Yep. I thought I was looking at it in Walkalongs post. But only briefly in that I didn't see a chainsaw.

 

[mokin]

I would like reactive/moving targets. A few years ago I was messing around with some ideas I saw on u-tube using balloons, levers, and weights with the guy who runs the local 3 Gun matches. They were fun but labor intensive to set up. They slowed things down a lot. For my own purposes, they would be fine.

 

[Chuck R.]

I would like reactive/moving targets. A few years ago I was messing around with some ideas I saw on u-tube using balloons, levers, and weights with the guy who runs the local 3 Gun matches. They were fun but labor intensive to set up. They slowed things down a lot. For my own purposes, they would be fine.

For defensive shooting practice I use one of these:

https://www.challengetargets.com/product/PS-HD-TH-80019-R.html

Works great when combined with an ocular cavity plate, or just either one to work "failure to stop drills". I picked up on it during a defensive pistol class where the instructors had multiple versions in a shoot house. It can also be calibrated to require multiple hits to "drive" the target to the ground. very cool for working rapid follow ups.

This scenario was surprised while sleeping, one assailant in doorway, second behind wall/hard cover.









With "face Tgt" over cavity (small triangular shaped AR500 plate):


I also built a "mover" that's people powered for working the "Tueller Drill" (again, picked it up in a defensive shooting class):



An assistant pulls the TGT towards the shooter rapidly at the signal to draw. Gives the shooter an idea of reaction time and their "min safe distance" from an assailant armed with knife or blunt object. It's also set up with pulleys to move laterally across the backstop.

Don't forget the normal "props"; barricades, blue barrels etc.

 

[buck460XVR]

I would like reactive/moving targets.

A cheap, quick and easy reactive target is a bowling pin hung from a shepherd's hook. While they don't last long if shot with a high powered rifle or a super magnum handgun like a .460, they last a long time when shot with .44 mag and lesser handguns/carbines, as well as .22 calibers, both center and rim fire. Scrap pieces of 4x4s, and 2x4s also work if you don't have or run out of bowling pins. I paint them orange to make them easy to see and use a small screw-eye to hang them from. Any chips/pieces that break off quickly compost into the shooting area. Once you shoot them they start to swing and make for a challenging moving target. They also can be left out on the range without being damaged by the weather and can be easily moved when you want a closer or farther away target.

 

[Walkalong]

Then add a dedicated.22LR shooting deck. It’s
not just the little kids who like shooting.22 LR.

 

[Walkalong]

 

[Insignificant bill]

I'm jealous of all of you. Living in DFW we have to pay to shoot.