Sound Barriers for Home/Public ranges?

[dogtown tom]

Setting up a row of old tires, sidewall-to-sidewall so they make a sort of tube in front of the shooting bench and then shooting with the end of the barrel inside them when the shot is fired is supposed to reduce the report considerably.

Gun silencer prototype made of tires

Using 5.56 ammo for this demonstrationWk 180-C rifleNot much difference in sound because of the camera but we can stand beside it without ear protection.

www.youtube.com

Several years ago I remember reading about a guy who built exactly that....but in his basement. For quite some period of time it worked perfectly fine. Then it caught fire. Seems like a rodent built a nest in one of the tires and sparks set it ablaze.

So.......cut the bottom out of the tire and don't set it up where it can burn the house down.

 

[rayatphonix]

At the NC wildlife ranges they have what looks like ridgid duct with baffels in them and the ends are sort of closed . They seem to keep the sound down and look portable. Hope this helps lost...

In my part of NC the baffles are probably 30” or 36” clear inside. These are on the rifle area, handguns are shot in a different area. The tops, sides and bottoms are full of bullet holes. Especially the top. Hard for me to visualize how that could happen if shooters are follow proper firearm safety. My head is on swivel whenever I’m at one of these facilities, especially around the parking area. The range officers do the best they can, but they can’t be everywhere at once.

 

[RKRCPA]

One of the ranges I belong to has covered firing lines consisting of three sides and a roof. The interior of the stud walls and ceiling are filled with Rockwool insulation. This directs the majority of the sound downrange as well as reducing the noise level and concussion felt by the shooters.

 

[buck460XVR]

Karen lives about 200yards away but there is a road and very thick stand of pines and maples between us. She thinks the only reasonable people shoot once a year to sight in for November hunt. The concept of target practice is completely foreign to her and she sent a lil bird to inform me that I can shoot all I want when she leaves for Florida where she winters.

.....as long as everything you are doing is legal per any ordinances and your setup is safe, there's not a lot she can do but whine. If the shooting startles her, giving her a courtesy call before a range session would be neighborly, but one must realize that being neighborly goes both ways. Neighbors are like family....most of the time you don't get to chose. So you learn to live with them. Lot's of thing some of my neighbors do that irritate me too, but that's life. No way I would invest a considerable amount of time and monies to satisfy one neighbor, when I'm not doing anything wrong.

 

[jmorris]

I drag this out when Mrs. Morris is at home and I am playing with unsuppressed centerfire rifles out back.



It makes it quieter for others but the shooter gets more of the blast that without it being contained so close to them.

Nothing in there, just two slots in the drum, one at both ends.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

jmorris,
I like that drum idea for limited usage. Wonder how much quieter it would be if lined with some carpet or spray foam? May also reduce the impact back onto the shooter some. Or, may become a fire hazard.......Not sure.......

 

[Thomasss]

At different ranges, I've seen evergreen trees planted or tall arborvitae around the perimeter. I also saw plywood sides with a roof and sometimes without. Now on the sides, which were about 8 feet high, chicken wire was nailed to the walls with some type a house construction insulation underneath. Another place had the same walls with 1 inch decorative cork glued to the plywood. And a third with walls glued thick white drop ceiling panels on the walls They all worked to muffle the sound.

 

[Riomouse911]

jmorris,
I like that drum idea for limited usage. Wonder how much quieter it would be if lined with some carpet or spray foam? May also reduce the impact back onto the shooter some. Or, may become a fire hazard.......Not sure.......

With the indoor range fire that my local range had a couple weeks ago, I would be afraid a carpet filled drum would eventually hold enough unburned powder flakes to vigorously ignite.


Wrapped around the outside, thick carpet would probably do a good job, too. (Maybe?)

Stay safe.

 

[DustyGmt]

.....as long as everything you are doing is legal per any ordinances and your setup is safe, there's not a lot she can do but whine. If the shooting startles her, giving her a courtesy call before a range session would be neighborly, but one must realize that being neighborly goes both ways. Neighbors are like family....most of the time you don't get to chose. So you learn to live with them. Lot's of thing some of my neighbors do that irritate me too, but that's life. No way I would invest a considerable amount of time and monies to satisfy one neighbor, when I'm not doing anything wrong.

Agreed. Yeah I would certainly be neighborly and respectful but she went to the nuclear option first without ever even having met me. I work with her husband sometimes. Nice guy. She's just very abrasive and her first instinct was to threaten legal action, etc so I won't waste my time. If I'd heard that it was a bother to her or startled her or perhaps her husband addressed it in just about any other way, I'd have noooo problem with a courtesy call. I totally agree with fostering good relations with your neighbors, I think it's a sign of low intelligence to open up with threats and such, having a good relationship with neighbors is wise....

 

[KnightHawk]

I have been thinking on the noise dampening problem for a while now. First off it’s not a problem where I live, but the future more people with less tolerance might move in the neighborhood. Most properties are 20 to 40 acres so we aren’t on top of one another. So my first concern was weather, rain, snow, wind, and staying warm in Alaskan winters.
So I built a heated shed.




Backside before being moved into position.


There’s 5 dual pane windows that slide so you can open up from just enough to stick the rifle barrel through or up to a couple feet. Mosquito’s can be a factor as well.
The plan is to extend the shed out about 6 feet with an attached frame and use 2x2’s doubled with a layer of sound deadening fiberboard sandwiched in the middle, sides and roof. The range is 100 yards.
The next project for this spring is a platform 90 degrees to the left of the shed. The platform will be 12x20 with a tent tubing frame, walls and ceiling will get fiberboard lining as well. Brown tarp cover for weather.
This is going to be the handgun range. There is a good natural hillside 25 yards away for a backstop.
The shooting bench will be towards the rear of the handgun covered shed to take advantage of the sound deading of the structure. Obviously lighting will be required.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

The row of tires as a non-attached sound supressor for bench top use should be used outdoors only.
Unswept indoor range floors have been know to collect enough unburned gunpowder to spark scary fires if not kept swept.
The row of tires should be hosed out occassionally.

 

[DustyGmt]

Setting up a row of old tires, sidewall-to-sidewall so they make a sort of tube in front of the shooting bench and then shooting with the end of the barrel inside them when the shot is fired is supposed to reduce the report considerably.

Gun silencer prototype made of tires

Using 5.56 ammo for this demonstrationWk 180-C rifleNot much difference in sound because of the camera but we can stand beside it without ear protection.

www.youtube.com

I'd be curious if shooting with this kind of setup would have drastic or even appreciable differences in poa/poi if you went from the silencer tube to open air. I know it's only 15' or so but it could have an effect, no?

I realize that isn't the question, the question being how to muffle or dampen the report, but anything I may do to silence my shots I really don't want to change my poi.

 

[hso]

Build it and see

 

[JohnKSa]

I'd be curious if shooting with this kind of setup would have drastic or even appreciable differences in poa/poi if you went from the silencer tube to open air. I know it's only 15' or so but it could have an effect, no?

It shouldn't have any affect at all on POA. There's no effect I can think of that would have any impact on the bullet's travel.

 

[GE-Mini-Gun]

If you can get/build a shed and line it with egg create foam and stay inside it while firing, will help a lot, with just you I would think 8x12 would keep everything inside…15’ would be better. Another thing you can do, plant Leyland cypress trees, 3-4 rows and stagger the rows, will take a couple of years to get the full benefit of them, but they grow fast.

 

[CapnMac]

Sound propagates as pressure waves from its source in whatever fluid it occurs.

As those pressure waved impact objects, they impute the "impact force" upon that object, which responds following the rules of physics.

Something really rigid and dense, like the precast concrete panels used along freeways, will dissipate the energy in the surface and not re-radiate that energy.

Now, a less-rigid and/or less-dense material can re-eradiate the sound on it's opposite side. This is where @hso 's idea of two layers of canvas hung a few inches apart can work. The first canvas dumps the sound energy into the air space, then into the next canvas. Each of those "energy transactions" taking a toll" if you will, on the total energy sum at first.

Another scheme is to "pocket" the air between two surfaces using foam, carton eggcrate, spun fiberglass, even mineral wool batts. Each of those has a resiliant face' surface, which "steals" some of the sound energy by being resilient. The "trapped" air in the material tends to not deform to the sound wave (or the geometry "bends" the direction, which also "steals" energy away).

Now, several ranges I'm aware of, simply built lattice works where verticals were arranged down the range, then horizontal lumber set at an angle to the horizontal (45° being very typical) stacked along those posts. The sound waves would "strike" the diagonals, and be reflected down (or up) and away from the horizontal. I know of a rang in Irving, Texas where they set suck baffles, about 3-4 foot tall, about every 25 yards down the range perpendicular to same, and about 6-8 feet above grade. This very much reduced the "noise pollution" at the range.

Now, the downside to this, is that "everything" at a range will wind up with bullet holes in it. Intentional, accidental, whatever. All range features eventually resemble low-quality Swiss cheese (more holes, less cheese). So, any solution used must needs be durable, and also inexpensive, as they also need to be replaceable.

I know of a range where they used precast concrete fencing--which uses a 3" thick panel set between "H" columns. Such fences can provide substantial sound remediation. The panels are replaceable, too. What they are not, is cheap. A couple of hundred yards of such material is going to price out, installed, around a quarter million (presuming 10 foot tall panels). This is a big "bite" on the already sizable physical plant costs of an outdoor range. As would be putting shading tarps or structures over the range (building an angled "shade structure" over the firing line will help mitigate sound at the source, too.

 

[doubleh]

I could build one from steel pipe that would do a pretty good job. It would be expensive, require a sturdy support system, and a small winch truck to install. In the days of Ajax engine powered oil well pump jacks I built quite a few of these. One was for the largest singe cylinder Ajax made and it's exhaust report using a straight pipe would literally shake the ground around the unit when it fired. It was louder than any gun I have ever heard. After installing the muffler I built the exhaust report was a thump. Ajax engines fire with a single loud bang as they raise the counterweights up and then coast with a subdued chuff, chuff sound for the rest of the rotation. As the oilfield became electified and emission regulations became stricter there ceased to be a demand and they went out of business. The mufflers were just a length of 18" pipe with a series of baffles I dreamed up cut from 1/4" plate and welded inside. Due to having to have a straight hole all the way through it wouldn't be quite as effective as what I built for the engines. The length was determined by how far I could reach inside from each end to weld the baffles in place. Two of them could be made and welded together to be more effective.