Work continues on the shooting range.

[ken erickson]

Over the last year and half I have been developing a safe shooting range.. Admittedly its been slow going , lots of other projects going on at the same time.

Saturday with the help from a neighbor we "boxed" in my covered shooting bench. The white pine we used was cut and sawn by him. I will be painting to match my tractor shed. The soil is very sandy and I will be trenching a air space at ground level around the pine skirts to reduce rot. The roof material is a one piece rubber membrane , it was what I had on hand when I built the roof. I intend to eventually install a metal roof that matches my tractor shed. Cream sides with green slate trim. I also started to carve out a 25 yard 22 rimfire point. Removed some dead Scot pines with the L2501 and grapple. Started to move some soil for a berm. From the shooting bench both the 100 yard point and 25 yard point will have a safe backstop.

 

[Jchonline]

If you want it to be safe, that berm needs to be 16 feet tall if 50 yds or less and 23 feet tall if 100 yards or more. Targets should be as close as possible to the back wall, and as close to the ground as possible.

 

[bird dogger]

That's sure a nice spot, Ken!! How does one go about getting on the guest list?

 

[ken erickson]

If you want it to be safe, that berm needs to be 16 feet tall if 50 yds or less and 23 feet tall if 100 yards or more. Targets should be as close as possible to the back wall, and as close to the ground as possible.

Of course safety is a relative term. Certainly I do not dispute your numbers but I think perhaps they do not take in account my topography .
The shooting bench sits high and both backstops are in a low bowl with rising terrain in all directions. A 20 ft plus or minus in all directions. In line with the 100 yard berm the closest structure is 2 plus miles away.
Safety is always in my mind, same as it was when I owned and operated a indoor 8 point rifle and pistol range in the St Louis area.

 

[ken erickson]

That's sure a nice spot, Ken!! How does one go about getting on the guest list?

Thanks! And just a private message away!

 

[OrangeKrush]

Wish I had a place for a nice range.. that's going to be a nice all weather range there..

 

[Jchonline]

Of course safety is a relative term. Certainly I do not dispute your numbers but I think perhaps they do not take in account my topography .
The shooting bench sits high and both backstops are in a low bowl with rising terrain in all directions. A 20 ft plus or minus in all directions. In line with the 100 yard berm the closest structure is 2 plus miles away.
Safety is always in my mind, same as it was when I owned and operated a indoor 8 point rifle and pistol range in the St Louis area.

If you owned an indoor range, you are aware that outdoor ranges are very different. Distance from the impact point to the berm is what matters. Ricochets can still fly for miles, so in-line isn’t really considered a significant safety measure. Closest structure doesn’t always mean closest human.

I helped design a clubs outdoor range in my area. That said as a single person you only have so many resources I understand (and this isn’t a public range). Just try keep the targets as close to a dirt berm as you can. Enjoy!

 

[ken erickson]

If you owned an indoor range, you are aware that outdoor ranges are very different. Distance from the impact point to the berm is what matters. Ricochets can still fly for miles, so in-line isn’t really considered a significant safety measure. Closest structure doesn’t always mean closest human.

I helped design a clubs outdoor range in my area. That said as a single person you only have so many resources I understand (and this isn’t a public range). Just try keep the targets as close to a dirt berm as you can. Enjoy!

Thanks for your input and weighing in!

 

[SGT13]

Of course safety is a relative term. Certainly I do not dispute your numbers but I think perhaps they do not take in account my topography .
The shooting bench sits high and both backstops are in a low bowl with rising terrain in all directions. A 20 ft plus or minus in all directions. In line with the 100 yard berm the closest structure is 2 plus miles away.
Safety is always in my mind, same as it was when I owned and operated a indoor 8 point rifle and pistol range in the St Louis area.

You can always augment your berms with RR ties. Unless you've got larger dia. belt feds they'll last many years.

 

[Lil Foot]

I met a guy from South Dakota who had his own 200yd range, and he got tired of trying to build up tall enough berms. (I forget how high we had gotten)
He was driving by a scrap yard and spotted a large water tank (I'd guess 100,000 gal) that had been cut up and removed from some municipality. He bought (4) large, slightly curved pieces, 1/2" thk, maybe 8' high x 20' wide, and put them on top his berms. I don't remember the price, but it was cheap.
Of course, that was before steel prices went nuts.
I asked about ricochets, and he said at 200 or even 100yds it had never been an issue.

 

[Magicman]

I like that shooting house.....matter of fact, I REALLY like it !!!

 

[ken erickson]

I like that shooting house.....matter of fact, I REALLY like it !!!

It might be a bit of "over kill" as my one friend said but there is a reason to my madness! Another dear friend had gifted me the rock solid shooting bench he had made many years ago. His club hosted and built up about 10 of these benches for 4H kids to use while learning gun safety etc. The deal he made with the club was that if he built the benches they would supply enough material for him to build one for his home rifle range. After he sold his rural home he gifted the bench to me. I could not see it just sitting out in the open with a tarp thrown over it.

 

[rgOO6]

One thing you might want to consider is noise control. I live in a rural area, but is becoming more populated. So in addition to having a good berm, I am also having to consider some walls to help cushion to sound. Some companies make some really neat round walls that slip right over the barrel... they are made of metal and for some reason the postage stamp is really expensive.

 

[8upbowhunter]

That is looking really nice, good job.

 

[Tughill Tom]

It might be a bit of "over kill" as my one friend said but there is a reason to my madness! Another dear friend had gifted me the rock solid shooting bench he had made many years ago. His club hosted and built up about 10 of these benches for 4H kids to use while learning gun safety etc. The deal he made with the club was that if he built the benches they would supply enough material for him to build one for his home rifle range. After he sold his rural home he gifted the bench to me. I could not see it just sitting out in the open with a tarp thrown over it.

We need pic's of the bench, please I can make out some of it. From what I see it looks stout.

 

[skeets]

Dagon show offs,, LOL Looks like an out standing set up, I think the NRA has or at one time did have recommended safety requirements for a range. Though and I am pulling out of the dark recesses of my memory, the back stop was 20 feet high maybe and the target rack as close as practical to the ack stop. It looks like you have a good handle on it,, OH and one thing maybe off either side run danger tape, you know just so silly people dont walk across the range wanting to see what all the noise is

 

[memtb]

Deleted! memtb

 

[memtb]

Congrats on your shooting range.....looks like you’ve got a good thing going!

But WOW, what a coincidence.....I was gonna post about my shooting range work. Though with my range work, my dump trailer did most of the “heavy lifting”!


The photo shows the work done on our range here at our home! The black object in the left side of the photo is my 300 yard target frame!

We’ve had a 300 yard range with a backstop at our home for about 20 years. But, it was impractical for semi-auto handgun work, as the brass was near unrecoverable......so, we did very little practice with our defense handguns.

We cleaned an area of about 60 feet wide and 40 feet deep in front of the berm. Then we put about 36 yards of road-base (sand/rock/clay mix) on the cleaned area. Also added about 12 yards of sand to the front of the dirt berm! This will allow us to be able to move about in a more tactical manner while engaging our targets and more easily recover most of our brass! memtb

 

[ken erickson]

We need pic's of the bench, please I can make out some of it. From what I see it looks stout.

Here is a picture of the bench the day I brought it home before taking it to the land. You can shoot from either the right side or left. As far as wood benches go I find it to be rock solid.

I did want to thank everyone for the comments, suggestions and pictures of their ranges!
I might have given the impression that a lot more rounds will be sent down range than in actuality . My range is very private, set in the middle of my acreage with tight controls as to who and when any shooting takes place.

 

[Tughill Tom]

Here is a picture of the bench the day I brought it home before taking it to the land. You can shoot from either the right side or left. As far as wood benches go I find it to be rock solid.

I did want to thank everyone for the comments, suggestions and pictures of their ranges!
I might have given the impression that a lot more rounds will be sent down range than in actuality . My range is very private, set in the middle of my acreage with tight controls as to who and when any shooting takes place.

View attachment 66898

Very nice bench, simple. I likey! It could be a rainy day project if lumber prices come back to Earth.