I am trying to make a little shooting range in my back yard and my dad is worried about the stray bullets. We have 20 acres and no other houses within at least 1000 ft of where i would be and about 500 feet of that is wooded. I am wondering how far a bullet will travel and if i should be worried about my bullets going through the target and making it all the way to the houses.
help me ease my dad's mind
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![[TASF]Overkill](/d1/avatars/m/2/2505.jpg?1156032827){kind=avatar}
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Just make a big backstop that extends twice as far into the air as the tallest target stand. And make sure that's where your bullets hit.
1000 feet really isn't much...
1000 feet really isn't much...
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Backstops are important! The range I shoot at has a really high dirt birm at about 12 to 14 ft high at 250yards down range. I saw a cloud of dirt puff up at 100 yards because I had missed my target, then i saw a puff of dirt at teh top of the birm. It skipped like a rock across water. Can't imagine where the bullet would have ended up had the range been anywhere other than a national forest with lots of trees to stop the bullet.
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A large pile of dirt with no rocks in it makes the best back stop. Twice as high as the target and much wider.
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You need dirt, and a lot of it.
As stated, bullets skip. It's crazy how much they skip.
As stated, bullets skip. It's crazy how much they skip.
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Only possible non-permanent backstop would be a shitload of sand bags.
I don't think it's a good idea.
I don't think it's a good idea.
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maybe a huge wall of railroad ties? If your not prepared to do a good solid backstop, DON'T DO ANYTHING AT ALL!
For some reason, I have a horrible image of Overkill crazily skipping down the street with his shirt on his head. Damn disturbing. And there is no reason for me to be imagining this!
Those crazy crazy bullets.
For some reason, I have a horrible image of Overkill crazily skipping down the street with his shirt on his head. Damn disturbing. And there is no reason for me to be imagining this!
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Ranger, you're not imagining it. I was trying to retrace the path of a .308 round I fired down the straight stretch near our house. It's crazy how those bullets skip. I can't skip that far. I get tired. And my shirt gets sideways.
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sounds like your Dad's concerns are probably legit. And I am sorry to say it but from the plywood for a backstop question, I'd have to say DO NOT DO IT.
There is another way to get a lot of dirt for a backstop. At my buddy's house we use a dry gulley, that runs downhill towards his house. It is much higher ground behind where we set up the targets, and high gound on either side. It is a kind of "V" shaped.
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do you hum a tune when you skip? I hear that humming while you skip gets you a farther distance.[TASF said:
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The last time I went to our local range it was fairly dangerous there as well.
They've got use dirt piles for backstops....but we were walkin down the 100yrd range, and you can still hear rounds from the one over buzzin right over our heads. It made us do the instinctive duck.
Come to find out there was a youngin with his dad shootin a .22 and wasn't even comin close to the targets. Bouncin em off the ground below.
Rounds makin the funny sound they do over your head really sucks.
Some ammo says right on the box"lethal to xxx miles"
They've got use dirt piles for backstops....but we were walkin down the 100yrd range, and you can still hear rounds from the one over buzzin right over our heads. It made us do the instinctive duck.
Come to find out there was a youngin with his dad shootin a .22 and wasn't even comin close to the targets. Bouncin em off the ground below.
Rounds makin the funny sound they do over your head really sucks.
Some ammo says right on the box"lethal to xxx miles"
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20 acres? Why not find a place that you CAN put a good solid dirt backstop? Last time I checked, that is a lot of darn land!
The 22s usually say dangerous up to 1 1/2 miles.
Ok, what are you shooting here really. If you're just plinking 22s, then plywood would be a very expensive (and heavy) alternative to a sand backstop. A minimum of six 1" pieces with sheetmetal between each, screwed tight as possible to make as dense possible target.
The only thing is, you're going to have to have such a large backstop of plywood, and at 1" plywood going like $35 a sheet, we're talking close to $300 worth of material for a target that still won't withstand a lot of abuse and would need to be replaced regularly.
The 22s usually say dangerous up to 1 1/2 miles.
Ok, what are you shooting here really. If you're just plinking 22s, then plywood would be a very expensive (and heavy) alternative to a sand backstop. A minimum of six 1" pieces with sheetmetal between each, screwed tight as possible to make as dense possible target.
The only thing is, you're going to have to have such a large backstop of plywood, and at 1" plywood going like $35 a sheet, we're talking close to $300 worth of material for a target that still won't withstand a lot of abuse and would need to be replaced regularly.
We used to shoot out at my grandparents place where the actuall battle of fallen timbers took place, major turning point of the warof 1812. Our back stop was portable, cuz gramps didn't want to alter his way of mowing, ever.
Railroad ties we stole from the tracks down the road. Stacked at least 5 high and a minimum of 2 deep on the top. It was about 5 deep on the bottom. Even more if my uncle was out there with his m16. So it was built like a pyramid on the back side. Then we had wings that went out on either side that were at least 6 foot long. Again railroad ties. These were 2 deep also and the same height as the main back stop. Then a muti layered roof of plywood and 2x dimensional lumber was layered on the top, covering the entire "u" shaped opening, weighed down with cinder blocks. Another railroad tie was used as the target stand.
I was always the one to build it and nobody would help, bastards. It would take me about an hour to assemble it properly. Longer to dismantle, due to the clean up.
Towards the end, my uncle brought over a steel plate, about 1.5 inches thick. We used this , with the top angled towards the shooting line, as an additional backstop. When this was used, then he would go full auto with the military ammo he borrowed.
We never ever ever had richocet. Gramps would not allow it as his apple orchard was behind the shooting area. If you damaged a tree, you was dead meat. period. His trees were his best friend because they didn't talk back like grandma.
But, there is no target better then an apple, you know when you hit it.
There would be about 8 of us out there shooting.
Guns used,
50 cal musket
m16 full auto with military ammo
22 long rifle
22 shorts
.177 cal bb's and pellets
22 cal bb
30 cal
30-06
45
44
38
22 target pistol
30# long bow
15# recurve bow
45# compound bow
2 crossbows using leaf springs borrowed from the Jeep plant as the bow, pull undetermined, but it took two adults to cock the things.
Railroad ties we stole from the tracks down the road. Stacked at least 5 high and a minimum of 2 deep on the top. It was about 5 deep on the bottom. Even more if my uncle was out there with his m16. So it was built like a pyramid on the back side. Then we had wings that went out on either side that were at least 6 foot long. Again railroad ties. These were 2 deep also and the same height as the main back stop. Then a muti layered roof of plywood and 2x dimensional lumber was layered on the top, covering the entire "u" shaped opening, weighed down with cinder blocks. Another railroad tie was used as the target stand.
I was always the one to build it and nobody would help, bastards. It would take me about an hour to assemble it properly. Longer to dismantle, due to the clean up.
Towards the end, my uncle brought over a steel plate, about 1.5 inches thick. We used this , with the top angled towards the shooting line, as an additional backstop. When this was used, then he would go full auto with the military ammo he borrowed.
We never ever ever had richocet. Gramps would not allow it as his apple orchard was behind the shooting area. If you damaged a tree, you was dead meat. period. His trees were his best friend because they didn't talk back like grandma.
But, there is no target better then an apple, you know when you hit it.
There would be about 8 of us out there shooting.
Guns used,
50 cal musket
m16 full auto with military ammo
22 long rifle
22 shorts
.177 cal bb's and pellets
22 cal bb
30 cal
30-06
45
44
38
22 target pistol
30# long bow
15# recurve bow
45# compound bow
2 crossbows using leaf springs borrowed from the Jeep plant as the bow, pull undetermined, but it took two adults to cock the things.
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