Make Shift Backstop for Pistols?

[andyrping]

I have a corn/soy field and some woods behind my backyard and would like to do some backyard plinking from time to time. I've cleared it with my immediate neighbors and am also out of the city limits. However, there is one constraint left. Roughly 1/4 mile beyond the woods and field are some houses. I would only be shooting pistols, but being that the area is pretty flat, I'm not comfortable about shooting excessively without a solid backstop.

Anybody have some thoughts? Someone I work with suggested a railroad tie/dirt pile bunker sort of thing, but I don't think the old lady would be going for such an addition to the lawn. I thought about getting a big log and limitting to .22 and 9mm only, but would like to hear what others think of some economical and "bulldozerless" solutions.

Thanks!

 

[Mgderf]

I have a corn/soy field and some woods behind my backyard and would like to do some backyard plinking from time to time. I've cleared it with my immediate neighbors and am also out of the city limits. However, there is one constraint left. Roughly 1/4 mile beyond the woods and field are some houses. I would only be shooting pistols, but being that the area is pretty flat, I'm not comfortable about shooting excessively without a solid backstop.

Anybody have some thoughts? Someone I work with suggested a railroad tie/dirt pile bunker sort of thing, but I don't think the old lady would be going for such an addition to the lawn. I thought about getting a big log and limitting to .22 and 9mm only, but would like to hear what others think of some economical and "bulldozerless" solutions.

Thanks!

It's only been about a month ago that someone posted pics of a backyard backstop he built using exactly that, railroad ties and dirt bunker behind.
If you don't want to go high-power, you could look at a plate of steel on a 45 degree angle, with a sand pit below it. Hang target in front of it, rounds will be deflected straight down into the sand pit.
You can see an example of this concept by looking at the Daisy .22lr traps

 

[Jack Ryan]

I have a corn/soy field and some woods behind my backyard and would like to do some backyard plinking from time to time. I've cleared it with my immediate neighbors and am also out of the city limits. However, there is one constraint left. Roughly 1/4 mile beyond the woods and field are some houses. I would only be shooting pistols, but being that the area is pretty flat, I'm not comfortable about shooting excessively without a solid backstop.

Anybody have some thoughts? Someone I work with suggested a railroad tie/dirt pile bunker sort of thing, but I don't think the old lady would be going for such an addition to the lawn. I thought about getting a big log and limitting to .22 and 9mm only, but would like to hear what others think of some economical and "bulldozerless" solutions.

Thanks!

Plastic 50 gallon barrels filled with sand. Lay them down and shoot at the flat end. Any thing flat the bullets will penetrate and will hold sand to stop bullets will work and you can move it empty and fill it with a shovel.

 

[22lr]

I use a pile of old railroad ties. Its a good 5 feet thick at the base.