Personal ranges

[Aggar]

For those of you with your own range I have a few questions. I plan on making one this spring and probably into summer. I am planning on a 150-200 yd range. Depending on how far back I push the dirt with the dozer. Im looking for tips and ideas for mine. I'm thinking building a somewhat permanent shooting bench and shelter and then have spots marked for various distances. The spot where the range will go will have a little dip in it and then gradually go up as the farther it goes. Any input would be good. Thanks. I'm open to all ideas and criticisms.

 

[turnerdye1]

idk if this will help you much but this is how my setup is. its not open to the public or anything. idk if you wanting to open it up or not. but anyways...

right now i have an open field to shoot across that is about 700yrds that i shoot for long distance. i build a permanstand out of concrete and a nice bench with a shelter over it. then i have one at 500yds, 200yrds, and 100yrds. then i have 2 50yrd shelters for rifle or handguns. then off to the side i have my own handgun specific type range. it has metal swingers and normal target stands.

its not drawn to scale obviously but this is about what it looks like. none of my shelters get in the way over the others. the length of the dirt mound is about 200 yrd or so ( it took a good summer of working with a back-hoe to get this. idk if this will help you but take it for what its worth lol

 

[CountryBoy19]

Without getting into too much work etc. you basically have to cut out some of the conveniences of a proper range.

From my experience, unless you have the resources to build a proper, solid, mobile shooting bench/shack, you can choose between a proper backstop, or not having a good shooting bench for various ranges. That of course is an exception if you have the dirty and equipment to make multiple back-stops at your desired ranges.

We have a range that my brother and I built on family land. It is 1 backstop, and the shooter moves position to vary the ranges. The only downfall to this is that you can't shoot from a bench (we haven't got around to making a good, solid, portable bench yet). So you either lay on the ground, or you shoot out/off of a vehicle etc. This really isn't a big problem for us, I normally just shoot prone on the ground if I care about accuracy.

Our range is infinitely variable from 0-540 yards (any longer and you'll be shooting from the ditch).


If I had infinite time/materials/money, I would build a nice, solid portable shooting bench for the range. I would put it on a good, solid trailer, and I would use 4 jacks that could be lowered to the ground to lock it down for stability. However, I don't have the tools at my place to do that stuff so I can't do it unless I'm at my parents visiting. Now that I live so far from them I rarely use the family range anymore, and I just don't have that much free time when I do go to visit.

IMHO, if I were doing it I would make the backstop as far out as you can, and then do a portable shooting bench so you can choose your range.

 

[1911Shooter]

Mine is very simple but it works. I made a dirt burm and just reinforced it with railroad ties. The ties make for a great place to hang targets and they dont have to be replaced.

 

[CoyoteCreekGuns]

For those of you with your own range I have a few questions. I plan on making one this spring and probably into summer. I am planning on a 150-200 yd range. Depending on how far back I push the dirt with the dozer. Im looking for tips and ideas for mine. I'm thinking building a somewhat permanent shooting bench and shelter and then have spots marked for various distances. The spot where the range will go will have a little dip in it and then gradually go up as the farther it goes. Any input would be good. Thanks. I'm open to all ideas and criticisms.

Although not nearly the distance that yours is/will be, my range has been setup in order to allow multiple users to shoot at one time at various distances and with various firearms.

As you can see from the picture below, I have three separate shooting venues all of which stem from one common area. Both the left side archery/rimfire range and the center pistol range have mobile targets and markers on the ground to allow each person to shoot at the distance they choose (while once again safely staying within the common area). Then on the far right I have our 45 yard rifle/pistol range which is permanent and has three steel targets.

The only time that we shut down the the other ranges is when we decide to shoot skeet/trap as it covers a couple of them.

Again for me the primary advantage for this is that all of the shooters are located safely within a common area and the targets themselves are what is mobile. If multiple persons are back on the range, just like in a public range we call a ceasefire and allow folks to change targets, move targets, etc.

This has proven itself to be very safe and provide the most flexibility for everyone to shoot at the distances they need to practice most.

Again, although my range is within a much smaller distance, I would suggest looking at a similar model where you would either place mobile or permanent targets at various distances instead of having the person(s) move to the distance form the target that they want to shoot.

Blessings,

Ketih

 

[shibumiseeker]

My berm for my 50' pistol range is below the sightline for my backstop for my 100 yard rifle range. My range shack is a small concrete building I built so moving it isn't practical I do have 100' and 50 yard stations measured out, and I am making some target stands that allow me to shoot shorter distances but still use the shack.

Soon I will be cutting brush and trees to get up to a 400 yard lane, and in the winter I can shoot 850 yards from ridgetop to ridgetop.

 

[Aggar]

Thanks for all the input. I will try and get some pics of where I'm wanting it to be. And then get some more input. I thought the shorter distances could be shot down into the dip and the longer up on top with a burm behind it. And thought about making small burms in the dip every so often for shorter distances. I've been brainstorming this and I think the best thing I could do is try and gather as much info and ideas as possible and then hop in the dozer and start pushing!

 

[savage 1212]

I have a 100 yard range in the woods behind our house with a sturdy steel and concrete permanent bench. If I want to shoot at a lesser distance I use the portable bench that I made for shooting prairie dogs. Having shot for years at a ML club and seen the annual maintenance that was required to keep the backstop in good shape I decided to build mine like a bunker with treated 4x4's on the sides and back with a 3/4 treated plywood front it measures 4' x 4' and is 36" high. I filled it with sand and covered it with a 3/16" steel plate that overlaps the top 2" on all sides, this keeps the sand dry and every other year I just screw another piece of plywood to the front. This also minimizes the potential for lead leaching into the ground so if we ever do sell the cleanup will be relatively easy. In 8 years not one round has made it through. for a target holder I have an old realtors sign frame that I put 1/2" blue foam insulation in and use tacks to hold the targets.

 

[Yeah]

My range is similar to Coyote Creek's, in that one of my fields ends against a natural backstop. I shoot off a pack or bipod, so no benches required.

The rest of the property is fairly hilly and where the lay of the land allows I hang steel on hillsides so I can ring it as I walk around.

 

[esrice]

Sounds like you're off to a good start.

Just remember to build it such that all of your rounds are contained. For long distance a single berm works just fine. For pistol work, especially if you want to move around, having a berm on 3 (or 4) sides is very nice.

lovemywoods and I use the opposite side of his lake dam as the main berm, with rising hills on both sides to get a 3-sided pistol range. It has a maximum distance of about 30 yards.

For sighting in rifles at 50 yards, we shoot along the topside of the dam, where a rising hill is the backstop.

For longer distance, we can stretch it out to 206 yards by shooting across the lake into another hill where he's got a stand with various hanging Bobcat steel.

You might find this thread very interesting for getting ideas from other INGOers: https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/general_firearms_discussion/98220-your_backyard_range.html

Here are some "range items" that lovemywoods built that may give you some ideas on what to fill your range with:

PVC target stands: https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...sion/72420-lightweight_pvc_target_stands.html

Target stand for steel: https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...ade_target_stand_for_long_distance_steel.html

Shooting bench: https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...3-built_my_own_shooting_bench_-_pictures.html

Good luck with your project!