Posted: 8/3/2010 8:47:12 PM EDT
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If you were to be building a private gun range, what kinds of things would you include? What kind of berm designs, targets designs/setups, shooting area, etc? I'd like to see some ideas and suggestions and even pics of current ranges that you like.
I'm working with a small area, about 50-70 yards long. Gonna be using it for rifle, handgun and shotgun, both medium and short range. It's out in the woods in the middle of nowhere so im not worried too much about my surroundings. The Berm will be a combination of felled trees, dirt and tires on the front side to keep the dirt in place, shaped like this \___/ Budegt is limited, looking for something fun not a real deal public shooting range. Thanks guys! |
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Wow, I wish I could pick up a piece of land just for that, would save me the trouble of shooting amongst Orlando's up and coming criminals (until I join a club). How much did the land cost out of curiosity?
Most of the berms I've seen, are just the big mounds of dirt piled oh so high, some with side walls of the same height. I'm not sure if there is wall or underlying structure tho. And then others I have seen are just stacks of tires piled oh so high filled with dirt. |
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There were some pics in GD a while back about a guy who just cleared a path of trees in the middle of a heavily wooded area. Seemed to work well for him. There was also a FLHTF thread not too long ago where somebody built a nice little range with his son, using old tires tightly packed with dirt as a berm. |
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I collected tires from several tire stores for FREE. For $150 DELIVERED, I had a dump truck of dirt brought in to fill the tires. Using materials I already had on hand, I used some posts to secure the sides, and then used fence to "tie in" all the tires. I made a shelter over the top to help keep the rain off the tire stack and reduce the chance of erosion. After several months with some hard rains, no sign of a problem.
I just stacked the tires, one by one, and hand-packed them with dirt, including the tire wall area. Took two days, was a pain in the ass, but worked out nice. Behind the front stack, there is a second stack between the gaps of the front tires, that way, no bullet slips through between two tires. I then made some extended walls to catch bullet fragments, which has worked out really well. This way, all the scrap lead and bullet jackets stay in one general area. I made a stand to hang steel targets, and got two 12"x12" R500 steel plates to shoot at. My range is 350 yards long, with the ability to get perhaps 500 or more if needed. I can spray paint a 1" or 2" circle on the plate and have at it. If necessary, I can put paper targets in front of the plates, thus, very few bullets ever strike the tires... which leads to a longer life. I have shot the tires although and from the looks of it, it will take YEARS and YEARS of shooting before I have to replace any. Some bullet holes you really have to look for. So far, no problems with slow/low powered pistol rounds bouncing back (for those who would ask). 
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Quoted:
If you were to be building a private gun range, what kinds of things would you include? What kind of berm designs, targets designs/setups, shooting area, etc? I'd like to see some ideas and suggestions and even pics of current ranges that you like. I'm working with a small area, about 50-70 yards long. Gonna be using it for rifle, handgun and shotgun, both medium and short range. It's out in the woods in the middle of nowhere so im not worried too much about my surroundings. The Berm will be a combination of felled trees, dirt and tires on the front side to keep the dirt in place, shaped like this \___/ Budegt is limited, looking for something fun not a real deal public shooting range. Thanks guys! Where are you located? Hell, for free I'd be glad to help you build a range like mine. I can even get you a few sheets of the wall material if needed. |
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Quoted:
I collected tires from several tire stores for FREE. For $150 DELIVERED, I had a dump truck of dirt brought in to fill the tires. Using materials I already had on hand, I used some posts to secure the sides, and then used fence to "tie in" all the tires. I made a shelter over the top to help keep the rain off the tire stack and reduce the chance of erosion. After several months with some hard rains, no sign of a problem. I just stacked the tires, one by one, and hand-packed them with dirt, including the tire wall area. Took two days, was a pain in the ass, but worked out nice. Behind the front stack, there is a second stack between the gaps of the front tires, that way, no bullet slips through between two tires. I then made some extended walls to catch bullet fragments, which has worked out really well. This way, all the scrap lead and bullet jackets stay in one general area. I made a stand to hang steel targets, and got two 12"x12" R500 steel plates to shoot at. My range is 350 yards long, with the ability to get perhaps 500 or more if needed. I can spray paint a 1" or 2" circle on the plate and have at it. If necessary, I can put paper targets in front of the plates, thus, very few bullets ever strike the tires... which leads to a longer life. I have shot the tires although and from the looks of it, it will take YEARS and YEARS of shooting before I have to replace any. Some bullet holes you really have to look for. So far, no problems with slow/low powered pistol rounds bouncing back (for those who would ask). http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v422/Bowhntr6pt/R1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v422/Bowhntr6pt/R2.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v422/Bowhntr6pt/R3.jpg ^Awesome!! Now to go buy land! |
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I just finished building two shooting benches from slightly altered plans I found on-line. Had most of the materials on hand, only had to buy some brackets and some deck screws. I made the tops larger for ammo, chrony, brass catcher, etc. Has a place for the shooter and spotter... or a left hand shooter.
These will go under one of those metal $699/$799 single car carports you see advertised at various places. They are HEAVY, ROCK SOLID, damn hard to move even on the smooth concrete floor... the bases are 6"x6" cut from old telephobe poles... they will last a while. I am going to wrap some flex-tin around the bottoms to prevent the wood from actually touching the dirt. Have to wait on my brother to stop by so he and my son can help me load them into the truck for delivery to my range. 
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I would love to get a piece of land in the middle of no-where.
I love to build, my plan was to rent a backhoe from sunbelt rentals or some similar equipment rental place and just make a donor pond and use the dirt for a berm. Where I was thinking of putting it up also has a lot of ATV traffic, so another thought was to make a trench/canal at the property line to keep people out and be a source of dirt for the berm. My idea is an L - shaped berm at least 8ft high. FPL is doing a lot of work changing electric line poles from wood to concrete, i might even see how many i could get "donated" After I had the high L shaped berm, I planned on making a simple plywood structure ( ie doors and windows for tactical training :-) ) probably only a front and side, with a door and window for if i wanted to do a 3-gun type event with friends and draw pistols and enter a room type of thing. My other thought was to build a deck/platfrom a 100yds out to try some sniper shots. Long trm dream... it will probably just start out as the L-shaped berm. I like to operate machinery, invite me over, i'll even pitch in on the rental fee |
| Other than the berm for containment, the most helpful thing to have is a concrete slab, even if it's a small one. 30+ years of shooting Florida hunt clubs & back yard ranges, I can tell you that ant bites, sandspurs, itchy weeds, lost scope caps, dropped dissapearing cell phones, dirt in your rifle, lost dropped ammo, dirty dropped magazines, lost brass, sweaty grass & weeds stuck to you and poor shooting conditions due to an unstable base can all be eliminated by a small concrete slab and a good bench(see above post!). Some kind of awning to protect you from the rain and sun is also a neccesity. This can be handled by a cheap pop up awning you bring with you though(low maintenence). If there are cows on the property, consider fencing, especially if you build a nice bench for the cows to rub their itchy spots on. 6 or 700lbs rubbing your bench regularly will severely shorten it's life span. |
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Thanks for all the info and advice guys~
bowhuntr - It's over by Daytona Beach, Central FL area. I plan on using dirt and felled trees for my berm, throw some tires on the front and back side for keeping it there, and seeding it with grass or sumthin to prevent erosion. I also plan on building a bench and a covered area with some 4x4 and 2x4 with a metal corrugated roof. Rutger - I appreciate the offer, I looked into rental equipment and stuff to clear the land and it sounded kind of expensive for what I would need. I need to clear brush/trees and dig a pond for berm dirt. I'm not sure a Bobcat would be enough for what I need to clear either. So right now it looks like I have a local guy coming to clear it....although it's not cheap 
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I think someone already said it..... Check you local laws first.
Go to the TX HTF and read up on the "Crazy Lady Range" Long story short, some crazy bitch went nutz because she didn't like guns and started all kinds of trouble. Now, most of it was nothing. BUT they did have some issue with building a berm since it was considered messing with the natural something or other. They had to get rid of the berm they had, apply to build a new berm, get the location approved and pay a fee to build the new berm. Best get all that done ahead of time so you don't have to build two, or find that you are not allowed to have a range on that land. I can't give you specific advice since I am not a land owner in FL and not a lawyer. |
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You may think of raising your shooting position a couple of feet. This will help you see over the grass & weeds when they grow & extend the time between mowings. A higher position also reduces nuisance bugs & drains water away when it gets wet in the summer..
Instead of concrete or gravel, you may consider using the woven black fabric groundcover made for landscaping and nurseries. It is very cheap & easy to lay down, much slicker & faster to sweep brass off of, and much kinder on the knees when you have to kneel down. You could taper the dirt to the center so all the brass naturally wants to roll to a central place. |
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Quoted:
You may think of raising your shooting position a couple of feet. This will help you see over the grass & weeds when they grow & extend the time between mowings. A higher position also reduces nuisance bugs & drains water away when it gets wet in the summer.. Instead of concrete or gravel, you may consider using the woven black fabric groundcover made for landscaping and nurseries. It is very cheap & easy to lay down, much slicker & faster to sweep brass off of, and much kinder on the knees when you have to kneel down. You could taper the dirt to the center so all the brass naturally wants to roll to a central place. This is good advise coming from someone that has the best private range I have ever seen 
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Thanks Pegleg. I actually saw some pics of your range...or should I say...complex. It's frikin awesome, that's for sure. Where in FL are you?
I was actually thinking of laying down some of that fabric stuff to keep growth to a minimum in certain places. Where can it be purchased? Local nursery? |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
You may think of raising your shooting position a couple of feet. This will help you see over the grass & weeds when they grow & extend the time between mowings. A higher position also reduces nuisance bugs & drains water away when it gets wet in the summer.. Instead of concrete or gravel, you may consider using the woven black fabric groundcover made for landscaping and nurseries. It is very cheap & easy to lay down, much slicker & faster to sweep brass off of, and much kinder on the knees when you have to kneel down. You could taper the dirt to the center so all the brass naturally wants to roll to a central place. This is good advise coming from someone that has the best private range I have ever seen
Amen to that! I was very impressed when I was there for a shoot. |
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Thanks for the kind words guys.
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Thanks Pegleg. I actually saw some pics of your range...or should I say...complex. It's frikin awesome, that's for sure. Where in FL are you? I was actually thinking of laying down some of that fabric stuff to keep growth to a minimum in certain places. Where can it be purchased? Local nursery? I'm about 30-45 min SE of Tampa. Straight South of Plant City I'm not sure, as I get mine thru wholesale outfits. I would imagine that a good garden center would carry it. It is also used by construction companies to reduce erosion. One other thing, it can get sucked into a mower if it isn't pinned to the ground good. You might want to bury the edges a few inches if you'll be mowing over the edges. EMail me if you need anythnig else. |