Another question on Home Ranges

[SEIndSAM]

I have a place to shoot at my Dad's place in East-Central Indiana that's not too bad. It has a downhill slope with a woods at the bottom and the opposite slope on the other side of the woods. There are some old 3 to 4 foot dirt mounds just before the woods. Plus there isn't another house in that direction for at least 3 miles.

I would still like to have another bullet-stop besides the uphill slope/Dirt mounds, something closer (the uphill slope is probably 500-600 yards).

For plinking with a .22 rifle and handgun calibers, I was thinking about getting some cheap plastic trash cans and building a stop 3 or 4 wide x 2 deep and filling them with dirt/sand. Question is, will this be sufficient for .22 and 9mm at 50 yards? Or do I need to go 3 or 4 deep?

 

[esrice]

Problem with the trash can idea is that it will quickly become tattered and your sand/dirt will fall out.

Can you just drop a big pile of dirt?

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Aren't you concerned about the plasic cans getting busted up and spilling all their contents after some shooting? If you're going to have to buy or move some dirt, I'm curious why you hadnt considered just making a mound. FWIW

 

[RGriff69]

I just put a 100 yard range behind my house. The target is on a slight rise and acts as a backstop. I still want to put a mound of dirt behind it though. I have the dirt, I just need to move it.

 

[SEIndSAM]

Aren't you concerned about the plasic cans getting busted up and spilling all their contents after some shooting? If you're going to have to buy or move some dirt, I'm curious why you hadnt considered just making a mound. FWIW

I'd like something more portable than a mound. The thought was if we filled the barrels up with dirt, we could haul them out with a pickup and plant the stop in a field. This field is used for farming in season, we was trying to come up with something we could tear down in the spring and put back up in the fall. I know that your gonna have leakage of dirt from the trash cans, but I haven't come up with a better idea?

Also, this range will not get a ton of use. A few hundred rounds on nice weekends for 4 or 5 months.

 

[esrice]

I wonder how much it would cost for Bobcat Steel to cut you a piece of AR500 that's about 10ft. x 10ft.

 

[SEIndSAM]

I wonder how much it would cost for Bobcat Steel to cut you a piece of AR500 that's about 10ft. x 10ft.

I hadn't even thought of going the steel route.

 

[! twitty]

railroad ties?

 

[SEIndSAM]

railroad ties?

Would a double stack of RR ties stop .22 & 9MM? That would be a nice portable stop.

 

[tyler_durden]

Would a double stack of RR ties stop .22 & 9MM? That would be a nice portable stop.

Absolutely, it would stop them

 

[SEIndSAM]

Absolutely, it would stop them

Cool. Thanks guys, that's a great idea. I think a bunch of guys just shooting the bull on a Saturday morning solved my problem. I'll just do a double stack of RR ties about 4 feet tall. That should be able to handle two shooters.

 

[ZbornacSVT]

I wonder how much it would cost for Bobcat Steel to cut you a piece of AR500 that's about 10ft. x 10ft.

I hadn't even thought of going the steel route.

Cost effective sizes would be smaller than 72x120. I can go up to 96x288, but there is a cost jump associated with the wider plate.

Let me know if this is a route you are interested in pursuing.

 

[top hat 45]

22's won't go through a 4x4 let alone 2 railroad ties. build your backstop on a steel frame with a hitch and wheels, and tow it where ever you want to shoot that day

 

[need4speed255]

Contact some local builders in your area and see if they have any basements to dig in the area that will have excess dirt. You would most likely get the dirt hauled in for free if they need to get rid of it.

 

[jamstutz]

Contact some local builders in your area and see if they have any basements to dig in the area that will have excess dirt. You would most likely get the dirt hauled in for free if they need to get rid of it.

This is definitrly the way to go if you can. The railroad tie idea works--that's what I did at my place at first--but you'd be amazed how soon you start getting shots penetrating all the way through. For me it was only after 3-4 range sessions. On the other hand, a foot or two of packed dirt will stop anything short of a .50 cal., and do so repeatedly. A few truckloads planted with some ground cover [like fescue, to hold it in place] would be ideal.

 

[Fullmag]

Absolutely, it would stop them

Staggered railroad ties so a round won't some how find a way though. 2 deep ( about 12" of wood) thinking that would stop a 22 and definitely any handgun round. Besides then you can staple targets up.

 

[Syxxthkidd]

it would probably be ok at first, but those cans will quickly become full of holes that projectile can get through...better safe than sorry

 

[SEIndSAM]

22's won't go through a 4x4 let alone 2 railroad ties. build your backstop on a steel frame with a hitch and wheels, and tow it where ever you want to shoot that day

This is a great idea! I could see a set up with RR Ties And some dirt between the layers. I saw a small trailer go at an auction this summer for $100. Build the Backstop on the trailer, tow it out after the corn or beans are picked and pull it back in come spring. The trailer would be very overloaded, but if your just pulling it 50 yards a couple of times a year it shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[viiiupndhead]

+1 for a double stack of RxR ties. We use them as a pistol backstop. Will stop any handgun round. I'd keep the rifles to .22 LR. I love the trailer idea. I may have to implement this sometime in the future. I've always wanted to have a garage or barn with a wall of windows that hinge upwards (think concession stand) to use as shooting lanes onto a range. The trailer idea allows the range to be any length without leaving the barn for colder weather shooting. Now if I can just figure out how to get the brass to reload itself...