new shooting area at my house.

[rmatchell]

Well time has come to for my family to grow into a new house. We live on ten acres and where the new home is going is going to block my current shooting area, and I don't think my wife will put up with me shooting off the back when we have it built. So i'm walking around looking at different spots where I can get some distance and not have to worry about anything behind the berm. I figure ill have to cut my shooting lane down to 50 yards and Ill have to dig down 2 to 3 foot to keep a level area to work with, and that should be more than enough to build a berm. I will also have a decent amount of small cedar trees to cut up that will be used on the project. So I was just wondering how everybody who shoots at there home has there area set up. I want to keep it safe and recover all of my lead that I can.

[wv109323]

Here if you clean an area it would be filled with beer cans. Some one in a 4X4 truck would cut doughnuts in it . Every time you wanted to shoot some one on a four wheeler or side by side would cross the range.

[rmatchell]

I dont have to worry about that here everybody stays on there own land and the houses are far enough apart that im not to worried. Its more building up something to be better safe than sorry also to catch all the lead. Getting tired of shooting up my stash and only getting back 1 to 2 percent back.

Is there a rule of thumb on berms, or is it just pile up the dirt. The only part that worries me is that in missouri its more gravel with some clay than dirt.

[wch]

My range is only fifty yards but I built a backstop out of used railroad ties, staggered so that there is no way that a bullet will "escape" through them. This gives me a 4ft by 4ft impact area to hang targets on.

[winelover]

When I built my new home I brought in a load of clay/gravel and then dumped a load of river sand directly in front of it. Use a homemade screen to separate the lead out.

67791


Winelover

[Case Stuffer]

There are several or more thread here on this site on using ground up tires(landscaping mulch) in verious containers as a boolit stop.
Most handgun loades are stoped by 12" or less and the boolits remain intact.

[rmatchell]

thanks for the information guys

[jmorris]

I have a really big steel trap.

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/IMAG0959.jpg

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/IMAG0892.jpg

[freebullet]

i have a really big steel trap.

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/imag0959.jpg

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/imag0892.jpg

holy boolit trap batman.

[rmatchell]

If I tried to build that trap here my wife would kill me. I have more of a dirt berm budget

[jmorris]

I tried to convince my wife that I needed a skid steer to build berms, she told me to get out the welder. Maybe if they talked to one another we would both be better off.

[rmatchell]

Maybe, we talked about it today and she told me she didnt care what I did as long ad we could afford it and it was safe. Im taking that as a challange.

[Coonazz]

All I did was pile up a BUNCH of dirt @ 150 and 300 yds with one of the tractors. Then set my bench under a big oak tree for shade. Took longer to build my bench than pile up the dirt.

[I'll Make Mine]

What berm will do the job (or what steel trap, for that matter) depends on what you're shooting. I wouldn't trust my Mosin Nagant with surplus ammunition on a trap made from less than half inch plate (even with a 45º impact angle); nor would I be comfortable with less than four feet thickness of loose dirt at the top of the target frame in case of a berm (steel core bullets don't slow down rapidly in sand or loose earth). By comparison, my .357 Magnum revolver wouldn't come close to penetrating 1/4" plate at 45º, nor go through more than two feet of earth, even with my hottest full jacketed loads.

Then again, the chances I'll ever live somewhere I can shoot on my own property range from slim to none...

[felix]

An oak log, after a couple of years old drying out, about 2 feet or more in length, will work fine with 2400 fps stuff. I shoot the log point blank in my basement to measure case expansion before making loads to shoot at distance. Replace the log after noticeable dry cracking (spider web looks) too much from weather OR shooting center mass too often. ... felix

Perhaps black-locust or osage-orange would be as good if not better than oak for longitudinal firing. Instead, if making lateral shots, use hickory or ash, and even better would be the desert woods, like mesquite. ... felix

[w0fms]

I'm thinking of putting in a dirt berm for a 50' pistol range in the back part of my lot. It's interesting to catch this thread. I'm also thinking at the same time putting a load of new gravel in the driveway. What do you think about a dirt berm with a fine crushed lime (or similar gravel) center core base? Maybe I can order some extra at the same time. Now adding something to pick the lead out is an interesting thought. I can't simply do what I do at the outdoor range and come back with 2-3x the weight in other peoples bullets, can I?

I live pretty close to the outdoor range I use, so I'm not going to even attempt a rifle backstop, but it would be nice to have a pistol (and archery for my kids) range set up at the end of the lot. I have about 11 acres of woods to work with that's not visible from the road and some directions have almost no risk of hitting anything for 3-5 miles....

[rmatchell]

where i'm looking to put the berm has a good 500 yards a trees before the next building and there is a ridge between us so im not to worried. Just doing more reading on how to construct a good safe area.