corn stalk bales for backstop

[odette]

I am getting ready to set up my private small shooting range. I am thinking of using large round bales of cornstalk 3 in front and 2 in the back filling in the gap behind the front 3. This will give at least 5' of cornstalk bale as a backstop. I live in Iowa and cornstalk bales are everywhere.
Will 5' of baled cornstalk at 50 yds stop .357 max up to 45-70 and even possibly .308 rifle rounds.
I also have a 6" well pipe 7' long with a 1/2" plate welded to the top ready dug and to be cemented in the ground to clamp my ransom rest onto. So there should be no give from recoil. 45-70 T/C Contender needs a very stable platform.
Anyone have thoughts on using the cornstalk bales.

[Winger Ed.]

My Dad would say, 'If it works, its a great idea'.

I don't know how much stopping power a corn bale has compared to ,,, say,,, dirt.
But if there is a dirt berm behind it, or open land for a safe distance- I'd do it that way.

After a few years the bales should rot and you could mine the lead out of them, maybe after they were burned.

If shots go through, you could scrounge old tires and stack up behind the backstop.
Don't put them in front of the bales, big slow boolits will sometimes bounce back at ya.

You shouldn't have to buy old tires, the tire shops have to pay to have them hauled away and disappear.
If they won't pay you to take them, you should at least get them for free.

I had a backstop in the old days with stacked up tires full of dirt behind a plywood target board.
It was in front of a berm that I didn't think was thick enough or tall enough.
It worked, and the only thing that got through the tires was an occasional .50BMG FMJ or AP

[country gent]

One thing we found with stalk bales was adding some more wires around them and twisting tighter they worked better ( this was for archery targets). by compressing them more it slowed lowered penetration. Wrap slightly loose with the wire and run a small bar thru then twist tight. If they are wire tied bales you might even be able to tighten the existing this way.
One thing to keep in mind these bales are rolled to form so shooting into the ends may have gaps or seams between layers. Set on edge they would pack together much better on the seams between bales and be more solid.
With the heavy high penetration rounds like 45-70, and most center fire rifle rounds I would be very leery of 2 bales stopping them for very long. A lot of energy with them. I believe they will get chewed up pretty quickly with use and as they get chewed up the compression drops making them weaker. You might try your 3 2 stack and add paper to the back outside edge then fire a few rounds , Look for holes in the paper where rounds completely penetrated.

[jcren]

Not sure about corn stalk, but regular native hay bales, 5 ft diameter, will not stop a 30-06 fired into the middle of the sides. The bales are tougher to penetrate with an arrow on the round side than from the flat end. Took a few shots at my bow backstop bales to verify zero after a bump and could see mud flying in to the air behind the bale.

[rancher1913]

the big 4x4 squares at least 2 deep and with the joints staggered and some boards sandwiched between them will work but only for about a year, 2 at most because they degrade and the middle turns soft. you would be money ahead to use railroad ties with dirt piled in front to shoot into, less maintenance and longer lasting. we use corn stalk bales for sound control on our club range.

[odette]

rethinking; 3 bales front row standing on end so round side is facing shooter. 2 bales on end tight behind them. A wall of old tires behind the 2nd row of bales. I could put rubber horse stall mats in between the 1st and 2nd row of cornstalk bales, but they might get shot up too quick and loose their purpose.
I mainly shoot, .357 Max, 41 mag, 44 mag, 7mm TCU, 45-70, 7.62x39 Rus and .270 Win. I have my g-grandpa's sporterized 1903 service rifle, but it is wrong handed.

[bmortell]

id set it up like you said except build a little frame in front and hang this on it https://shootsteel.com/1-2-ar500-ste...get-8x10-gong/ that way you don't have to worry about the bales deteriorating from constant hits, just strays. just put a paper target holder in front of it if you wanna shoot paper. could buy bigger if you have more money than me.

[JBinMN]

I would suggest that you build some "traps" to catch the bullets/boolits.

1) so you can recover them for re melt easily, &

2) they are not expensive to built including the materials to make them.

3) they can be movable if not made too large so you can put them other places if you want to do so.

There are some topics here at CB.GL forum that cover such things.

I make & use them & have for the last 3 years. I use scrap plywood, or OSB/Wafer-board, with 2X material for the outer frame & put Ground up tire material used for mulching( primarily for playground now a days IIRC) that is easily found at many lumberyard type outlets like Menards, Lowes, Home Depot, etc...

The rubber mulch made out of shredded tires with no steel belts in them lasts a long time, is fairly easy to sort out the lead from the rubber & is reusable.

G'Luck! whatever method you decide to do, but I would suggest that you at least take a look at the simple wood framed & covered rubber mulch traps since they are relatively inexpensive, will likely do a better job of stopping & trapping the bullets/boolits, & most likely last longer than the bales & like I said, re- usable later after you do any needed repairs to the "box trap" that holds the rubber mulch. ( Even a good shooter make a wild shot(flyer) once in a while, from what I have seen.)

One thing I forgot to mention is the portability of them as well. One that is 2 ft. X 2ft. X 2 ft.(cube) is kind of heavier than one person would "like", but it is manageable enough to lift & throw into a picckup if one is stout enough. Even better is putting them in/on one of those "carry alls" that are attach to the receiver hitch. (< that is what I do most of the time). I also make them 16" tall X 16" wide & 8" deep for pistol bullets/boolits, which except for hefty loads of .357M & 44 M, pretty much can handle most 38sp/9mm/45acp rounds fired into them. The 2 ft. cubed ones handle just about most rifles from .308/30-06 5.56(223), as well as up to 12 ga. shotguns(slugs), if you don't shoot too hot of loads & give some distance from them further away than 25 - 50 yds. ( <those calibers/guage are the only ones I have used. can't say about other calibers.)

Anyway, like I said... G'Luck! whatever ya decide!

[ulav8r]

The bales might stop your bullets if you could keep them soaking wet. Otherwise, not very likely.

[tbx-4]

If layered bales stop your boolits just remember it won't for long. You will quickly punch a hole through at POA.

[Froogal]

A long and high stack of old tires will stop 9mm, 38s, 357s, and .45 Colts. Mine are of various sizes, not filled with dirt, and when I first stacked them up, there were some gaps. Those gaps have since gone away due the tires settling down. If I had it to do over again, I would choose tires that are very close to the same size. The tires were free from a local tire dealer. I just had to haul them home. I did visit with that dealer first, he told me to take all I wanted because he has to PAY to have them hauled off and recycled.

[funnyjim014]

Problem you might face is that if you shoot in the same place over and over stuff will start to make it threw

[odette]

I have a "Do It Yourself" Bullet Trap Plans from Tradecraft USA that sounds like something like what you have but theirs is 2'x4' with sand filled baffles and rubber mulch baffle. I just never have the time to make it and it would not be portable

[dverna]

I made a sand filled trap. So far so good.

[Jeff Michel]

Give it a try, I've found that four feet of snow will stop most handgun rounds.

[jmorris]

What’s the downfall for the ones that don’t get stopped?

If you could hurt someone, something valuable or allow the bullet to leave your property, it’s a bad idea.

[country gent]

We made a wall from railroad ties with 2 wings on it facing the firing line. then filled it 3/4 full with fine graven then covered that with fine sand to a 12"-14" layer. This stopped handgun rounds and even the bigger rifles. Filled with just sand it would work as well but at the time fill dirt was more expensive than the fine gravel. Tires stacked in 3 rows the outside 2 filled with dirt sand and the center fine gravel will do a great job also.
One thing to remember when constructing a back stop range is the zoning and states requirements. In most states you are responsible for a fired bullet until it has expended all its energy. Not hit the target or the backstop but is laying on the ground. If there is a chance a bullet can be fired thru over or bounced out you might be responsible for damages.
A local club had this issue with neighbors complaining rifle bullets were getting out. They were trying to figure it out and what to do when it was noticed that the "recovered" bullets had no rifling engraving on them. You may not have to fight actual bullets ( that may or may not have come from your range) but unscrupulous anti gun neighbors that will pull anything.