[6072]

need to make a safe backstop for a 22long rifle and need to know what materials will work and hold up for a long time i live with cattle all around me and own about eight acres and need a pretty good size backstop to keep the farmers and neighbor from worrying and i dont have any suitable hillside need something that isnt going to be cost prohibitive,any suggestions would be welcome,

 

[JCD]

Have you conciderd one of them bullet traps, I have always wanted one, so I don;t have to contaminate everywhere I want to practice with lead.

 

[6072]

no i hadnt thought about them do you know were i can get one and how much they are ?thanks for the suggestion

 

[JCD]

I am in canada, wholesales sports here sells them for $89canadian, I want to make one though, cause I am to cheap to buy mine. But its called bullet trap, but in the pic it says gunslick on the side, and the page title says outers. it has a 10"X1' target area. one would amost have to get the angles to properly make one. It would be a good idea to have a wall of old railway ties behind it just incase you miss the box I guess??

Im not sure where you can get them in the USA though.

 

[5962]

I have 3 backstops for shooting; 2 indoors, and a 45 yard outdoor range.

Indoor range #1 (2 Rod or 35 feet) is a trap-box I had someone weld up for me. Weighs about 350 pounds! (Cost me a few hunderd bucks too.)
It is 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide. The top third of it is open, for hanging targets. Behind that top third is a piece of 1/2 inch cold-rolled steel at a 45 degree angle. It will stop almost anything, but I shoot mostly 22s indoors...six shots from my Ruger Vaquero makes the smoke alarm go off!
The rest of the box is 1/8 inch thick steel. I use fireplace tools to shovel it out as needed, and give the lead to a bullet-casting buddy.
I have a HEPA vacuum hooked up to the back of the trap, to collect airborne lead. Also 2 HEPA air filters in the shooting room; one by the shooting bench and one by the trap, to remove the deadly airborne lead particles.

Indoor range #2 is one of those 50 dollar portable Outers 'traps'.
I sometimes plink colibris into it while I watch a Western on TV.
It quickly fills up with lead chips and dust, which then begin to fly out all over the place. Must Empty Frequently! Outers type trap was available at Sportman's guide for 50 bucks.

Outdoor range is a C-shaped berm of dirt formed when we had our pond dug. Berm is 8 feet tall, 15 feet thick, and probably 70 feet long. In the inside-middle of the front of the "C", I have 2 verticle stacks of 9 Railroad ties each. I staple targets to a sheet of plywood that leans against it. Obviously, this will stop anything!
I JUST replaced the wall of Railroad ties...the first such wall took me 8 years to shoot it down!



Good Luck!

 

[6274]

Bullet traps

Will build to any demension size or shape from 30-200 bucks:t :t

 

[6072]

thanks cantmiss can you post a picture or something of one of your bullett traps ?

 

[MangesMade]

Telephonepole Berm.....

Here's what I use.....
I staple my target to this:

These blocks measure 2 ft. x 4 ft. x 6 inches thick.....
Sometimes I put one of these Blocks behind the Target:

Should there ever be a stray bullet, I went about 30 feet behind the 50 yard mark and made a Berm from Telephone poles.
They're double deep, so a bullet can't go between the cracks.

I have some more work to do on the Range, but here's my His and Her's Shooting Benches and Stool that I have so far:

 

[6072]

man i like your setup.what are the top of those benches made of it looks like concrete!did you make those yourself ?, like the seat to ,is that your shooting buddy sitting in it,LOL

 

[MangesMade]

rimfiredude.....

man i like your setup.what are the top of those benches made of it looks like concrete!did you make those yourself ?, like the seat to ,is that your shooting buddy sitting in it,LOL

Thanks,
Yes, Yes and Yes

 

[Alaska Mike]

Man Oh Man, what a beautiful setup. Your place looks like a park!! Very nice benches. I might have to rethink my retirement home to something out in the country. What a plus it would be to shoot right at home with no long drive to the range. Right now I have 60 miles round trip. Sure looks nice!! :t :t :t :t :t

 

[MangesMade]

Mike, Thanks for the compliment.
I used to drive 40 miles to a private gun range. Haul all my junk out to the truck and load it up, or should I say, Cram Jam it all in the truck.....drive to the range, which depending on the traffic, would usually blow and hour. Then if your lucky, you might get there early enough to get a decent bench. Then, you get to unload all the junk and haul it to the bench.
'Bout the time your getting into shooting, the line is called Cold......then you have to wait for the guy that went down to put a target up, to come back and get his stapler.....THEN, you have to wait for him to come back and get staples for his stapler After fighting that #&$%@^ all day.....and it will take all day, just to shoot a little bit. Then you get to haul all your junk back to your truck and load it up, then drive back home.....another hour blown, and then you get to unload it all again and haul it back into the house.
I got to the point that it was more work than fun, or Sumphen like that. So I built me a bench and a 25 & 50 yard range. THEN, my wife got the CZ shooting bug and she took my American. I got tired of waiting in line to shoot, so I bought me another American, and moved the Range to where it is now, and built two benches.
Hmmm, I thought the problem was solved until the next time we went out to shoot. She grabbed the Cowan rest, and I ended up having to hunt up my old sand bags. I have since gotten me a Hart rest with a Hoehn top, but I like the Cowan better.
The BEST thing about shooting in your yard.....You can take a break from shooting and just leave everything sitting on the benches.
Oil Well, I still have to haul all the junk out there
but at least I don't have to cram it all in my truck

 

[050]

HAY Mangles Maid!

Gitcher self some of those big plastic storage boxes from
WalMart. 4 or 5 bucks apiece, and won't let water in during a rain (but ants can get in through the breather holes under the handles, so don't store your bologna sandwiches there). You can keep a stack of targets, a pencil and thumbtacks, and your bags and rest in it...as long as you don't have to worry about thieves, anyhow...

That's what I've been doing, and now, all I have to lug out there is whatever gun I'm using and the ammo. Once in a while a new stack of targets..

Then,, when you get a nice little roof over the benches, you don't even have to run for the house when it starts to rain!

Still thinking about moving a little apartment fridge from my garden workshed to there for refreshments, and one of my park benches since I quit gardening after all my life.... :t

I can live without running a tiller every other day, but no home grown Iowa sweet corn is kinda rough to take..



Ron

 

[Alaska Mike]

Gosh, you guys are just killing me with your range on the homestead. Then you're talking about hauling the refrig out by the bench!! That has to be some kind of living. :t

 

[5962]

If you live where shooting is legal, a good home range may be all in how you build your garage...

Our garage is connected to house, and situated so that it provides two shooting benches for our 45 yard backyard range; one indoors, and one outdoors.

We added a second story to our garage, and put in an upstairs office for LUCKY/BLESSED me...
My "Office" (I named it that right away, lest anyone think I was wasting time up here!) contains guns, ammo, tools, computer and communications, reference books, entertainment system with satellite dish, fridge, microwave, electric toilet, water cooler, etc.

The outdoor bench is 10 steps away from me as I type this, on an elevated deck.

My indoor 'bench' is the very countertop this computer is sitting on.
I just turn to the side, slide a window open, and shoot from this second floor window anytime. (Targets floodlighted at night.)
An all-weather awning combined with a rain diverter on the roof above the window eliminates precipitation problems. The window is even shielded from the usually prevailing winds by the house and garage. It's climate controlled year-round shooting.

We have been out in the middle of this beanfield since 1977; but some of the Paradise surrounding us has been sold....PROGRESS is coming. and within a few years...
Sure is fun for now though...

All the Best,

 

[Alaska Mike]

Gosh you guys, you're just driving me nuts. I can't believe all the nice shooting setups. Just when I was feeling kinda good about being able to fit everything in the pickup tool box and spending the day at the range. But shooting from a window in the house sounds kinda nice on a rainy day. :t :t