Building a new range

[NoBodyImportant]

I have been making do with a 50 yard range off my back porch.  If I want to do any long range shooting I have to drive to my farm about a hour out of the city.  Well I decided to cut a range behind the house.  Hoping to get at least 200-300 yards. This range will scratch my plinking itch will leaving the farm for hunting. Plus it’s convenient to be able to pop a few rounds off behind the house after work.  Still got a ways to go.   

[NoBodyImportant]

Speaking of plinking I rode to the beach because we just had a hurricane in NC.   I wanted to make sure everything was ok after the storm.  Other the some road closures due to flooding and some of outdoor furniture flipped over everything looked good. We got lucky.  I hung out at the beach for a few days and went to a local store and found some new plinkers.  A Winchester 1873 in 357mag.  Full color case hardened.  I also recently got a GP100 in 22lr 

Edited September 23 by NoBodyImportant

[old'un]

200-300 yards shooting range in your back yard? How does that work as you mention ‘city’ do you own the land, is there not likely to-be other people walking in the woods?

[London Best]

4 minutes ago, old'un said:

200-300 yards shooting range in your back yard? How does that work as you mention ‘city’ do you own the land, is there not likely to-be other people walking in the woods?

You haven’t been to North Carolina, have you?

[old'un]

Just now, London Best said:

You haven’t been to North Carolina, have you?

No, I have not but that does not answer my question/s

[Sussexboy]

11 minutes ago, London Best said:

You haven’t been to North Carolina, have you?

Only in my mind…….

[Minky]

Nobodyimportant.  That's not right. Don't demean yourself. Everyone is important.  It would be helpful if you were to add to your profile that you are in MERICA.  When I started to read this thread I thought that it was a bit odd that someone had just got a digger and started to doze a track through woodland.  Here in the UK things are a lot different.  because of the population density you wouldn't just be able to create your own firing range without consulting and complying with all sorts of rules and regulations which might seem to be a pain in the rudder BUT are only put in place to protect the general public.  I remember being out night shooting fox on a piece of ground that had long views.  We were about five miles away from a Military range and they were night shooting at targets on one of the ranges they're probably using 7.62x51 NATO.  What surprised me was the vertical deflection of the tracer rounds from the butts.  We couldn't hear the shooting at this distance but the tracer and presumably the non tracer rounds were going a long, long way up and out to sea.  I do know of one or two farmers who have a bit of a bank that they use to zero up on but short distance and only used once in a while. IF I were making this sort of range my concern would be of random people being out on the land ( even though they shouldn't be out there) near to where the range is situated or the possibility of rounds going downrange out the back.... Do you have to comply with any safety directions or planning laws out in MURICA.?

Edit... IF I were to be making a range I would dig the soil out from the front and make the stop vertical and pile that soil up on top to make it higher.  And then place some railway sleepers at the side and face of the butts to hold the soil from being washed down by the rain.

Edited September 23 by Minky

[Minky]

1 hour ago, old'un said:

200-300 yards shooting range in your back yard? How does that work as you mention ‘city’ do you own the land, is there not likely to-be other people walking in the woods?

 

1 hour ago, London Best said:

You haven’t been to North Carolina, have you?

 

1 hour ago, old'un said:

No, I have not but that does not answer my question/s

There is a saying .. That if it can happen, at some stage if all the stars align then it will happen.  to not consider this would be irresponsible and could be considered negligent in the event.  Lawyers make their living out of this sort of thing.

[claydodger]

Can't you see the sunshine?

That looks like it's going to be a big job, best of luck with it.

 

[London Best]

43 minutes ago, Minky said:

 

 

There is a saying .. That if it can happen, at some stage if all the stars align then it will happen.  to not consider this would be irresponsible and could be considered negligent in the event.  Lawyers make their living out of this sort of thing.

I don’t know but there is probably a law there which says that if you are trespassing and wandering on someone’s  private property and you get shot accidentally then it is your own fault. 
Like I said, I don’t know, but I would not be at all surprised.

[JKD]

Have none of you critics not seen this member's previous similar exploits ?! I suggest you scroll back a bit in this section to look and read the full SP 👍😆

Looking great @NoBodyImportant , no-one over here us jealous at all 😁

[TIGHTCHOKE]

9 minutes ago, JKD said:

Have none of you critics not seen this member's previous similar exploits ?! I suggest you scroll back a bit in this section to look and read the full SP 👍😆

Looking great @NoBodyImportant , no-one over here us jealous at all 😁

I seriously doubt that some of them realise he is OVER the otherside of the POND..................

[JKD]

...... And that his 'back yard' is the size of most villages here 🤷‍♂️😂

[claydodger]

29 minutes ago, JKD said:

Have none of you critics not seen this member's previous similar exploits ?! I suggest you scroll back a bit in this section to look and read the full SP 👍😆

Looking great @NoBodyImportant , no-one over here us jealous at all 😁

No critic here, it looks and sounds fantastic, as for nipping down to the beach for a few days and picking up a couple of plinkers, no I’m not jealous either, aaaaaaargh.

[JKD]

3 hours ago, claydodger said:

No critic here, it looks and sounds fantastic, as for nipping down to the beach for a few days and picking up a couple of plinkers, no I’m not jealous either, aaaaaaargh.

My comment was aimed at the bods that aren't 'in the know' 😉😆😂 After all,,,, this American chap has been posting similar stuff for a few years now 🫢🙃

[NoBodyImportant]

14 hours ago, old'un said:

200-300 yards shooting range in your back yard? How does that work as you mention ‘city’ do you own the land, is there not likely to-be other people walking in the woods?

Yeah we are in town but I own 10 acres here.  Most of the homes around me are 10-60 acres.   It’s about a mile through the woods to the next road. I earn a living in the city so I can’t be to far out.  Eventually I want to retire in country.  But I’m stuck here now.  My neighbors shoot every afternoon and we have no laws preventing it so is all legal.  Nobody calls the law for anything around here. 

[NoBodyImportant]

13 hours ago, Minky said:

... Do you have to comply with any safety directions or planning laws out in MURICA.?

Edit... IF I were to be making a range I would dig the soil out from the front and make the stop vertical and pile that soil up on top to make it higher.  And then place some railway sleepers at the side and face of the butts to hold the soil from being washed down by the rain.w

We don’t really have laws about what you can do own your own property with the exception of run off into the streams.  The only law we have is you can’t shoot to intentionally annoy someone.   If you’re shooting for target practice it’s not to intentionally annoy.  But we don’t call the police around here. I will probably move my sheet of ar500 steel and sand barrels that I have behind my porch back to the new  berm.  

[Minky]

That is a fantastic situation to have. I suppose that it is just down to the amount of land/people density that there is.  Its all down to the perception of guns and their use by individuals. The government's perception of civil inserection.   This really goes back to probably the end of the first world war and lots of men coming home toʻ basically  nothing.  "A world fit for heros." But it wasn't.  It's not just this country.  The vast majority of the European countries have  much stricter gun controls than the UK.  In fact when I've  been to a lot of countries on holiday, I've asked about gunshops and clay pigeon shooting ranges and in most places there is no concept of anything like this. It certainly isn’t something that is visually apparent.  Things really changed here after the massacres at Hungerford and more so Dunblane where the gunman killed so many young kids at a primary school. Years ago it was quite common to see some old bloke going off shooting rabbits with a couple of ferrets in a Box  on the back of his pushbike and a shotgun tied to the crossbar and perhaps at the end of the day going in the pub for a drink and propping the gun in the corner of the bar. If you did that now you would probably end up with someone calling the police about it. No one wants to see guns.  Perhaps if there were guns freely available the murder rate would be off the clock. You only have to look at the amount of knife crime that there is and the new laws regarding knives. It would be fantastic to have the ability to play with guns and stuff but that's never going to happen here now or in the future? 

[London Best]

@ old’un,

That is the American version of ‘living in town’

They have so much space over there that it is unimaginable if you have not seen it.

[old'un]

9 hours ago, NoBodyImportant said:

Yeah we are in town but I own 10 acres here.  Most of the homes around me are 10-60 acres.   It’s about a mile through the woods to the next road. I earn a living in the city so I can’t be to far out.  Eventually I want to retire in country.  But I’m stuck here now.  My neighbors shoot every afternoon and we have no laws preventing it so is all legal.  Nobody calls the law for anything around here. 

10 acres is a nice piece of land but not that big really, is there some unwritten rule about neighbours and trespass?

[old'un]

59 minutes ago, London Best said:

@ old’un,

That is the American version of ‘living in town’

They have so much space over there that it is unimaginable if you have not seen it.

True, it is a big country but the OP obviously as neighbours, do you know the density and proximity of such?

[Minky]

I think that it is super to have the  land and the ability to build any sort of facility without interference from antis who have different ideas.  I belong to an APPROVED RIFLE CLUB.  We have to have a minimum of 12 members who shoot regularly..??  The club has to have a constitution,  a Committee,  public Insurance and be a club member of the Nsra ( national small bore association) the club shoots .22rf on 25 mtr indoor ranges against comparable teams by postal competition. At one time one of the brother in laws worked for a company that made concrete pipes of different sizes and they had a load of seconds that they wanted to get rid of and I had this silly idea of getting a digger and making an underground range using the pipes, which would have a shooting room at one end, an accessible butt at the other end via a manhole type lid with an internal overhead rail to take the targets down the range and back to the firing point.  An idea but that's as far as it got. I do also shoot .222 .223, 243 and. 273 over  approved farmland. But occasionally you get antis call the police that some maniacs are shooting all over the place and they feel threatened by the noise and the shooting. Plod has to come out to check it out.  Total pain in the rudder.  You just get set up to do a bit of decoying and the idiots are out there shouting "murderer" or waving flags or using mirrors to flash light at the birds.  I'd love to win the euro millions lottery and  buy a 1000 acre farm.

Edit.  I love what you have and what you  have made.  Its nice to be able to talk about things without it degenerating into some sort of argument. 

Edited September 24 by Minky

[nobbyathome]

I love the posts by nobodyimportant the USA is sure different to over here keep posting what you are up to  what sort of work do you do in the city ? And what city is it ? 

[NoBodyImportant]

On 24/09/2024 at 04:03, old'un said:

10 acres is a nice piece of land but not that big really, is there some unwritten rule about neighbours and trespass?

In America you do not trespass.  

[NoBodyImportant]

On 24/09/2024 at 04:37, old'un said:

True, it is a big country but the OP obviously as neighbours, do you know the density and proximity of such?

This house is in an area where homes are on 6-100 acres.  But we are a red state and everyone shoots guns on their own property.  From my berm to the next road it’s about a mile through the woods.  Americans are born around guns and most understand backstops.  The only law is we can’t shoot to intentionally annoy someone.  I have a farm outside the city and it’s in the middle of nowhere.  

On 24/09/2024 at 19:03, nobbyathome said:

I love the posts by nobodyimportant the USA is sure different to over here keep posting what you are up to  what sort of work do you do in the city ? And what city is it ? 

I’m a mold maker/ engineer by trade.  I live in the suburbs of Charlotte NC (about 20-30min from the city).  Eventually I want to retire towards western NC.  

On 24/09/2024 at 16:17, Minky said:

I think that it is super to have the  land and the ability to build any sort of facility without interference from antis who have different ideas.  I belong to an APPROVED RIFLE CLUB.  We have to have a minimum of 12 members who shoot regularly..??  The club has to have a constitution,  a Committee,  public Insurance and be a club member of the Nsra ( national small bore association) the club shoots .22rf on 25 mtr indoor ranges against comparable teams by postal competition. At one time one of the brother in laws worked for a company that made concrete pipes of different sizes and they had a load of seconds that they wanted to get rid of and I had this silly idea of getting a digger and making an underground range using the pipes, which would have a shooting room at one end, an accessible butt at the other end via a manhole type lid with an internal overhead rail to take the targets down the range and back to the firing point.  An idea but that's as far as it got. I do also shoot .222 .223, 243 and. 273 over  approved farmland. But occasionally you get antis call the police that some maniacs are shooting all over the place and they feel threatened by the noise and the shooting. Plod has to come out to check it out.  Total pain in the rudder.  You just get set up to do a bit of decoying and the idiots are out there shouting "murderer" or waving flags or using mirrors to flash light at the birds.  I'd love to win the euro millions lottery and  buy a 1000 acre farm.

Edit.  I love what you have and what you  have made.  Its nice to be able to talk about things without it degenerating into some sort of argument. 

I think an underground shooting range would be awesome.  

Edited September 26 by NoBodyImportant