Back yard range creation


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Just Joe
Looking into creating a range in my back yard. Are tires a good material for stopping rounds?
 

Looking into creating a range in my back yard. Are tires a good material for stopping rounds?

I would love to do this but its not possible for me. Please keep in mind that doing this you are opening yourself up to all sorts of litigation unless you're sitting on hundreds of acres. I bring to your attention a recent local story..

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The range in question can be seen in this overhead shot. Link Removed

The red lines are the 3 backdrops for targets, they are large dirt mounds.

The blue line is the pistol/rifle firing area.

The orange is for skeet.

The home mentioned is in the red box and right next to the #99.

So if you do this please be careful, even if you dont mistakenly shoot the neighbors, all they have to prove is a reasonable doubt.
 
Not enough info. What types of firearms are you planning to stop? I started with a double row of truck tires filled with sand. About 2 years later bullets were plowing through and sand was spilling from numerous blowouts. Now I use a triple stack of RR ties at 100 yards and replace them as needed. In the corner of my backyard is a simple "deflection plate" target butt. I use it mostly for 22 but it will handle 357 mag in moderation. It's a 3/8" steel plate set at a 45* angle. Bullets are deflected into the dirt near the back of the plate. Simple, effective, easily moved, and relatively inexpensive. Currently there's a small stack of wood at both ends to catch splatters but that's not totally required. Lead and copper plated 22lr, 38Sp, 40 S&W, and 9mm bullets cause no problems.
 
Looking into creating a range in my back yard. Are tires a good material for stopping rounds?

I would love to do this but its not possible for me. Please keep in mind that doing this you are opening yourself up to all sorts of litigation unless you're sitting on hundreds of acres. I bring to your attention a recent local story..

Link Removed

The range in question can be seen in this overhead shot. Link Removed

The red lines are the 3 backdrops for targets, they are large dirt mounds.

The blue line is the pistol/rifle firing area.

The orange is for skeet.

The home mentioned is in the red box and right next to the #99.

So if you do this please be careful, even if you dont mistakenly shoot the neighbors, all they have to prove is a reasonable doubt.

If I understood the OP correctly, I don't believe he has any intentions of opening up a commercial range. The rules for operating a commercial range are not nearly the same as just setting up a safe place to shoot in your back yard. My in-laws have 7 acres just outside city limits. We shoot handguns on the property all the time and have never had any problems.
 
It was just a thought I was passing on. All it takes is one neighbor who dislikes either you or firearms to raise a stink that why my post stated to be careful.
 
I should have given more information. I'm sitting on 6 acres of land and the nearest home is quite a distance away. Behind my property is an Army corps of engineers national forest. I was not The tires are earth movers tires in stack of 3.
 
It was just a thought I was passing on. All it takes is one neighbor who dislikes either you or firearms to raise a stink that why my post stated to be careful.

This is true, but as long as you are following the laws those annoying neighbors don't have much recourse. Like you said, be careful and make sure you aren't endangering anybody else's life or property and there's not much they can do. I've read many stories of whiny neighbors calling the sheriffs over the shooting and the sheriff telling them to go pound sand. Unless they're breaking the law, there's nothing they can do.
 
What does local codes say about used tires, excavating and discharge of fire arms. If it's not on the books I'd say go for it IF and only IF you're assured the round will be stopped on your property (at all times). As for the tires as a back drop, can't really answer that one I'm not a engineer. Can't ever remember an outdoor range I've been to that use anything other then earthen mounds.
 
I have a small shooting range on my property. I have 8 acres that was split off of a large farm years ago. It is only good for handguns right now, but allows me all the practice I want. I have no close neighbors and shoot down into a swale. My back stops are several large stumps. Next year I may expand it ,making it deeper and may need to look into some sort of larger backstop. I'll follow this thread and see what is recommended. The farmer next to me has a set of long distance targets set up. There is also a quarry about a 1/2mile away that sounds like a battle field at times. So the gun shots don't alarm anyone.
 
My wife and I are fortunate that the 12 acres we just bought in eastern Tennessee has a depression running roughly through the middle of it.

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That gives us a perfect place to shoot with built-in backstops (down where the hay bales are). The house will be built up on the flat part in the background.
 
Howdy,

For handguns this is some of my targets:

1359094409.jpg


They are on the power line right-away going to a piece of property that I own.

For rifles I can shoot to over 1,200 yards. I wish I had a better pic:

1359094270.jpg


Nothing fancy. I just use nature as a backstop.

Paul
 
For a "back yard" range I would recommend at least a dump truck load or two of sand or dirt. I don't think tires are what I would use. Depending on the caliber, a round could go through them and continue on for a good ways. Also you need to check your state and local laws about how far you need to be away from all houses, buildings and animals, to shoot a gun.
 
If you are not fortunate enough to have a natural valley then I would have some dirt brought in. It sends a good message that you are being pre-cautious as well as giving you peace of mind. Hope it all works out for you.

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Ok, I get the bit about laws, neighbors, etc.... The tires are huge earth movers, 6 foot diameters, I plan on dirt covering but I'm more concerned about the bullets bouncing back. Or is that NOT a possibility? So far the bullets seem to penetrate the first section but not the second thus being traped in the center.
I just wonder about them bouncing....
 
You really need to know 'what is safe' before you go ahead with shooting on your property. What is safe is not a guessing game of maybe 2 rows or tires or 3 is enough, etc. There are definitive rules defining what is and what is not safe. Just because a local barney fife cop is ignorant of what is or is not safe is not enough to protect you if you kill a neighbor. Many of the replies you get on a forum like this will be horribly unsafe - research it yourself. googling range design by government agencies, NRA, and a nra designer named C Vargas among others.

Do you have a place on your property that has a hill behind it for your backstop that is at least 18 feet tall? Does that hill then have 3-5000 feet of YOUR PROPERTY (not the navies or armies or states or neighbors) behind it that no one will be walking on without your permission? Is the 18' backstop WIDE enough on both sides to stop errant bullets? 5-10 degree minimum?

Research how far each of those bullets can go. Comments are often made that 'I just shoot pistols not rifles so don't have to worry about them going far.' I will not list the miles a 22 or 45 pistol will send a bullet - research it so you KNOW.

If answer to these are not all true, then google 'blue sky rule' and see that you will need to baffle all potential bullet paths past your range.

Not to be a party pooper, but we live in the country on 100's of acres, shoot 1000's of bullet a year, and as more and more city folk move to the country and decide they can shoot on their 2 acre plots - with a 12" stump set at their back property line, using their neighbors as the real backstop, I am afraid I get plenty mad at home made ranges where folks have no clue how far bullets go. Even when they tell the local cop "but I never miss & the dumb as_ is stupid to not believe them!"

Good for you to be researching this! If in the end you decide to shoot into a few tires or stumps at your neighbors property line at least you will have the knowledge of what you do wrong. If you do it right, I commend you!
 

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