Range on private land

rdinatal said:
Start looking for BIG tires!
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I’ve seen some say they can throw back smaller caliber, especially 22LR. Also worry about ricochet if/when they get embedded with enough lead. Same issue with logs/cut trees.
 
Mathieu18 said:
I’ve seen some say they can throw back smaller caliber, especially 22LR. Also worry about ricochet if/when they get embedded with enough lead. Same issue with logs/cut trees.
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They are great for forming a backstop, not by themselves. Build a U (with open end) and fill the interior with dirt/sand. Shoot into the dirt.
 
Mathieu18 said:
Hopefully closing on 9 acres next week in Brunswick Co. Need to do some clearing but deciding how to construct a backstop with paying a small fortune for fill etc. Figure I’ll start with 22LR and go up from there. How much sand is needed to stop 9mm from a PCC… have an idea how to build a sand box trap…
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Consider an elevated platform so you're shooting at a downward angle.
 
Also think elevation. I shoot off my deck that is 5-6 ft off the ground [had to elevate due to Irene] which puts my misses in the dirt. I’ve bought 32 acres in Martin co but need to further explore the property and the neighbors places to figure out a safe range location. Currently I’m on 1.5 acres but with big fields behind me. Good luck.584794F4-3DC7-4DF3-8A70-4E50B5D4D87E.jpeg
 
Button Pusher said:
Consider an elevated platform so you're shooting at a downward angle.
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That was my thought especially initially while working to build something up. 2-3’ platform would be easy, especially with a small berm behind it to start.
 
I was born in Franklin Co. in 1946 and by 1980 I knew where it was going. From what I see now, it is Wake Co. North and will continue to get worse. Fortunately, I was able to get out in the mid-1990s and can now do in Granville just like I did in Franklin in 1960. Do the best you can to keep things safe by making sure your rounds stay on your property and be ready for a battle on down the road because it will come.
 
chrishf12 said:
I have a neighbor that is bothered by my range also. Threatened to take me to court the last time he talked to me…
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We had a neighbor like that, told them to pound sand a few times.. Just for them I put muzzle breaks on most of our rifles.

They gotta pissed, sold their place and moved to a commie county.

8 houses in the area, 7 of us shoot, 4 regularly. After the sale its 8 and 5 and closing in on 6 regular shooters.
 
lasttombstone said:
I hope you are on the Person/Granville part of the area and not the Durham/Orange part.
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Southwest Person Co, Durham/Orange corner. I own 7.5 acre plot that is accessed through a neighborhood that is not part of the HOA.
I hunt a lot near the Granville VA corner.
 
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chrishf12 said:
Southwest Person Co, Durham/Orange corner. I own 7.5 acre plot that is accessed through a neighborhood that is not part of the HOA.
I hunt a lot near the Granville VA corner.
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We are planning on building a home on 2 acres in Person County a mile or so west of Lowes on 501 in Roxboro…
I understand that the Sheriff is a good guy.
 
nhusa said:
We are planning on building a home on 2 acres in Person County a mile or so west of Lowes on 501 in Roxboro…
I understand that the Sheriff is a good guy.
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He is, I have known him personally my whole life, but he is retiring and not running for re-election this year.
 
The best backstop you can get is plain old dirt, but if you can get hold of a bunch you cab take plain ole chicken wire and fix up a frame and then fill up the inside with mulch or wood chips you can get them bout anywhere they're cutting trees
you can make a frame as big as you want and make a stack of logs on inside to make a good stop inside long as you fill about a foot or 2 of chips on outside of them fairly easy and not expensive
 
Captainbarred said:
Wasn't sure where to post this.

Looking at some land in Franklin Co. Would like to be able to shoot on it..

Only restrictions I can find is 100 yards from road and neighbors residences.... then your typical noise ordinances (dusk to dawn limits...)

Anything else I need to know about?

Land is old farm land. I'd prefer a Forrest for sound control but beggers can't be choosers...

Any thoughts/legal input appreciated...
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also shooting on sunday from 9am till noon bout statewide
 
Found a place in Brunswick County with old railroad ties, said they’re 6”x6”x8’ for $12. Thinking I’ll build a 6-8’ long wall about 6’ high with them sunk in 2-3’. Won’t work if you can’t hit the side of a barn but I think I can handle that accuracy. Have a few systems in mind to hold a wall of sand/dirt/wood chips (good idea, thanks) a foot or so think in front of the ties to prevent ricochet from embedded lead. At the simplest I’m thinking of framing decking boards with a cavity in between. Pressed in place, dirt should hold most of its shape long enough to swap out a board. Might need to put a couple shovels full back in the top when your done. Then could replace as needed when they get shot up. Crazy idea?
 
baltimoreed said:
They do deteriorate even if you don’t bury them. I rebuilt this once since I originally made it. All my cf goes into the steel. Only .22 in the ties.
View attachment 442015
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Good stuff, thanks. How long did it last? Wouldn’t use bigger than 9mm probably, but can you tell me about the steel?
 
lasttombstone said:
Those may be some local ordenances to that effect but it is not statewide. That does apply to hunting on Sunday, however.
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From what I was told it is a state thing may be wrong but going by what the law said when they came out to check mine range out. Lol wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong, either way don't wanna tick off church goers just cause you can or least I don't
 
^And neither would I. I'm pretty isolated and most of my shooting these days is .22 SV or supressed so it is hard for me to bother anyone anyway. When the Sunday hunting was passed, that stipulation was placed in the regulations and without it, I doubt if Sunday hunting would have passed. Granted, I"m no expert on law, but I have never heard of such a general regulation but think that it may be a local thing since someone actually came out to certify your range. I know there is no such thing up here in Granville............... at least not yet.
 
The steel containment is a splitter box that came from the fertilizer plant where i worked for 40 years. Just a large rectangular funnel where multiple pipes would be located. This was how we transferred phosphoric acid to the different tanks for blends that eventually were made into solid fertilizer. They were on a catwalk between 35 ft tall open top tanks with piping going to each tank from a pair of them. Thinking it weighs 680 lb. I had a local welder change the bottom outlet 90 degrees to drop spent bullets into a steel container. There are 2 layers of ties on my backstop. I added the diagonal poles after a hurricane blew it over one year. A lot of a rr tie lifespan depends on how old were they when you bought them. 10-20 years I guess but burying them and local conditions will shorten their lifespan. Thinking we had about 27 miles of track at the plant. I ran a yard engine and switched for a lot of my time there.
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lasttombstone said:
^And neither would I. I'm pretty isolated and most of my shooting these days is .22 SV or supressed so it is hard for me to bother anyone anyway. When the Sunday hunting was passed, that stipulation was placed in the regulations and without it, I doubt if Sunday hunting would have passed. Granted, I"m no expert on law, but I have never heard of such a general regulation but think that it may be a local thing since someone actually came out to certify your range. I know there is no such thing up here in Granville............... at least not yet.
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lol yeah, the mayor of the place where we live got all concerned when people started calling her saying it sounded like a war going on lol. It sounds worse than what it is because the echo is in a 3 sided valley of sorts. Anyway making it short county sheriff came out and said the mayor wanted us to stop and he had to see if we were doing anything illegal. I told him my main thing was safety and showed him the burm and the whole setup here. He went with me and said the mayor was worried about people walking on the trails on the other side of the creek from us. So I showed him all of how my steel was set to make all rounds go down into the ground at the stands. and the whole setup he looked it over and asked how long I'd had been shooting here and I said close to 20 years and at that point, he said if you've had this setup that long the mayor can't do anything you're protected by being grandfathered in on any new range laws. Either way, he explained all I had to and needed to do which was to keep being safe
 
lasttombstone said:
Yeah. Isn't that always the case. Comehere's seem to want to complain and change things. Glad you had sensable folks to deal with.
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well I want to tink I used my head told the officers they could come shoot anytime in fact if they wanted they could come down and shoot with me whenever, they thought it was cool
 
Random follow up, not sure where else to post the question… has anyone used mulch as a backstop? I know it’s less dense so probably need more of it than dirt but A) I have about 8 acres of trees to cut, could get a chipper for less than the fill and B) county landfill with seasoned, free mulch is only 10 min away so could load up as much extra as needed.
 
eddie0225 said:
Mulch is good long as you got plenty specially if you wet it
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Good thought, wet and pack. Can always add to it as it decomposes too. Anyone have thoughts how much more depth of mulch you need to stop 9mm or a smaller rifle round?
 
As to mulch my only real concern is it washes away a little easier in heavier rains than dirt with grass or such growing to hold it in place.
 
Start with a pile of cut junk logs piled on top of each other end toward the shooters. Bury them under your mulch. Make the log pile more stable by making it wider on the bottom and narrower towards the top. Just an idea.
 
NCFubar said:
As to mulch my only real concern is it washes away a little easier in heavier rains than dirt with grass or such growing to hold it in place.
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Thing with mulch is if you have like chickenwire on outside and then pack it as you go it won't wash away with rain had and got to many likes of it. Besides mulch if you've ever had it you know roots from stuff will bind it like glue after a short time
 
Could always use some silt fence for a bit as well to keep the pile in place till it firms up. I have plenty of weeds in flower beds where mulch used to be, so I know "something" will grow in mulch! Anyway could always put a load of soil over it and plant grass. Won't be perfect but would help hold it together. Still a lot cheaper to make a big mound of mulch instead of fill and top soil.
 
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