I have about 12 acres and want to put up a dirt mound back stop for a shooting range. Behind the backstop will be a few acres of woods before the next nearest property. How much dirt do I need to build a small mound that will make an adequate backstop? I'll be shooting .22, .223/5.56, .38, .40, and .44.
Range building. Dirt mound backstop?
- Thread starter newguy07
- Start date
Cheapshooter
New member
From this publication:http://www.nssf.org/ranges/rangeres...ign/baffles_berms.htm&CAT=Facility Management
MarkDozier
New member
here is a calculator for cubic yards
http://www.soilbuildingsystems.com/CubicYard.php
It tells you how much dirt you need for a given size.
http://www.soilbuildingsystems.com/CubicYard.php
It tells you how much dirt you need for a given size.
A suggestion: When you get your dirt berm built, cover the the face where the bullets will impact with old tires. The tires will keep the bullets from kicking the dirt way from the berm and lengthen the time before repairs will have to be performed. If some protective face is not used to control damage from repeated bullet strikes, the dirt will get shot away quickly.
aarondhgraham
New member
Old tires may be a bad idea,,,
Many moons ago a friend built a home range,,,
He used old tires filled with dirt thinking that would be good.
.22 LR rounds literally bounced back at the shooters.
Plain old dirt is the best bullet stopper there is.
Aarond
Many moons ago a friend built a home range,,,
He used old tires filled with dirt thinking that would be good.
.22 LR rounds literally bounced back at the shooters.
Plain old dirt is the best bullet stopper there is.
Aarond
UtopiaTexasG19
New member
I regularly shoot at 2" diameter targets and a post above says I need a 25 foot tall berm behind them ???
UtopiaTexasG19
New member
My targets are 2 feet off the ground so why would one need a backstop or berm 23 feet higher than the top of the target? I've had stray rounds here at home over the years but only by 6-8 inches. I assume the commercial ranges have to over do some things for safety.
A backstop of earth must have slopes to prevent slips and a flat on top. It should be at least as wide as it is tall. Slopes on back and sides should be 30 degrees or less and the flat on top should be 1/4th the height; shooting side slope is generally as steep as can be maintained.
Fill dirt, which is not topsoil, runs about $20 a yard.
A 25 foot high backstop will take about 600 yards of dirt. That’s $12,000.
I have trees on my property.
Many of these trees are dead or not all that good.
The price being paid for timber is low.
If I had no trees I could buy trees cheap.
If I were to dig up 600 yards of dirt I would sell it.
For a backstop I use logs.
For the dirt money I would trade for a truck which isn’t as rusty as mine.
Fill dirt, which is not topsoil, runs about $20 a yard.
A 25 foot high backstop will take about 600 yards of dirt. That’s $12,000.
I have trees on my property.
Many of these trees are dead or not all that good.
The price being paid for timber is low.
If I had no trees I could buy trees cheap.
If I were to dig up 600 yards of dirt I would sell it.
For a backstop I use logs.
For the dirt money I would trade for a truck which isn’t as rusty as mine.
A method used at our range is less than perfect, but it did save on imported fill material.
They excavated a slope in front of the 100 yd line and used that material to build a berm at the 200 yd line. You shoot over the 100 yd targets to hit the 200 yd targets.
As the material was loam with gravel, there wasn't a drainage problem. (In other words, don't try this in soils with a high percentage of clay...
)
I believe the berm is around 15 ft high.
The range hasn't erected I-beams above the benches yet, but there is a required safety course where they emphasize the problem of shooting over the top of the berm.
They excavated a slope in front of the 100 yd line and used that material to build a berm at the 200 yd line. You shoot over the 100 yd targets to hit the 200 yd targets.
As the material was loam with gravel, there wasn't a drainage problem. (In other words, don't try this in soils with a high percentage of clay...
)I believe the berm is around 15 ft high.
The range hasn't erected I-beams above the benches yet, but there is a required safety course where they emphasize the problem of shooting over the top of the berm.
I have thought about this as well. If I ever get a big enough piece of land, I would like to set up a place for me and friends to shoot. My main concern was the possibility of a gun newbie shooting OVER the mound. I've seen many rifle ranges with wood posts and planks every x amount of yards design to catch any bullets going too high.
As for the dirt, a 2% slope on 200 yards might provide enough to make the mound.
As for the dirt, a 2% slope on 200 yards might provide enough to make the mound.
I have a 100 yard range behind my house. I constructed my berm using my John Deere tractor with front end loader. I piled the dirt app 10 feet high with it. I have tuned it back up twice over the years. It is probably a good plan to get dirt from some location not directly infront of the berm if possible. Using dirt from infront you will end up with a muddy mess if you are not careful.
If you have a location on your property not a great distance from your planned berm location ( within say 200 feet), a Track Loader can build you a pretty good berm in a couple hours.
Bob
If you have a location on your property not a great distance from your planned berm location ( within say 200 feet), a Track Loader can build you a pretty good berm in a couple hours.
Bob
YARDDOG(1)
New member
I'm Lucky, I shoot on 100 acers 2 ponds dug with 30-35' high & 100' long, Can shoot out to 200 yards ; )PS MERRY CHRISTMAS
Y/D
Y/D
From a post a while ago:
I wouldn't call it a range per-see but the area I shoot on my property has a 15 foot by 15 foot berm that's back stopped by telephone poles that was put in by my father about 30 years ago. The one advantage we have is its 5 acres from the back of my property so any overshot's will land in my neighbors corn field, we don't allow shooting during planting or harvesting season.
Edit: While I had my new barn put in, we put in 30 new poles and another 5 foot of dirt and gravel over it, so its now about 20 foot deep.
BTW Its 15 foot tall also, forgot to put that in last time
I shoot anything from .22 to 7.63x39 into it.
I wouldn't call it a range per-see but the area I shoot on my property has a 15 foot by 15 foot berm that's back stopped by telephone poles that was put in by my father about 30 years ago. The one advantage we have is its 5 acres from the back of my property so any overshot's will land in my neighbors corn field, we don't allow shooting during planting or harvesting season.
Edit: While I had my new barn put in, we put in 30 new poles and another 5 foot of dirt and gravel over it, so its now about 20 foot deep.
BTW Its 15 foot tall also, forgot to put that in last time
I shoot anything from .22 to 7.63x39 into it.
Last edited:
603Country
New member
For my 100 yard (107 yds) range , I used the tractor auger to drill a bunch of holes for cedar posts and then built a wooden box around those posts to hold dirt. Having a front bucket on the tractor made dirt moving to fill the box real easy. The target backstop is about 5 feet high and 6 feet wide and maybe 6 feet of dirt behind the actual target. Behind all that is about 1/2 mile of forest. That's all the backstop I need for all those tiny little groups I shoot. Groups that aren't tiny are due to weather or wind or changes in gravitational pull...or maybe sunspots.
little groups I shoot. Groups that aren't tiny are due to weather or wind or changes in gravitational pull...or maybe sunspots.Firing Range Planning Resource
I know this is a little bit of and over do, for most shooters, but the US Army has a publication which may be useful, as well as interesting, for researching the logic of range safety. The following link is from the US Army publications directorate and includes a good amount of information about surface danger zones, charts and tables referencing range planning. This is used to determine the amount of risk applied to the many types of ranges in the armed forces (the USMC use this book as well). Just skip the bombs, shells, lasars, and look for small arms ranges, the topic begins on page 23.
Download this Department of the Army Phamphlet 385-63. at this location: http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/p385_63.pdf
There is also Army Regulation 385-63, which has less information. Do not confuse the two. Get DA Pam 385-63.
I know this is a little bit of and over do, for most shooters, but the US Army has a publication which may be useful, as well as interesting, for researching the logic of range safety. The following link is from the US Army publications directorate and includes a good amount of information about surface danger zones, charts and tables referencing range planning. This is used to determine the amount of risk applied to the many types of ranges in the armed forces (the USMC use this book as well). Just skip the bombs, shells, lasars, and look for small arms ranges, the topic begins on page 23.
Download this Department of the Army Phamphlet 385-63. at this location: http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/p385_63.pdf
There is also Army Regulation 385-63, which has less information. Do not confuse the two. Get DA Pam 385-63.
kilimanjaro
New member
You can build a 12" berm if you think you and each and every guest shooter will hit it, each and every time, but you are legally liable for every round that goes beyond the berm. Wing a trespasser out beyond, they can sue you if you have not constructed a proper backstop for safe shooting.