I've been thinking about putting a pistol range behind the house. The property is flat and there's a pond back there with a few hundred feet of woods between the grassy area and the next residences.

I've been thinking about the best way to build a backstop using minimal money.

One thought I had is to use stacked rows of metal 55 gallon drums filled with dirt then the stack covered by a dirt mound.

I've been trying to figure a cheap way to find and buy used drums and get them delivered (I don't think my Subaru will do the job).

Any ideas?

I'd also like to hear whether there's a flaw in this approach.

If I left the steel barrels "naked", I'd be afraid of ricochets; certainly I need to pay more attention to the covering dirt mound in front of the barrels than to a mound behind.

I was thinking of ground level having 5 barrels across in front of four barrels aligned center to rim; this would provide a stable base for a row of 4 barrels atop them.

I had thought about bolting the levels together before filling them but decided that would make it nearly impossible to un-make the backstop for any next occupant.

I have an aerial photo that shows the wooded lane between the properties behind me (well behind me) and can easily make the shooting angle align with that.

I know that in some parts of the country, used steel 55 gallon drums are as little as $5 each. Cleveland (just west of here) is industrial so I would think some similar bargain might be available but I haven't been able to get any leads. Any ideas on how I can start looking?

I think your going to have some mad neighbors.

I might have, but I've already talked with them.

If you go 2 high and 4 across full of dirt and cover it with dirt it seems like it would be ok as long as you do your part to keep them on the backstop.

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Shoot fast & live long
Warren

It should stop most any handgun bullet with no problems.... seriously doubt the neighbors will be happy though. Also would have to be extremely careful NEVER to launch one over the top of the berm. Personally I kind of like a very tall cliff for a backstop.

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A closed mouth gathers no foot

I see no reason to used the drums. Just a regular berm of dirt. The Problem I do see is that you state:

"with a few hundred feet of woods between the grassy area and the next residences."

That is not a safe distance to be shooting toward other houses.

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Still Running Against the Wind

I made mine very cheaply. Bought several used cross ties at $3 each. Stacked them three deep and made them in a U-shape.

Piled dirt for about 4 feet behind the cross ties . The backstop is five feet high.

I also used a friends help that has a front end loader. Free labor, a few hours of work over a few trips and about $300 expense. This worked well due to having 25 acres of land.

The distance through the woods to the next residence would be about a quarter mile with a lot of trees in between.

Now to figure how I can get down there (125 miles) more often to use it. As is, I get there about once a year at most.

I like the cross ties idea (so does Deathgrip). I was contemplating using used tires. Laying them like bricks, two or three deep, filling each course with dirt as it went up. What would be the downside to that approach?

what about the next owner?
what would happen if next owner not as responsible as you, over shoots barrier, hits young kids playing in woods or in their bedroom.
i personnally would not want that to haunt me...
not all people are smart

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is it just me?

Nothing wrong with the use of tires as far as safety and effectiveness. The EPA may not care a lot for it. Tires take a very long time to decompose. Some agency requires proper disposal of them. Locally we are charged a disposal fee on tires, even if you keep them.

You have a pretty good idea and I would have done that if I had thought of it.

No argument there - but the houses are both about 45 degrees off axis to the firing lane - the axis goes to a wooded thicket between the houses.

I should also mention - this is for pistol, not rifle fire - a pistol round can go a mile but a 10-12 foot mound behind a 9-inch target seems to me a less unlikely destination.

I thought initially about just a big pile of sand, but can't think of a way to keep it from just washing down. (I thought of sand bags but recognized that there's no way to keep sand from leaking through a bullet hole in a bag). I also thought of just mud, but that would wash out too.

I thought about using ties to create more of a controlled shape but when reading up on it learned that 9mm rounds can penetrate ties, and I really don't want my rounds visiting the neighbors.

I thought about a big steel sheet and it was a result of trying to find one for cheap that a friend suggested 55-gallon steel drums. A naked drum would make for unpredictable richochets but a drum as a secondary backstop to 4 feet of dirt would, I hope, provide an impenetrable barrier.

At this point I'm planning to fill the drums with dirt (which should both weight them down for stability and reduce any noise when they're hit) though I suppose I could also toss in slag.

Misses happen and ricochets happen.I wouldn't do it.

I'm confused; you wouldn't do what? Wouldn't build a backyard range at all? Wouldn't build one with steel drums as a secondary backstop to dirt? Something else?

Wouldn't be shooting towards my neighbors houses...

Bullets that strike just in front of the target area may "skip" varying distances over and beyond the backstop unless it's a very tall backstop/ berm. When I had my own range in a rural area, I experienced this very thing. Most such bullets only go a short distance beyond the berm, however, there's a chance they may go farther. Talk to commercial range owners; they'll tell you about bullet skip.

I am not shooting toward the houses of my next-door neighbors. This place is semi-rural with large lots. I would be shooting across my back yard into a backstop just before the woods at the rear of the property. There is a street in that direction but we're not talking about something as close as houses on a city block.

How much property do YOU own? The other land could be sold and built on. People could be HIKING/HUNTING/BIRDWATCHING in those woods if you don't own them and have posted NO TRESPASSING. The property property owner or a Game Warden could be in those woods.

The recent Chardon High School shooting in your county and the student deaths (now 3) may influence community feelings towards gunfire.

What type ($$$$) of LIABILITY insurance do you carry in case of an errant round? A million dollar UMBRELLA liability policy would be a bare minimum of coverage.

If all is LEGAL to SHOOT in your neighborhood, maybe in the future you could look into Supressors/Silencers which are not cheap and a FEDERAL $200 transfer tax stamp must be paid and rights granted BEFORE it's transferred to your possession. A dealer for supressor manufacturers is near you in Portage County.

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NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

I of course do not know your exact "lay of the land" so do not have a clear picture. As mentioned bullets ricochet, you may miss the berm, kids play in the woods, folks walk in the woods etc etc.
I just feel based on the info given a shooting "range" a few hundred feet from a house or road is too close.

If it is determined safe, I still see no need for the metal drums, just use dirt and or railroad ties.

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Still Running Against the Wind

I have 2 acres - if the aerial shot uploaded you can see the geometry and the scale.

I could alternately set up my lane at an angle a bit more lateral for a longer uninhabited run post-backstop.

Ohio law for Townships does not allow any limitation on this kind of shooting - and the Chardon incident will not change that.

Attached Images

Aerial.jpg (112.2 KB, 211 views)

Before I lift a shovel, I'm checking with police and zoning to make sure that whatever I plan will comply.

But I resist the suggestion that a mound of dirt alone is safer than a mound of dirt with steel barrels inside.

Which house is yours and what direction will you be shooting?

Absolutely NO WAY would I be shooting at a home range given that housing layout you showed the aerial view of. (Kids on the loose for one)

Unintended even non-negligent accidental misfired rounds do occur, the LEO'S here can attest to that.

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NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

As I told a fellow here with a similar idea,
if you are so convinced that your backstop is going to be entirely adequate, turn the range around and shoot toward your own house.
Then you can't be sued for any holes you put in the house.
And if you refuse to put your own property at risk, why do you want to risk your neighbors'?

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Science plus Art

There is no way to put a safe range in that layout. One of the basic rules of shooting is knowing what's beyond your target.

All I know is the two outside ranges I shoot at are mounds of DIRT with no barrels or other stuff inside. One is a State range in a Wildlife area with many strict requirements. How long will it take for the steel drums to rust away?

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Still Running Against the Wind

To get enough barrels, delivered and filled with dirt wont be that cheap.

I bet if you called around, for a little bit more you could get someone with a bobcat/loader/or dozer come in and build you a dirt bank to use as a back stop.

It would take a couple hours at the most (depending on the size of your range).

Dirt mounds, 8 to 10 ft thick at the base and at least 3-4 ft thick at the top will stop most anything you shoot at it, but keep in mind over time the hole you are shooting into needs some of the dirt replaced. The biggest concern is what is in the distance behind you? I was a member of a range that had a 200 and 300 yd. rifle range with a hillside as a back stop. a member loosed a round above the backstop that traveled 1 1/2 miles and penetrated a house wall and lodged in the floor of a little girls bedroom floor. At the time the range was built that house didn't even exist. Keep in mind rounds like 30-06 can travel up to 3 miles depending on the elevation. Unfortunately, that range no longer exists.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

EVEN IF: you build a safe range and it works out, the entire neighborhood will hear you shooting regularly. Fine. Someday some kid or other outsider will be treaspassing or whatever and be shooting illegaly in the area. Guess who everyone in the area is going to think it is? On top of that people move and new ones buy those houses. They might not be that agreeable as the ones you talked to. The layout shown doesnt look that rual enough to me. Maybe you might get away with a occasional ground shot at a rabbit with a shotgun raiding the wifes garden, but I think you will hear complaints sooner or later about regular pistol shooting.

Oh man! This is a very real dilemma. I'm sure many of us here on the forum understand you're wanting to be able to shoot on your own property and at the same time be safe and responsible. With the density of the homes and not being able to control access to the woods around the homes, I'm afraid you're in a Catch 22. To err on the side of safety, as well as any present or future legal liability, I'm afraid you'd best be served by NOT constructing a shooting berm for a pistol range. Yes sir I know... that really sucks, but that's just the reality of today's societal views.

I know it would cost more, but what about some type of partially burried or sunken range with a cover? Just a thought.

Best wishes in your decision process.

Hog

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Isaiah 55:8-9
Phil. 4:13

At the bottom, near the center - there's a pond visible in the yard.

If that's your house in the lower center of the picture, how can youy say you don't have houses almopst directly behind you? I don't see any angle you could safely shoot from. I would never take that chance.

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Dick

Pistol shooting is pretty normal around here. My neighbor (off the edge of the photo to the right) has a range in his yard and shoots on most good days. At least 4 of the homes down the side street between us (that street is a cul de sac with two side streets with cul de sacs and the total length of all is 1.5 miles with 2-5 acre lots - not a lot of houses in all) have backyard ranges. My shooting won't add any upset.

I would skip the drums all together. The dirt berm would be easier to maintain or change in the future without the drums. You may also have issues with the drums rusting, environmental issues with prior contents, lead reclamation, etc.

Even if all of your current neighbors are OK with this situation, new move-ins may file complaints in the future. Dirt berms have been the standard for years, adding other materiels may cause more potential problems than they are worth.

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Gerry

I really don't see a safe direction to shoot a pistol from the yard indicated. Berm or no berm.

But that aside,,if you do go ahead with the plans,,I'd skip the steel drum idea..
Cheap steel drums are cheap for a reason. Many times they are in need of expensive disposal because of prior contents.

To stack a pile of them on your land could make a small haz-mat site for yourself.
Fill them with soil, bolt them together or not,,they will get (bullet) holes in them and rust out.
Water will leach the contents into your yard & surrounding areas.
If ever there's a question of contaminated ground water in the area,,the big mound of rusted steel drums covered with dirt is the first place they'll look.
You'll pay for a clean-up of any nasty chemicles plus the evil lead you've added to it.
They speak in parts /per million,,,so it doesn't take much.

Good luck,,be careful. Nice looking place there.

Thanks - I was looking at suppliers for clean used barrels - I am conscientious about what goes into the ground.

But today I checked with both police and zoning and neither had any objection.

I'm not yet committed to anything - there's always buying my neighbor a thousand rounds and using his range - and I appreciate the very pragmatic recommendations against form everybody here.

2 acres just isn't enough land. You never know when someone might be on the other property. Also, after looking at the neighborhood, there's really no safe direction in which you can shoot.

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- The Federalist #46 -

I know under Michigan DNR rules they require 500 feet minimum from a occuped dwelling.
If you only have several hundred feet, I would not attempt it. I have over a half mile behind my house to anything and I still have large dirt berms. A drum full of dirt will just leak out the dirt once it has holes in it, and an empty drum will stop nothing.

I have a little experience in this area and would'nt feel comfortable,
at all, shooting from the OP's backyard.

We have a small Pistol Range in our backyard and the nearest house behind our berm
is just under a mile away. On top of that I have a clear view out to at least 500 yd's
behind the small group of trees behind our berm since it's all cultivated fields.
Even though, in the over 25 yr's we've been here, I've never seen anybody out in the field,
other than a few hunters during Deer Season, or when the Farmers are doing their thing,
I always do a visual check before a range session.

I'm lucky in the fact that my wife's cousin runs a tree removal service out of a
pole barn on the property so our berm is composed of wood chips. Since we've had a
berm for about 6 years now the inner core is a rich, black dirt with the base of the berm(s)
being about 12' at the base & about 4' at the top.

Below is a photo taken a few years ago during the summer months.
I've had at least 30 loads of chips added since that time.



The photo below was taken about 2 weeks ago, after the berms settled over the winter.
When spring arrives more chips will be brought in and the berm re-worked,
which is something we do about 3 times during the course of the summer due to
composting/settleing. Because of the settleing that has occurred over the winter,
I'm constantly checking the field behind because I know some of our rounds are
currently going over the berm. By doing this I know I'm clear for at least 500 yds & actually
I can see further than that because there are no leaves on the trees along the nearest "hedgerow."



If someone were to build a berm of dirt they need to take into consideration the "settleing"
that would occur, at least at first, and go higher than what you want it to end up at.

For the OP's situation I would follow a previous poster's advice and go down.
You would then use the dirt removed to build up an above ground berm over/behind the
below ground shooting lanes. If you did this you would more than likely have to
make some sort of rough log, or wood plank walls along the sides of the below ground
portion to prevent them from eventually caving in.

In addition to the close proximity of the houses in the OP's situation my other concern would
be the trees back there, which would prevent a good visual confirmation that the downrange
area is clear. Someone could be in those trees and you would never know it........

This last photo just shows the area off to the right that, in the first pic, was tall grass.
I put some plastic down, had a couple of Bobcat bucket's of chips dropped down & raked 'em out.
I almost burned that picnic table a few years ago but found that with the one bench cut off
it makes a good bench with plenty of room & easy access.

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Ogy

It must have been my fault for so many people here thinking the drum full of dirt is right behind the target.

The wall of drums full of dirt go behind the dirt mount and help support it.

But you and others raise an interesting point:

if there should be a local requirement for an assured clear field behind a target range, then that's something the local zoning commission should be addressing. I'll bring it up to them. This Township has about 2000 homes and I wouldn't be surprised to hear that hundreds of them have backyard ranges; that kind of zoning restriction would shut most of them down.

Please note that aside from isolated episodes like the Chardon High shootings and occasional hunting accidents, there are almost no shooting-related injuries reported in any given year.

Still, it will be interesting to have Zoning look at it - especially since that would be likely to attract the attention of the NRA.

With 65 acres, a large bulldozer built dirt backstop, and a dense forest behind the backstop, I don't worry about anything leaving my property, but trespassers do trespass, and there is always the remote possibility someone could wander in behind the backstop and be close enough to catch an overshoot before the forest could stop the bullet. That would require simultaneous mistakes by both parties...me for overshooting and the victim for trespassing. I consider that a low enough risk to blaze away on my backyard 100 yard range. Building a range and trying to shoot on small parcels of land with a much higher risk of a bullet straying over my boundary lines onto another persons land, even vacant land, is a risk I would not take.

Anybody who has ever watched the A-Team can tell ya that even 5.56 bullets will simply bounce off empty 55-gal drums. The sparks might create a fire hazzard though.

ogilvyspecial,

I wish I had your setup in my back yard! I have a nice club 2 miles from my home but it would be so nice to be setup like that.

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Shoot fast & live long
Warren

Thanks roundgunner, no real planning usually goes on when it comes
to shootin' around here. You get the urge & you head out the door.....

When I know others are coming over I'll get out all of our target stands, as
well as our "nut picker upper" for those with semi-auto's and I'm good to go.

If we get ambitious we can pull a car up in the yard and shoot from it, or over the hood.
Usually I just use one of those yard chairs to simulate shootin' from a car.....

There used to be an old barn type garage on that pad, that is until our oldest son and a few
of his martial arts buddies decided to kick it down, without asking permission of course.
They seen someone else do something similar on TV, or so I was told at the time....

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Ogy

I would go with OK Hog Shooter's suggestion of going underground. Rent a dozer and dig a trench and line the sides with railroad ties. You can put a metal roof over the target area with a flood light. You would have to be dedicated though.

If you go ahead with the above ground range perhaps you should look into using sand bags or railroad ties to support the berm instead of steel drums.

Whatever happend to just going out to the boat launch and shooting the stop sign????

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Forum consigliere

I think the real solution to the problem is to simply reverse your plans. Set up the shooting bay area at the outer edge of your property and shoot towards your house.

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Still Running Against the Wind

The outer edges of the property are wet and mucky - and a berm near the house can't be done without degrading the property - but I have no hesitation as to the safety of such a setup. 9mm ball ammo won't get past the planned layout and the layout is significantly wider than the target area.

But that said, I'm working on an even better, year-round approach - a 17- or 18-lane indoor range within 10 minutes of here - just spoke to the bank about it this morning.

I hope that works out for you. Sounds expensive. What about a commercial outdoor facility?

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Shoot fast & live long
Warren

Here in the Blizzard Belt, there are several commercial outdoor ranges but I don't know of any that are (or should be) open year-round.