55 gallon drums for backstop

[martywinston]

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?

 

[feralmerril]

I think your going to have some mad neighbors.

 

[martywinston]

I think your going to have some mad neighbors.

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

 

[roundgunner]

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.

 

[Evil Dog]

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.

 

[Rule3]

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.

 

[oldman45]

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.

 

[LazyKB]

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?

 

[tork'd]

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

 

[oldman45]

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?

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.

 

[martywinston]

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.

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.

 

[martywinston]

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 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.

 

[arjay]

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

 

[martywinston]

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?

 

[arjay]

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

 

[rockquarry]

backstop

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.

 

[martywinston]

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

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.

 

[Moonman]

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.

 

[Rule3]

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 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.

 

[martywinston]

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.

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.