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I don't know any real specifics but one year the club went to a blokes farm and he had made a 150 yard range with sleepers dug in to a bank for the butts. He had made it to zero his centre fire rifles. I remember another member comenting about range approval and this bloke saying .... No.  It's just a bit of shoring to stop the bank slipping. Who give a flying anyway.  I suppose that a 6.5 can be used to shoot rabbits ?

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12 hours ago, Sausagedog said:

I thought if you leave with no deal we don't need a back stop!

 

Oooooh I am confused, what with Brexit and kwis I don't know my arse from me elbow......

Depend if you're Irish or not. Irish mice tend to me more fussy about pass throughs.

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15 hours ago, Meece said:

It depends on what is behind the backstop area.  If it is an empty fourty acre field  you're ok but if it is a car park , probably not.  My 22lr will go right through a steel 40 gallon barrel at 100 yards and I really was surprised when the 17.hmr of my  mate put a bullet clean through the side of a farm trailer  ( of his ) at about 70 yards. The metal was about 3 mm thick.

 

Depends on what the buildings made of as well. If it's a tin shack then yes, but if it's brick then it's not going through until severely used, although you will eventually remove the wall! Also assumption is the mother of f&5kcups. You can't simply assume that because you have a 40 acre field behind it's safe. What about the visitor that wanders around the back looking for an entrance, or the kid exploring, or the walker crossing the field (even if they're trespassing), or your wife or kid walking around the back for some reason? You always need to know exactly where the bullet is stopping and whether there's anything that be can be harmed or damaged in between. You can't just assume because there's 40 acres behind the bullet passing through the shed wall won't hit anything. That's how people get injured / killed and you get jailed.

As for backstop, I've only shot on 1 indoor range but I seem to remember it having some kind of steel funnel to collect the bullets, probably with sand in the back. Impractical for amateur construction and maybe unsuitable for HMR (we were shooting .22 shorts). I'd say your best bet is sand held back by sandbags. Get plenty of spare bags and when the front bags start to split, simply replace them. I think with those woven polymer bags, there's the potential for bullets to slip in past the weave extending the lifespan. As for the amount of sand, I couldn't say. It's a very efficient backstop, but you're probably still going to want a metre depth to be safe, so a few hundred pounds worth or maybe 3 large crane bags + individual sandbags in front as the retaining wall (once the back bags split you're going to need a retainer). Alternatively you could just have a slope of sand, but bear in mind you might have to keep shovelling it back and the stop depth will be lower at the top than the bottom.

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3 hours ago, Alsone said:

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As for backstop, I've only shot on 1 indoor range but I seem to remember it having some kind of steel funnel to collect the bullets, probably with sand in the back. Impractical for amateur construction and maybe unsuitable for HMR (we were shooting .22 shorts). I'd say your best bet is sand held back by sandbags. Get plenty of spare bags and when the front bags start to split, simply replace them. I think with those woven polymer bags, there's the potential for bullets to slip in past the weave extending the lifespan. As for the amount of sand, I couldn't say. It's a very efficient backstop, but you're probably still going to want a metre depth to be safe, so a few hundred pounds worth or maybe 3 large crane bags + individual sandbags in front as the retaining wall (once the back bags split you're going to need a retainer). Alternatively you could just have a slope of sand, but bear in mind you might have to keep shovelling it back and the stop depth will be lower at the top than the bottom.

a few hundred pounds worth or maybe 3 large crane bags + individual sandbags !!!

That's a bit over the top isn't it.  Most sand butts on 25,mtr indoor ranges are either a sort of special rubberised back sheet or sand which is wet. If I were making a small range for single gun use i would fill a 25ltr drum with wetted sharp sand layed on its side and put the target in front of that. Neither a 22lr or a 1.7 hmr is going to get through that and if you .can't put the bullets into that area then either get closer or take up Tiddleywinks. I have seen a 40 gallon barrel used where it was laid on its side and a slot cut in it like a letterbox.  Inside a piece of sheet sheet was put at an angle. The bullets went through the slot, hit the a angled sheèt and spun Round the drum. A small section of one end of the drum had been removed so that the spent bullets could be removed when they built up. All you got to do is hit the target  and dissipate the energy of the bullet.

Edited by Meece
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1 hour ago, Meece said:

a few hundred pounds worth or maybe 3 large crane bags + individual sandbags !!!

That's a bit over the top isn't it.  Most sand butts on 25,mtr indoor ranges are either a sort of special rubberised back sheet or sand which is wet. If I were making a small range for single gun use i would fill a 25ltr drum with wetted sharp sand layed on its side and put the target in front of that. Neither a 22lr or a 1.7 hmr is going to get through that and if you .can't put the bullets into that area then either get closer or take up Tiddleywinks. I have seen a 40 gallon barrel used where it was laid on its side and a slot cut in it like a letterbox.  Inside a piece of sheet sheet was put at an angle. The bullets went through the slot, hit the a angled sheèt and spun Round the drum. A small section of one end of the drum had been removed so that the spent bullets could be removed when they built up. All you got to do is hit the target  and dissipate the energy of the bullet.

Tiddlywinks!

Arnt they sect5 prohibited weapons now due to kids using them?

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2 hours ago, Sausagedog said:

The only problem I can see from using sand is if an emu has stuck its head in it and you don't realise!

Better still, a politician sticks his head in the sand like they often do!

Good replies.  I'd feel sorry for an unsuspecting emu but I don't suppose any politician would merit such concern.  Still they might make excellent running target ; ( holders). And is a given that any target must be positively identified  as a safe emu free area, before opening fire. ?

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7 hours ago, Meece said:

a few hundred pounds worth or maybe 3 large crane bags + individual sandbags !!!

That's a bit over the top isn't it.  Most sand butts on 25,mtr indoor ranges are either a sort of special rubberised back sheet or sand which is wet. If I were making a small range for single gun use i would fill a 25ltr drum with wetted sharp sand layed on its side and put the target in front of that. Neither a 22lr or a 1.7 hmr is going to get through that and if you .can't put the bullets into that area then either get closer or take up Tiddleywinks. I have seen a 40 gallon barrel used where it was laid on its side and a slot cut in it like a letterbox.  Inside a piece of sheet sheet was put at an angle. The bullets went through the slot, hit the a angled sheèt and spun Round the drum. A small section of one end of the drum had been removed so that the spent bullets could be removed when they built up. All you got to do is hit the target  and dissipate the energy of the bullet.

Builders (crane) bags of sand are about £40 each + delivery from what I've just seen - I based the above comment on £70. Based on 3 bags side by side, thats £150 approx. Depending on the building width you might want 4 or more. As for sandbags in front, the reason I suggest that is eventually you're going to chew through the front of one of the large bags and when it gives way, there's going to be a lot of sand leaking out. With a front layer of smaller bags, it will be dammed behind and you can easily and cheaply replace small bags as they wear. Alternatively, you could use thick ply for forming a dam, although it may be harder to replace depending on how firm the sand is behind. Was just a suggestion. Essentially you're building a small sandpit! Sand is the quintessential bullet stop though.

As for oil drums, not see it done. I have seen a .22 sub go through the side of an old steel water bowser, not rusty, from 70 yds though. An oil drum side wouldn't stop a .22 never mind .17 hmr. I imagine the angled sheet is pretty much what you see at rifle ranges as I mentioned above where a hardened plate such as AR500 is probably used to expend the energy and deflect the spent bullet into the sand trap in the bottom. AR500 plate isn't cheap. Maybe somebody like these people might be able to supply you with some raw AR500: https://www.bhtargets.co.uk It's going to be a better solution, but you're going to need a welder if you're copying the rifle range solution.

 

Edited by Alsone
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These bullets, even rimfire bullets, are in a different league to airgun pellets including fac air, when it comes to carrying power and strike energy. You can’t underestimate them, and they need absolute respect in their ability to damage what they hit. When moving up from airguns, they are a learning curve, no doubt about it.

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