Building a Back Stop

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  • Last Post 08 May 2008
CB posted this 18 March 2008

I have about 2 acres that is the family garden and what ever else I want to do on it. The rest of my land is used for agriculture.

I have two downed trees near the back of this land, as well as some scrap rough cut lumber. The lumber has been in the weather for years so it is not useful to me.

So any one have any ideas on how to build a back stop out of this stuff, I am willing to throw in some metal fence posts and a few bags on concrete to help this along.

:fire

Jerry

 

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JimmyDee posted this 18 March 2008

The best butt I ever had was built using clay brought up when my shallow well (3 ft diameter, 49 ft deep) was dug.

A backstop, I think, has to be a berm.

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Mauserman posted this 18 March 2008

I had a highlift dig into a bank and square it off.. About 10' high and 30' wide.... Makes for a good stop.... Cost was about $100.00 ... Put the dirt I took out on the sides.... Hard for the bullets to g anywhere else. Mm

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Duane Mellenbruch posted this 19 March 2008

A berm is best of course, if you have access to the equipment.  I would consider cutting the downed trees into sections and use the stumps for target holders.  As they get shot up, you can burn the wood and reclaim the lead for recasting.  It is always nice if you can mix a little sand into the berm as it makes it easier to sift out the bullets that do not stay in the stumps.  Whatever you decide to do, try to make bullet recovery part of the plan.  Duane Mellenbruch  Topeka, KS

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Mauserman posted this 19 March 2008

.>.>Maybe someone can explain this to me> I'm told lead comes out of the ground , so why does everyone think that putting it back in the ground is harmful? This is something that I can't  understand... It's a natural resourse or have I been taught wrong? .>.> MM

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CB posted this 19 March 2008

Mauserman,

Yes it does come out of the ground, but not as concentrated as we CB people are trying to put it back in the ground.

Jerry

 

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Mauserman posted this 19 March 2008

I thought in a solid form it was harmless?.> Unless eaten which I don't think we plan on doing it would take a heck off a lot to do harm...... I have a sporting clays range across the hollow from me and been there for years.. Just think of the shot scatter all over the ground......... Is there regulations to oversee this? Like I said I'm kinda dumb on this...... You have to forgive me but I've read nothing on it...:dude: MM

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454PB posted this 19 March 2008

I live in Helena, Mt. There is a now closed lead smelter in East Helena, which is 6 miles away. Until about 2003, it was the largest lead smelter in the USA, but the EPA got involved, and the whole area was determined to be contaminated by lead. All the yards in and west of town were removed to a depth of about 18” and the soil replaced. The contaminated soil was hauled away for disposal or treatment.....nobody really seems to know where it went. Through a series of financial wheeling and dealing, the smelter was sold by American Smelting and Refining to a company in Mexico. They began parting it out and selling the valuable components, laying off employees, etc. until it finally went bankrupt. It's now just a big eyesore, with lawyers fighting over who is responsible for what. The big money American companies are trying to shed the legal liability for a lot of EPA adjudicated environmental nightmares by selling them. That liability goes with the ownership, so you can't really blame them. So now, a flakey Mexican conglomerate holds the bag.

 

The funny part is that there are no reports of lead poisoning (other than some elevated blood levels) in the people who lived there for 50 years or more. So, a company that employed hundreds of people and supplied millinons of tons of lead is gone, the assets are gone, the mess is still there, and a Mexican company holds the bag. Good luck to the EPA ever getting that cleaned up.

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sundog posted this 20 March 2008

Here's mine - distance is 54 yards max.  Behind the target board is approximately a bobtail load of Arkansas River 'river loam'.  I can recycle everything that goes into it.  Since this picture was taken, I've added height, depth, and width to it.  It's pretty handy when a SIL works for a construction company and brings a front loader home once in a while...

My shooting bench is under cover, too.

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Mike H posted this 21 March 2008

It doesn`t take much to stop small arms projectiles. The important thing is to make sure you hit it, or in a roundabout way of saying it, what happens if a bullet goes past or over your backstop? Things to consider are proximity to homes, work areas, roads and livestock. I am sure you would try to hit the target every time, and most likely can, riccochets and accidental discharges are the worry. Shooting prone or off a solid bench basically eliminates that possibility.

If you are happy with all of that, and neighbours agreeable, or no affected neighbours go ahead with the project. I would use the timber you have to help contain the earth of your stop-butts. Main thing is a big heap of earth, packed down and a steep angle on the face, the bullets hit.

Trying not to give a sermon, but being an official of a rifle club here in Australia, I have found there is a lot to consider. All rifle clubs have to be approved, usually every three years. Was simpler when I was a farmer with some area to play in, now I am in town so must use a club range. All the best with it Jerry.

Mike.

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CB posted this 21 March 2008

Dang Jerry;

    I have owned and operated rifle, shotgun and pistol ranges for twenty one consecutive years now. Where do I begin? Organic material breaks down and eventually creates a void with full earthen coverage. Hard woods are a concern for ricochet as well as anything else of a solid nature, including water. Depending on the host material Ph, lead will leach with all sorts of nasties spreading out and about. There is a fall area that is calculated through caliber by people who have college degrees in anything except common sense. The regulations governing a “shooting range” vary widely depending on the depth of penetration of the heads of your officials being in their butts.

    Now for the laments; My property holdings are now less than 100 acres so my 1000 meter range is closed due to lack of appropriate fall area. The shotgun ranges are subject to limited time frames so we don't disturb neighbors who sleep past ten am and are afraid of boom noises.  Sunshine State competition is hosted at my handgun ranges so the county has been my buddy in fielding complaints. Bear in mind that the nearest complaint came from a person traveling my private road over a quarter mile from the nearest shot. My ranges are 4500 feet from the nearest public road. The handgun ranges are now restricted to using sub sonic velocities so as not to disturb wildlife which I commonly preyed upon.

    Part of my responsibility as a range owner/operator is attending workshops and seminars approved by my elected officials. By the way, 6 of our 9 commissioners are scared of guns, but they know what needs to be done to make my facility safe. My background check is indeed what saved me from further prosecution when several anonymous complaints came in.

    If you have and maintain a range, keep it private and be careful who you invite to share it with. When you come to Florida, everyone does, come shoot with us, my treat. Don't scrimp on your own play area. Best of luck on your endeavor Jerry.

                                                                            Roy

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CB posted this 21 March 2008

Roy,

Many Thanks,

Jerry

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S&B posted this 30 April 2008

miestro_jerry wrote: Mauserman,

Yes it does come out of the ground, but not as concentrated as we CB people are trying to put it back in the ground.

Jerry

  Their is a town in Colorado I believe, its name is Leadville, they mined lead for a long, long time.  Their is a creek, river or some such that they dumped lead residue in for ever and a day.  The water has been tested and found to not be contaiminated.  Of coures the leftist US govt does not care so I am sure it has had to be cleaned up.

Apparently lead corrodes and coats it self and then quits leaching lead out.

S&B

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CB posted this 30 April 2008

My backstop is a combination of organics and scrap metal with a hill behind it. The front is railroad ties, the next layer is several pieces of sheet metal, then the trees and what not for two feet, then some more sheet metal, then old tires that I am filling with dirt.  50 feet behind it is a hill.

As that I farm my land, and timber some of it, I will always have stuff to add to the backstop.

The local gun club that I belong to has a couple of 100 meter areas, but they are a skeet club, while I am a high power shooter. I need real 500 meter and 1,00 meter ranges near me, so my 142 acres does become a rifle range when the crops are not high.

For all of you who don't see what high powered really means, my 300 Ultra Mag has something like 3,800 pounds of energy at 100 yards. My 308/7.62 M1A has about 2,100 pounds of energy at that range , I think. Where the M16's 5.56mm or 223 round has about 940 pounds of energy at the same range. The M16 is very capable for killing human beings at that range. I use my 300 Mag for coyote hunting, close or far, one shoot drops them.

 

When the 300 mag goes off the next county complains, but they are only a couple of miles away. One coyote I shot, I thought that he had a heart attack and fell over dead, bullet was a solid and went straight though him.

 

So my back stop is up, I made a target carrier today and depending on the weather, I will be out paper punching shortly or maybe tomorrow afternoon.

 

Jerry

 

 

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BruceV posted this 30 April 2008

Go scrounge or buy about 6 heavy pallets.  Buy some decent exterior grade 1/4 inch plywood.  Go out to where you want to set your targets.  Use four of the pallets to build a box.  Line it with sections of the plywood.  Fill the interior of the pallet box with dirt.  Lay another pallet on the top and take the final pallet and place it at the front where your rounds will impact.  Staple or nail a piece of the plywood to the pallet to provide a smooth surface for targets.

The above suggested back stop served me well for 8 years of steady weekly shooting involving a variety of handguns and rifles.  As the front would become damaged I simply replaced the pallet and nailed on new plywood.  As the interior of the box was filled with dirt, I did not have to worry about any rounds bounching out through the woods into someone's home.  HTH.  Sincerely.  Bruce.

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CB posted this 30 April 2008

Bruce,

The pallet factory is 1 mile down the road, the hardware store/lumber yard is not too far away. I had thought about doing about what you mentioned.

This will give me a reason to buy a backhoe for farm use. Thanks!

Jerry

 

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CB posted this 08 May 2008

I just got in 4 pallets, and when the rain quits, I will take them to my back stop. Then work from there.

Jerry

 

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