Grass, gravel, dirt? What is your firing line?

[Mozella]

Covered concrete where I usually shoot is WAY better than the uncovered mud at my secondary range. A thin shooting pad is all I need for comfort; however, I should disclose that my entire body is covered by a thick layer of fat.

 

[Baka]

Joel, not all you Open guys are needy, but enough of you are to make a broad accusation! Mr. Sensitive, aka Remdog especially!

Scott thank you for considering my sensitive feelings on this matter and also I don't think concrete is a good idea! Close as I could get to putting up a puking face when you mention concrete!

 

[Erud]

Concrete is not bad. Shooting from a sling puts a bit more stress on the elbows, but I always keep an extra mat in the truck for matches on hard surface. Works fine, and totally worth it to shoot under cover.

 

[effendude]

Scott thank you for considering my sensitive feelings on this matter and also I don't think concrete is a good idea! Close as I could get to putting up a puking face when you mention concrete!

Chris, I understand your feelings about concrete! You and I wouldn't be part of the job, we'd have the other "experts" take on this one!

 

[Baka]

Concrete is not bad. Shooting from a sling puts a bit more stress on the elbows, but I always keep an extra mat in the truck for matches on hard surface. Works fine, and totally worth it to shoot under cover.

Chris, I understand your feelings about concrete! You and I wouldn't be part of the job, we'd have the other "experts" take on this one!

In that case concrete is a great idea!

 

[saunaking]

We have an abundance of granite quarries just west of us. I have used their very small screenings for traction grit. They also sell it for chicken grit. Very small, irregular pieces that would compact up great. I'll pick up a couple bags to test. I suspect this is what Mike is referring to. Roads made from the stuff last forever.

Scott

Let me know when you want to test it. We need to try a few different feet to see how much they move in it.

 

[MGYSGT]

We have 1/2 gravel. works ok, but if you preload your bipod, it will move.

 

[Ned Ludd]

A small piece of indoor/outdoor carpet will usually solve most of the problems mentioned here. Get one ~ the same width as your shooting mat, but about 1-2 ft longer so it sticks out beyond the mat in front. If shooting F-TR, this will minimize the feet sinking into deformable surfaces like dirt, gravel, etc. If shooting F-Open, it might help prevent any skidding/movement of the rest spikes that would be a problem on concrete. Indoor/outdoor carpet usually has a rubber backing layer for grip, but is thin enough it can simply be rolled up along with the actual shooting mat.

 

[Baka]

A small piece of indoor/outdoor carpet will usually solve most of the problems mentioned here. Get one ~ the same width as your shooting mat, but about 1-2 ft longer so it sticks out beyond the mat in front. If shooting F-TR, this will minimize the feet sinking into deformable surfaces like dirt, gravel, etc. If shooting F-Open, it might help prevent any skidding/movement of the rest spikes that would be a problem on concrete. Indoor/outdoor carpet usually has a rubber backing layer for grip, but is thin enough it can simply be rolled up along with the actual shooting mat.

So cement covered with in door/out door carpet?

 

[Ned Ludd]

It might be a little pricey to cover the entire concrete pad with carpet, but I like the idea. You could go with "hot pink" and put some bean bags down instead of shooting benches, maybe throw in a few lava lamps to complete the theme. It'd be memorable, for sure.

Indoor/outdoor carpet will work, but pretty much anything underneath you can put under the mat you'll actually be lying on can be beneficial, as long as it sticks out a foot or two in front. I use an inexpensive Midway shooting mat underneath my Creedmore mat. I just have the rubber bipod placement area of the Midway mat sticking out in front. Whether the issue is sinking in of the bipod feet during a string on surfaces such as dirt or gravel, or sliding when I load it on smooth concrete, the extra surface really helps.

 

[saunaking]

Chris, I understand your feelings about concrete! You and I wouldn't be part of the job, we'd have the other "experts" take on this one!

You need to get ahold of "big Hig"!!

 

[Heman]

At Atterbury it is grass and then we put pop up tents up on the firing line for the 3x600s or 3x1000s when its going to be hot. The little 100yd ranges around here in Ohio are covered concrete. I prefer grass, softer to shoot prone on. Concrete gets hard real quick unless you put a layer or two of carpet under your mat then it is doable.

 

[ED3]

So cement covered with in door/out door carpet?

How about a 'deck', built at ground level, covered with treated plywood, and topped with outdoor carpeting...
Cheaper, less labor than concrete.

 

[Immike]

Concrete is not a problem, I've shot on it for years. Slope it to your feet helps the ground guys or direct it to the targets... Depends on your budget but gravel is pretty cheap if bought by the ton, concrete doubles the price of a covered line. Gravel needs to be boxed in or it tends to walk away from the site. Rent a gas powered compactor when you level it and you got what you asked for in the original post.

 

[Heman]

Concrete is not a problem, I've shot on it for years. Slope it to your feet helps the ground guys or direct it to the targets... Depends on your budget but gravel is pretty cheap if bought by the ton, concrete doubles the price of a covered line. Gravel needs to be boxed in or it tends to walk away from the site. Rent a gas powered compactor when you level it and you got what you asked for in the original post.

Concrete is a problem is you shoot sling as your elbows are on the stuff and get sore real quick as you have weight on the elbow suporting the gun. Why I have to put carpet down in my basement for when I'm using the SCATT trainer for practice. For F-class it wouldn't be as much of a problem.

 

[Immike]

Concrete is a problem is you shoot sling as your elbows are on the stuff and get sore real quick as you have weight on the elbow suporting the gun. Why I have to put carpet down in my basement for when I'm using the SCATT trainer for practice. For F-class it wouldn't be as much of a problem.

I agree with you and left that out of my post to not clutter it. Yes I use a sand bag because of it or I get a raw elbow. I use it everywhere now. It's just another adjustment that you make Shawn ! I see elbow pads on a few guys that got it together.

 

[perry42]

Covered concrete up here in Jacksonville, FL and grass covered berms at Camp Blanding.

perry42

 

[Jhayesvw]

Here in Tucson at Tucson Rifle Club we have all distances out to 1000 yards. 15 targets. All firing lines are gravel. Only the 1000 yard line has a roof.

 

[Nude nut]

Just a thought,
How about artifical lawn.

 

[Ringostar]

Just a thought,
How about artifical lawn.

Shooting nude probably wouldn't be much fun in gravel!