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Shooting Shed Sound Proofing

josh shrum

I am thinking about building a shed to practice from, but with a slight twist.

In an effort to keep folks from hearing/knowing I am shooting I want to to keep the muzzle INSIDE the building to prevent as much noise as possible from escaping. I likes my privacy and don't want neighbors nebbin'.

If I go forward with this plan I would fence in the range (100 yards) to keep folks, pets, etc from wandering into my field of fire.

So my question is:

With sound proofing the walls and ceiling, baffling in front of the muzzle, carpet on the floor, ear plugs and muffs, is my idea safe/viable? I am thinking along the lines a of Jam Room that a lot of musicians build, something with sound proofing to keep sound in as well as baffling to keep sound from blowing up my ears.

Almost an anechoic chamber, except I will need at least one opening for the bullets to go through.

In addition, I was considering planting some species of Thuja/Arborvitae around the building, possibly the entire range, in an effort to reduce noise.

I would welcome any concerns and/or suggestions.

Thanks!

Josh
 
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If you have access to straw bales, build a little fort
around the opening of your shed.
Go 2-3 out and high enough to clear your line of sight, and a couple across the top.
You will be able to see to to your target and the bales will absorb
a lot of the initial noise. Cheap and quick
 
Before I went suppressed, I layed on top a wagon of shell corn with my 22-250 calling coyote. Three came out of the standing corn nearby, one at a time that's how they died. My buddy on the road 1/2 mile away didn't believe I even fired a shot, said he never heard anything. Thinking since the muzzle was inside the wagon, over the loose corn, most of the pressure wave was absorbed.
 
I saw where some have taken old tires and stood the side by side, several deep and shot their guns with the barrels towards the rear of the hole and seemed like the the ring of tires absorbed a whole lot of the noise/blast. You might try that. Surely your local tire dealer would have some old ones they would give you.
 
I once made a shooting tube to cut down on the noise. It worked pretty well but could have been bigger. I used a round thick cardboard concrete cylinder form tube (from Home Depot) and lined it all the way around with thick memory foam mattress topper material. It was around 4' long. The diameter could have been bigger to make it easier to load the gun in and out of. Almost didnt need ear protection when using it.
 
tmwinds said:
How would you muffle the sonic crack of the supersonic bullets? Maybe that's not a problem depending on the distance to the nearest neighbor.
Click to expand...
Isn't the sonic crack occurring right at the muzzle? That is why I am trying to keep the muzzle inside, well back from the opening I would shoot through.

If I am wrong about that then I can saves me some $ :)

I have sound proofed rooms before and I am thinking that some 2lb mass loaded vinyl or double layer of gypsum board over the wall insulation will keep the sound in, other than the opening in the wall for the shot to pass through. I am hoping that by using baffles to direct some noise towards the inside walls I can keep most of the rifles report in the shed. I would use sound absorbing foam, like you see in recording studios, on the inside walls/ceiling to try and keep the sound from bouncing around in the shed, hopefully making normal hearing protection viable.
 
In answer to your question, I don't know but to my very limited hearing, the sonic crack seems to be coming from down range. Maybe someone more knowledgeable than I will answer that question.
 
The sonic crack is not very offensive...like a bull whip cracking. If you can get the muzzle report to a minimum you will make neighbors happy and not attract too much attention.
 
Mineral wool’s better than fiberglass insulation for sound-proofing. It’s also fire-proof and sheds water like a duck. Fiberglass can melt under direct flame and soaks up water like a sponge.

Mineral wool’s a bit more expensive for a given number of square feet coverage but as I said it’s a better sound-dampening material compared to fiberglass.

Less itchy to install too but I’d still recommend a face mask and goggles.
 
I load and shoot out of a 16x20 building.. its insulated.. i thought to start with i could keep the muzzel inside the building and shoot out of a small opening in a sliding window.. my first thought was when i fired the first round through that opening was the building was coming down on me.. lol.. thought i had blew out the window for sure and all kinds of stuff fell off shelves and things hanging on the walls fell.. i decided i had to keep the muzzle at least a foot or so out of the window..
 
spclark said:
Mineral wool’s better than fiberglass insulation for sound-proofing. It’s also fire-proof and sheds water like a duck. Fiberglass can melt under direct flame and soaks up water like a sponge.

Mineral wool’s a bit more expensive for a given number of square feet coverage but as I said it’s a better sound-dampening material compared to fiberglass.

Less itchy to install too but I’d still recommend a face mask and goggles.
Click to expand...
I have worked with both and thought that the SPL for mineral wool was only a few points better than fiberglass?

You are right that it is somewhat less unpleasant to work with, though now that I have worked with spray in open cell foam insulation, I wont go back (for anything residential).
 
Ask them guys on TV how they do it;). Seriously, it is difficult be be quite while shooting. I have a building
dedicated to bench shooting and the muzzle is inside the building. I have staple all kinds of things on the wall, carpet pads, carpet, fiber board, foam board, etc and it may diminish the sound some but it's still loud.
Muzzle blast, particularly from the bigger bores and the overbored that are still burning powder two feet past the end of the muzzle will raise havoc with your sound proofing. The "sonic boom" will be heard by those left, right, and aboveo_O the path of the bullet. I don't know what you use for a target but you would be amazed
at what a bullet sounds like even hitting a corrugated cardboard box. Also, keep in mind that the bullets doesn't stop when it reaches the target. KNOW where your bullets go. Ricochets make a scary noise, OK for old westerns, not so much around neighbors.
Sorry for all the bad news.
 
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