Shooting Shed Sound Proofing

[Dusty Stevens]

Nine 40 ft used containers. They will cost about $2,000 a piece. You will then need to insulate them.

Some “friend” will shoot thru the roof

 

[AccelR8]

In reply to a comment/question back on page one, the sonic crack travels with the bullet. It's not just at the muzzle.

 

[Walt Krafft]

If you want to hear the bullets sonic crack, go pull pits at 600 or 1000 yards.

 

[Evlshnngns]

No way in hell would I casually shoot with the muzzle inside the building, assuming its small.

I have wondered the effects of shooting inside a 10ft long cylinder made of tires. I would plate off the opening except for the barrel a sight picture for the optic.

 

[GotRDid]

If you want to hear the bullets sonic crack, go pull pits at 600 or 1000 yards.

Can verify from the pits at Ft. Knox: Scott Mountain KD range, and the pits at Camp Perry.
When we trained SDMs for Units deploying to the Sand Box, we taught them to try to bounce the shock wave of the bullet off a nearby barrier (tree, structure (or remnant thereof), or even a vehicle so that the “source” of the sound of the shot was displaced from their position. This especially works well with suppressors where the muzzle signature is reduced, and the sonic boom reflected off said object gives the illusion within the target area that the shot originated from that object.
Any concentrated return fire will be then “misdirected” away from your tactical position.
GotRDid.

 

[MGYSGT]

Don't forget ventilation to remove lead and other nasties from the air.

 

[riverside jeep]

rewinder said it right. A couple of days with a excavator and 300' of 3 ft culvert, nice little concrete block shed for entrance , a target runner rail and an exhaust fan, couple of lights amd you could shoot until St. Smithems day!

 

[yotehater]

I made one back in the 80's with those banded lid 55 gallon drums. I used two of them end to end banded together. I cut 6" holes in the ends and lined it with insulation and chicken wire to hold in place. A simple 2x4 frame held it at the end of the bench. It sounded more like a firecracker than a gun when you fired. The biggest drawback besides the sheer bulk was after a few shots of say the .25-06 was the insulation particles were floating around so bad it took awhile for them to settle. Like a glass dust mirage. I wish I had some pictures of it. I just stuck about a foot of barrel up into it.

 

[TrxR]

One of the ranges i shoot at, the way the benches are set up you muzzle ends up being in the building when shooting. Its not too bad but its definitely louder than the other range where you can get the muzzle outside.

I think i would try to see if staking a few round hay bales out the front would help any ? Im thinking 2 rows stacked 2 high on each side.

 

[okie]

I made one back in the 80's with those banded lid 55 gallon drums. I used two of them end to end banded together. I cut 6" holes in the ends and lined it with insulation and chicken wire to hold in place. A simple 2x4 frame held it at the end of the bench. It sounded more like a firecracker than a gun when you fired. The biggest drawback besides the sheer bulk was after a few shots of say the .25-06 was the insulation particles were floating around so bad it took awhile for them to settle. Like a glass dust mirage. I wish I had some pictures of it. I just stuck about a foot of barrel up into it.

thats a "CAN"!!

 

[Twdmar]

Normally I am not one to be super paternalistic and emphasize caution beyond necessary but there is something perhaps you have not considered.
With all the research on traumatic brain injury in the last 15 yes (NFL, war on terror. Etc) it has been found that repeated, even small, forces can have effects on the brain. This includes muzzle blast from from rifles. It is suggested that it does not take large impacts such as an explosion or massive football tackle to cause problems. Soldiers using m4s with 10 inch barrels inside buildings are another example.
If you have ever shot next to someone using a muzzle brake and gotten a headache you can see how that may effect you. That being stated, I think you should consider the effects of muzzle blast contained by an enclosed space injuring your brain over time. Even with with sound matting I think it would still be significant.
Sorry to take the jam out of your donut.

 

[snert]

In my mind I keep seeing a nosy kid walking into the lane next to the house, or peeking thru the hedge downrange...scares the heck outta me.

I say go underground

 

[338 dude]

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.

Like mentioned earlier shoot through several tires lined up it will definitely quiet your shot down

 

[Outrider27]

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.

We have found this to be true. With regard to the muzzle report, we had window about 24" square to shoot out of, and shot through 4 or 5 automobile tires wired together (you could bolt them together if you wished, since this will be a pretty permanent setup) to make an ugly tube that was quite effective at dampening the sound from the muzzle. Our bench placement was well back from the window, the tires assembly suspended inside the building against the window frame. and the muzzle positioned so that it was about even with the near side bead on the first tire, or just inside from the bead. The neighbors never mentioned hearing my shooting.

Have to agree totally with post #18; unless you are talking a suppressed .22RF, what you are dealing with in most center fire calibers is a reduction of about 35db with the suppressor - that is a very big reduction in db, but when you start out in the neighborhood of 165db, you still need ear protection for what is left - don't let the discharge of 9mm pistols in movies fool you, lol. The only firearms that quiet with a suppressor are 22RF rifles.

 

[josh shrum]

Thanks for all input everyone, lots of good ideas for me to mull over!

 

[akajiggs]

when I start shooting, the neighbors know its time to get up and go to work. Then there is no need for alarm clocks .

 

[Gary in MD]

I shoot at my place and have been working on a muffler to try and knock the noise down. I made a similar one years ago out of a steel 50 gallon drum and it worked pretty well. I will fill in between the wood baffles with something. I just need to find something better than I used last time to pack it with. I had used rockwool but that crap really went airborne and blew back sometimes. It really worked to deaden the muzzle blast, sounded like you were just slamming a car door. Of course the sonic crack of the bullet heading down range was still there.

 

[Joe Maisto]

In reply to a comment/question back on page one, the sonic crack travels with the bullet. It's not just at the muzzle.

if you have ever pulled targets in the pits, you will certainly know what the sonic crack is.

 

[lorenzdenesiks]

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

Building the anechoic chamber will be a good idea) But I think it is really difficult to achieve an excellent result. But it is not suitable for you. I've read about acoustic foam panels that can curb excessive noise levels in an indoor gun range.

Outdoor noise control blankets can be targeted for lining the edge of the property separating the range from the neighbor, which can prove cost-prohibitive, or the same blankets can be cut to suspend closer to the noise source, as a 3 sided phone booth, with the shooter standing inside pointing the gun towards the target. In this case, moving the soundproofing treatment closer to the source of the noise is to your benefit, as you are investing far less and trigger a much stronger decibel level drop.

 

[ebb]

Good idea on the fencing. Fort Lauderdale Archers Assn had an archer figure out he was missing an arrow and went back to get it he went cross country instead of following the lane and coming out at the firing line. He stepped in front of an arrow and died at the scene.