Setting up a gun range!

[sacre]

I put a range in 25 years ago. Targets at 50,100, 300 yards. Gongs at 100, 200, 300, 400, 500. Trees....... In 25 years trees have blocked 200, 400, 500 yd gongs. These are big trees, 100+ years old pines.

I'm just saying, plan ahead to stop growth encroachment!!

 

[chop house]

You’re going to have more friends than you ever realized.

Like living at the beach... Every Sunday 500 of your most intimate friends drop by.

 

[hoz53]

Talking to my cousin and his wife, the decision to build a range was finalized. A little work on Google earth, I picked the site and started clearing the land. Minimal tree removal for the first phase.
View attachment 1608140
Cut in an access:
View attachment 1608133
Parking area:
View attachment 1608136
View attachment 1608134
125 yards opened up. Next push goes thru the trees to 200.
View attachment 1608137

Wow —you have been more busy than usual Mr Bissee!! and you normally are a busy Guy. I predict with this news there will be a sellout in DW and you and wife will become Full Time Texans. Having a range like that is only ever a dream for many people. More Power to ya. I hope it works out and you have many Good Times out there. Mabie some of those trees will even turn into GunStocks Are there any of those wild hogs around there?? they could provide some good target practice while youre building the place and for a long time down the road.. Mabie better put a Gun mount on the tractor—- LOL—-
Ya got youre work cut out for ya. Thats for sure— keep us Informed!!! Good Luck
Hoz53

 

[hoz53]

Nice having the trees, keeps the wind under control.

and the bullets to a certain extent

 

[hoz53]

I hear you. I have a stack of Texas Cedar logs I’m going to use for the 100 yard back stop. The 200 is a 50 foot rock wall. Right now, it’s just going to be a family range. Over time, I’ll put in a covered pad, concrete benches and a bullet stop in front of the firing line. I picked this canyon for the firing line direction. Beyond the canyon wall is the neighbors 1500 acre spread. No houses on it. Beyond that is another open tract, clear for a mile .
Most of the shooting will be me, trying to shoot tiny groups.

oh i punched wrong button

 

[hoz53]

Wow! I can only dream of having a private range. Congratulations! However, if I had one, I would probably go bankrupt shooting so much.

Many years ago, back in the mid 60's when I got my first center fire rifle, a 243 Win, with a 3 x 9 Redfield scope, a friend of my dad's had a private range. He rented some land from a farmer, build a bench and target backer. It was only 50 yards. However, he schooled me in sighting in the rifle using ballistic data to approximate a 1 1/2 high 100-yard sight in. It seemed to work if you ask the many critters that I took with that 243 Win, i.e. groundhogs, foxes, and a few deer.

“probably go bankrupt shooting that much”. no truer words have been spoken in my case and the range close to me is not even a private one.

 

[hoz53]

First thought in my mind before buying the land would be.....Can I face it north or south .

yeah that sun is definately a factor.

 

[hoz53]

I put a range in 25 years ago. Targets at 50,100, 300 yards. Gongs at 100, 200, 300, 400, 500. Trees....... In 25 years trees have blocked 200, 400, 500 yd gongs. These are big trees, 100+ years old pines.

I'm just saying, plan ahead to stop growth encroachment!!

sounds like time for some logging operations

 

[hoz53]

Like living at the beach... Every Sunday 500 of your most intimate friends show up.

for some reason no one shows up at my place and i like it that way!

 

[chop house]

for some reason no one shows up at my place and i like it that way!

Maybe there is a rumor that you are one of those 'gun nuts'

 

[hoz53]

Maybe there is a rumor that you are one of those 'gun nuts'

thats a good posibility!! Whatever Works—-lol

 

[Steve Donlon]

and the bullets to a certain extent

I think it will also stop mirage in the summer

 

[joshb]

Progress report:
I built the target backer and started the earth berm at 100 yards this morning. Built a temporary bench this afternoon. Not enough time to do the concrete work. Maybe spring? This will get me started.

 

[ebb]

Has Alegent showed any interest in a flight from PBIA? I am hopeful.

 

[hoz53]

Progress report:
I built the target backer and started the earth berm at 100 yards this morning. Built a temporary bench this afternoon. Not enough time to do the concrete work. Maybe spring? This will get me started.
View attachment 1613288View attachment 1613289View attachment 1613290View attachment 1613291

one range i used to belong to had a permanent firing line and a berm at 300 yards. if a person wanted to shoot between those distances they had target hangers with wheels on them. you just wheeled them to the distance you wanted. dont know if a public range could get away with that now but you probably could. Looks like youve got it ready for the initial shootoff. will that happen in a few days? that bench looks 8’ long in pic. is it or is that an optical illusion? how far did you say this is from the house? looking good- hope you enjoy many days shooting at this place.

 

[joshb]

Hey Kim! The bench is 8 feet long on the front, 6 at the rear. I used the 2x material to make it heavier. I’m going to drive it down in the morning. It’s about a half mile away. It will dangle off the front of the tractor’s bucket. It’s too heavy for me to lift. If the weather cooperates, I might shoot on Sunday. I feel it’s safe to shoot at the bottom of the backer for now. I want to double the earth berm and get the cedar logs installed behind the plywood. I think I have enough logs to stack 8 feet tall in between those 4x4s. I have a small mobile target stand I can set up for 25 to 50 yard sight in.

 

[hoz53]

Hey Kim! The bench is 8 feet long on the front, 6 at the rear. I used the 2x material to make it heavier. I’m going to drive it down in the morning. It’s about a half mile away. It will dangle off the front of the tractor’s bucket. It’s too heavy for me to lift. If the weather cooperates, I might shoot on Sunday. I feel it’s safe to shoot at the bottom of the backer for now. I want to double the earth berm and get the cedar logs installed behind the plywood. I think I have enough logs to stack 8 feet tall in between those 4x4s. I have a small mobile target stand I can set up for 25 to 50 yard sight in.

sounds good

 

[chop house]

'Final backstop a 100' rock wall... "

I don't know, josh. That rock wall might not be enough to stop a creedmoor... Just saying.

 

[joshb]

Final backstop a 100' rock wall... "

I don't know, josh. That rock wall might not be enough to stop a creedmoor... Just saying.

“and up from the ground come a bubbling crude! Oil, that is. Texas tea.”
You don’t think Jed was shooting a…….

 

[nakneker]

Talking to my cousin and his wife, the decision to build a range was finalized. A little work on Google earth, I picked the site and started clearing the land. Minimal tree removal for the first phase.
View attachment 1608140
Cut in an access:
View attachment 1608133
Parking area:
View attachment 1608136
View attachment 1608134
125 yards opened up. Next push goes thru the trees to 200.
View attachment 1608137

Now that’s just cool!

One the best things I ever did on my place was make a gun range, two of them actually. One out the back door out to 150 yards and one on the west side with steel out to 1100. If we want to shoot longer than that we still have to travel 30 minutes to the bad lands. Makes load development so much easier not traveling back and forth or logging the reloading kit to the range, ditching the mag dumpers is nice too.