Shooting Range Building

[Ol Thumper]

We’re tossing around the idea of building a 20X20 metal building to shoot from and the entire build is being built around the idea of being able to shoot from a heated and cooled environment. Has anyone done this before and if so what are some must haves and any do’s and dont‘s? My idea was to build the shooting side with two 6’ wide glass garage doors for better visibility and on nice days we could just open it up with 2 windows in the center with each having a bench to shoot from through them with an overhang/porch on that side that extends out another 15 feet or so for a sun shade. If anyone has any first hand knowledge of something like this I’d appreciate some insight.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Watch the mirage. Its a real bear in the wintertime with heat on. Also make sure its situated where nobody will walk around there as youre firing

 

[Ol Thumper]

The glass doors on the sides were for safety so you could see if anyone was around that shouldn’t be but that will definitely need to be looked at closer for sure. On the mirage situation I was thinking about putting a ventilation fan on the back wall to have a slight draw into the shooting window while it was opened up during the winter but that very well might not combat the issue.

 

[buckeye68]

We shoot out of a pole barn with a garage door that has small windows installed in it. Benches are built close to the door so we can get our barrels outside and on a nice day the door can be opened. I’ve shot when it’s been in the high 90 down to -10 in the winter. Mirage isn’t an issue with the correct equipment.

 

[Schutzen2]

We are getting ready to rebuild ours at the club I belong to. The main reason is to be able to get all firearm muzzles well outside the room. We are even considering putting a "shelf" outside the shooting windows as an extension of the benches. Also, we need to make ours more wheelchair friendly. I'm not sure how to mitigate mirage though. I thought it was just just something you have to tolerate when you mix warm air with cold.

 

[Hino895]

I’ve had the Amish build my new shop in Kentucky already in preparation for our retirement build later this year.
I had them install a 10x10 roll up door on the side with plans to shoot out of it as I have a 500 yard range on that side.
Ive never shot out of a building before so I’m going to be watching this thread with great interest.

 

[PhilC]

I've shot out of my 50 x 60 shop mid-winter with the heat on and one of the 12x12 doors rolled up just high enough to shoot under. Have IR lamps I can roll over if needed.

Target at 100yds, green arrow is backstop at 185yds, red at 219yds (have to use the other door for it). Pics from Mar 2019.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I have a dedicated shooting room attached to my shop. I love it but mirage can be a real pita when the heat is on and it's cold outside. Heat goes to cold. So unless you have a way to pull outside air in, I think mirage will be ever present and IME, it can be terrible at times. I keep a 10" bench top fan on the bench and that helps a little but it's still rough at times. It still beats shivering, though and it's really nice in the summer, too.

 

[DiffEQ]

I can't think of a better way to teach how to estimate/read mirage.
Will there be a spot outdoors where you can also shoot from in case you don't want to be indoors?
If you can find Babcock and Wilcox (or whatever their name is now) cerwool blanket, it's the absolute *best* sound insulation / deadener I've ever encountered.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I can't think of a better way to teach how to estimate/read mirage.
Will there be a spot outdoors where you can also shoot from in case you don't want to be indoors?
If you can find Babcock and Wilcox (or whatever their name is now) cerwool blanket, it's the absolute *best* sound insulation / deadener I've ever encountered.

It's different. Not much in common with typical downrange mirage other than "snap back." I've never found value in watching the mirage that's induced by heat rushing out of the window vs condition related mirage. Just my 2 cents. As bad as mirage is, the pros of an indoor shooting room far outweigh the cons. I don't think they'll ever regret having one.

 

[wedgy]

Some good photos of James' setup for bench and prone shooting at Barbour Creek.

Training | Barbour Creek Shooting

www.barbourcreek.com

 

[Ol Thumper]

Do you guys think by putting the ventilation fan on the back wall to pull a draw in the window it would help with the mirage? If all else fails I can handle the cold just fine, it’s the 100 plus degree days in the summer I’m totally over.

As far as being able to shoot outside I currently have a bench set up that will be right beside this new build ill be leaving up and I may just add another awning off that side of the building and incorporate both of them together. I’m still trying to piece it all together in my head at this point so I appreciate the feedback.

Wedgy those pics gave me some great ideas, thanks for sharing that link!!

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Do you guys think by putting the ventilation fan on the back wall to pull a draw in the window it would help with the mirage? If all else fails I can handle the cold just fine, it’s the 100 plus degree days in the summer I’m totally over.

As far as being able to shoot outside I currently have a bench set up that will be right beside this new build ill be leaving up and I may just add another awning off that side of the building and incorporate both of them together. I’m still trying to piece it all together in my head at this point so I appreciate the feedback.

Wedgy those pics gave me some great ideas, thanks for sharing that link!!

I think if you have enough airflow, you can likely do away with most of the mirage...but then you kinda defeat the purpose of having a heated shooting house. You might try a variable speed fan and optimize the airflow to suit the needs on a given day, though. Ultimately, I think mirage or cold..one or the other, will prove to be a fact of life with it.
Bart has a basement shooting room with an open top tunnel. Maybe he'll chime in with his thoughts and experience dealing with it. Being that his tunnel is below grade, it may not be as bad...Idk. I don't remember if his basement room is heated or not but the basement might hold moderate temps enough that heat isn't needed.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Wedgy those pics gave me some great ideas, thanks for sharing that link!!

I never would have thought of the prone window cutouts!

 

[Kracken McGraw]

I wonder if one roll up garage door would accommodate two benches and prone too. If you kept it just halfway up it might not loose more air conditioning than several windows, but really don’t know.

 

[glide]

Does a metal building sweat when heated?

 

[Kracken McGraw]

I don’t know if it was humorous or not but after seeing that post the other day of a shooters buddy shooting through his unopened widow over the bench, the solid garage door might be a good idea.

 

[Old Navy]

Do you have neighbors that might complain abut the noise?

 

[Ccrider]

Does a metal building sweat when heated?

Yes

 

[Ol Thumper]

I’m definitely going to be using the windows for ease of use, opening a huge door would negate the whole purpose of the build letting the nice cool air out.

As far as a uninsulated metal building sweating I really don’t have a clue, this ones going to be insulated and completely finished out on the interior like a man cave with dead critters everywhere so sweating isn’t a concern.

No neighbors to contend with either,