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Thread: backstop for practice

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  1. #1
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    backstop for practice

    I live in a rural area and I have an area that I can setup as a firing range. There will an open field behind it, but still I'd like a backstop. I can get some old electrical utility poles from our coop here that I could build about a 6-7ft wall with (chainsaw and lots sweat.) I could then put plywood against that for a flat surface, but I was pondering the possibility of using the large, thick rubber-type stable/stall mats that would I could get from TSC Supply or something like that. Now, I would have this behind steel targets, but would this material actually have any stopping power...OR is there too much risk of bounce? I'm just wondering how it would do against .22LR and .45ACP?

  2. #2
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    A dirt berm and/or sandbags would be your best bet.
    "Make yourselves sheep and the wolves will eat you." --Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

  3. #3
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    Yeah, the wood would get chewed up pretty fast. Use dirt.
    I commend you on doing it right. I see too many people shooting at a piece of cardboard with nothing but open field behind it.
    If you can build a wall using the wood it works great for piling the dirt against it. It will effectively double the height of your dirt having something to stack it against.
    Here's mine.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  4. #4
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    Good advice from these guys. Use the phone poles for framing. Pile the dirt high and deep in front of that. Also remember to angle the top of your steel plates towards you so that any backsplash/ricochet gets directed down towards the ground and you should be good.
    "The 1911 was the design, given by God to us through John M. Browning, that represents the epitome of what a killing tool needs to be. It was true in 1911 and it's true now." - Col. Robert Coates commanding, U.S. Marine Corp Special Operations Command Detachment 1 (DET 1)

  5. #5
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    Thanks for the response, guys. So you would not recommend swinging steel targets?

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by busdriver72 View Post
    Thanks for the response, guys. So you would not recommend swinging steel targets?
    Just build a shroud around the steel target, like a small bunker. RR ties/old telephone poles will work.
    MFWIC
    DILLIGAF
    Stercus Accidit
    WTFDTSG

  7. #7
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    RR ties are in short supply around here, and to buy them would be like $20 each. However, the electrical Coop will drop off old electrical/utility poles for nothing. I was thinking about building it in a back corner of my "yard." The other side of the fence is actually a field and beyond that is a wooded area with no homes. Attached is a drawing of what I was thinking about. I would have a wall built of poles about 7ft tall, and they would come out from the corner a few feet. On the front face I would attach plywood and on top of the plywood the thick stable/stall mats. Behind this wall would be a berm of dirt. The steel swinging targets set between angled walls. I'm think about getting one of the stall mats and experimenting with it first to see how it fares with 22 and 45 ammo rounds. I'm wondering if it will have a sort of "self-sealing" reaction. I've gotten suggestions that the swinging steel will absorb and distribute enough energy to avoid bullets bouncing back. Also, if the top of the wall leans inward a bit that should help, too...correct?

    Last edited by busdriver72; 7th August 2014 at 10:26.


  8. #8
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    That's a pretty good design you have there. I would extend the walls out to about 10-12 feet vs. 7 feet if you have the space and make your backstop 10-12 feet high. If you don't set the plates too high or too close to the end of the walls, but nicely centered in the base of the "v" you should be fine with what you have sketched.
    "The 1911 was the design, given by God to us through John M. Browning, that represents the epitome of what a killing tool needs to be. It was true in 1911 and it's true now." - Col. Robert Coates commanding, U.S. Marine Corp Special Operations Command Detachment 1 (DET 1)

  9. #9
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    The whole thing will last longer if you have the room to put the dirt between you and the wood, shooting into the dirt instead of the wood.
    "Where is the wisdom that we have lost in knowledge?" T.S. Elliot
    Dominus Vobiscum . . . <))>(

  10. #10
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    I was out in the back today and I had another idea...change of plans...yes, my ADHD is alive and well.
    Here is the corner of my "yard"...



    I am think about cutting down the tree to the right.

    And then I looked at this...



    I thought about using this as a frame for another design. I do not know why this had not occurred to me...but I was at a gun range about a year ago that was designed like what I now have in mind. It was basically a low-front, high-back box design filled with dirt...low in the front with a slanted wall of dirt going to the top in the back. I will move the metal frame to the corner of the yard (yes, I will get the grandkids a new swing set...a real one). A low board across the bottom in the front maybe 14-15in high, fully enclosed sides and fully enclosed back. (Should I cover the top, too?) Fill it in with dirt. Hopefully it is deep enough (from front to back) to have enough dirt (or gravel) at the top area. The low, front board could be used to mount target stands, and the top front pole could be used to hand steel targets. Will probably try to put old utility poles behind it all.

    You'll have to lean your head sideways for these two:





    I actually rotated these two pics but they still came out sideways. You can click each pic and see the real image. The back will also be enclosed. Probably plywood with the rubberized stables panels to the inside and utility poles in back of it all.
    Last edited by busdriver72; 9th August 2014 at 12:52.


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