Back stop for rifle target shooting.

[czac]

here is a photo of the area for reference.. lol
the area marked out in blue is vacant woods approx. 35 acres. its private property owned by someone who lives in Florida.

[El Camexican]

If it was me I'd make a hill out of sandbags, cover it with dirt and sod it. Make it big enough to allow a rookie to try shooting from 25 yards without fear of whacking some hiker in those woods.

[DohcBikes]

Czac i dont know if you are missing the point or if you are attempting to be facetious on purpose. Honestly it really isnt a laughing matter.

Although i dont think these guys are right for what I perceive to be an attempt to walk you hand in hand through the mire of gun politics, its still important that we as gun owners not take the stance of exercising our rights just for the sake of doing it.

I for one appreciate your inquiry for input on the subject, that alone speaks about your level of safety and responsibility, but its just good sense to talk to the neighbors about it too. You never know when that guy from florida could have people on his land!!

[czac]

Czac i dont know if you are missing the point or if you are attempting to be facetious on purpose. Honestly it really isnt a laughing matter.

Although i dont think these guys are right for what I perceive to be an attempt to walk you hand in hand through the mire of gun politics, its still important that we as gun owners not take the stance of exercising our rights just for the sake of doing it.

I for one appreciate your inquiry for input on the subject, that alone speaks about your level of safety and responsibility, but its just good sense to talk to the neighbors about it too. You never know when that guy from florida could have people on his land!!

Oh no, even if Im putting "LOL" in here and there, I know its no laughing matter. And I am most definitely NOT trying to be facetious. Yeah I live 15 minutes from that school in Newtown and I know all about CT's gun politics as well as the Federal gun laws. What I wanted to know was, is a backstop made of logs with about 6" of packed dirt behind it a good backstop or not.

Anyhow, since my original post, I have decided I do not like the placement of the original backstop and have decided to place it over to the right about 100 feet and angle it so if god forbid, Anything DID happen to get past it, it would head into the cliffs that are back in the woods about 200' or so.

I have also reconsidered using the logs. I am thinking, I will make a log wall and then pile dirt in front of it (the logs will be to hold the dirt back from falling down the back when it rains)

I have a big enough pile of clay/sand from when my basement was dug (im guessing) that would make for a perfect back stop. I just have to get it moved from where its sitting now so Ill have to find someone with a loader to clear a spot in the back for it (which I can also have a sort of ramp dug down a few feet as well) then pile the dirt there with the lags behind it to hold it all in.

As for anyone who thinks im just screwing around and not being serious or im not trying to be careful, youre wrong. Im asking fellow shooters what they think a good backstop would be...that's all.

I thank you all for your ideas and points, all great info!

[czac]

I for one appreciate your inquiry for input on the subject, that alone speaks about your level of safety and responsibility, but its just good sense to talk to the neighbors about it too. You never know when that guy from florida could have people on his land!!

Thanks! My Neighbors are cool, Like I said there's one im who im not 100% sure about but she's also a shooter so Ill invite her over put a few rounds through her gun, and offer to clean it and stuff for her. And I think her son shoots too so I may be able to talk him into using his loader to dig out the well and move the clay / soil to it!

The biggest worry is that yes, someone might decide to go walk around in the woods... but I was also thinking of putting some sort of signs up that say "beware of gun shots" or something to that effect around the area where any rounds would be going if they got past the trap. Just in case someone does decide to go walking around. Plus, this isn't going to be a daily thing where im out there for hours with other guys shooting. like I said 0ne or two time a week possibly, if that.. maybe every other week? Ammo is still not cheap or easy to find like it was in 2012.

[czac]

Connecticut sucks for gun owners be careful and good luck. A coworker from out of state came to my house and we were on my 7 acres shooting handguns into a huge pile of woodchips this winter. Three police cruisers were driving up and down my road for an hour afterwards. We shot less then 40 rounds and the cops arrived in five minutes. Not anything like when I was growing up to say the least. It's terrible anymore in our state. Can't even buy ammo these days without a special CT ammo purchase ID card - a federal firearms permit is not enough proof for Connecticut. Talk about complete BS right?

what town? Im over in Oxford. Yeah, I already talked to the police Well the State Police Sargent in town and although he wasn't sure on target shooting in town he did quote the "500 foot rule" which is for hunting and not target shooting. but he did say, "Im not telling you that you cant shoot but, if we get a call about gun shots, we HAVE to respond and if we do and find things aren't in order, you can be arrested". And I know they do come for shots fired cause my NRA safety instructor has them come out all the time when he shoots in his out door range. they come over, tell him they got a call and had to stop in then leave. then again, he shoots some major arms, ill be shooting mostly a .22 CT sux now ever since Dan "the stammering fool" Malloy took over!

[trike savior]

sounds like CT makes it a lot of fun for law abiding gun owning americans.

as for your backstop:
I have built one on my buddies property that the police have seen and liked a lot better than what they see when they usually get called out.
I would not put anything in the backstop. it should be nothing but dirt. i know the chances of a ricochet off of some logs are pretty slim but it is possible and not worth it. if your pile of dirt starts to erode, it can easily be fixed with a shovel. it has been 6 years since we built the backstop at my buddies and we have not had to fix it yet.
i like what you are doing using the google earth to identify what you want to keep out of the firing line. your only problem is your property size and where you are wanting the backstop. any bullet that might miss the backstop is your responsibility. having the backstop so close to land that is not yours gives you a lot less control or knowledge of people who are within range and in the line of fire.
my suggestion is to keep your firing line, as it looks safe, but move the backstop so more of your property is behind the backstop. moving it closer to the road, behind what looks like a garage, will be a lot safer. it looks like you will be shooting in your front yard then but it allows you to be more in control of what and who is behind the backstop.
as far as construction, dirt only, needs to be 8-10' tall, 10-15' wide, and have a bit of a c shape. in my case we shoot uphill in a field so i dug down 2' in front of the backstop and piled 8' of dirt on top. the front side does not need to be steep and flat like a cliff to stop bullets, that just makes it erode quick.
the bigger and better you build this, the better off you will be when the police are called to check it out, it will happen. it is a days worth of work with a bobcat skid steer that most rental centers have available for $150-250 a day.

safe shooting is fun shooting.

[czac]

sounds like CT makes it a lot of fun for law abiding gun owning Americans.

Yeah, they are making it so bad... we are now more or less Criminals just for owning guns, and it could have been worse if they got their background checks and total registration of EVERYTHING as im sure there are tons of people in the state like my 88 year old father who have rifles and such they have owned for years and years and years who wouldn't go register and thus become an instant threat and criminal! As it is they are saying between 100,000 and 300,000 people haven't registered their banned weapons yet... this should get interesting as I don't think they'd be able to actually arrest that many people, I bet they are going to start sending out heavy fines and warnings to register or then be taken into custody! As it is, a lot of us who registered have not heard anything back from the state yet.

as for your backstop:
I have built one on my buddies property that the police have seen and liked a lot better than what they see when they usually get called out.
I would not put anything in the backstop. it should be nothing but dirt. i know the chances of a ricochet off of some logs are pretty slim but it is possible and not worth it. if your pile of dirt starts to erode, it can easily be fixed with a shovel. it has been 6 years since we built the backstop at my buddies and we have not had to fix it yet.
i like what you are doing using the google earth to identify what you want to keep out of the firing line. your only problem is your property size and where you are wanting the backstop. any bullet that might miss the backstop is your responsibility. having the backstop so close to land that is not yours gives you a lot less control or knowledge of people who are within range and in the line of fire.
my suggestion is to keep your firing line, as it looks safe, but move the backstop so more of your property is behind the backstop. moving it closer to the road, behind what looks like a garage, will be a lot safer. it looks like you will be shooting in your front yard then but it allows you to be more in control of what and who is behind the backstop.
as far as construction, dirt only, needs to be 8-10' tall, 10-15' wide, and have a bit of a c shape. in my case we shoot uphill in a field so i dug down 2' in front of the backstop and piled 8' of dirt on top. the front side does not need to be steep and flat like a cliff to stop bullets, that just makes it erode quick.
the bigger and better you build this, the better off you will be when the police are called to check it out, it will happen. it is a days worth of work with a bobcat skid steer that most rental centers have available for $150-250 a day.

safe shooting is fun shooting.

those are some pretty good ideas. im thinking now, because im on a sorta hill and the 35 acres is mostly down hill with a little valley (30 -40' lower im guessing) with another rise on the opposite side... Maybe I should do a sand backstop and then another one but a bit bigger at the property line? so I can move mine up more into my property as you explained and then another one, sort of like an insurance plan behind it? or would it just be better to dig in to the ground, sort of like a ramp that ill shoot down into? and use all the earth removed in the process to make the C-shaped berm along the top? dig say, 4 foot down with a 6 foot berm on top? so id be shooting at a downward angle this way nothing would be going over the berm if there was some type of weird, freak wild shot or something.

[trike savior]

if you are facing an up-hill where the shooting range will be, digging down into the ground for some amount of feet is always a good idea. brings you closer to level shooting and makes accidentally shooting over the top less possible. Freak shots aside. make sure you remove enough dirt from in front of what you dig out or dig a ditch. if you do not get the drainage right, it will become a mud hole. makes setting up and retrieving targets a mess

same idea works when facing a downhill shooting range. digging it out some will keep bullets lower and less likely to go over the wall. but the drainage gets tricky as your backstop becomes a dam.

correct about using what you dig out to make the wall above (berm)

do not invest time in a second backstop. it does not look like you have enough property for a second backstop to do anything. invest the time in making your backstop larger. my measurements are minimum. there was 25 acres of my friends woods behind our backstop so we were not worried about bullets leaving the property.

i drive by a state police firing range along side the highway and their backstop is as tall as their building, 25ft? you can tell it was all trucked in dirt, cant imagine what it would have cost. so the taller the better.

[czac]

nice... I was talking to the owner of the Landscaping material place when I buy mulch and garden soil and the place is HUGE, its near the water and in an industrial zone pretty far back away from the city I work in, and its got piles and piles of dirt, gravel, mulch, wood you name it and when Im there I keep thinking what a grate range it would make, so I mentioned it to the owner and he was like, yeah, we're out here every Sunday, another good thing is all these piles absorb the noise, he says you can hardly hear it from the road. I gotta get on his good side now to be able to go there and shoot... lol