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pdshooter
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Enclosed shooting range
Mar 29th, 2015 at 8:33am
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I live in South Dakota and have to put up with lots of wind. It's supposed to blow 40 mph today and I'm having trouble developing loads for anything! I'm thinking of building an enclosed 100 yard range.
I'm considering a plywood enclosed range consisting of a sheet of plywood (4x8 laid lengthwise) with a 2x8 sheet across the top. This would require cross bracing and anchoring to the ground. Looks like close to 90 sheets of plywood and lots of 2x4s and wood screws!
I need 4 foot vertical so I can shoot off my bench and accommodate bullet drop in rifles like a 45-70. Any thoughts or am I missing something that needs to be considered?  Dennis
  
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nuclearcricket
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Re: Enclosed shooting range
Reply #1 - Mar 29th, 2015 at 9:19am
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That is a very aggressive plan, but I see 3 errors. The first is light, if you cover everything how will you see the target. The second is ventilation, you need some air to circulate especially if you are going to shoot black powder. The 3rd is noise. It might get kind of uncomfortable noise wise on a totally enclosed range. Perhaps full length sides and a partially covered top might be a better plan.  And one other thing to think of is snow build up on the flat roof, that might also be a problem. Hopefully others will chime in and let me know if my views are all wet or not.
Sam
  
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waterman
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Re: Enclosed shooting range
Reply #2 - Mar 29th, 2015 at 9:52am
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Reject highway culverts.  Heavy, but eliminates the cross-bracing.  When culverts do not meet spec, they are sold cheap.

Maybe reject scaffolding components & plastic for the covering.

also, check out Dr. Mann's book "The Bullet's Flight", 1909.
  
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marlinguy
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Re: Enclosed shooting range
Reply #3 - Mar 29th, 2015 at 11:05am
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Considering where you're located, I'd definitely consider snow load! I'd at least want a peaked cover on it, and strong enough to contain the weight of whatever snow depths you get. 
Lighting could be as simple as running a 14-2 romex down the inside from a switch at the firing area, to turn on a light above the target. No need for any illumination throughout the cover, just at the target and firing line. I'd add an outlet at the target end for a plug in lamp, for easy maintenance, and also to run a tool if repairs were needed. 
Air is needed, so maybe a small attic exhaust fan at the target end tied to the same switch to pull the smoke away from the shooter, and exhaust it out one side near the target.
  

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Lead Pot
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Re: Enclosed shooting range
Reply #4 - Mar 29th, 2015 at 12:12pm
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At one time I considered doing this. 
I was going to make mine underground using 4 foot concrete storm sewer barrels from the basement and have a bullet trap on the far end with lights the full length and a exhaust fan complete with a garage door opener track running the full length to retrieve the target. 
But it never got build.
  
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craigd
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Re: Enclosed shooting range
Reply #5 - Mar 29th, 2015 at 1:22pm
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Anchored and cross braced, I wouldn't worry too much about snow load on a two foot wide roof, but snow drifts and blown debris might be something to keep in mind along a hundred yards of solid wall. 

I'd try to have a small second exhaust fan closer to the shooting end to clear the air quicker as needed, and figure out that there's a positive draw away from the shooter. Lot's of easily removable access panels, it would not be very easy to crawl through that sized tunnel to do some repair that would come up sooner or later. Maybe figure out if it wouldn't cost too much more to run it at the full four feet wide, at least for a stretch on the target end, to help a bit from damage, especially to get it on paper in the first place. 

Best of luck with the range, and make up a good shooting shed to keep out of the weather and secure stuff that you don't need to haul for every session.
  
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Cat_Whisperer
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Re: Enclosed shooting range
Reply #6 - Mar 29th, 2015 at 7:39pm
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Quote:
I live in South Dakota and have to put up with lots of wind. It's supposed to blow 40 mph today ...  Dennis 


I hunt PD's near Vetal most summers - and understand holding 6 feet to the left on a 200 yard shot.

Mann built a long range shielded with tarps on one side - built on a hillside - the rest was open.

Here in Virginia I've got access to two public 100 yard ranges - one of which is on a mountain side and has very little wind, the other is right much windy.

You may be able to find a depressed area, perhaps streambed that is shielded.

When I lived in Iowa we often used the Skunk river (50-60 feet wide and 20' below grade) - It was out of the prevailing wind but the water had to be frozen.
  

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Adrian
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Re: Enclosed shooting range
Reply #7 - Mar 29th, 2015 at 8:22pm
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Even if snow and wind do not damage your building, consider how much you are spending and how much it would last?
Regular plywood and 2x4's are not meant for outdoor construction with ground contact. I'd say that within 4 years stuff will warp, break, and rot.
  
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waterman
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Re: Enclosed shooting range
Reply #8 - Mar 29th, 2015 at 8:28pm
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Ever think about getting a dozen or more of those ocean shipping containers and cutting a hole in one end of each.  Park them end-to-end. Use canvas to cover the gaps.

Totally tasteless & the ultimate in ugly, but it would work.
  
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Schuetzenmiester
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Re: Enclosed shooting range
Reply #9 - Mar 29th, 2015 at 8:39pm
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Paint or protect the materials from UV and deterioration.  

Allow for the mid range trajectory height.  

Put the target outside at the far end and forget lighting the full length. 

Good luck, sounds like a spendy project if it is going to last very long.
  

"some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence
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Adrian
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Re: Enclosed shooting range
Reply #10 - Mar 30th, 2015 at 8:19am
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And after you have 100 yards of shipping containers all painted in flowers, butterflies, and rainbows, you could use them as the grooviest chicken coop in the West, when not shooting. You could make money by selling free range chicken and organic happy eggs, to pay for your rifles and lead.
  
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marlinguy
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Re: Enclosed shooting range
Reply #11 - Mar 30th, 2015 at 11:00am
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I'd be more inclined to want to make a simple A frame type framework, and then use metal roofing to cover it. The A frame would be simpler, and also cheaper to build. The metal would not only hold up for many years, but would protect the wood framework from rotting away in a short time. Less maintenance, cheaper build, and longer life span.
If you keep an eye on local CL ads, you might even find used metal building material cheap, to cut down and use on your project.
  

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Adrian
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Re: Enclosed shooting range
Reply #12 - Mar 30th, 2015 at 11:44am
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marlinguy wrote on Mar 30th, 2015 at 11:00am:
A frame type framework, and then use metal roofing to cover it.


As long as the frame is off the ground, it could work. Then he could paint the roof with flowers, dragonflies, and rainbows and still raise happy chicken.  But if the frame is off the ground, he needs to keep gusts and breezes from getting in there.
  
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pdshooter
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Re: Enclosed shooting range
Reply #13 - Mar 30th, 2015 at 1:53pm
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Thanks for most of the responses. Chickens wouldn't last long around here!  I think I will try an 8 foot long section screwed to my shooting shack to try out the concept.
  
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stevens52
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Re: Enclosed shooting range
Reply #14 - Mar 30th, 2015 at 4:09pm
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I'd consider digging a trench with a backhoe. The only part that would actually need to be lighted is the target. I'd run a light to it so that I could shoot at night. You could cover it if you need to depending on what you want.....
  
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