If you were to build a indoor range...

[BigGame]

Prepare for one of two things:

1. Spending $50-100k on a proper ventilation and bullet trap system.
2. Die of lead poisoning..

We already have space set aside basically a 5ft x55ft hallway in an unoccupied building.

Ventilation should be pretty simply with stuff I have laying around. fresh air in on shooters end bad air out at bullet end. Should pull any potential lead out and the draft should help with any smoke from the gun.

My mind goes to the ventilation as well. And be mindful of the potential fire hazard from particulate/residue build up on surfaces at the firing line. Pick surfaces that can be readily (and regularly) cleaned.

 

[bradsteen]

We already have space set aside basically a 5ft x55ft hallway in an unoccupied building.

I did not see this, and now that I have I would say that makes me question the viability of this project. Big safety concerns being foremost on the list.

 

[Dillon1000]

@jbett98 definitely planing on using rockwool probably woven between studs. I'll do a 2x6 base and header panel with the 2x4 stagged and offset to there respective sides so the drywall isn't coupled together

@Dillon1000 l was already planning a tire setup for the outdoor rifle range

@ilikegunspdx i dont have the drywall yet but will be buying a bunch for the surrounding areas so will have plenty on hand

@bradsteen I have some nice very dense mats on hand that will work perfect for that

 

[Wookie1]

@BigGame good point on residue build up, materiel would most likely be be untextured highgloss painted (smoother) drywall unless people think there was sufficient need to do metal. Seems like that could make it louder inside.

@bradsteen do you have any concerns besides the ones already mentioned? That's one reason I am doing this thread you all think about all kinds of different things.

 

[dangerranger60]

If you are not worried about being perfectly silent, but just want to be quiet enough to not bother your neighbors. I would start with the barrel muffler And then line the walls and ceiling with layers shag carpet. the carpet layers should be layered with the first layer hanging to the ground and ending a couple inches from the ceiling, the next layer a couple inches off the floor and touching the ceiling. and the last layer nailed to the wall. and then a layer or two on the ceiling.
The old carpet was free. well almost. I gave my carpet guy a case of beer for rolls of used carpet that were cut 7' wide.
Mine was for my drummer son, but when he moved out it became a 25' pistol range.

From outside you could hear someone in there, but our next neighbors could not hear anything. From outside, shooting a 45 sounded like I was driving small nails in a closed up garage.

 

[bradsteen]

@BigGame good point on residue build up, materiel would most likely be be untextured highgloss painted (smoother) drywall unless people think there was sufficient need to do metal. Seems like that could make it louder inside.

@bradsteen do you have any concerns besides the ones already mentioned? That's one reason I am doing this thread you all think about all kinds of different things.

What kind of unoccupied structure are we talking about? What kind of floor, walls, and roof? What's beyond the backstop? A hallway implies doors, which implies space that could be temporarily occupied for various reasons, i.e. storage. If you're building a range, you need to ensure there's no way anyone could walk into the line of fire, and no way any rounds could possibly escape that confined space.

 

[Wookie1]

@dangerranger60 we are on a good chunk of land and the nearest houses are over 1000ft away and both ours. That sounds about like the amount of quiet I am looking for, doesn't need to be dead silent right outside but would prefer if you couldn't really hear it from the houses.

@bradsteen I say hallway to describe the shape of the space, but it will be a dedicated space with no doorways or anything else. Still researching bullet traps but will build one that's overkill with plenty of protection. The building is basically a steel frame pole barn. Floor is concrete and the walls will be whatever my research leads me to believe will be safest/most effective. There will probably be some type of stop behind the trap even for piece of mind be it steel or railroads ties.

 

[bradsteen]

@dangerranger60 we are on a good chunk of land and the nearest houses are over 1000ft away and both ours. That sounds about like the amount of quiet I am looking for, doesn't need to be dead silent right outside but would prefer if you couldn't really hear it from the houses.

@bradsteen I say hallway to describe the shape of the space, but it will be a dedicated space with no doorways or anything else. Still researching bullet traps but will build one that's overkill with plenty of protection. The building is basically a steel frame pole barn. Floor is concrete and the walls will be whatever my research leads me to believe will be safest/most effective. There will probably be some type of stop behind the trap even for piece of mind be it steel or railroads ties.

Ok, that makes a lot more sense. If the floor is concrete, should be fine. Railroad ties, sandbags, etc for walls going up as high as possible, covered with plywood and/or sheetrock. For ceiling protection, might consider hanging AR500 sheets at an angle to deflect any stray high shots downward. If you can't get that, large ceramic tiles might be your next best option. They'll break when hit, but should deflect shots well when struck at an angle. For the backstop maybe double or triple thickness sandbags or railroad ties pointed on end, with a cinder block or concrete end cap. It'll be one heck of a project.

 

[Camelfilter]

My mind goes to the ventilation as well...

Yup.

Lead poisoning can be debilitating to life-threatening, can be cumulative & affect people markedly differently at the same or lower levels. Pretty nasty.

Avoidable with good practices and decent engineering.

 

[bradsteen]

Yup.

Lead poisoning can be debilitating to life-threatening, can be cumulative & affect people markedly differently at the same or lower levels. Pretty nasty.

Avoidable with good practices and decent engineering.

Filter well and change filters often. Also invest in deleading soap and cleaners.

 

[hongkong2]

This looks like it would work.

 

[dangerranger60]

A 4x8 box 12" thick and filled with sand makes a pretty good backstop behind the bullet trap. The newer and much lighter fill that is just as effective is the rubber playground mulch. 18 to 24" will stop rifle rounds. I used a big bag for my bullet trap.
I used to get the 4x8 crates from boiler equipment , but a couple sheets of plywood and some 2x12 planks and you can build your own.
Good Luck DR

 

[SCARed]

Couple things to think about.
You said the floors are concrete, cool. Just make sore there aren't any seams or cracks it first 20t or so from the firing line. If there are, make sure they are sealed and can't hold green/unburnt powder. I have a story on that I'll tell at the end.

On the receiving end, lead recovery is an issue. It's a struggle for most ranges. One idea which is probably a little more expensive is a metal trap. Think like a big Skate board ramp you're shooting at. All the lead and copper will impact that and travel to the top where its directed to the back and funneled into a bucket. This is how Place to Shoot does it and it's pretty easy to deal with. The ramp being at an angle means it can take larger calibers and it doesn't damage the steel. When the delta park location was built, they shot it with 308 and you couldn't even tell.

Ok story time. Place to Shoot used to have a Tiard location in the mid 90s. DHHS now has the building across from the Harley Dealer. Anyway, I worked at this location for a short period of time. At night we'd have to go pick up all the brass and dry sweep the entire floor. We'll remember the cracks I mentioned before, there was a seam that ran the entire width of th range, about 6ft from the firing line, and as you would sweep, it would push all the unburnt powder powder into that seam. For years this happened. No worries, cause the floor was sealed. Or so we thought.

One evening, some dude decided to shoot a gun he hadn't shot in a while. Long enough that he forgot he put a tissue or a patch or something down the barrel of the gun. His first round lit the paper on fire and it shot out a couple feet and hit the floor with all the unburnt powder. That went up, which wouldnt have been too bad, but in this case the flame hit the seam and all hell broke loose. The powder in the seam ignited. Concrete does not like to be heated that quickly so the floor along the seam started to explode. This all happened very quickly so the people on the range didn't have a chance to react. The concrete was exploding with enough force that it went up, hit the angled steel baffle at the ceiling, then over the people heads into the windows behind the firing line. People started running out.
One of the employees was former military and he said it sounded like someone threw a bunch of grenades on the range.
He put his head into the range to make sure it was clear, and said he saw flames shooting up 6ft+ all in a line.
Fortunately no one was hurt. Police and fire were there that night, and the fire Marshall and ATF were there the next day. In the end it was discovered the original vendor had screwed up and didn't seal the floors properly which allowed the unburnt power to build up.

And to touch on the comments about getting proper ventilation, the air handlers in this case were enough to keep the range clear from smoke/dust the entire time.
They closed the range about a year or so afterwards.

 

[NCW_Robert]

I ended up with a bunch of smaller boat trailers, bought a bunch of junk jetboats for parts. Took one of the trailers and built an open ended box on it, about 36"x36" inside dimensions out of railroad ties. Target sets back inside about 24 inches. On the back end I build a box about 36" deep and filled it with dirt and packed it down. Back side of that has a 1/2 steel plate.

It is still a trailer so with my tractor I can move it around my property and shoot .22 or pistol calibers, 9mm, .45 etc.

In the winter I pull this into the back of my 30x40 shop and shoot. I have a ceiling fan over the end of the shop with a adjustable speed motor put there for ventilation while welding or machining and using cutting oil, it smokes. I put the speed on low when I shoot. It works decently well. Put a light inside the front end battery powered so in low light I can see the target. No misses yet, no holes through the back wall of the shop so far.

I have a huge basement so could build a bullet backdrop and shoot down there. wife said no way...

 

[coreymet]

Make sure your ventilation system is sufficient to capture and mitigate lead discharge into the atmosphere. In case you are ever checked by one of the gov't alphabet agencies. If you are discharging without permits HEAVY fines. For noise suppression, perhaps a $1000 suppressor?

 

[ferret427]

For underground ranges, lights, drainage, acoustics, and especially ventilation (lead issues) are apparently a thing. Check out the 100yd underground range from Cal - they guy who writes Precision Rifle Blog.

Finish Out of PRB’s 100 Yard Underground Range

Hey, guys. A ton of readers and friends have asked for an update on my underground range. A couple ...

precisionrifleblog.com

 

[Wookie1]

Been doing lots of research, you all have pointed out some really good thoughts/ideas. Wouldn't have thought about sealing the cracks.
From what I can gather from the prb post a simple ventilation system like I had thought about should work. Action target also has lots of good info. I've found flow numbers even so I can make sure my ventilation is adequate.
The other big thing is the backstop, I've learned it's really easy to stop a bullet but alot harder to do it without constant maintenance. Instead of spending lots time and money to build a backstop that is shot on the regular, I've come to the realization to just run a steel plate as the target. That way the backstop will only see misses and I can run a rubber/sand backstop and hardly ever have ro replace the rubber.

 

[Camelfilter]

Been doing lots of research, you all have pointed out some really good thoughts/ideas. Wouldn't have thought about sealing the cracks.
From what I can gather from the prb post a simple ventilation system like I had thought about should work. Action target also has lots of good info. I've found flow numbers even so I can make sure my ventilation is adequate.
The other big thing is the backstop, I've learned it's really easy to stop a bullet but alot harder to do it without constant maintenance. Instead of spending lots time and money to build a backstop that is shot on the regular, I've come to the realization to just run a steel plate as the target. That way the backstop will only see misses and I can run a rubber/sand backstop and hardly ever have ro replace the rubber.

Steal plate target indoors = splatter = lots of lead oxides over time.

IMO

 

[Wookie1]

Wouldn't be anymore then the traditional 45° backstop that basically does the same thing. Rubber mulch on a slope would be best as it catches bullets with out breaking them, but takes up alot of space. This also won't be my only place to shoot. Will still have a traditional outdoor range for bigger stuff or nice days.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Steal plate target indoors = splatter = lots of lead oxides over time.

IMO

Maybe just fill the whole backstop with foam which will stop and hold the bullets as long as the target is moved once in awhile.

No idea what these are made out of but I know some foams it doesn't take much at all. Maybe that really dense latex foam for mattresses or something.

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Also if there were a cheaper version of duct seal that would be an awesome stop. I use a big blob of duct seal for .22 and pellets. I don't know how many hundreds (thousands?) are in that blob but you just rotate it and keep shooting. if it gets really full you can pound it with a hammer and the bullets "disappear" (ha ha) inside the blob. I use duct seal because it's silent. But for larger caliber woudl need a bigger quantity which would be spendy. But no splatter, no sound. No pass through if its thick. Pellets don't penetrate far maybe 1/2". .22 a couple inches. Quantity/expense would be the issue unless there is a cheaper substitute or can buy in bulk. What about clean sand?