Is 5 acres enough for a gun range?

DENWA

I really want to buy this little house 2bed/1 bath on the outskirts of town, it is in the middle of the woods with 2.5 acres of flat farm land and 2.5 acres of woods.

I was wondering if

1. there aint no neighbors for a good distance and

2. lots of open space and

3. I could build a burm, can I have a range on my own property?

All local laws obeyed of course!

thanks for any advice or design ideas.

groundhog devastation

Saxon, If he's out in the county, not in the town limits and there are no noise ordnances in effect right now, SHOOT LIKE HELL!!! If the neighbors don't like it they should have bought the property!! My house is on 37 acres 1/4 mile back from the road and up on a hill. I have 100, 200, 300, and if I move the bench can make 400 and 500 yard ranges with safe landing areas. I use round bales set behind target boards. If the neighbors ever complain I'll stop shooting if they buy me out!!!! I don't particularly like their horses riding on my land but until one of them rides actually thru the hay field I'll put up with it. I own the land and if I want to put in a 5000 sow farrow to finish operation I should be able to do it!!! (not that I'm that fond of pig poop) GHD

Rembrandt

Have been involved with this issue for our local range...."is 5 acres eneough?"....depends what type of range you have in mind. Anything to do with shotguns, the answer is no...one skeet field takes at least 15 acres to keep all the shot fall contained. Trap can be a little less. Keep in mind that if knowledge of this range is widespread (neighbors & friends coming over) you may want to protect your property against future enviromental clean up costs. Should you ever sell the property and rumors of a range exist, then you could be responsible for the cleanup before you can sell. Future buyers could request soil samples before a bank would grant financing.

If the range is strickly for single projectiles I would build an earthen berm for a backstop, cover the entire berm area with a rubber roofing material, then cover that with earth and sand....this way if you ever have to do a cleanup the soil can be removed and the rubber mat will keep the lead separate from the parent soil. You may also want to have a soil sample taken, certain acidic soil types can have a leaching effect on the lead and can spread to other areas and waterways.

Other types of backstops are a series of old telephone poles set verticle then slide old tires over the top to stack as high as needed. Containing errant rounds is always a problem...most ranges use a series of baffles overhead the shooter. This confines the shooter to shooting almost through a tunnel type senario. Biggest problem will be your neighbors, only takes one to complain about noise or a wild bullet...and you've got problems. Closings of most ranges today is due to the suburbs moving in on the range. This is probably more than you wanted to know, the NRA has a nice manual on building ranges but falls short of some commercial ones I've seen built. Hope this helps.

Judge Dread

I recomend 50 acres 500Yards from border of property also previous recomendations on land preparation are good, on lead issue nothing better to stop lead than with lead a backstop 2x4ft 2 inches thick
it grows fatter each time you shoot and lead "exess" can be recycled
again to bullets ....

JD

Good...? , Bad...? Who cares ? as long I am the one with the the gun.....

Tailgunner1954

JD, won't it be awful tight trying to stay 500 yards from the edge of a 50 acre piece ? Considering that a square 40acre parcel is only 440x440 yards ? Or am I reading you wrong ?

---

Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.

robsguns

Geez,
I tell you what, to heck with anyone griping about my shooting on my own property when I get it, provided I'm smart enough to buy it where shooting is permissable. This idea of a 'range' per say is ridiculous. Let the day that I cant shoot several thousand rounds into a backstop on my own property without calling it a range happen and I think I'll be looking to educate someone on what a proper range would entail. Someone shooting in their woods, or in their field does not a range make, I wouldnt worry about someone saying you have a shooting range, not unless you have all the makeings of a range, like a command tower, a firing line, left and right lateral limits, RSO, etc. etc. The only thing you need, is to make sure you arent shooting within a non shooting zone, i.e. too close to someones dwelling, and all other common sense applies. If you have room, go for it. Enjoy yourself, and dont call it a range, you are just shooting targets, and thats all anyone needs to know if they ask. My .02 worth on that.

Rembrandt, I dont know about the 15 acres for shooting skeet. If its a clear area without any obstacles, shot travels a lot further than even I thought.

I've heard pellets rain down on the roof of a barn at least 200 yds. away from the shooter, me. It shocked me, thank God my neighbor liked me as a kid. I dont take anything for granted anymore, especially how far a round of any size might travel. It would be interesting to know if anyone else has ever been surprised in this manner. I get nervous using a shotgun in the woods shooting squirrels, if I get anywhere near a thin spot in the woods, where I know houses are closer than 1/4 mile from me. That being said, in addition to what I stated above, DENWA, be careful of your backstop, like I said, common sense, and all should be well. Oh, and to answer your question, it depends on what shape the 5 acres is in, square, rectangular, or what, and what distance you want to shoot at with the available clear space, pretty simple.

SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC

Judge Dread

JD, won't it be awful tight trying to stay 500 yards from the edge of a 50 acre piece ?

Satisfied now ...I left out a zero in the typo ........

I recomend 500 acres 500Yards from border of property also previous recomendations on land preparation are good, on lead issue nothing better to stop lead than with lead a backstop 2x4ft 2 inches thick
it grows fatter each time you shoot and lead "exess" can be recycled
again to bullets ....

JD



Good...? , Bad...? Who cares ? as long I am the one with the the gun.....

96harley

Should be enough but it depends on where you are at. If in the land of fruits and nuts, I's say, forget it. A good backstop (hollow or steep hill). There are a lot of variables to consider. Good luck.

Rafter-S

Even out in the country, it's good to be mindful (respectful) of your neighbors. Don't listen to those who say "to hell with other people." You are the one who has to live near them...and get along on lots of issues other than shooting your guns. When you live in a rural area, you learn to depend on neighbors for lots of things--believe me, I know. The Maytag man is not just around the corner like he is in town.

My suggestion is to work on noise control as well as a good backstop when you build your area for shooting. It isn't hard to make something that baffles the sounds of gunfire. And try to avoid blasting away when the neighbors are having a family reunion or church picnic in their back yard.

Rafter-S

One other thing: 5 acres can be enough to shoot on, if it's done carefully. There is no such thing as enough land to shoot without consideration and concern for others.

.280 freak

I have it on good authority that it isn't a proper range unless it's located in the middle of a forest.

barto

if you can get the property @ 10ft. wide it would be in excess of 7000 yds. long; plenty adequate, in my opinion.
barto

the hard stuff we do right away - the impossible takes a little longer