Back Yard Firing Ranges. How's Your's Progressing ?

[Jeff '79]

We're getting creative. (Click on the first pic).
We put a moving target up today and we're pretty damned good at hitting the heart on the move. :rofl:
That piece of cardboard moves left to right when tripped.
Multiple scenarios are really sharpening our skills.
It's gorgeous out there today.
8940

8941

[lspencer534]

Which piece of cardboard? The tan piece?

[Jeff '79]

Which piece of cardboard? The tan piece?

Ya, the only one. It's between those two poles that are 20' apart, suspended from a wire.
The white things are 1/4" plates

[lspencer534]

About how fast does it move? Like a person walking or running?

[Jeff '79]

About how fast does it move? Like a person walking or running?

Like a person running.

[lspencer534]

So you "window of opportunity" to get a shot is about 2-3 seconds?

[Jeff '79]

So you "window of opportunity" to get a shot is about 2-3 seconds?

Ya, it's pretty fast, more like 1.5 - 2 seconds.
We are going to use a 1 gallon jug for weight.
We'll be able to adjust the speed by the amount of water we use in the jug that falls to move the target. Today, we just used a fireplace log for weight and it was really heavy, consequently moving the target very fast.

[OddBall]

That's a pretty neat setup. :cool1: :cert:

[StaticCling]

How much land do you have Jeff? What county?

My financial advisor is in Chautauqua county. He has acreage, I know he hunts on it, but I don't know if he does any kind of target shooting on it.

That said, I obviously can't do it here in LA County...Even if I had the land to do so. Our Cabin is next to the National Forest though, and there are a couple of spots (legal of course) not too far where you can go pop off a few within a reasonable distance to the Mountain Crib...of course Hunting is fine up there as well...

[Jeff '79]

How much land do you have Jeff? What county?

My financial advisor is in Chautauqua county. He has acreage, I know he hunts on it, but I don't know if he does any kind of target shooting on it.

That said, I obviously can't do it here in LA County...Even if I had the land to do so. Our Cabin is next to the National Forest though, and there are a couple of spots (legal of course) not too far where you can go pop off a few within a reasonable distance to the Mountain Crib...of course Hunting is fine up there as well...

I have 3 acres.
That pic was taken from the ground at the back barn door.The grade pitches down to the tree line where there is a stream. Beyond the stream is a hill which rises 60' up to a pond and beyond that is over a half mile of wooded forest with no houses in the firing line. Between the downhill grade and the natural hill, it's the perfect place to shoot.
I'm in Erie county. My cousin has a house on Chautauqua Lake in Mayville, so I'm very familiar with that area.

[DAB]

there's a 153 acre tract of land for sale nearby, but out of my reach. even at that, i'd be hesitant to shoot somewhere where i didn't know what was down range for the max range of the round i'm firing. 9mm can go a long, long way.

[Jeff '79]

there's a 153 acre tract of land for sale nearby, but out of my reach. even at that, i'd be hesitant to shoot somewhere where i didn't know what was down range for the max range of the round i'm firing. 9mm can go a long, long way.

Ya, and ricochets are a mother fk'r too from what I'm hearing.:dance:

[DAB]

i was shooting metal plates with my 9mm about a month ago. got a ricochet back at me, target was 12 yards away, embedded a fragment in my left middle finger (holding in front of the trigger guard) and a fragment in my chest, just below my pacemaker. drew blood. scared the crap out of me. done with that set up.

we have 15 acres, and local code is that you cannot fire a gun within 150 yards of another house without permission. i'd need to walk 8 yards north to be good (neighbor to south is 142 yards away per google earth). even so, i don't know what or who is down range beyond the fence line. it's not the bullets on target that are a problem, it's the ones that miss, that go over the target, that get you in trouble.

[Jeff '79]

i was shooting metal plates with my 9mm about a month ago. got a ricochet back at me, target was 12 yards away, embedded a fragment in my left middle finger (holding in front of the trigger guard) and a fragment in my chest, just below my pacemaker. drew blood. scared the crap out of me. done with that set up.

we have 15 acres, and local code is that you cannot fire a gun within 150 yards of another house without permission. i'd need to walk 8 yards north to be good (neighbor to south is 142 yards away per google earth). even so, i don't know what or who is down range beyond the fence line. it's not the bullets on target that are a problem, it's the ones that miss, that go over the target, that get you in trouble.

I'm basically firing into the base of a heavily wooded hill.
As far a ricos; they happen. Oh well. I'd rather practice, than be afraid of one, than not practice. We wear safety glasses and ears, and after over 5000 shots down range, we've not had an issue....Yet.
I have no neighbors within 150 yards of my house. Any given weekend, you'll hear 2 to 5 different neighbors out there practicing on their land. It's kinda funny when we're all out shooting.
We go up the street to John's 300 yd range for rifle play.

[Kerrmudgeon]

Are you using lead bullets?

Are you not worried about the spent lead leeching down into the water behind it?

Most of the skeet ranges here have switched to steel shot for the ground pollution reason...just sayin.

How does that target move and does it keep moving back and forth or do you reset it every time? thanks.

[Jeff '79]

Are you using lead bullets?

Are you not worried about the spent lead leeching down into the water behind it?

Most of the skeet ranges here have switched to steel shot for the ground pollution reason...just sayin.

How does that target move and does it keep moving back and forth or do you reset it every time? thanks.

We use copper plated boolits.
Yes, it has to be reset every time.

It's in a constant state of improvement at this point.
Pretty soon, one guy will be able to operate it solo using a foot pedal to release the weight.
It's still a lot of fun seeing how well we can do. Out of 5 shots we have 4 on body mass with one heart shot every time. One of the 5 is missed. That's some fast shooting though.

[StaticCling]

I have 3 acres.
That pic was taken from the ground at the back barn door.The grade pitches down to the tree line where there is a stream. Beyond the stream is a hill which rises 60' up to a pond and beyond that is over a half mile of wooded forest with no houses in the firing line. Between the downhill grade and the natural hill, it's the perfect place to shoot.
I'm in Erie county. My cousin has a house on Chautauqua Lake in Mayville, so I'm very familiar with that area.

My wife's friend is in Erie, so sort of familiar. Any fish in the pond? I'd love to fish it someday, and I do get back to that part of the world from time to time. :D

I'm a whore I know, but I love fishing farm ponds. :yesnod:

[Jeff '79]

My wife's friend is in Erie, so sort of familiar. Any fish in the pond? I'd love to fish it someday, and I do get back to that part of the world from time to time. :D

I'm a whore I know, but I love fishing farm ponds. :yesnod:

I dunno. I never fished it.
The Niagara river and Lake Ontario is a lot more fun.

You searched for catch of the week - The Buffalo News (http://buffalonews.com/?s=catch+of+the+week#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=catch%20of%20the%20week&gsc.page=1)

[markids77]

Ricochets are not limited to outdoor ranges. We were recently at a local indoor range shooting .45 Schofield "cowboy" loads from a Ruger single action and the occasional projo would bounce off of the rubber sheeting used to retain the crumb rubber backstop downrange. Surprised all of us, and we now only use .45 LC brass and a slightly stiffer powder charge.

[Admiral Blue]

Cool setup. :seasix: 3 acres of land is awesome.

I love ponds too. I only have about a half acre but I live on a 14.5 acre lake. My friend/neighbor caught 70 largemouth, a 14" perch and a 36" musky on Saturday. It's not fishing, it's catching.

[DAB]

Our little rain water catchment pond is well stocked with 2" long goldfish.

:dance:

[Jeff '79]

Cool setup. :seasix: 3 acres of land is awesome.

I love ponds too. I only have about a half acre but I live on a 14.5 acre lake. My friend/neighbor caught 70 largemouth, a 14" perch and a 36" musky on Saturday. It's not fishing, it's catching.

A muskie in a pond ??? 36' ??? Damn !!!

[Admiral Blue]

I don't know -- pond, lake -- it depends on the definition. 14.5 acres total but we have several 30"+ musky and northern in the 20" range.

[JRD77VET]

I don't know -- pond, lake -- it depends on the definition. 14.5 acres total but we have several 30"+ musky and northern in the 20" range.

Depth defines the difference between lakes and ponds. :yesnod:

Pecks Pond in the Poconos ( PA ) is 342 acres in size :yesnod:

[Kerrmudgeon]

We use copper plated boolits.
Yes, it has to be reset every time.

It's in a constant state of improvement at this point.
Pretty soon, one guy will be able to operate it solo using a foot pedal to release the weight.
It's still a lot of fun seeing how well we can do. Out of 5 shots we have 4 on body mass with one heart shot every time. One of the 5 is missed. That's some fast shooting though.

Doesn't the copper corrode and disintegrate in the ground? And don't the bullets deform upon impact exposing the lead? You may be causing major problems for that nearby stream in the future.
OMG I was just thinking about all the lead in the ground from the civil war musket balls on some of those big battle grounds.........must...stop...thinking...:ack:


Would it not be possible to build a catch wall of some sort behind the targets to collect all the spent rounds? :bigears:

[StaticCling]

Doesn't the copper corrode and disintegrate in the ground? And don't the bullets deform upon impact exposing the lead? You may be causing major problems for that nearby stream in the future.
OMG I was just thinking about all the lead in the ground from the civil war musket balls on some of those big battle grounds.........must...stop...thinking...:ack:


Would it not be possible to build a catch wall of some sort behind the targets to collect all the spent rounds? :bigears:

Not trying to scare you, but Lead is an element on the Periodic Table that naturally occurs in the Earth's crust.

So, quit worrying. The planet has been here for 4.6 billion years with lead in the ground...

[Bill]

Doesn't the copper corrode and disintegrate in the ground? And don't the bullets deform upon impact exposing the lead? You may be causing major problems for that nearby stream in the future.
OMG I was just thinking about all the lead in the ground from the civil war musket balls on some of those big battle grounds.........must...stop...thinking...:ack:


Would it not be possible to build a catch wall of some sort behind the targets to collect all the spent rounds? :bigears:

Pfft. I ate lead paint all the time as a child, and look at me....I turned out fine.













:dance:

[FasterTraffic]

Lots of fire on my backyard range here. That's what you meant, right?

http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/1000/9a/9a4e0ead-2374-4ce1-8c2c-7f359d7818d6_1000.jpg


:leaving:

[snide]

Not trying to scare you, but Lead is an element on the Periodic Table that naturally occurs in the Earth's crust.

So, quit worrying. The planet has been here for 4.6 billion years with lead in the ground...

D'oh!

[Jeff '79]

Pfft. I ate lead paint all the time as a child, and look at me....I turned out fine.

:dance:

So did I but I'm wacked ! :dance:

[simpleman68]

So did I but I'm wacked ! :dance:

Bq6VT4m9MA4

[Cybercowboy]

I don't have a back yard that could host a firing range but by golly I have my 800 gallon hot tub 100% back in service. The last part was the new cover and heating element, got them installed today and it is heating up and looking great. Will get much use out of it this winter!

[OddBall]

Pfft. I ate lead paint all the time as a child, and look at me....I turned out fine.

:dance:

So did I but I'm wacked ! :dance:

That's nuttin'; we rode our bikes in the DDT smoke cloud put out by the mosquito trucks driving up and down the neighborhood. That stuff smelt real good.

:crazy:

[Jeff '79]

I don't have a back yard that could host a firing range but by golly I have my 800 gallon hot tub 100% back in service. The last part was the new cover and heating element, got them installed today and it is heating up and looking great. Will get much use out of it this winter!

Bring it over !!

That's nuttin'; we rode our bikes in the DDT smoke cloud put out by the mosquito trucks driving up and down the neighborhood. That stuff smelt real good.

:crazy:

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

[StaticCling]

-Y-yH_Qyipc

Sort of applies I guess. :Jeff '79:

[Dave]

300 yard platform is up. Just need something to shoot at from that range.

[JRD77VET]

300 yard platform is up. Just need something to shoot at from that range.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/JRD77VET/Seneca%20Arms%20Co/DCP_1710CF.jpg~original


:yesnod:

[Dave]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/JRD77VET/Seneca%20Arms%20Co/DCP_1710CF.jpg~original


:yesnod:

That's actually what I plan on shooting WITH!
Need the recipient of the projectile. Something preferably with enough of a "ping" to not need a spotting scope