Home on the range?

My ex-in-laws built a range on their 20 acres. I have shot there many many times. When they dug a pond they used some of the dirt to build a pretty sizeable hill to shoot into. They have never (to my knowledge) recieved a complaint and never had an issue with the dirt backstop. I have shot a max of 175 yards with my .300 WM and many different pistols at much closer distances.
 
My brother lives on 3 acres out in farm country about 40 miles west of Philadelphia. About 20 yards from his side porch is an embankment up to over 100 acres of tilled farmland. We shoot right off his covered porch into the embankment. Hearing distant gunshots out there is quite common. Like said above, it depends on the topography of your property.
 
I shoot all the time on my land. I have about 60 Acres. But my land backs up to BLM land. There is a very large hill about 1/2 a mile away that you would have to be trying to shoot over to clear it.

I dont have a berm, just the Hill (what you down south call a mountain) before me my father shot here. I still have yet to see another human any where near where we shoot other than in a vehicle driving by.

I also shoot at my house but only while hunting. I dont like to scare the deer away.

p.s. closest neighbors are a few miles away.
 
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That's what I'm looking for! How are your neighbors with it? any problems? did you talk to them ahead of time?
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The neighbors are just fine with it. Many of them shoot regularly on their property. I didn't talk with them before hand and no complaints from non-shooting neighbors. With all that being said, I stay within the law. In our part of the county it is legal to shoot as long as the projectile does not cross property lines.
 
Many 20 acre parcels in our sectionalized land system are only 660 feet by 1320 feet. Expect to construct some serious berms to keep rounds from crossing your property line.

Are you going to allow guests to shoot? Get some liability insurance, you can bet they won't have any, and you are literally betting the farm with every round.
 
I'm definitely not a flatlander. If I were going to have a home range there would be enough contour to the land to do most of the job.
 
I don't know if the OP is still on here, but as a Missourian I can tell you that 20 acres is more than enough. You will most likely hear gunfire on a fairly consistent basis even if you don't have a range. I live in a small town and I hear shots within city limits every other week it seems.
 
Good grief, that will be plenty of land for an "informal pistol range" just for yourself to use. That's going to be, what, 25 yards max? Just make sure there's either a hillside or a berm behind the target, to catch the bullets.

We have 25 acres, and I set up half a sheet of plywood at the base of a little hill (more of a rise than a true hill) to hang targets on, and shoot there all the time.

We're in a very rural area, and all the neighbors hunt and shoot. The last month before hunting season, it sounds like Iwo Jima out here...:) So that's not an issue.

Your main concern, I would think, would be neighbors. Are they a bunch of misplaced yuppies that will have a hissy fit when they hear a gun going off?

You might also consider space, however, even if you could shoot on 2 acres. If you're on a very small piece of land, your neighbors might be very close by, even if they're on their own property, and your gunshots could be VERY loud and annoying to them, even if they're gun-friendly. Nobody wants to sit at the supper table with the neighbor's .44 magnum booming.

It depends on how the property around you is divided up. Or maybe you'll have 20-30 acres, but your range will be right next to the property line - and 200 feet from your neighbor's house. Step back and look at the whole picture.

Trees can help, too, if you can locate your range in a thickly wooded area; they'll absorb a lot of the noise.

Let us know what you come up with!
 
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I live on 6.4 acres deep in steep mountains. My closest neighbor is behind a hill behind me and there is an open field on both sides of me with a farm in front of me. I stand in front of my open garage door and shoot into the hill behind my house. I frequently hear shots around me and don't give shooting a second thought.

There have been some concern about doctors asking about guns as requested by the government. My doctor has never asked me anything because she lives just above me and already knows and hears what I do.
 
9 acres, mostly wooded and we shoot in the direction of absolutely nothing but trees. We have a little dirt berm (okay, big dirt pile, it catches most things)

Our area is zoned rural/agricultural, which is free pass on shooting. Most the neighbors are rednecks who shoot all the time, too. Contagious fire is a thing around here. sometimes we even pick up a nice rhythm. :p Sometimes it gets a little competitive...

Every so often some city slicker type will move into the area and, come the lead up to hunting season, will panic and call the cops. Too be honest, they don't get much sympathy and the cops that come out either are respectful or quickly learn to be so, since the lot of us know we have the right and can read officer snippy the riot act.
The city slickers either learn to cope or decide that country living isn't to their taste and move out.
 
I don't know about MO, but I have 29 acres in WY. Its an L shaped property close to 10 3-acre lots if you will. There is a huge ridge on the property and the way its laid out I can get 400 yards, shooting into the high ridge separating my property from that of the neighbors.

I don't think its the amount of property as much as how its laid out and what the terrain is like.

This is take from the top of the ridge, my house is in (near) center of the picture. My property and ridge extend to the left of the picture giving me 400 yards and still shooting into the ridge which is on my property.

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I have ten acres in NE Ohio and I have a pistol range firing into deep woods. I posted 2 4x4's, screwed plywood on the front and hung 5/8" steel plate behind it. I have two of these targets at about a 45 degree angle for multiple target shooting practice. No issues with neighbors whatsoever - I can't go a weekend without hearing gunfire in the neighborhood. I can do about 100 yards with rifle - not comfortable any farther than that. I love my backyard range!:D
 
The size of the piece of land is not really relevant. Aside form local law, it's the topography, and what surrounds the land, and how you build that matters.
 
20 to 60 acres isn't anywhere near big enough for an outdoor range. Not enough room for a fall zone.
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My Aunt and Uncle live just north of Kansas City, MO and have 40 acres. We've been shooting and hunting on his land for the last 30 years.
 
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Originally Posted by BigMikey76 View Post

What caliber do you use to hunt a house?

At least 20 mm Orlikon. 40mm Bofors is better.



105mm is best, one shot, one house. Much more humane.
 
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