Penetration of Handgun Rounds in Earth Berm for Range

M

MTT TL

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I was wondering what would constitute a safe back stop of packed earth in depth for all handgun rounds of all calibers. Not worried about rifle caliber rounds in a handgun but even the most penetrating rounds.

If there was a chart or table on this that would be best. I am looking to set up a berm for a pistol shooting range. The range would likely see a fair amount of usage so we would overbuild it.
 
for a hand gun (in a hand gun round) I think the 460 may be top dog for penitration because the bullets are smaller than the 500 magnum. Though I may be wrong. :p

even with these I think that you would not need it super thick. Typically I would be more worried about stray shots going over the back drop.
 
A fellow used to 'mine' the backstop at a local range. He only dug in 6-8". Did he get all the bullets, probably not.

He has been asked not to any longer. After a while we had to get a bobcat in there and repile the dirt.
 
It depends on the berm material. If you use clay handgun bullets won't penetrate more than a couple of inches. Even small rifle rounds like 5.56 won't usually penetrate more than 3-6 inches. Larger such as 30-06 may go 12 - 18 inches, AP may go 2 feet or more. This is in my own backyard range.

Loose fill like sand is softer and there will be a little more penetration. I doubt you will need more than about 3 feet thickness to stop just about any round you might fire out of a handgun. Back up the berm with 1 or 2 layers of RR ties or heavy hardwood timber for insurance. I used RR ties so termites wouldn't destroy it in 6 months.
 
The problem always seems to be that unless you have some rather large backstop (like the Rocky Mountains), someone will figure out a way to shoot over or around about any backstop, and that will make trouble unless you have a long impact area.

Jim
 
Built mine out of railroad ties, three sided, 7 feet tall and filled it with two dumptruck loads of topsoil. Topsiol doesn't pack down as much as dirt with clay and topsoil stays in place better than sand. 7 feet is about as tall as I could get it and still be able to dump dirt from my tractor's front loader bucket over the ties at the back. No matter how tall or wide you build your berm there is always the danger of shooting above or around it. I'm shooting downhill with swamp/creek and woods behind the berm, and a hill on the other side of the creek. Nearest house behind the berm is over 1/4 mile away through the woods.


 
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mtt, 12/21/11

I reread John Plaster's book, the "Ultimate Sniper" and he mentions the penetration depths of .308 bullets in different materials at 100 yards (page 128). I couldn't find a similar reference for pistol bullets. Maybe this will help you plan.

wet soil- 28"
dry soil- 19"
wet sand- 19"
dry sand- 16"
wet clay- 35"
dry clay- 24"

So it seems that if you make your berm at least three feet thick it should be enough to stop any pistol bullet with less energy than a .308 bullet. Good luck.

merry Christmas (not the politically correct "happy holidays")-oldandslow
 
There will be about 1000 meters of thick woods behind the backstop and the nearest house looks to be about 2000 meters away. The houses on the sides are the bigger worry. An ND going sideways would not have to travel far to hit a house. We would also be worried about trespassers in the woods.

We shoot bird shot there already without a berm but handgun rounds will travel much farther. In order to start shooting handguns there we will have to increase the protections.
 
Use to belong to a club outside Kalamazoo, Mi.,

there the ranges had a impact baffle that was filled with pea gravel.

It was supposedly built according to USAF range standards and rated to contain
a .50 BMG.

Back in the 80's there was a company that marketed a similiar portable impact backstop for home or reduced range limitations, filled with pea gravel.

You could make a an steel trap, using impact resistant steel and formed into a circle with the entrance on the tangential, spray interior with silicone spray and the bullets circle around until velocity drops and fall to bottom. NRA headquarters has that on interior range.

Surround this with dirt you should be ok.
 
I was wondering what would constitute a safe back stop of packed earth in depth for all handgun rounds of all calibers. Not worried about rifle caliber rounds in a handgun but even the most penetrating rounds.

If there was a chart or table on this that would be best. I am looking to set up a berm for a pistol shooting range. The range would likely see a fair amount of usage so we would overbuild it.

Location: The City of Thi
Click to expand...

Were?:confused:

Thi?:confused:

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.44 Magnum jacketed rounds,,,

Shooting into the new berm at my rifle/pistol club,,,
We only had to dig about 8-10 inches to retrieve the bullets.

I would have guessed they would penetrate a lot deeper,,,
But that's as far as we needed to dig to find them all.

Aarond
 
I've never seen a handgun bullet pass through a solid RR tie(1/2 rotten ones entirely different deal). My backstop is two layers of ties and very few centerfire rifle bullets will exit and the ones that do likely follow or find a soft spot. I have to change the ties in the center impact area every couple of years but it's no problem if a pass through occurs since the backstop is further backed by a 500' high hill and I own the ground for the next 3/4 mile.
I also use a high cutbank along the creek which allows 270* shooting to about 20 yards.
 
@ Labhound: That is impressive, I had something similar in mind when I build my father a "shooting area" on his new property. Never thought to use railroad ties but I think you have the right idea there, cheap and easy to come by.
 
The risk of shooting past the berm, either vertically or laterally, can be addressed w/ baffling. This has become a popular solution for ranges in my area that have wanted to implement additional safeguards without having to reengineer their backstops. They'll often use an H framed structure that's filled with gravel and enclosed w/ drywall at the top. The OP could probably get away with something even less sophisticated.
 
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