Shooting back stop

5

50osu50

Inactive
Hello, this is my first post so bear with me.

I want to know if this is a safe place to shoot. I live on 200 acres of land. My shooting backstop would be a giant burn pile. It is about 15-20ft in length 12 ft wide and about 15ft tall. The center of it are huge tree stumps (we're talking 3ft wide stumps). Piled on top of that is about 10 years of brush (tree limbs, branches, wood bulk bins). Behind the pile is 400 yrds of corn field then a road. I am not concerned with a round going through the pile. If you saw how thick it is you would understand. There is a tail end of a neighborhood to the left (about 200yrds away) almost on a 45degree angle from where I would be shooting from. The brush pile is thick enough to where a round going through it is not an issue. My concern is ricochet. Could a round hit the brush and go into the neighborhood left almost behind where I would be shooting from? Sorry if my description didnt give a very good image.Any advice is much appreciated.

I almost forgot I would mainly be shooting 5.56 and 7.76 rounds if that helps.
 
With the calibers you are shooting, some special considerations are needed.
400 yards from a road, for one.
And the possibilities of a soft spot in the pile.
Don't know how that would be determined.
If you were shooting .22 rimfires and pistols, it would be different.
 
There is a tail end of a neighborhood to the left (about 200yrds away) almost on a 45degree angle from where I would be shooting from. The brush pile is thick enough to where a round going through it is not an issue. My concern is ricochet. Could a round hit the brush and go into the neighborhood left almost behind where I would be shooting from
Click to expand...

The chance of ricochet to me would be too great. "Almost" 45 degrees is not uncommon for a high powered round. The fact that you are even shooting in the general direction of a neighborhood only 200 yards away with a high powered rifle should be of a concern. As for a brush pile enough to stop all the possibly hundreds/thousand of rounds put into it over a period of time from the same high powered rifle, I would have my doubts there also.
 
On top of that... if you live on TWO HUNDRED ACRES, it seems like it might be feasible to invest the money, time, and sweat in to a proper backstop in a better location. Many of us (myself for certain) simply dream of having a piece of property just a fraction of that size. You've got a fantastic start to a phenomenal place to shoot.

When you stop and consider what is at stake, the answer seems really easy.
 
Make a big dirt pile in front of the brushpile and you should be OK

Brushpiles change rather quickly over time, and in a few years most of it will be rotted away. A big dirt pile, with vegetation growing will last much longer and reduce chances of ricochets
 
Make a big dirt pile in front of the brushpile and you should be OK
Click to expand...

This. Why take chances. Peace of mind would be more than whatever it would cost.

-simply dream of having a piece of property just a fraction of that size.
Click to expand...

I'm crazy green-eyed jealous of your proposed setup.

"Hey, I'm going to shoot REALLY FAST today. Any objections?"

"Hey, I'm working up a load and am going to shoot REALLY SLOW. Any problems with that?"

"Hey, something's going on with my firearm and I'm going to have tools on the line to work on it. Any rules against that?"

Jealous, just jealous.

Good Luck.
 
I say no, it isn't safe. I don;'t need a photo. A brush pile of any length or height is no sufficient for centerfire.

A big dirt pile like others said.
 
Brush piles don't qualify as safe backstops. Locate a good spot for shooting, and rent a Dingo or a buddy with a loader. Build a good safe backstop. You can incorporate logs and larger limbs in the dirt, but wood rots rather quickly and is not ballistic after as little as one year, maybe two.
 
The OP still needs to take photos and lots of them so he can see all the vectors where something can go wrong so he can build his pit or wood piile to stop every round.
 
Yeah I dont want to take any chances. I was just looking for some advice. I think Im just going to invest in making a proper backstop with dirt and railroad ties. I appreciate all the comments.
 
Good for you. The time investment in a safe backstop is well worth it.

Over-engineering is not a bad thing, for shooting safety.

Lining the ties with a couple layers of landscape fabric, tarpaper, or roofing shingles keeps the dirt in place once you've shot a two-foot hole in the face.
 
Kind of suspect that pile of brush/trees isn't as good as you may thing either. It'll stop a .223, for now, but a 7.62 might get through. Unless your 7.62 is a .308 hunting bullet.
Either way, 200 acres sounds bigger than it really is. So does 200 and 400 yards. Both of your rifles will go way farther with an unintended high angle shot. A 45 degree up angle will send a bullet miles behind your pile of firewood.
I'd be thinking bulldozer and down. Or fill in the wood pile with lots of dirt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top