Ideas for range barriers?

[Dusty Sometimes]

Looking for construction ideas for range barriers we can build on our range to separate stages when we need to call a safety "Down Range".  Our range in Louisiana is flood prone every few years and our previous barrier of stacked RR ties were swept away with the last flood. Of course, like all clubs we're on a budget but it's inconvenient to shut down all stages for a single Down Range call. 

 

One option is residential wooden fencing that can be doubled up (planks on both sides) but "something" needs to go in between to bullet proof it. 

 

Hundreds of tires, hay bales, ??? 

We don't have room to build berms of dirt. 

 

Dusty

[Yusta B.]

Don't  know if they are available near you but Briggsdale County Shootists up in Colorado uses corn shock bales. PM Kid Bucklin or Sixty Nine Cent Wizard for details

 

[Major Crimes]

This previous topic has a few ideas.

 

https://www.sassnet.com/forums/index.php?/topic/272256-bay-walls/&tab=comments#comment-3549684

 

 

[Badlands Bob #61228]

We had an outdoor police range that had 6x6 posts with 2x6 boards screwed onto both sides.  The gap between the 2x6 boards was filled with gravel.  We weren't using it as a backstop.  Just to stop the occassional AD.  Very effective.

[Tulsey, SASS#11236]

We put railroad switch ties vertical about eight feet apart. Then we put unfortunately used salvaged  metal roofing on both sides and filled with gravel. It will stop just about anything. The unfortunate part was the metal roofing rusted through in places. We rebuilt a couple using treated plywood with 2 x 4  or 2 x 6 stringers to hold the plywood and added some sheet metal over the top to keep most of the water out. With good paint on the wood it seems to work pretty well. The most cost efficient is dirt between bays. The negative is to eight feet tall, you are going to lose at least  four feet on each bay to have the suggested slope for the dirt. For us old folks if you have the room the dirt side walls require the least maintenance.  On two other bays where we had a railroad tie wall between them, we  covered the ties in plywood and eventually went about  half way up with dirt. So far so good on that wall.  

[Catlow4697]

Stay away from old tires they are an environmental hazard waiting to happen 

bullets bounce off them 

water collets in them and then breeds bugs

flood waters will wash them away 

 

a local club used old wood power poles set vertical spaced 10 to 12 feet then horizontal double stacked

solid concrete blocks size 2ft by 2 ft by 4ft. Concrete yards make these from left over or returned concrete 

[Cariboo Lefty, SASS5391]

When the Alberta Frontier Shootists had a range in Kelsey Alberta they stacked the big round bales 2 deep. They worked well for bullet barriers however after they dried out we had a fire in them, when a BP shooter had a wad go into the pile,  that was REAL hard to extinguish! If you use flammable barriers make sure you spray them with retardant.

[Dusty Sometimes]

Thanks, a very good point on the flammability, and I didn't think of that.  

 

We're looking at possibly building a double sided, wooden, residential fence with some type of barrier material sandwiched in between like think plywood or heavy duty rubber mats. All subject to our own field testing of course. 

 

Others options still under consideration are buying RR ties (very heavy and still they washed away in our last flood) or latched in gardening timbers  (not as heavy as RR ties).

 

Thanks for the ideas. 

DS

[Straight Arrow Hombre]

Most residential fence panels aren’t pressure treated, but rather dipped or sprayed with preservative. They don’t hold up the same way that pressure treated lumber rated for ground contact will. 

We divided our range with telephone poles laid horizontally in two staggered rows held up by a pair of vertical poles every 10-12 feet. For load and unload tables, we built a U shaped wall made with treated 4x6 and 2x6 T&G on both sides. The void is filled with pea gravel.