Handgun shooting area at home? - Page 2

mete · September 19, 2012, 04:39 PM

Legal in your town ?
Insurance cover it ?
You must have good ventilation !
I know of a few places where a fairly small backstop was used , 4'x4'. in a basement where the comment was 'can't possibly miss that big a backstop' .Later look at the wall around the backstop !

Stick to pellet guns !

wayneinFL · September 19, 2012, 04:55 PM

I've shot a 22 in the garage with a homemade backstop. It had a concrete block wall behind it. I used Remington Subsonics. They were fairly quiet. If the neighbors heard, they didn't say anything.

If I were in the second floor of a wood house, I'd make more preparations than that. And I'd probably stick with Colibris.

sigcurious · September 19, 2012, 04:56 PM

Depending on where you live don't forget to check the county laws.

Personally though I wouldn't be shooting in my house unless I had to, legal or not.

wayneinFL · September 19, 2012, 07:59 PM

Saw this today. Reminded me of this thread.

Hook686 · September 20, 2012, 02:14 AM

Just because a cop can do it and get away with it does not mean you can do it and get away with it.

Justice06RR · September 20, 2012, 03:54 AM

Obviously many people here have not shot in their own property.

Aside from checking your local laws, I would say you would be fine setting this up if you set the proper backstop and make sure it is solid. 22lr is not very loud; I've shot both pistol and rifle 22's and they are not that loud.

For example, I shoot outdoors at a friend's backyard that is in a neighborhood. His neighbors are about at least 75yards away. We set up our targets with backstops(concrete, steel, and dirt) properly. Yes the local county LEO's have approved it and said it is ok to shoot in your own property as long as you don't go past your property line. I also brought along my roomate who is an Orange county sherriff to shoot with me

. He did not have a problem with it, he actually had a good time.

YMMV, just make sure you know what you are doing. If not, then maybe its not reasonable depending on your local laws and how you set it up.

Pistolgripshotty · September 20, 2012, 04:12 AM

Not a good idea...just think of all the bad stuff that could happen.

Hal · September 20, 2012, 07:36 AM

Don't pull .22 bullets and substitute was.

A .22 is a heeled bullet. The bullet is the same diameter as the outside of the case. If you put a wax bullet inside the case, it will be undersized & the gases from the primer will blow past the base and melt it.
You end up with a pretty messy and inaccurate load.

What you do is:

Place a large cake pan on the top of the range and fill it half full of water.
Place a smaller pan inside it.
(You making a double bolier. The burner heats the water, and the hot water heats the inner pan where the was is.)
Never melt parrafin was directly on a burner. Sooner or later it will flash on you and catch fire.

Place your parrfin wax in the inner pan.
Take empty unprimed shells of whatever caliber you wish to shoot - .38, .44. .45acp, 9mm - whatever.
Determine how much melted wax will fill the empty case 1/2 full.
I take a pencil and an empty case, hold the case against the side of the pan and draw a line that's about half way up the case body.
Melt that much wax in the inner pan and remove it from the outer pan.

Invert your empty unprimed cases in the wax & set the pan aside to cool.

When the wax has hardened, you simply remove the cases and put a primer in them.
Regular primers will work fine for short (~ 25 feet) distances, magnum primers will work for about half again to twice that distance.

Obviously, the ammo won't operate a semi auto action & with no bullet to guide on a feed ramp, they may not feed well.
Be sure in that case to heed all warnings about running a slide closed on a chambered round. It's not recommended on a 1911.

It's also highy recommended to enlarge the flash hole in the primer pocket.
W/out a powder charge to force the case back against the recoil shield of a revolver, the flash from the primer will often back the primer out of the pocket & tie up the revolver's action.

If you also reload, it's important to mark these cases somehow so they don't get mixed in with the regular brass.

& yes ---before anyone thinks/or asks it - a very small charge of smokless

(Never to exceed 1/3 of the starting load listed in the loading data for that caliber w/the lightest bullet weight.)

can be trickled into the case through the enlarged flash hole prior to priming the case.
I used a medium fast powder (Unique) instead of a fast power (Bullseye).
Fast powders like Bullseye don't have enough bulk.
It's just too hard to get a small load of Bullseye. A lot of the starting loads are only 3.5 to 4 grains.

Sadly - the bliss ninnys have taken over my city & the laws now read that I can't launch any projectile over any part of any propety within the city limits.
It's now illegal to even shoot a BB gun in the basement (not that anyone would know - but still...).

Quote:

These are small pistols that shoot lead BB's,,,
The charge is a cap designed for cap and ball revolvers.

Wow - that takes me way back.....
When I was a kid (1960's), all the outdoor magazines use to have an ad in the back pages for,,,IIRC, a Western Haig pistol.
It was a pot metal single shot that used a piece of birdshot & regual cap gun caps.
The price of the thing was $3.00 plus shipping.
We never managed to scrape together enough money among us to buy one & pay for the shipping & also buy a money order....

That & they had some silly requirment that you had to be 21...

jmorris · September 20, 2012, 08:11 AM

After my lead levels got high I quit shooting at indoor ranges, no way I would have one inside my house.

I do however have a "shooting area" out back. I didn't have the equipment to move dirt so I made my trap out of steel.

Rj1972 · September 20, 2012, 08:39 AM

While not entirely the same as something going boom, I like to use the Laserlyte training system:
http://www.amazon.com/LaserLyte-TLB-...raining+system

The only hassle is that if you have a DA/SA gun then you're either always shooting DA or have to slightly rack it to get into SA mode. But that's not a big deal for me. Plus it's easy to move anywhere in the house.

wayneinFL · September 20, 2012, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Just because a cop can do it and get away with it does not mean you can do it and get away with it.

Of course you can get away with it if it's legal, and you're not bothering anybody.

Lost Sheep · September 20, 2012, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hal

Sadly - the bliss ninnys have taken over my city & the laws now read that I can't launch any projectile over any part of any propety within the city limits.
It's now illegal to even shoot a BB gun in the basement (not that anyone would know - but still...).

I have to vent.

Does that include if you launch a green pea through a paper straw?

You have my sympathies.

Lost Sheep.

Hal · September 20, 2012, 10:02 PM

Lost Sheep,
My guess would be - yes.
The law reads any projectile.

I suppose that by the letter of the law, launching a spit wad w/a rubber band, or even launching a rubber band by itself would be breaking the law.

It's sad that such stupid laws ever get on the books.

warningshot · September 21, 2012, 01:39 AM

Gun store had an indoor range to test fire guns from time to time.

While an employee was enjoying a tuna sandwich in the break room another employee decided now was a good enough time as any to test fire a H&K 91. Common wall..not so common backstop. Bad news.

Why is it that the creeps of the world dodge bullets left and right, and the good guys get one between the running lights from 150 yards fired by a stolen Raven 25acp from a recently paroled for good behavior-honor roll student- non violent career-early released criminal.

Gerry · September 21, 2012, 09:38 PM

jmorris, that is sweet! We're movin' in!

brazosdave · September 23, 2012, 07:23 PM

In my younger, drunker, stupider days, I used to shoot a .25 acp at a dartboard in a outbuilding I had set up a bar in. Neighbors apparently never heard it, because the cops never got called (probably something to do with the loud music....). anyhoo, nowadays, if I simply MUST shoot and can't make it to the range with my real guns, I got a crossman spring action airsoft pistol to shoot at plastic bottles in the backyard, kind of like the plinking with bb guns at cans I did as a kid. I still have an old daisy red ryder bb gun of my daughters that i sometimes shoot in my backyard, but don't do that too much. In town where I live, an airsoft will probably be ok( my yard is entirely privacy fenced, so no sound, no foul. Bb gun they might not be too cool with

September 19, 2012, 04:39 PM	#26
mete Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2004 Location: NY State Posts: 6,575	Legal in your town ? Insurance cover it ? You must have good ventilation ! I know of a few places where a fairly small backstop was used , 4'x4'. in a basement where the comment was 'can't possibly miss that big a backstop' .Later look at the wall around the backstop ! Stick to pellet guns ! __________________ And Watson , bring your revolver !

September 20, 2012, 02:14 AM	#30
Hook686 Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2005 Location: USA The Great State of California Posts: 2,090	Just because a cop can do it and get away with it does not mean you can do it and get away with it. __________________ Hook686 When the number of people in institutions reaches 51%, we change sides.

September 20, 2012, 04:12 AM	#32
Pistolgripshotty Senior Member Join Date: September 19, 2012 Location: Somewhere out there Posts: 184	Not a good idea...just think of all the bad stuff that could happen. __________________ *12 Gauge Fury!*

September 21, 2012, 01:39 AM	#39
warningshot Senior Member Join Date: October 7, 2009 Posts: 995	shot it in the back Gun store had an indoor range to test fire guns from time to time. While an employee was enjoying a tuna sandwich in the break room another employee decided now was a good enough time as any to test fire a H&K 91. Common wall..not so common backstop. Bad news. Why is it that the creeps of the world dodge bullets left and right, and the good guys get one between the running lights from 150 yards fired by a stolen Raven 25acp from a recently paroled for good behavior-honor roll student- non violent career-early released criminal.

September 19, 2012, 04:55 PM	#27
wayneinFL Senior Member Join Date: December 18, 2004 Posts: 1,944	I've shot a 22 in the garage with a homemade backstop. It had a concrete block wall behind it. I used Remington Subsonics. They were fairly quiet. If the neighbors heard, they didn't say anything. If I were in the second floor of a wood house, I'd make more preparations than that. And I'd probably stick with Colibris.

September 19, 2012, 04:56 PM	#28
sigcurious Senior Member Join Date: May 25, 2011 Posts: 1,755	Depending on where you live don't forget to check the county laws. Personally though I wouldn't be shooting in my house unless I had to, legal or not.

September 19, 2012, 07:59 PM	#29
wayneinFL Senior Member Join Date: December 18, 2004 Posts: 1,944	Saw this today. Reminded me of this thread.

September 20, 2012, 03:54 AM	#31
Justice06RR Senior Member Join Date: December 21, 2010 Location: Central FL Posts: 1,360	Obviously many people here have not shot in their own property. Aside from checking your local laws, I would say you would be fine setting this up if you set the proper backstop and make sure it is solid. 22lr is not very loud; I've shot both pistol and rifle 22's and they are not that loud. For example, I shoot outdoors at a friend's backyard that is in a neighborhood. His neighbors are about at least 75yards away. We set up our targets with backstops(concrete, steel, and dirt) properly. Yes the local county LEO's have approved it and said it is ok to shoot in your own property as long as you don't go past your property line. I also brought along my roomate who is an Orange county sherriff to shoot with me . He did not have a problem with it, he actually had a good time. YMMV, just make sure you know what you are doing. If not, then maybe its not reasonable depending on your local laws and how you set it up.

September 20, 2012, 08:11 AM	#34
jmorris Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2006 Posts: 3,077	After my lead levels got high I quit shooting at indoor ranges, no way I would have one inside my house. I do however have a "shooting area" out back. I didn't have the equipment to move dirt so I made my trap out of steel.

September 20, 2012, 08:39 AM	#35
Rj1972 Senior Member Join Date: December 16, 2010 Posts: 129	While not entirely the same as something going boom, I like to use the Laserlyte training system: http://www.amazon.com/LaserLyte-TLB-...raining+system The only hassle is that if you have a DA/SA gun then you're either always shooting DA or have to slightly rack it to get into SA mode. But that's not a big deal for me. Plus it's easy to move anywhere in the house.

September 20, 2012, 10:02 PM	#38
Hal Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 1998 Location: Ohio USA Posts: 8,563	Lost Sheep, My guess would be - yes. The law reads any projectile. I suppose that by the letter of the law, launching a spit wad w/a rubber band, or even launching a rubber band by itself would be breaking the law. It's sad that such stupid laws ever get on the books.

September 21, 2012, 09:38 PM	#40
Gerry Senior Member Join Date: December 24, 2010 Location: Canada Posts: 382	jmorris, that is sweet! We're movin' in!

September 23, 2012, 07:23 PM	#41
brazosdave Senior Member Join Date: September 7, 2012 Location: Crockett, Texas Posts: 363	In my younger, drunker, stupider days, I used to shoot a .25 acp at a dartboard in a outbuilding I had set up a bar in. Neighbors apparently never heard it, because the cops never got called (probably something to do with the loud music....). anyhoo, nowadays, if I simply MUST shoot and can't make it to the range with my real guns, I got a crossman spring action airsoft pistol to shoot at plastic bottles in the backyard, kind of like the plinking with bb guns at cans I did as a kid. I still have an old daisy red ryder bb gun of my daughters that i sometimes shoot in my backyard, but don't do that too much. In town where I live, an airsoft will probably be ok( my yard is entirely privacy fenced, so no sound, no foul. Bb gun they might not be too cool with