Home on the range? - Page 2

chupps · June 18, 2015, 01:44 PM

Quote:

That's what I'm looking for! How are your neighbors with it? any problems? did you talk to them ahead of time?

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.

kilimanjaro · June 18, 2015, 05:07 PM

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.

DA/SA Fan · June 18, 2015, 05:27 PM

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.

Wat_Tyler · December 22, 2015, 11:01 PM

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.

Ruark · December 23, 2015, 12:02 PM

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!

osbornk · December 23, 2015, 02:52 PM

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.

Bluestarlizzard · December 23, 2015, 05:30 PM

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.

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.

kraigwy · December 24, 2015, 09:42 AM

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.

BuckeyeWally · February 4, 2016, 09:14 PM

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!

NateKirk · February 4, 2016, 11:37 PM

If your neighbors start complaining of noise you can just take it as an excuse to buy a suppressor

cliffhangernlv · February 5, 2016, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigMikey76

What caliber do you use to hunt a house?

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

TimSr · February 5, 2016, 09:06 AM

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.

Keithg · February 5, 2016, 12:39 PM

Quote:

20 to 60 acres isn't anywhere near big enough for an outdoor range. Not enough room for a fall zone.

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.

kilimanjaro · February 5, 2016, 02:19 PM

Quote:

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.

Branko · February 5, 2016, 03:39 PM

Quote:

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

Pfft, in my country houses are generally made of concrete, you're not going to level it with mouseguns.

sauto456 · February 5, 2016, 04:41 PM

for handgun you could shoot on less than 1 acre if you had a berm or solid back stop.
Dirt and / or rail road timbers are pretty cheap and make a good back stop.

ammo.crafter · February 5, 2016, 04:44 PM

Have a bulldozer create a 15-20 foot high dirt mound and approximately
40 feet wide should do the trick.

WVsig · February 5, 2016, 06:28 PM

Quote:

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.

This! In the county there is nothing preventing me from shooting on my 2 acre lot. I can shoot pistol behind my house because there is a steep rise which acts as a natural back stop. You would have to shoot a pistol at a 60-65 degree angle to get even close to clearing it. At the top is a large field with nothing for about 1 mile. I have a house about 200 yards to the right from where I shoot but it is no where near in play and there is never anyone on my backyard as it is wooded with no houses.

So my advice would be to look up the local laws and then pick a property with topographical features that will allow you to safely shoot or at the very least build a proper backstop.

If you are going to shoot rifle then more considerations come into play.

Mobuck · February 5, 2016, 08:30 PM

MO is pretty casual about when, where, and how residents shoot on their property. I travel a 4 county chunk of north-central MO and see lots of foolishness regarding where folks shoot. I've seen such things as a target board set up in the corner of a yard with nothing between it and the next house besides some scattered timber. Another was a guy who pushed up some loose dirt to make a backstop but rain had washed the pile down to about 1/2 the height of the target board and in the background was an MDC lake campground. A final brain fart idea was small bales of straw and plastic barrels used as target stands with an open field behind and several houses out of sight less than a mile away in direct line from shooting line to targets(I know for fact that they were shooting centerfire "deer" rifles while the ground was frozen so have good reason to believe there may have been ricochets toward those houses).
For temporary use with light caliber rifles or handguns, a decent backstop can be made from barrels filled with sand or simply a pile of railroad ties. I shoot 22 in my yard using an angled 1/2" steel plate to divert bullets into the dirt. Hundreds and hundreds of 22 bullets have impacted that angled plate w/o issue(well, there's no grass growing there anymore).

45_auto · February 6, 2016, 07:15 AM

Louisiana law specifically excludes any unincorporated (outside city limits) single home tracts greater than 5 acres from any restrictions on hunting or shooting. I reckon they figure that must be big enough to shoot on.

Quote:

§120. Zoning of heavily populated areas from hunting and shooting of firearms

B. As used in this Section, "heavily populated area" shall not include any
of the following:
(1) Any parcel or tract of land that is in excess of five acres and that includes no more than one single-family residence on the parcel or tract.

johnwilliamson062 · February 7, 2016, 08:49 PM

I saw a guy shoot a 50 BMG into an eight foot tall berm less than ten feet deep at widest point with a house half a mile behind it.
Multiple threads here with people shooting high power rifles in to round bales.

I'd like to say it is common sense, but it clearly isn't.

June 18, 2015, 05:27 PM	#28
DA/SA Fan Senior Member Join Date: May 30, 2014 Location: Missouri Posts: 661	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. __________________ "Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!" CASTLE DOCTRINE STRONGLY ENFORCED "Happiness is a warm gun"

December 23, 2015, 12:02 PM	#30
Ruark Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 2010 Posts: 227	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! Last edited by Ruark; December 23, 2015 at 12:09 PM.

December 23, 2015, 05:30 PM	#32
Bluestarlizzard Senior Member Join Date: May 23, 2013 Location: Virginia Posts: 347	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. 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. __________________ Mal: "If anyone gets nosy, just...you know... shoot 'em. " Zoe: "Shoot 'em?" Mal: "Politely."

December 24, 2015, 09:42 AM	#33
kraigwy Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2008 Location: Wyoming Posts: 11,061	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. __________________ Kraig Stuart CPT USAR Ret USAMU Sniper School Distinguished Rifle Badge 1071

February 4, 2016, 11:37 PM	#35
NateKirk Senior Member Join Date: February 28, 2013 Location: Detroit Posts: 435	If your neighbors start complaining of noise you can just take it as an excuse to buy a suppressor __________________ “Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading".” ― --Thomas Jefferson

June 18, 2015, 05:07 PM	#27
kilimanjaro Senior Member Join Date: November 23, 2009 Posts: 3,963	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.

December 22, 2015, 11:01 PM	#29
Wat_Tyler Member Join Date: April 22, 2013 Posts: 30	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.

December 23, 2015, 02:52 PM	#31
osbornk Senior Member Join Date: August 11, 2012 Location: Mountains of Appalachia Posts: 1,598	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.

February 4, 2016, 09:14 PM	#34
BuckeyeWally Junior Member Join Date: February 2, 2016 Posts: 5	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!

February 5, 2016, 09:06 AM	#37
TimSr Senior Member Join Date: March 8, 2013 Location: Rittman, Ohio Posts: 2,074	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.

February 5, 2016, 02:19 PM	#39
kilimanjaro Senior Member Join Date: November 23, 2009 Posts: 3,963	Quote: 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.

February 5, 2016, 04:41 PM	#41
sauto456 Member Join Date: June 7, 2007 Posts: 23	for handgun you could shoot on less than 1 acre if you had a berm or solid back stop. Dirt and / or rail road timbers are pretty cheap and make a good back stop.

February 5, 2016, 04:44 PM	#42
ammo.crafter Senior Member Join Date: June 25, 2006 Location: The Keystone State Posts: 1,970	range Have a bulldozer create a 15-20 foot high dirt mound and approximately 40 feet wide should do the trick. __________________ "Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading". --Thomas Jefferson

February 5, 2016, 08:30 PM	#44
Mobuck Junior member Join Date: February 2, 2010 Posts: 6,846	MO is pretty casual about when, where, and how residents shoot on their property. I travel a 4 county chunk of north-central MO and see lots of foolishness regarding where folks shoot. I've seen such things as a target board set up in the corner of a yard with nothing between it and the next house besides some scattered timber. Another was a guy who pushed up some loose dirt to make a backstop but rain had washed the pile down to about 1/2 the height of the target board and in the background was an MDC lake campground. A final brain fart idea was small bales of straw and plastic barrels used as target stands with an open field behind and several houses out of sight less than a mile away in direct line from shooting line to targets(I know for fact that they were shooting centerfire "deer" rifles while the ground was frozen so have good reason to believe there may have been ricochets toward those houses). For temporary use with light caliber rifles or handguns, a decent backstop can be made from barrels filled with sand or simply a pile of railroad ties. I shoot 22 in my yard using an angled 1/2" steel plate to divert bullets into the dirt. Hundreds and hundreds of 22 bullets have impacted that angled plate w/o issue(well, there's no grass growing there anymore).

February 7, 2016, 08:49 PM	#46
johnwilliamson062 Junior member Join Date: May 16, 2008 Posts: 9,995	I saw a guy shoot a 50 BMG into an eight foot tall berm less than ten feet deep at widest point with a house half a mile behind it. Multiple threads here with people shooting high power rifles in to round bales. I'd like to say it is common sense, but it clearly isn't.