Thread: All weather shooting range

So with the shit weather again, it looks like the trip to the farm is on hold again so its got me thinking/dreaming (if only money was no object) of an all weather shooting range. Lets design one that stretches out to 100m min. Covered shooting area and covered target area would be a good start. Id also have a work shop area, with a red wall that firearms have to be pointed at at all times when working on them and bolts must be left in range bag outside room...ideas..

A fully enclosed range would be so cool for longer range rimfire. Not having to worry about wind would remove a big variable. I've often thought about it.

Nah, wind is half the fun

Greetings,
Unfortunately while you can have your own casual sighting in range under the Shooting Range Manual both the partly enclosed and fully enclosed ranges described would need approval under the current law. All is not lost though as many clubs, NZDA and others, have such ranges so it is just a matter of finding one and joining. A much cheaper option.
GPM.

Greetings Again,
If you want to design a range as a mental exercise then you probably want to look at the Police Shooting Range Manual that you can download on the interweb. The place to start is with the bullet catcher and backstop. These can be natural features but the height and slope of them are critical. This is where a lot of older ranges fall flat with inadequate or totally lacking backstops. The range floor also needs to be low enough to keep it out of the cone of fire to stop ricochet's. All the info in the manual is mostly in tables so is easy to follow. Download it and see how you go.
Regards Grandpamac.

yea I know its just a bit of a fun thread. Ive seen I think they are military ranges over seas and they are in a long trench cover the shooting end would work. Mightn't be that practical for nz unless it drained well.

I've seen something on TV about a range in Switzerland where they shoot over a highway. They've got formed it so it's impossible to go outside of the cone of fire

Originally Posted by blip

yea I know its just a bit of a fun thread. Ive seen I think they are military ranges over seas and they are in a long trench cover the shooting end would work. Mightn't be that practical for nz unless it drained well.

A few years back I did some sketch designs for a 100 metre underground range using concrete pipes around 1 metre dia. The land had a gentle slope so the shooting point could be a little below ground level and the target end fully underground. The design included a super size muffler for muzzle blast and the pipe was covered with a minimum of 500mm of earth. The ground was pumice and pretty well drained to get over another problem but the cost was uncertain and likely prohibitive and the project was canned.
During my working days I came across a number of Halls, mostly Rural and one NZDA that incorporated .22 rifle ranges, some shot under the floor and one through the hall and under the stage. All are now closed and some have been for many years.
Regards Grandpamac.

Look for some good natural features, then buy the land. Our one in the Wairarapa has a cliff on the left that curves around to act as a backstop at 200m. Covered shooting platform. Sometimes they close the pistol ranges and run a 300m shoot from up on the cliff behind the range. It's ideal - not much wind effect and you stay dry until you go to get your targets.

Identify your target beyond all doubt because you never miss (right?) and I'll be missed.

Originally Posted by Eat Meater

Look for some good natural features, then buy the land. Our one in the Wairarapa has a cliff on the left that curves around to act as a backstop at 200m. Covered shooting platform. Sometimes they close the pistol ranges and run a 300m shoot from up on the cliff behind the range. It's ideal - not much wind effect and you stay dry until you go to get your targets.

Identify your target beyond all doubt because you never miss (right?) and I'll be missed.

A very good point @Eat Meater,
All too often in the past Ranges have been crammed onto a site that is unsuitable. Most of these have either been closed or soon will be. Some areas will have next to no ranges when the dust clears.
Regards Grandpamac,

Originally Posted by grandpamac

A few years back I did some sketch designs for a 100 metre underground range using concrete pipes around 1 metre dia. The land had a gentle slope so the shooting point could be a little below ground level and the target end fully underground. The design included a super size muffler for muzzle blast and the pipe was covered with a minimum of 500mm of earth. The ground was pumice and pretty well drained to get over another problem but the cost was uncertain and likely prohibitive and the project was canned.
During my working days I came across a number of Halls, mostly Rural and one NZDA that incorporated .22 rifle ranges, some shot under the floor and one through the hall and under the stage. All are now closed and some have been for many years.
Regards Grandpamac.

Im pretty sure h&f in warkworth had a setup like that except it was above roof level. You climbed up onto a platform and shot down a pipe. It wasnt operational when I saw it, I just asked what it was the day I was in there years back

Greetings,
The late Tony Loughnan told me about a rimfire range incorporated into a grandstand building. The details are a bit sketchy in my mind now but I think he may have shot on it in the early 1960's when he was at Uni. Due to the angle of the bleachers there is a lot of waste internal space in a grandstand and squeezing a 50 or even 100 metre range into one would not be difficult. Could you do it now? Who knows?
Regards Grandpamac.

The gunsmith I used to use came from South Africa. He was saying in the early days they used to shoot in stadiums, they would just truck a heap of shipping containers in and build a range. Dont Know what was in them tho..

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings,
The late Tony Loughnan told me about a rimfire range incorporated into a grandstand building. The details are a bit sketchy in my mind now but I think he may have shot on it in the early 1960's when he was at Uni. Due to the angle of the bleachers there is a lot of waste internal space in a grandstand and squeezing a 50 or even 100 metre range into one would not be difficult. Could you do it now? Who knows?
Regards Grandpamac.

I've heard of a range like that, also heard there's a police range under a pool complex in auck some where? Not sure how legit that info is

Waiouru has one in concrete culvert pipes. 30-50m long from memory. Being in a culvert pipe means you can have an extractor fan dragging the air towards the target area, removing fumes and lead residue from the shooting area.

In Germany many of the Army barracks have 25m ranges up in the attic of the three story barrack blocks (ex WWII barracks). We would just sign out the .22LR adaptor for our highly useless SA80's and run a range shoot above our bedrooms. Was pretty cool to be honest.