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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
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by blip
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.
A very good point @Eat Meater,Quote:
Originally Posted by 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,
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 backQuote:
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.
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..
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 isQuote:
Originally Posted by grandpamac
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.
Find a cave maybe
There was a rifle club in Birkenhead next to the pool, but the following from a council talkfest regarding future developmentQuote:
Originally Posted by blip
36. Some park user groups will not find their specific needs met within the masterplan. The affected groups are:
· Birkenhead Rifle Club: this group has not been present on the park for three years, and the new multi-use sport facility is unlikely to contain enough space to provide dedicated indoor shooting areas.
No surprises there, I suppose
There was a rifle club in Birkenhead next to the pool, but the following from a council talkfest regarding future developmentQuote:
Originally Posted by blip
36. Some park user groups will not find their specific needs met within the masterplan. The affected groups are:
· Birkenhead Rifle Club: this group has not been present on the park for three years, and the new multi-use sport facility is unlikely to contain enough space to provide dedicated indoor shooting areas.
No surprises there, I suppose
looks like a case of use it or loose it
I used to shoot there 30 plus years ago, it was a great little facility. I used to clean out the bullet catchers for lead to feed my BP addiction.
Greetings @blip,
First my apologies for having hijacked your thread. I do like the idea of the range you mentioned in your OP and I think that something close to it exists in Christchurch and possibly other areas. The NZDA range a Tokoroa and to an extent Taupo comes fairly close to it as well. The idea of having all the elements of range, handloading and a workshop handy to each other and I had much of that at Taupo, where I am a member a couple of weeks ago. I also have a casual sighting in range at home which I use sparingly and not for load development. I guess the point I am making is that what may be a dream for individuals can be a reality for a group or club. All things are possible.
Regards Grandpamac.
Hey no worries @grandpamac, its always interesting to hear other peoples experiences and ideas. There's plenty of stories from the past that unless they are shared they get lost forever...plus it makes for interesting discussion.
The Tokoroa Shooting Sports Centre is not an NZDA range. South Waikato NZDA use it but so do many other shooting clubs.Quote:
Originally Posted by grandpamac
It is a great facility though. Takes away the whole is it properly zeroed at 200 question.
Shop here has a 50m one which I have seen but not used.
Thanks for that @Steve123,Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve123
I have been on the range for a NZDA shoot but was not aware of it's governance. Regardless it is a great facility and nothing in HB remotely compares. Your point about 200 metre zero is well made. Rifle ranges between 100 metres and 275 metres (300 yards) are scarce and none better than the one at the Tokoroa shooting complex.
Regards Grandpamac.
Bury a large diameter pipe, with a bunkerQuote:
Originally Posted by blip
People look at you funny when you do that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Maca49
Unless your an American software billionaire in the SI high country
Have a look at the american company creating container ranges that are certified up to 50cal. They use a snail trap to catch the projectile to do away with a toxic sand trap. It's a pretty neat idea and would be a good idea in an enclosed area like an underground range.
I couldnt find the container ranges but these guys do a snail trap and have some good info
https://www.savagerangesystems.com/content?p=ranges
I was just going to mention burying a few containers joined together..
Yeah, but concrete culvert pipes go for $125-300/metre (450-1200mm dia)plus delivery, whereas 40 foot containers go for $400/metre plus deliveryQuote:
Originally Posted by blip
Underground shooting requires active ventilation unless you ultimately wanna speak with an Aussie accent..
The Nelson NZDA range is a 200yd range with 25 covered benches and a concrete block room back from the firing line that is often used for reloading.Quote:
Originally Posted by grandpamac
This range was used for the 2001 and 2017 World Benchrest Champs, and I think the Nelson range is as good if not better than the Tok range.
Hutt Valley NZDA range also has a covered firing line with 8 benches and a shed that can be used for reloading, this range used to be used for the NZDA North Island Benchrest Champs until the shoot was moved to the Tok range, which also has 8 benches.
If doing a tunnel range you want 1200mm dia pipes and a muzzle expansion chamber at the front and active ventilation, even then there is certain criteria to get repeatable results.Quote:
Originally Posted by XR500
And more than 1m of dirt covering it
Yeah @7mmsaum has a thread on here somewhere from moons ago about the Houston wharehouse, it was chucked about on the forum for a while to do something, at the same time we were draining some wet winter paddocks and just so happens I ended up with a deep drench just over 300m long, covered in one end so we could shoot in the rain, only got used zeroing really so eventually got filled in, as the gong set up was hard to beat.Quote:
Originally Posted by blip
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The pipe only needs to be for the first 1 or 2 swctions then open out into a trench with a backstop behind
Fence off side access to the trench
Needs a fan blowing air downrange - it is called "plug flow" in terms of fluid dynamics
I worked on the Police Range at the Training College in Aotea and they had series of fans moving the air (and propellant gasses) downrange with extractors at the other end sucking it out
Range was designed for frangible rounds
Talking about all weather shooting ranges, this is where the Olympic shooting disciplines will be hosted.
It also hosted the recent World Benchrest Champs.
100ha and numerous shooting ranges
https://cnts.fftir.org/
at first glance it looks like it says something else :D what a cool looking set up
There’s a video on YouTube of an in door shooting complex in Germany complete with skeet ranges, running boar, pistol and other ranges aswell as an on site gun shop and restaurant.
The Tokoroa shooting complex is a fantastic setup which you can visit any day if the week but weekends were generally booked with some event happening.
Some other ranges I shot on in Austria would have shooting benches we shot from and every 20 or so metres there were large wooden beams 7-8 mtrs high going across the ranges which acted like baffles for sound and safety in case a round was discharged in an upward manner.
At the benches there were TV monitors which captured bullet strikes on target which saved a bit of leg work.
It is a real cool setup, the number and type of ranges available is fantastic.Quote:
Originally Posted by blip
On the 600m range you shoot from the upper firing line and on the same range you shoot from the lower firing line to shoot out to 300m. There is about 3m in elevation between the two firing lines.
There are target cams setup to see your shots on target.
There are full time employees and coaches present during the week, an armory for firearm storage, restaurant, and all the facilities you would need to host and run International events.
A lot of USA ranges have those same baffles.Quote:
Originally Posted by Seventenths
There is also the Swiss range that shoots over abusy road. All safe due to baffles.