Range ideas needed!

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11 years 1 month ago #31051 by OleCowboy
Replied by OleCowboy on topic Range ideas needed!

LongBranchMk12 wrote:

OleCowboy wrote: 2 challenges:

Moving targets

Moving targets @ 20 mph

You will need some good width to be able to do that and give yourself enough time to acquire target and shoot. You will need to get your moving mech down below ground level or it will get shot sooner or later.

FIRST thing I would do is to look at the caliber of guns you will use or COULD use. Then get a county map and go to Goggle maps and look what is down range of your location at a 45 degree angle from dead center on both sides. This will be your rang fan. You will need to put in some tall posts, paint them hunter orange so as folks will NOT shoot to the outside of your range fan.

You need to insure that your max range across the range fan will not put lead on someone elses property or worse, kill a cow, horse or enter into any kind of out building.


The range will be set up towards the backend of a 40 acre sand pit that is about 50 feet deep and the pit is surrounded by corn fields that are my father in laws. (This is also his pit) the wall that we would be shooting towards is a rather large area and it is in the corner in the pit. That said would that take care of the range fan?

Also the guns used for the moving target would be at the largest a .308. I'm sure I'll take out the 30.06 occasionally but not very often. Also the way the pit is set up we would be shooting from the ground or for longer shots (up to 400 yards) we would be on a ridge shooting down into the pit. I'll go and get some pictures of the location and post them on here so everyone can put their eyes on it.

Here is a google earth shot of it. The right and top side are banked and about 35 feet tall. The bottom where the woods meets the pit it the ridge that we can shoot from for longer shots.


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That is looking good, certainly meets your requirements and safety considerations. The range fan sole purpose is to provide left and right limits. This really comes into play if there are external considerations such as an out building or a pasture off to the left or right and you just want to make sure than when you are shooting from 400 m that your focus does not drift. Common on ranges for folks to shoot into the other lanes around them due to focus drift. Also a good safety feature if you invite friends and family out and you can just say, see the orange posts, don't shoot outside of them.

You number 1 concern is safety, you have a great setup there, the land around you is family owned so you should not have any issue with lead landing in some guys pasture and killing Bessy his best milk cow. Things like this are not rare and the results are you have to pay for ole Bessy, the only cow in the world that produced 55 gal of milk a day. Seemingly one would think its not a big deal, kill a chicken and give the farmer a $10 spot and say your are sorry. But having been involved in settlements the costs get crazy. Typical chicken would bring about $300, Rooster about $500 and these were numbers back in the 70's.

Have fun, shoot safe and give us more pics as it evolves.

There is also a vertical range fan: This pertains to the firing angle for maximum range. Generally speaking the angle is 45 degrees, that said there are a LOT of factors that affect this. Wind, ground slope are major factors. In example, golfers don't get max range at 45 degrees, this is due to wind resistance. Anyhow I will not go into the linear analysis it takes to compute this as its very complex and I am sure my memory from the Ft Sill Ok school for Artillery soldiers is not what it once was. Max effective rg for the 7.62 NATO is about 800 m, you can double that to get a max range, fall from the sky point of impact. Lots of factors impact that calculation, but plug that into to area of consideration for safety and you are good to go. And no, you do not need to put anything up to limit vertical fires. At most ranges they have a roof over the firing line for both weather protection and to keep someone from shooting over he berm...with the berm you have and the land around you, you are good to go and ENJOY...
The following user(s) said Thank You: LongBranchMk12

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11 years 1 month ago #31052 by LongBranchMk12
Replied by LongBranchMk12 on topic Range ideas needed!

Sharkey wrote: I'm not a pro by any means but I "think" the "longest distance" calculations for rifles are done at 30 degrees.

Also, I know you are doing this on a budget so a lot of these thoughts are great when you have heavy equipment or unlimited funds but I think this range idea was supposed to be centered around CHEAP ideas for a moving target.

Just saying.... :)


I have access to pretty much any kind of heavy equipment... End loader, skid steers, tractors, bulldozer and a backhoe.

As far as the budget I have a little wiggle room so if a good idea will cost a little bit more that will work better I can swing that I think. The one's I found on line were like 20k I'm thinking around 1k and then if needed down the road I can always expand on that.

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11 years 1 month ago - 11 years 1 month ago #31064 by Sharkey
Replied by Sharkey on topic Range ideas needed!
OK. I just had an idea that should be cheap AND give you moving targets - potentially many.

Battery operated trains for kids with a helium balloon set-up or little dowels affixed to the tops of the train cars to hold the balloons up.

Just take a few sheets of plywood and secure the tracks to them in an oval pattern.

Weight the train a little (if needed) and place it behind a low grading (so it can't be shot) - different sheets of plywood with train tracks fixed in place at different distances.

Then just blow up a bunch of different color balloons and attach them to the trains at intervals so they aren't all flowing together, maybe using some of those little flag stands they have for bicycles to keep them separated, and then just drive back, turning them all on as you go. Maybe even at different speeds.

and poof !!!

You get back to your firing line and you could potentially have all the moving targets you wanted depending on how many choo-choos you felt like setting up.

Cheap, almost disposable and as long as you stay stocked on batteries and balloons, you've got yourself a moving target range that'll even change direction quickly so you only have so much time to aim and take the shot.

You could even stagger the heights of each simply by using different length dowels...

On short tracks like that, you wouldn't even have to worry about anyone aiming outside of your boundaries since each target would operate ONLY within the grid you set up AND keep moving until you went out and shut it off or the batteries died.

I know it's sounds kinda crazy but hey, it's what I live for man... :laugh:
Last edit: 11 years 1 month ago by Sharkey.

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11 years 1 month ago #31065 by Sharkey
Replied by Sharkey on topic Range ideas needed!
If you wanted longer runs with the targets, you could also get some 16 or 20 foot planks and just attach them so the train would move along them back and forth across your range at whatever speed you set as long as you match up the tracks well which should actually be VERY simple... :)

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11 years 1 month ago #31066 by Sharkey
Replied by Sharkey on topic Range ideas needed!
If you really wanted to make it more modern, you could even dig a hole for a small generator out there and use electric trains and just run extension cords to everything.

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11 years 1 month ago #31072 by 13fcolt
Replied by 13fcolt on topic Range ideas needed!
The train idea is not bad at all. Once you think about it, it could give the speed and direction. You could even have the track go over hills that move the targets up and down.

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11 years 1 month ago #31077 by LongBranchMk12
Replied by LongBranchMk12 on topic Range ideas needed!
Yeah the train idea would work. I have a generator.

I had some ideas pop in to my head today while reading everyone's posts.

First build a track that is above the ground and goes from the bottom of the bank and curves up the hill in a large oval. Make a track that will run the distance... Above ground fixed to poles think a race track on stilts... And would provide shooting twice up top and at the bottom. For the track I would use garage door tracking ( would work great because it is galvinized) or something similar and relatively cheap. Use industrial overhead door roller pairs welded together with a plate. Targets would be bolted the the plate with a pieace of rubber in between the plate and the target to provide some give when it is going around the corners. Supports I would use wood beams so no chance of bullets deflecting. This whole track would be sitting independent of the drive system.

Drive system - would run along the track with couplers that would clip on to the target carriage. Not quite sure if cables or chain would work better... Chain would stretch less and be easier to maintain tension but be more expensive... Each corner would be a series of pullies or sprockets. Powered by a electric motor or small engine... Haven't quite figured that out yet...

More random thoughts to come....

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11 years 1 month ago #31126 by Libertarian623
Replied by Libertarian623 on topic Range ideas needed!
LB - Here's how the USMC is doing it. www.military.com/daily-news/2013/09/27/m...shooting-skills.html

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11 years 1 month ago #31136 by LongBranchMk12
Replied by LongBranchMk12 on topic Range ideas needed!
Lib - thanks! That set up in the picture looks a lot better than what I was thinking of an overhead track system... Maybe I will have to put up a retaining wall like that on each side and run a track along the bottom... Or even just have a platform underground and then maybe then the rc car thing would work with a balloon. The speed could be controlled by someone else and would add another element to the shot and if the rc car is on a fixed path you wouldn't have to worry about it flipping over or going all over the place... I think we're getting close here!!

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