Range Report: building a backyard pellet range

[Sir Henry]

I need to face reality of not being able to find time to go to the range and shoot firearms so I'm going to finally put in my backyard air gun range. I have everything I need except a bag of cement. I'm going hiking tomorrow but on Friday I hope to pick up the bag of cement so I should have a shooting range done by Monday.

I'll take pictures as I go. It is 25 yards to the two orange stakes from the back of the covered shooting bench. I will move the bench closer for shorter distances instead of moving the target. This picture is a slight telephoto view.

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[RanchRoper]

Great idea, and your membership fees should be quite affordable

[ditto1958]

Looks nice!

[North Country Gal]

Now you're talking. One of the big plusses for me with our air gun shooting is also the time thing. By shooting at home, even with a half hour or less to spare, I can have a decent range session with the air guns.

We're in the process of relocating our backyard range. It's down lower in a swampy area, behind the house, right now and the mosquitoes are impossible to deal with when things are wet. It's also exposed to a direct north wind off the lake, which we get a lot. Will be moving it up to a higher and drier place the other side of the house, this summer. Will also be out of the wind, too. That's a big plus for AG shooting.

[RetiredSeabee]

I am looking forward to seeing this project.

[Sir Henry]

Don't forget to take pictures as you go Joanie.

[North Country Gal]

Will do. We're squeezing in our range relocation project in with some of my mountain bike trail rehab and improvement to get through some wet and muddy spots. Been a very busy summer, so far.

This is why we are relocating the range. Our climate seems to be getting wetter. Well over ten inches of rain for this month, alone. More and more, I have to pull on rubber boots just to post targets. I could live with that, but this is one heck of a mosquito factory, this time of year. Takes a lot of fun out of the shooting. Our house is located on higher, dry ground, so it will be a big improvement.

[Sir Henry]

Will do. We're squeezing in our range relocation project in with some of my mountain bike trail rehab and improvement to get through some wet and muddy spots. Been a very busy summer, so far.

This is why we are relocating the range. Our climate seems to be getting wetter. Well over ten inches of rain for this month, alone. More and more, I have to pull on rubber boots just to post targets. I could live with that, but this is one heck of a mosquito factory, this time of year. Takes a lot of fun out of the shooting. Our house is located on higher, dry ground, so it will be a big improvement.

My sister in MN claims the mosquito is the state bird.

[North Country Gal]

Black flies and deer flies are fun, too. No one in their right mid goes outdoors, up here, without bug spray.

[Sir Henry]

Washington State is fortunate in that we don't have a lot of mosquitos. I've only been in a few areas where it's bad.

I emptied the truck today but didn't get around to picking up the cement. I hate going to Home Depot on Saturdays but to keep on schedule I'll need to brave the crowds.

[Sir Henry]

I made a quick run and picked up six bags of cement so I was able to get a lot done. I was intending to build the fence in a different location but there is less brush and the neighbors yard is closer so this spot needed it more. I still have lots of boards left and will still do the original spot later.

The new location. You can see the neighbors house through the brush.

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I had plans of taking lots of pictures but once I got started I couldn't stop so this is the only in progress picture. It was hard digging a post hole so I only went down a foot yet the fence is over six feet high. The next strong wind would blow it over so I added a lot more concrete to the base above ground. I used all six 60 pound bags so in total there is 360 pounds holding it up.

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Each board only has one or two screws holding it up. Today I need to put lots more in but I couldn't wait to see how it was going to look.

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[BigAl52]

I like the those Seahawk supporting golphers in there Gene. But I dont see any bunnies for practice targets. Looks like it should do the trick. Shooting pellet guns was always alot of fun when I was a kid we use to set up those little plastic army men around some lincoln log built houses and shoot those in my buddies basement with pellet and BB guns. We had a great time and his Dad was always telling us he was finding BBs in the basement years later. Al

[Sir Henry]

I built this for my BB gun but just tried it with .177 and was surprised about not getting ricochets. Seems most of the metal is loose enough that when they do bounce back they only come back a foot or two. In the softer metal like the tin can and teapot they went all the way through.

[Sir Henry]

I'm halfway done with the second backstop. The first picture was taken last night when the stop was in shade and the second this morning in bright sunshine. I need to trim more branches so I don't have shadows. And I need to buy two more bullet traps. That way I can have three targets. But I also need to finish the base and make it look more pleasing to look at.

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You can see how close it is to the neighbors house. Their backyard is directly behind the stop.

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[North Country Gal]

Looking good, Gene. We're in the process of designing a single backstop for all distances and just using benches scattered around the yard to get different distances.

[daytime dave]

That came out nice. You must have good neighbors because they are close. It should be very enjoyable.

[Sir Henry]

That came out nice. You must have good neighbors because they are close. It should be very enjoyable.

They are the best neighbors in the world and we have been neighbors for 28 years. I've seen their two sons grow from being one and three years old to one of them having a two year old.