Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Underground Shooting Ranges....Who's built them or seen them?

I'm looking to secure a new piece of property that I'm going to setup an underground shooting range of 100 yards.

I'm figuring on about a 7-8ft. ceiling and about 8 feet wide.

I'm looking for ideas on backstops, walls and ceiling.

My original plan was to excavate it, then line it with block and cap the ceiling with concrete slabs like a septic tank, but I haven't heard any better ideas that would reduce the cost and still allow me to drive over it.

I was leaning towards old tires for the backstop, especially since I'm in the heart of Les Schwab Country and they is easy to get a hold of.

Know a guy in UT that buried Railroad cars end to end to make his range. Not sure how cost effective it is though.

Thought about that too, or perhaps a big damn culvert, but they don't give those away.

It's gonna be pricey!
Maybe there's some good info here

I imagine most avenue's are pricey. How about sea containers? Heck, I've seen people building houses with those now. Not my style but inventive nonetheless.

Barnes bullets used large culverts at both their old and new factory sites. They were/are 200-yard tunnels, IIRC. Lighting at the 100 and 200 targets, and an overhead cable trolley to set the target frames.

If money isn't a question and you have a concrete sewer pipe manufacturer near by, that might be an option. 10' diameter and 10' long sections run about $3,000 per section I think. Not sure what an excavator rental would cost, but I think you could get a crane for about $5,000 a month. With a good crew and no hassle from government you could probably set 35 sections in 2 weeks for about $120,000 to $150,000


It's alway's easy to suggest how to spend others money!



Phil

Matt,

I've shot numberless times on the Leupold Range. The range is in the basement and is pretty much what you are thinking of building.

The main things are bullet trap, good lighting and adequate exhaust fans.

You might want to give Leupold a call ... ask for Garth Kendig. Last time I heard, Garth was the Rangemaster at the Leupold Range and he would be full of helpful hints.

Steve

Not sure what the cost might be, but when I was stationed at FT Hood the rod & gun club had an underground range. It consisted of 100 yards of 3 ft concrete pipe. At the end there was a roll of paper that you advanced with a control switch when you had punched holes in it. it had a bull-eyes size light shining in the middle of the paper. It wasn't bad though the back blast from the tunnel had some force to it lol. tom

Seen pictures of the underground ones and they were pipes/culverts and only open on one end to shoot from with a trolley system to pull the target down to the other end instead of making it big enough to walk down.

There is a 100m range not too far from us that is in a disused rail way tunnel. I've not shot in it but its supposed to be pretty good...

How about some of that plastic sewer pipe? Don't know what diameter it is, but I'd bet you could make a decent rifle range with it.

Dan

Look over at Accurate Reloading. The owner has an underground range pictured in the reloading section. I'm sure he would be willing to answer any questions on the forum.


http://www.accuratereloading.com/

There was a fella here on the "fire" that was building one a couple of years ago - had pics and everything. Don't remember who it was but he was using big culvert sections I believe. I think culvert would be best as you would be able to drive nearly anything over it...

Ours here is a "bunker" type range. Not sure if that is what you ment. 8' high walls down the walking path. The targets are set on a "wind mill" of sorts, and raised above the bunker walls. That way you can check your target while others still shoot.

Don S??? a Contender shooter uses an indoor underground range in Boulder Colorado, he may help. As I remember it may well be made of LARGE concrete culvert and half buried and covered

Saeed may be able to help you with his personal range as pictured above. He has always been very cordial and helpful to everyone I have seen ask him questions gun, shooting, photography, or hunting related.

I know of one in WA that is 100 yards of culvert with framed treated-wood cubes every so often to act as sound baffles and reduce echoes and such. Target runs on two pipes on the bottom.

Very cool set-up and should be much cheaper than the cement.

This topic reminds me of an acquaintance years ago who lived at what was then the edge of town.

He wanted a 50 yard range so he acquired a large number of 45 gal drums. According to him his wife wasn't too supportive of his plan. So, one Saturday she left on a shopping trip. By prior arrangement he had a backhoe operator on standby, who he called in. While a trench was being dug someone else was welding the drums end to end. Someone else was using a jack hammer to cut through the concrete wall in the basement to access the trench being dug outdoors. (I don't know how long he slept alone because of all the concrete dust he had throughout the house.)

To gain access to the target area there was an entry point at the end of the garden. None of this fancy stuff of being able to reel in targets in the house.

To shoot you had to lay down on a mattress and open a port hole in the plywood cover over the hole in the wall. Then he had to yell to his wife upstairs "fire in the hole".

As mentioned by someone before the back blast was significant. It used to rattle the plywood cover. Don't know what ever happened to the range. He eventually sold the house and moved elsewhere. As far as I know he is still around somewhere and must be around 90 now.

Ah, the memories of our youth.

Jim

Bass Pro in Grapevine, TX has a 100yd indoor/underground range in the basement. Pretty cool set up when the equipment isn't all shot up.

I believe Charlie Sisk has one - made from intermodal/sea containers. Were I looking to do so - I would contact Charlie - nice guy and would answer the questions.