How much acreage would I need for a range

[mikehtiger]

I've been looking into buying some land for about a 50 yard range in Calaveras County. I was thinking of building a little cabin and using it as a recreational personal campground type of area. Hoping to get above the snow line. Any idea how much land I'd be looking at?

[Barbarosa]

An acre is 208'X208', so less than an acre if it is ideally situated. Neighbors, terrain, roads all play a role. A nice, safe location for the range would be critical.

[edgerly779]

Minimum 150 yards from any inhabited structure not under your control.

[FormerBiker]

A hill or some sort of berm would help. I recall the 22 ammo we bought when I was a kid. It had a label that said "DANGER: Range 1 mile."

[mikehtiger]

This is a bit of a long term goal... My plan is to borrow or rent a back hoe and do a U shaped berm so you could do 180 degrees worth of pistol shooting then around the berm I'd build a few other berms for my OHV track. Maybe plop a mobile home style cabin on there with a generator or solar. Also wouldn't want to upset the neighbors with the occasional sound of gunfire.

[Rockit]

Lots of people have personal handgun ranges on lots as small as 5 acres in out in the Delta. Push up a large berm and you're gtg.

[L84CABO]

It is more about "quality" than "quantity." Much depends on how the property is laid out and what lies beyond it. Pay attention to the layout, your neighbors, surrounding civilization, etc., and particularly the status of the land around you. What else is for sale or what could be for sale down the road? It would be a bummer for someone to buy an adjacent lot and build a house directly behind your targets...even if you do have a good berm.

[dwalker]

on my buddys farm he has a 100 and 50 yard range dug out, lined with chunks of concrete from building demolition, which is covered in dirt. Except for about 3' of "berm" it is all below the ground level of the fields around it, is not really noticable even if you drive by it, and he neighbors do not complain about the noise. He did get lucky in that there is natural drainage, but I think he had a solution for that. it is an awesome range to shoot at.

[californiagal]

Let us know when it's open, I'm sure there are a few of us who will help support

[trigger945]

Would also want one during my semi-retirement days. But I don't think I can pull it off anywhere in Cali. Probably in a different state...

[mshill]

My father had (recently sold) 16 acres that was situated perfectly that he cut into a hill creating a 8 ft high 8 ft wide backstop and we could shoot up to 75 yds. I shot there for three years before it was sold.

[audiophil2]

I'm building a 10 acre range. It is 110x440 yds. The first 90 yards has a 60x90 flat hilltop and the the other 50 yards is about 25 feet below the hilltop. That 50 yard wie section is going to have a 20 yd driveway cleared out that opens to a 10 vehicle parking /staging area. The a 150 yard run and gun course will be set up that ends near the midpoint of the lot. The course is surrounded by 20-25 foot natural berms and maxed out to 100 yrds wide in some spots. The far end of the pot has a larger flat hill. That will be set up with gongs out to 400+ yards that can be shot at from the forward hill when the run and gun course is not used. The back end bumps against a large BLM hill that can extend the gongs out to 1000+ yards. A driveway will be graded to access the back end of the property via a shared easement.

Since the land was picked specifically for shooting the only work that needs to be done is clearing out some vegetation and pruning a few trees. The trees wil be natural stops onthe course and there is a small wash that runs perpendicular 2/3 into the lot that is about 2 feet deep and 4 feet across. At that spot we will be building a block wall at itlooks forward to a 30 foot high hill in the middle of the property. The hill will have a pill box made with gongs inside as a MG nest. Once the nest is taken out a short run along the left side of the hill will engage "fleeing" enemies.

There is still about 150 yards of unplanned course but I think 150 yards of course is plenty for a bunch of hobbyists.

Once it is complete I may open it to clients for machine gun rental days and mid distance shooting. It is about 1.5 hours from Phoenix but can be shorter since is is west of Phoenix. Hotels are about 45 minutes away. There may be MLB players there as they are customers and come to me during spring training.

Our first run and gun is planned for this Saturday but with such short notice it will probably be really sloppy. I'm spending the entire day running a bobcat to prep it. A lot of the guys don;t even have the vehicles to make it to the land so until I grade the worst parts of the road or map out the best ways to get there it will be 4wd only. Hopefuly there will be plenty of go pro and overwatch video of the event but I like ot stay off camera because i am way out of shape.

There are more features planned for the range. it will be built up over the next few years and I'm keeping the fun stuff secret for now.

There is also a dedicated .22 range on another 5 acre lot I use for scouts and new shooters with suppressors. The terrain is a lot more flat and has 14 stations as well as a 50, 100, and 225 yard gong setup.

[langss]

It is more about "quality" than "quantity." Much depends on how the property is laid out and what lies beyond it. Pay attention to the layout, your neighbors, surrounding civilization, etc., and particularly the status of the land around you. What else is for sale or what could be for sale down the road? It would be a bummer for someone to buy an adjacent lot and build a house directly behind your targets...even if you do have a good berm.

This is exactly what happened to us. My Father bought 5 acres of land out in what is now Agua Dulce. This was back in the late 50's. By about 1965 shooting my .22 out there was over. The land was all being bought up and people were building houses......

[WMG]

don't under build.
What happens if you want to shoot 100-200yds later?
After all , it's fun and you may want more.
Like someone said , quality over quantity and lay out makes a big difference.

[beardog308]

I had three ranges in my backyard in CA. The backstop was a 600' hill. I had a 100 yard plinking range. It was actually just a 8" gong, shooting off the back porch. Above the gong and 800 yards farther out was the long distance range. I couldn't go farther. Around the corner was a pistol range. Oddly, the cut off for shooting/no shooting was my driveway. No go to the west. Fun to the east.