underground range

[edgerly779]

My son is looking for reasonable way to put an underground range out in Agua Dulce area. I was thinking of conex containers end to end and buried.

[waygeekierthanu]

You can't bury a container, the roof will collapse. You have to build a whole structure around it. Better just to dig and lay down cinder block

I am an FFL I'm Rancho Cucamonga! https://www.2azone.com

[cannon]

Dig a hole to put in a box for the shooter to stand and shoot from.

Dig a trench and place a corrugated steel tube/tubes for bullet path.

Either:

Dig a hole at other end and put in a box for target.

Or

Put a track in the tube to move targets back and forth.

That is what they do around here.

[RickD427]

I'd do a little more research on the engineering and permitting side.

2AZone has a really good point about the top collapsing. Conex boxes are designed to support a large vertical load, but only on their structural members. They're not designed to support a vertical load distributed on the roof.

Second point is the danger of ricochet from the angular corrugated steel. Enclosed ranges are designed so that angular fire will be redirected downrange.

Don't forget ventilation and permitting. You need to breathe while shooting and there are a lot of dangerous substances emitted while shooting.

Permitting can be a pain, but its easier than having to disassemble your range (or pay the county contracted vendors to do it) when the nice code-compliance folks find out about it. A few years ago, the city of L.A. started using satellite imagery to identify folks doing unpermitted building. L.A. County can't be too far behind.

[edgerly779]

My original suggestijon was to get concrete pipe and put track for target carrier like I did at Target Range and put an access at end for clean out. If you turn conex upside down or sideway floor and side is much more rigid. He want a couple point range. Does not take much dirt to muffle noise. put grass on and make it a 1 hole golf course. hard for anyone to spot.

[theLBC]

make sure it is well ventilated.

[edgerly779]

I know all about ranges and ventilation having designed and built the target range in 1981

[freonr22]

hepa filtration (if recirculated)and air charge per hour get pretty expensive

[edgerly779]

Most ranges do not recirculate the air. It is filtered and exhausted outside. I will do the air handlers for him. We put 4 on roof of target range.

[Uncivil Engineer]

Concrete pipe seems to be the way to go.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/general/Has-anyone-put-an-underground-shooting-range-in-the-back-yard----Is-this-even-feasible-/5-1987603/&page=2

[edgerly779]

I WONDER IF YOU CAN BUY CONCRETE PIPE THAT IS OUT OF SPEC FROM PLANT THAT CASTs IT. Corrugated galvanized pipe might work as well

[unusedusername]

I WONDER IF YOU CAN BUY CONCRETE PIPE THAT IS OUT OF SPEC FROM PLANT THAT CASTs IT. Corrugated galvanized pipe might work as well

The problem with out of spec pipe is that it either won't hold it's rated load and be unsafe, or it won't be of the correct dimensions so you won't be able to line it up to the next piece.

Out of spec concrete is basically useless, which is why it is basically free. You get what you are willing to pay for.

Corrugated pipe would have ricochet problems as noted above and would not be a very safe choice.

For OP: if you are serious, consider getting a copy of the Range Source Book. It has the ins and outs of doing a range properly.

[SanDiego619]

Off-topic a bit, but is the reason so that the noise doesn't get the attention of the neighbors? It seems like it would be easier to just make a berm to shoot into, but what do I know.

[Calif Hunter]

My original suggestijon was to get concrete pipe and put track for target carrier like I did at Target Range and put an access at end for clean out. If you turn conex upside down or sideway floor and side is much more rigid. He want a couple point range. Does not take much dirt to muffle noise. put grass on and make it a 1 hole golf course. hard for anyone to spot.

That is what my club has for a range. I think it is 5 foot diameter concrete pipe. We have rails and switches at the top of the pipe with lighted stops at 50 feet, 25 yards, 40 yards, 50 yards and 100 yards. Our technology is old, as is the tube itself, using elevator switches for the stops. We have exhaust fans and every so often a club member who is hazmat certified does a clean up. We have access at the far end of the range for maintenance. We have a large shooting area with a concrete bench but only one person can shoot at a time.

[sigstroker]

Jeez, how much is something like this going to cost?