Shooting Range Backstop

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Just a Backstop design I threw together in CAD today, My dad and I were originally going to use stacks of tires, but we had a bunch of square tubing and railroad baseplates lying around our camp property so we figured we'd use it for something instead of scrapping it out. any thoughts comments or plain ol' you should do this or that's would be appreciated  Gonna be a ton of welding in this project haha.. Attached Images
Reply:Im not sure Im looking at this right, but Id want to have the back stop angle down so the round went towards the ground. I have one here for 22 cal that deflects the round down word towards the ground. If your using a 30.06 or 300 mag Id be scared to shoot into a steel back stop. Im in the prosses of teaching my kids how to use a gun, and I have them shooting into a hill side. I feel its safer.Learning one rod at a time
Reply:At the range I shoot at all the ballistic steel has the top angled slightly towards the shooter to deflect all rounds down to the ground, also you should not use tires, when you shoot them, the round can exit the tire and be redirected( change direction ) instead of being absorbed. We have had this happen so our range did some tests and verified it, we did find that if you fill the tires with sand it will greatly reduce and almost stop the round from exiting the tires.Miller 252 Mig w/Spool GunMiller Dynasty 350 TigMiller 225 AC-DC StickMiller Spectrum 875 PlasmaOxy/Acet.
Reply:Ok, so when you say "baseplates" do you mean railroad ties?  Or?I don't like this idea one bit.  There's a reason you don't see these at shooting ranges.You didn't build that.'85 Miller AEAD-200LE
Reply:This is what they call a snail trap I can get better pics for you if you would like me to
Reply:Just google 'snail trap shooting' images.  I think the mouth angle is 25 or so degrees.  Plenty of info on shooting forums.Tom
Reply:alright i'll try and see if i can find a way to angle the front down somehow. and the original idea was tires filled with sand. we have about 500 piled up at the moment haha... but the snail trap idea looks much better thanks for the pics Last edited by Javath15; 08-16-2012 at 04:18 PM.
Reply:Made a few adjustments to the design so that the plate is angling down, look any better? Attached Images
Reply:Those sand-filled tires aren't a half bad idea.  Cheap, quick(ish) to assemble, and you can easily stick targets to it with a staple gun.Snail type traps are nice though.  They can be pretty easily built, and can be periodically emptied out for the scrap lead, which can fetch a decent price from people who cast and swage their own bullets.That angled-down thing is just asking for trouble.  At least a 90 degree angle will tend to vaporize the rounds (or they'll just pass through without stopping), but a 45 degree angle like that is little more than a giant ricochet plate.  Angles have to be very shallow to redirect bullets instead of causing them to ricochet.  Look at the traps at a shooting range.  They tend to be around 20-25 degrees off the direction of bullet travel.  The whole point of a backstop and/or trap is to capture the bullets in a manner that prevents them from flying back at you.  This is done by dissipating the bullet's energy via friction against the sidewalls and swirl chamber of a trap, or against a fill material (sand, shredded rubber, etc).  Simply deflecting them isn't reliable or safe.Last edited by anickode; 08-16-2012 at 04:35 PM.You didn't build that.'85 Miller AEAD-200LE
Reply:I was kinda thinking of putting tome sand filled tires inside the modified design I just posted, for some extra stopping power and to kinda keep everything in place. yay or nay? but the scrap lead sounds like a pretty good bonus, we have a guy right down the street that casts. ex navy seal never seen him once without his 45 on him haha.
Reply:And if it's any condolence the trap is gonna be around 200 yards away from the shooting stands.
Reply:ugh well i guess it's back to the drawing board haha. thanks for the help guys.
Reply:Originally Posted by Javath15I was kinda thinking of putting tome sand filled tires inside the modified design I just posted, for some extra stopping power and to kinda keep everything in place. yay or nay? but the scrap lead sounds like a pretty good bonus, we have a guy right down the street that casts. ex navy seal never seen him once without his 45 on him haha.
Reply:I think he said this backstop was for deer campYou didn't build that.'85 Miller AEAD-200LE
Reply:*If this is for your personal use . . .1. Weld up some steel targets at 90 degrees square, step back 15 to 25 yards and get a taste of that frag hitting your face.  Hurts doesn't it?2. Weld up some steel targets out of hardened steel $$$, angled 10 degrees face down, swinging from chains or a crossbar, and realize that now the frag is depositted at the foot of the target instead of in your face.  Pretty cool huh?3. Wait for a percentage of the rounds you shoot at steel frames and targets to hit your neighbors windows, cars, and kids.  The best of luck.  You'll need a lawyer.4. Build an earthen berm like the rest of us, and know that you're being as safe as possible.*If this if for a "camp" involving the public and especially kids . . . 1. Please don't pursue this project with steel.  2. Range backstops are made earth berms to protect folks.*You can't use perpendicular angles of steel and odd angles of steel in the design, and expect to KNOW where the rounds are going.  Earthen berms serve their purpose well.*I don't mean to diminish your creativity.  I've just learned some hard lessons in regards to making steel targets for competitive shooters.-MikeThurston WeldingHuntington, IN
Reply:Dig out for your berm and backstop.  Use the steel for something else, like bench rests on the firing line.Lincoln AC225 and CartLincoln WeldPak HD and CartOne hand
Reply:Its a great idea and all but i would not shoot at it with a 300 win mag or 30.06 just sounds to un safe. When we had to replace are very old rusty tank in the ground we used  the dirt and made a big bank for a shooting stop and we used a few pallets to hang targets on . Also here are a few ideas for the steel. ATV wagon to haul deer and wood , flood plat machines or just save it for a rainy day. Or trading it for something that you needMillermatic 211 with mvp plugs miller titanium series welding helmetstihl chain saws 8 ft welding table