My buddy recently acquired some acreage here in TX. We hunt birds and deer in the fall/winter, but the rest of the year is pretty much dedicated to pistols (IDPA) and other forms of shooting. There aren't any really great ranges around us that have distances past 200 yards, so now that he has the land we were thinking of setting up a "range" at his place.
There is a strip cut through is property for power lines, which would make the most sense for location of the shooting positions and targets, but it's on a hill that has probably 100ft. or so of elevation change from one end to the other. It's also running right through what appears to be a pretty common travel area for deer, pigs, yotes, etc. and I'm wondering if locating our "range" there would disturb the fall/winter hunting even though we'd only be using the range to practice during spring/summer. There's also a LARGE field that is pretty much flat that could be used as well. Both locations could provide 1,000 yard shooting options.
My other questions are around setup, once we've picked a spot. We are both already pretty confident shooting off hand with our deer rifles out to 300 yards or so. For longer ranges we will be using longer rifles (I have a custom 300WM and he's got a 7mm Sendero) and either benches or tripods. Does it make sense to setup multiple shooting positions on the range or multiple target locations? I'm thinking portable shooting bench at previously marked shooting locations is probably best- with the target location remaining the same. I could build a modular bench out of lumber and when we're ready to move locations just load it onto the truck...more of a pain than permanent benches, but also gives the ability to remove our setup for when we're not using it.
Finally- targets. We're thinking of steel mainly. Any things to consider or watch out for? We're also thinking paper (similar to the orange peel targets) that will let us see our hits clearly at longer distances.
Your thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated!
-JPFROG
There is a strip cut through is property for power lines, which would make the most sense for location of the shooting positions and targets, but it's on a hill that has probably 100ft. or so of elevation change from one end to the other. It's also running right through what appears to be a pretty common travel area for deer, pigs, yotes, etc. and I'm wondering if locating our "range" there would disturb the fall/winter hunting even though we'd only be using the range to practice during spring/summer. There's also a LARGE field that is pretty much flat that could be used as well. Both locations could provide 1,000 yard shooting options.
My other questions are around setup, once we've picked a spot. We are both already pretty confident shooting off hand with our deer rifles out to 300 yards or so. For longer ranges we will be using longer rifles (I have a custom 300WM and he's got a 7mm Sendero) and either benches or tripods. Does it make sense to setup multiple shooting positions on the range or multiple target locations? I'm thinking portable shooting bench at previously marked shooting locations is probably best- with the target location remaining the same. I could build a modular bench out of lumber and when we're ready to move locations just load it onto the truck...more of a pain than permanent benches, but also gives the ability to remove our setup for when we're not using it.
Finally- targets. We're thinking of steel mainly. Any things to consider or watch out for? We're also thinking paper (similar to the orange peel targets) that will let us see our hits clearly at longer distances.
Your thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated!
-JPFROG
