1600 Yard range need your input please!!!

huntinco

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Joined
Jun 13, 2007
Messages
98
Location
Henefer Utah
Ok. So I decided to get serious about a shooting range here in Northern Utah. And so it is!!!
I need your input because I have never been to a range just shoot here on my pace.. I never do things half a$$ed as my dad would say sooooo. I poured a 12x90 pad I'm enclosing 45 feet and just putting a roof and benches over the other 45...On the enclosed part there are 6 shooting stalls each 6 feet wide and one and the end 12 feet.. so please help me with the inside layout/input, shooting windows are 5 wide 4 high see pics. I also dug pits ever 100 yards out to 1600.. one small problem is the way the property lays out only the 12' stall can shoot 100 yards, all the rest start at 200
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I got very sick last July and that's what prompted all this... Ya only get one life
I built 1 50x100 barn all enclosed and finished off half of it... Now 2 years after buying this victor lathe. Time to build my first gun..
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Thats pretty darn cool! I agree with the "you only live once" idea. Looks like you're doing it right.
 
That's one hell of a Man Cave!!! Are you looking at having benches that will accommodate a right and left hand shooter, or for rt hand shooter and spotter? You have quite a spread. If you aren't careful, you are going to make lots of new friends :D
 
Just were do you live has to be far out of town and did you have any problems with the local town or county counsel.
I want to be one of your new friends as i'm sure you will have some now
 
The Benches must be as solid as you can make them and I would suggest concrete. Bench Rest shooters seem to hate steel benches. Benches must also not be too big. The muzzle must be able to reach past the end of the bench. The benches I have recently seen were 2'X3' with an 8" wide section taken out for a right hand shooter. If you make them for both right and left handed shooters they will need to be wider. Our benches are also about 36" tall. You will have to decide what type of stools you are going to shoot off of and make adjustments to match the correct height. Adjustable stools are also a must for different shooters.
 
So would u rather concrete then the wood ones. Wonder how i would form up a concrete bench?

Wooden benches are great, if they are built very solid. I wouldn't use a single nail in them, go with plenty of screws. I would also double up the 3/4" plywood top, 1-1/2" thick top is plenty stable. 4x4 vertical posts and frame under the top with 2x4's on edge and your benches will be very stable, and cost alot less than concrete. I'm talking about the benches that are covered of course. If there is a chance of water getting to your benches I would go concrete tops with steel legs all the way. Let me know what you want and I can draw up some plans for you.
 
Some of the best benches I have used have been cement block bases filled with concrete and a wooden top covered with a layer of rubber matting. The base was shaped like a T, top of the T toward the target and the upright part coming down the centerline of the bench. Can easily be made ambidextrous. I am not a BR shooter and actually prefer shooting on the ground myself.
 
Huntingco,

First build up your masonry cmu base (or leg) filled with rebar and grout (but do this when you pour the concrete for the top). Then, create a form (in place) for the bench top out of 2x4 or 2x6 with a plywood bottom. You can use tapcons to fasten the formwork to the cmu. Make sure to have "L" shaped rebar coming out of the base into your wood formed 'pan' (so to speak) and fill the 'pan' with wire mesh (this rebar provides shear strength). Then pour with high strength concrete, possibly 4000 psi. (before you pour, support the pan with temporary wood legs for support). Finish the top how you want, such as a broom or brush finish, but I would do a smooth trowel finish. Allow to cure several days, I'd imagine at least 5-8. Then strip the wood forms away. hope this helps.
 
I agree with Gene's post also. This is another 'alternative'.

Here is another video of a solid bench. You can make the 'legs' however you feel necessary, but this is the general idea. The more solid the better.
I suppose you could make the top out of a precast concrete slab and set it in place with a bobcat or backhoe. These are all variations made to personal preference too.., I don't have actual dimensions but you see where wer'e going. best of luck, looks like great project !!:)

YouTube - 1000 Yard Benchrest shooting

:)
 
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