-
Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.
We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.
Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103
Backyard ranges
- Thread starter Flintlock
- Start date
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
Over the years my wife and I have built a nice backyard range.
In our case we have chosen to keep it very informal. We do have shooters over fairly regular, but we play down any aspect of a 'formal' range status. We always vet any shooters before we invite them, and as such we have had no problems. We turn down any offers of money for use of the range. (In our case we have a modest housing development under construction within a mile and we don't want any 'commercial range' type feeling.) If our shooters insist on trying to help (which we do appreciate) we suggest targets or helping with berm maintenance or something like that. Many times our guests offer the chance to shoot whatever firearms they brought - which definitely works for me!
With new neighbors arriving in our area, I stop by when they are outside and introduce myself. It was all farm country back in the day and so far all new residents could care less about our range.
OP: I don't know how often your group will be using the range - but is it absolutely necessary to have an actual club? Just curious.
As to berms, we built these:
I've yet to find any projectile that has made it through the second rank of railroad ties. We have these out to 400 yards. One of our range rules is that you have to work your way out to that distance.
In our case we have chosen to keep it very informal. We do have shooters over fairly regular, but we play down any aspect of a 'formal' range status. We always vet any shooters before we invite them, and as such we have had no problems. We turn down any offers of money for use of the range. (In our case we have a modest housing development under construction within a mile and we don't want any 'commercial range' type feeling.) If our shooters insist on trying to help (which we do appreciate) we suggest targets or helping with berm maintenance or something like that. Many times our guests offer the chance to shoot whatever firearms they brought - which definitely works for me!
With new neighbors arriving in our area, I stop by when they are outside and introduce myself. It was all farm country back in the day and so far all new residents could care less about our range.
OP: I don't know how often your group will be using the range - but is it absolutely necessary to have an actual club? Just curious.
As to berms, we built these:
I've yet to find any projectile that has made it through the second rank of railroad ties. We have these out to 400 yards. One of our range rules is that you have to work your way out to that distance.
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2021
- Messages
- 1,045
- Reaction score
- 1,118
most, if not all, places make it illegal for bullets to leave your property, so as you have already noted, proper backstops are an absolute necessity... also consider the beaten zone beyond
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2020
- Messages
- 298
- Reaction score
- 351
Do theI use old tires. Then deal with simpletons asking if the bullets bounce off
Bullets
Bounce off
Jim in La Luz
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2009
- Messages
- 3,082
- Reaction score
- 3,044
Hot Wells, a Cypress, Texas firing range; had been in operation for decades. Then a spent bullet hit a construction worker way down range: The worker was not injured.
Results: An injunction and closure of the range.
i learned my lesson after building a very nice firing range on property east of I-35. Some cretin using the range killed a cow on the adjacent property. i took the dozer and destroyed the range. You should have heard the whining. Persons not related to me by blood will not use my firing range.
Bullets don't always follow a straight path. The surface danger area is cone shaped to accommodate ricochets, etc. See Figure 3-2.
untitled (army.mil)
If you don't own the property to the maximum range of the weapon being fired, you must be careful to the extreme. The maximum range of the US Army 9mm ball round is 1,800 meters. See table 4-4, page 35, Distance X.
This is my little range. There are target butts at 50, 75, 125 and 225 yards. The close in berm serves the 50 and 75 yard targets.
Results: An injunction and closure of the range.
i learned my lesson after building a very nice firing range on property east of I-35. Some cretin using the range killed a cow on the adjacent property. i took the dozer and destroyed the range. You should have heard the whining. Persons not related to me by blood will not use my firing range.
Bullets don't always follow a straight path. The surface danger area is cone shaped to accommodate ricochets, etc. See Figure 3-2.
untitled (army.mil)
If you don't own the property to the maximum range of the weapon being fired, you must be careful to the extreme. The maximum range of the US Army 9mm ball round is 1,800 meters. See table 4-4, page 35, Distance X.
This is my little range. There are target butts at 50, 75, 125 and 225 yards. The close in berm serves the 50 and 75 yard targets.
Attachments
Last edited:
I agree with William Lincoln. Ask the experts.
There is a big difference between target shooting on one's own land, and having a "club" shoot on the property.
The clubs of which I know, ALL lease the land from the landowner. This reduces the assets which may be attached in any sort of lawsuit.
Sometimes one of the factors that reduces lawsuits is the lack of having anything of value for the plaintiff to get in a settlement. All of the clubs follow NRA guidelines as to how to organize their clubs EVEN when they are not NRA clubs. One club that I know owns "nothing"... all equipment is rented, and the land is leased. They do have insurance too. And yes, you do need backstops. It's kinda risky even when very close friends come over for an informal shoot. Your buddy Joe Q, gets an injury while shooting on the property. Might not even be a gunshot wound. He..., is a good friend, and He..., wouldn't sue you. He knows he did X, and ooops got injured. So he gets patched up and his healthcare pays for it. The healthcare company, however, can and just might sue you to recoup the money spent on Joe Q. So you might refer the matter to your home owner's insurance, and even though Joe Q stepped in a depression that was a tad slick from mud, and tore knee ligaments..., it could happen anywhere at anytime..., it happened "while shooting" so your insurance might back away. That leaves you "holding the bag", eh?
As for the person who replied to your other website inquiry, about how his neighbor didn't "live" on the adjoining land and/or it was the injured person's fault if they got hurt..., WOW...,
(imho) this is the kind of absurd conduct and language that harms all shooters in the United States. A person who knows, he's shooting onto another's property, has no backstop, the other property isn't marked as an impact area, let alone no mention of "no trespassing signs" ..., might as well have all the papers ready to sign over his land to anybody who claims they were shot next door, or any person simply files suit with a claim they were injured while fleeing the area because of incoming rounds. The latter is just what a shyster might claim. No need for a gunshot wound to get some land. LD
I have hosted a ML rendezvous on my farm for over 20 years. I do not charge anything for people to come for the weekend to camp and shoot. I covered all the cost of setting up and maintaining the range, portapotty, etc.
I also carry a 3 million dollar personal liability policy.
From my research and from talking to my insurance company, I am covered by the $3M policy if something were to go wrong. If I was charging people to come and shoot, even just to cover my cost then I would most likely no longer be covered by my insurance if something happened.
Fleener
I also carry a 3 million dollar personal liability policy.
From my research and from talking to my insurance company, I am covered by the $3M policy if something were to go wrong. If I was charging people to come and shoot, even just to cover my cost then I would most likely no longer be covered by my insurance if something happened.
Fleener
rafterob
62 Cal.
Yes, you must incorporate the club for liability protection. Our insurance runs @ $750 annually, NMLRA or NRA can help you find a company. We are lucky in that we are located in a mountain cove with a natural backstop of a mountain.
I wish these cases were unusual but I have seen more than a few times people sighting in their guns by tacking a target to a tree or sapling on the property line and shoot away.I agree with William Lincoln. Ask the experts.
There is a big difference between target shooting on one's own land, and having a "club" shoot on the property.
The clubs of which I know, ALL lease the land from the landowner. This reduces the assets which may be attached in any sort of lawsuit.
It's kinda risky even when very close friends come over for an informal shoot. Your buddy Joe Q, gets an injury while shooting on the property. Might not even be a gunshot wound. He..., is a good friend, and He..., wouldn't sue you. He knows he did X, and ooops got injured. So he gets patched up and his healthcare pays for it. The healthcare company, however, can and just might sue you to recoup the money spent on Joe Q. So you might refer the matter to your home owner's insurance, and even though Joe Q stepped in a depression that was a tad slick from mud, and tore knee ligaments..., it could happen anywhere at anytime..., it happened "while shooting" so your insurance might back away. That leaves you "holding the bag", eh?
As for the person who replied to your other website inquiry, about how his neighbor didn't "live" on the adjoining land and/or it was the injured person's fault if they got hurt..., WOW...,
LD
Nice range. So far there is no club, we are only tossing the idea around. We have a very small group of rather ageing buckskinners who set up a town rondy for historical demonstrations during a "heretidge Festival" we thought about organizing might draw in a few more people ( most people like to belong to something) and keep this tradition alive. If we did have a small shoot it would most likely be 3-5 per year at the most.
My brother and I have attempted to mentor a family of new deer hunters. Dad is late 50's, two sons in their 30's. As part of that worked with them on range etiquette/safety/etc. They now have bought their own hunting land. My first visit there and the very first thing I see is their "range". A chunk of plywood nailed to some trees with no backstop. Had the "conversation". They are stuck at the "there's plenty of woods behind it" stage. I haven't been there for a year or more so don't know if they've fixed the situation.
Forty-plus years ago Dad and I were in the cow lot behind the dairy barn. Got to listen to the muted yowling of 7mm and .30 cal bullets passing by overhead. Went to the neighbor's place. Owner wasn't there but two of his workers were. Owner had told them to pick a safe place to sight in. Plywood nailed in the trees. Bullets went through over 200 yards of timber and sailed an additional 200-300 yards before they went by us.
When owner found out he:
1.) Dug in some heavy steel plate angled downward into a hillside.
2.) Put the two workers on 90 days of probation at his company.
Forty-plus years ago Dad and I were in the cow lot behind the dairy barn. Got to listen to the muted yowling of 7mm and .30 cal bullets passing by overhead. Went to the neighbor's place. Owner wasn't there but two of his workers were. Owner had told them to pick a safe place to sight in. Plywood nailed in the trees. Bullets went through over 200 yards of timber and sailed an additional 200-300 yards before they went by us.
When owner found out he:
1.) Dug in some heavy steel plate angled downward into a hillside.
2.) Put the two workers on 90 days of probation at his company.
My home range shoots into dense woods not owned by me. Very rugged terrain with a deep 'holler' behind it. Unlikely a discharged round travels very far into those woods. I have tried hiking back there but it is virtually impossible.
In Missouri, you can't sign away your right to sue. The liability waivers are helpful to discourage minor lawsuits but, in the end won't bar a suit from happening. Forming a M/L/ club is an outstanding thing ! Sure wish some folks around here would do so.
NRA has some plastic signs - "Keep Out Firearms in Use" . I have them on my property line and also used them at our gunclub. Posting property is important, but it won't stop everyone and does limit liability somewhat. State law varies. Careful study can head off problems - as well as local ordinances. Even without a "club", sit down with your insurance agent to see exactly what your present policy says.
Even without a formal range, clubs can be a great experience - access to programs, competition, get-togethers, education, and more. One thing I've learned over many years is a regular shooting schedule/calendar is a very important thing. Have Fun !
NRA has some plastic signs - "Keep Out Firearms in Use" . I have them on my property line and also used them at our gunclub. Posting property is important, but it won't stop everyone and does limit liability somewhat. State law varies. Careful study can head off problems - as well as local ordinances. Even without a "club", sit down with your insurance agent to see exactly what your present policy says.
Even without a formal range, clubs can be a great experience - access to programs, competition, get-togethers, education, and more. One thing I've learned over many years is a regular shooting schedule/calendar is a very important thing. Have Fun !
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2005
- Messages
- 7,075
- Reaction score
- 5,367
When I had my basement dug, I had all of the soil and clay made into a berm for my 100 yard range. Ten feet high and thirty feet wide, with steel targets, old manhole covers, and racks for paper targets. It’s worked out well.
Elkhorse
45 Cal.
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2020
- Messages
- 557
- Reaction score
- 484
Zoning laws come into play.
build'em right!
But yet someones children might wonder in there.
Come and see, can't happen. Plus no kids in area, we are in the sticks.
We could send directions how to put up a burm. log pile or junk cars even.
