Range Report Designing a range

[canezach]

Hey, all! I have a question I'd like to pose to the group. Let's say you were planning a range and wanted to design the ideal 1000 yard range. You have the land, you have the money, and you have the machinery. You are also planning to stretch that 1k range out to 2k, eventually. You also want to eventually add archery, shotgun, pistols, trap and skeet, maybe some 3-gun stuff. You have VERY high hopes of your range becoming one of the best shooting facilities in your area.

With all that in mind, what are some things you, as long range shooters, would love to see if you were designing your ideal range? Steel targets from 300 to 1000 in 50 or 100 yard increments? Odd distance targets, like 575, 623, 849, etc? Target stands at 100, 200, and 300 yards? Diminishing sizes at different ranges, like a 10"×12" plate, 10" gong, 8" gong, and 6" gong at 600 yards and so on? Different ranges, like range 1 for long range, but 2 and 3 are basically 300 yards with target stands? Covered shooting bays? Concrete shooting positions? How many positions at each range? Give me your thoughts, please!

 

[davsco]

i'd contact NRA and see if they have any range design ideas. i like everything you mentioned above. would be nice if you could lay it out such that all bays can be used all the time (ie, the long range bay doesn't shoot across the tactical bays). also, make it big enough or duplicate bays such that you can have competitions going while non-competitors still have access to similar bays.

 

[Jeffd]

i'd contact NRA and see if they have any range design ideas. i like everything you mentioned above. would be nice if you could lay it out such that all bays can be used all the time (ie, the long range bay doesn't shoot across the tactical bays). also, make it big enough or duplicate bays such that you can have competitions going while non-competitors still have access to similar bays.

The NRA range source book can be purchased and it has all the info.

 

[Fursniper]

The NRA range source book can be purchased and it has all the info.

The NRA Source book only deals with technical details as it relates to safety layout and specifications, ie, height of berms, construction materials, etc. Yeah, it has some ideas but not what the op is really asking about. What is being asked is a "tall order" indeed as everyone is going to have a different idea of what the ideal multipurpose range would be. If the op truly has the resources, vision & desire to build such a facility, in addition to logging & weighing various ideas from different sources, I would suggest he travel to a few of the top facilities in the country to get a first hand look. A lot will depend on the actual terrain and size of a proposed site. Quite a topic really. Living in Arizona and competing throughout much of the southwest United States which contains many of the top match & recreational & competition type ranges in the country as well as being the host of many national type of competitions, I've seen a lot of what does & does not work well. Because of our weather, ranges are open year around and significant competions of all types take place year around.The op would be well served by touring (or better yet, actually competing) at many of these venues as a starting point IMHO. it would be interesting to hear more about the details from the op as to what the plans are here as laying out ideas and thoughts on this could consume an incredible amount of time and energy!

 

[canezach]

Honestly, this is all hypothetical at this point. I was asked a question and began a mental list in my head of what *I* would like to see, which included the things I listed in my original post. I would consider those to be either basic or easy to fulfill, such as loads of steel targets at various ranges. I'm happy shooting in the dirt, but a concrete pad would be nice. A roof makes it even nicer. Concrete firing positions would make it outstanding! Make the firing line a semi-enclosed building to keep shooters out of the elements in inclement weather and I'd practically move in! There's a range nearby that has both indoor and outdoor firing positions and you shoot through windows, which is where I got the idea (I'm doing a poor job of explaining it, so if I can find the picture, I'll edit this post). Someone else suggested something like garage doors or a long retractable wall, which I think is a fantastic idea, but I don't know how feasible that is. The terrain would be high desert, so we have some hilly areas, but nothing that would constitute a high angle shot. At most, we're talking less than 5° of inclination. I would like elevated firing positions and a mover somewhere around 400 to 500 yards. I'm thinking something along the lines of a remote operated belt drive system, but again, I don't know how feasible that is.

At this point, this is more of a wish-list than anything. Personally, give me 1500 yards, a covered shooting position, concrete or other super stable bench, target hangers at 100, 200, and 300 yards, steel targets at varying distances with something like 2 MOA, 1.5 MOA and 1 MOA targets at each yardage (doesn't necessarily mean each position), and I'm happy. I can make my own barricades.i can deal with heat and cold. If I get anything more, it's all gravy. I'm not trying to come up with ideas that would rival K&M or Whittington Center. Just things that I think are easily achievable, for the most part.