Realizing there isn't a definitive answer for this, because it's based on load, bullet, angle of deflection, etc., but could someone provide an educated guess on how much of a safety buffer I need for an 800 yard range? It will be a single lane, about 20 yards wide, in the middle of 97 acres. Per the current plan, the nearest homes (both mine) are roughly 300 yards away thru heavily wooded land, perpendicular to the firing lane on the left-hand side. The next nearest structure is a home 800 - 1000 yards from the center of the lane on that side. On the right-hand side of the lane there are no homes or structures of any kind for a couple of miles. At the end of the lane where the CQB course is planned there is a 50' high berm (measured above the highest point in the lane), and no structures past that for at least a mile.
Each target location will have an individual backstop of stacked logs and dirt. But if I use a single galvanized post for mounting steel, or use the rebar stands for swinging plates, I am concerned a deflected shot could still travel well outside the boundaries of the range and thru all the trees with sufficient energy to hurt someone. If I orient the range differently to eliminate the 300 yard buffer on the left (which will then be behind me), I am looking at only a 500 yard lane. But if that's what I need to do, I'll do it that way and suck it up. It would be FAR easier to build it oriented that way anyhow due to existing logging roads.
Is there a standard buffer distance you guys use? Any constructive feedback appreciated.
Each target location will have an individual backstop of stacked logs and dirt. But if I use a single galvanized post for mounting steel, or use the rebar stands for swinging plates, I am concerned a deflected shot could still travel well outside the boundaries of the range and thru all the trees with sufficient energy to hurt someone. If I orient the range differently to eliminate the 300 yard buffer on the left (which will then be behind me), I am looking at only a 500 yard lane. But if that's what I need to do, I'll do it that way and suck it up. It would be FAR easier to build it oriented that way anyhow due to existing logging roads.
Is there a standard buffer distance you guys use? Any constructive feedback appreciated.
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