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Herbicide for Rifle Range

If you never want anything to grow you could salt the ground.
Honestly I would be VERY hesitant to use commercial pesticides as that shit is really bad for you.
Just buy a mower and mow it every now and then. Or get a cheap dozer and skim it every spring to take the grass off.
The main active ingredient of Roundup is the isopropylamine salt of glyphosate. It is salt. Most herbicides are.
 
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You need (as others have said) roundup/glyphosate in combination with a pre-emergent residual herbicide. If you have trees, then anything with triclopyr (something from Corteva) will do the trick along with glyphosate. If you are in MO, let me know and I may be able to donate some material because it’s expensive.
 
Three months, ago, my Dad was exposed to RoundUp, for several hours. He suffered third degree burns on his right hand and thigh. I mean, exposed tendons and muscle damage, third degree burns. We think he may have suffered some permanent neurological damage from the exposure, but have no definitive proof. Y'all be very careful using RoundUp.
I’m very sorry for your fathers injuries, but what was the outcome of the investigation into the injuries? Surly there was one right since you are saying roundup exposure caused this?
 
if you want you can mix roundup with diesel fuel and it makes it stick to the plants better. I knew an old rancher who did this. Be really wary with the stuff though. It is nasty. The old rancher had a 20 year (successful) battle with lymphoma from pesticide exposure.
 
Three months, ago, my Dad was exposed to RoundUp, for several hours. He suffered third degree burns on his right hand and thigh. I mean, exposed tendons and muscle damage, third degree burns. We think he may have suffered some permanent neurological damage from the exposure, but have no definitive proof. Y'all be very careful using RoundUp.
Burns on the picture look crazy , can't imagine Roundup alone being that aggressive on the skin.

Exposed for several hours in what way? Having concentrated Roundup on bare skin? Can't imagine the mix that is being sprayed to be able to cause burns that severe anytime soon.

By the way in US do you need to have any sort of licence to buy and use these things? Here over the pond we need way more training and licencing for Herbicides&pesticide use than for guns. I renew my licence and have to attend a class every 5y . Without that you can only buy 'eco friendly stuff' ,bureaucracy rules ,but on the other hand some of the stuff is proper WMDs
 
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Burns on the picture look crazy , can't imagine Roundup alone being that aggressive on the skin.

Exposed for several hours in what way? Having concentrated Roundup on bare skin? Can't imagine the mix that is being sprayed to be able to cause burns that severe anytime soon.

By the way in US do you need to have any sort of licence to buy and use these things? Here over the pond we need way more training and licencing for Herbicides&pesticide use than for guns. I renew my licence and have to attend a class every 5y . Without that you can only buy 'eco friendly stuff' ,bureaucracy rules ,but on the other hand some of the stuff is proper WMDs
Over here we can buy a lot of herbicides without a license. There are commercial/industrial chemicals that require a license, but stuff like roundup and general broadleaf killers can be bought by anyone.
 
if you want you can mix roundup with diesel fuel and it makes it stick to the plants better. I knew an old rancher who did this. Be really wary with the stuff though. It is nasty. The old rancher had a 20 year (successful) battle with lymphoma from pesticide exposure.
So how much did he use that stuff? I hear the warnings on the glyphosate causing problems, but I always wonder like how much does it take? Spraying it every day? Or is ocassiinal use enough?
 
if you want you can mix roundup with diesel fuel and it makes it stick to the plants better. I knew an old rancher who did this. Be really wary with the stuff though. It is nasty. The old rancher had a 20 year (successful) battle with lymphoma from pesticide exposure.
Actually what the diesel does, beside helping the chemical stick better, is dissolve any waxy coating the plant may have so the chemical can be absorbed more efficiently.
Concentrated Dawn dish detergent will do the same thing for less $$ and it'll smell better. I cant stand the smell of diesel or hydraulic oil myself.
 
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When i use round up, I mix 3 ounces per gallon.
This may be your biggest problem.
Knowing what type of vegetation you're trying to control is important when choosing the right herbicide and the mix/application rate.
3oz of 41% or 48% glyphosate per gallon is about right for controlling the common annual/perennial grass/weeds in crops but it wont be very effective on woody vines and brush.
For those you need to be using a mix rate of 12oz/gallon with an application rate of 15 gallons water per acre.
Even at that rate it will likely be necessary to respray at least once per season to deal with any post emergent vegetation.
 
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Actually what the diesel does, beside helping the chemical stick better, is dissolve any waxy coating the plant may have so the chemical can be absorbed more efficiently.
Concentrated Dawn dish detergent will do the same thing for less $$ and it'll smell better. I cant stand the smell of diesel or hydraulic oil myself.
You have wetting agents for that that you buy at the same place that sells you Roundup ,that are not as toxic to enviroment as diesel and probably work way better .

Come on folks repetitively using Round Up just because no one bothers to mow , is bad enough but do you seriously want to reenact an oil spil as well .
 
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You have wetting agents for that that you buy at the same place that sells you Roundup ,that are not as toxic to enviroment as diesel and probably work way better .

Come on folks repetitively using Round Up just because no one bothers to mow , is bad enough but do you seriously want to reenact an oil spil as well .
Yeah, I know, was was just explaining what the diesel does for them that dont know.
Also some herbicides contain a surfactant already so theres no need to add more.
And as far as mowing goes, I believe the OP said that wasnt an option at this point due to the ground being too rough.
 
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I use Ortho Groundclear, keeps anything from sprouting for about a year in the sandy soil here.
But it only works if it can "wick" into the soil, so I have to wait until it rains enough to saturate the soil, then I apply the pre-mixed chemical so that it soaks in.
 
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Yeah, I know, was was just explaining what the diesel does for them that dont know.
Also some herbicides contain a surfactant already so theres no need to add more.
And as far as mowing goes, I believe the OP said that wasnt an option at this point due to the ground being too rough.
Yes, its pretty rough. It can be cut with a tractor and shredder, but nobody does it. There are areas that beat the hell out of my when riding my ATV. Drainage ditches, ruts, and a few stumps.

After reading all this I may just let them deal with it.
 
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This thread in enlightening as an ag producer. I know not everyone has the same background in agricultural pesticides as we do, but I expected more knowledge from this group. Yes glyphosate(roundup) is a non selective broad spectrum herbicide that will kill most plants, but it is strongest on grasses, there are much better broadleaf herbicides. I actually think what you want to accomplish would be to get rid of the broadleaf weeds and leave the short grasses. 24d or dicamba would be a start, but they offer very little residual. If the grasses don't have to compete with the broadleafs, they will eventually take over and it could be a weed free area. Bare soil is rarely sustainable or desirable for that matter. Lastly, you say that maybe you'll leave it up to them??? If you don't own the ground, you better be really careful applying herbicides to someone else's property. Applying ground sterilant products could have long lasting impacts, what if the ground would someday want to be used for another purpose than a rifle range.


And as for the burn injury, I'm very sorry for his health issues, but I have almost 100 percent certainty that that was not caused by 3 hrs of exposure to glyphosate.
 
This thread in enlightening as an ag producer. I know not everyone has the same background in agricultural pesticides as we do, but I expected more knowledge from this group. Yes glyphosate(roundup) is a non selective broad spectrum herbicide that will kill most plants, but it is strongest on grasses, there are much better broadleaf herbicides. I actually think what you want to accomplish would be to get rid of the broadleaf weeds and leave the short grasses. 24d or dicamba would be a start, but they offer very little residual. If the grasses don't have to compete with the broadleafs, they will eventually take over and it could be a weed free area. Bare soil is rarely sustainable or desirable for that matter. Lastly, you say that maybe you'll leave it up to them??? If you don't own the ground, you better be really careful applying herbicides to someone else's property. Applying ground sterilant products could have long lasting impacts, what if the ground would someday want to be used for another purpose than a rifle range.


And as for the burn injury, I'm very sorry for his health issues, but I have almost 100 percent certainty that that was not caused by 3 hrs of exposure to glyphosate.
The club owns the property. Problem with leaving the grass is it grows like wildfire here in hot humid Texas, and it will eventually grow tall enough to obstruct the down range view.
 
where are you located?
I know it sucks having to spray several times a year, but have you thought about spraying something like RM43 along with a pre-emerge? That should kill what you have + slow it down from coming back.

This could also help you get a good jump on having a good stand of bermuda or some other trainable grass that won't get super tall and keep the bad grasses choked out to an extent. Once your bermuda is rolling, you can hit it with 2-4d for the broadleaf and MSMA or MSM + pre-emerge and it'll continue to keep your bermuda as the primary grass.
 
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Yeah, no. This may work temporarily, but not for any period of time. after the initial "burn" the diesel will allow regrowth and fast.



you said it may be woody type brush? small hackberry, mesquite etc? Sendero is what you need. spray the bushes. then deal with the grass later. i would NOT want to burn off all the grass, then you'll have weeds as high as your shoulder. kill the brush and woody bushes with Sendero, spray something like grazon to kill the weeds and leave the good grass to hold the soil and prevent other weeds from growing up tall.

signed, your friendly south Texas rancher.
 
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Then there is always the semi-selective , mostly broad spectrum biological treatment

Goats
Goat-portrait.jpg
 
Yeah, no. This may work temporarily, but not for any period of time. after the initial "burn" the diesel will allow regrowth and fast.



you said it may be woody type brush? small hackberry, mesquite etc? Sendero is what you need. spray the bushes. then deal with the grass later. i would NOT want to burn off all the grass, then you'll have weeds as high as your shoulder. kill the brush and woody bushes with Sendero, spray something like grazon to kill the weeds and leave the good grass to hold the soil and prevent other weeds from growing up tall.

signed, your friendly south Texas rancher.
Its mostly goatweed and ragweed I believe. I have seen some other various stuff popping up also
 
Going to agree that going scorched earth is not the best idea. No ground cover is going to be very dusty, and a giant mud pit. The weeds that grow chest also love bare dirt like that to grow in.

also grasses are pretty useful for determining wind direction and strength.

I’d kill off everything that isn’t a type of Bermuda

Sendero direct on the woody shit, and a broadcast of target 6 plus will kill off everything that isn’t Bermuda grass. Don’t use the target 6 if their are ponds, rivers, any type of watershed or animals grazing. Might use something like Celsius WG in that case.

all of the above though is a summer treatment, I haven’t had good luck spraying that stuff this late in the growing season. Best to spray it early summer a day or so after a good rain when the plants are actively growing.

if I was you, I’d mow just grit my teeth and mow it down here in a couple weeks for winter, spray a good pre emergent now then again in the spring. Anything that lives treat with above methods in late May/June
 
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Damn. Hope that burn heals, but I've sprayed 1000's of gallons of high concentrate glyphosate (not the shit you buy at Home Depot) and never seen anything like that. Kinda looks like maybe he got into some fungicide.
The old copper oxides and some old school surfactants would burn the he'll outta skin.
Would like to know about the incident, but mostly hope he's OK.
 
This thread in enlightening as an ag producer. I know not everyone has the same background in agricultural pesticides as we do, but I expected more knowledge from this group. Yes glyphosate(roundup) is a non selective broad spectrum herbicide that will kill most plants, but it is strongest on grasses, there are much better broadleaf herbicides. I actually think what you want to accomplish would be to get rid of the broadleaf weeds and leave the short grasses. 24d or dicamba would be a start, but they offer very little residual. If the grasses don't have to compete with the broadleafs, they will eventually take over and it could be a weed free area. Bare soil is rarely sustainable or desirable for that matter. Lastly, you say that maybe you'll leave it up to them??? If you don't own the ground, you better be really careful applying herbicides to someone else's property. Applying ground sterilant products could have long lasting impacts, what if the ground would someday want to be used for another purpose than a rifle range.


And as for the burn injury, I'm very sorry for his health issues, but I have almost 100 percent certainty that that was not caused by 3 hrs of exposure to glyphosate.
I’m in the ins
Damn. Hope that burn heals, but I've sprayed 1000's of gallons of high concentrate glyphosate (not the shit you buy at Home Depot) and never seen anything like that. Kinda looks like maybe he got into some fungicide.
The old copper oxides and some old school surfactants would burn the he'll outta skin.
Would like to know about the incident, but mostly hope he's OK.
i will neither confirm or deny that I actually work in the Agchem industry, but Glyphosate doesn’t do this, nor do the surfactants used in the formulation(s). Other things at play here, along with likely gross contamination of the gloves used (if any PPE was used at all?) with something really nasty.
 
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Get some goats, if one gets shot have a cook out.
I shot a range that was part of a pasture. Part of the spotters job was to watch for cow.
Shooting stopped until Bessie wandered off.
 
Been spraying weeds on and around food plots and around 80 acres for 30 years. If roundup is used, say, on a foodplot strip, and the ground isn't worked up and replanted, the only thing that will return is more and nastier weeds. For all other areas I will use 2,4 D which will spare grasses.
 
Sahara, it's a ground sterilizer. Hit it with gylosophate, x2 rate. Then Sahara neutralizes soil. Might take 2 applications. It's expensive but effective. 10yr rate of decay. If you can hire tractor and disc might be cheaper.
 
Do not use diesel, gets into the water supply, forms phenyl tin compounds and they are toxic. Glyphosate is not nearly as toxic as the law suits say, in fact it has been studied a lot. A mixture of glyphosate and dicamba works well but has to be applied several times a year. Tilling is still a good method of controlling growth for a while without using chemicals.
 
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RM43 from tractor supply works well, kills pretty much everything. I've also had good lick with Roundup365 but its a bit more pricy.
 
Have a a licensed person talk to your chemical supplier on a weed management program, they can lead you down a legal and safe path to the desired results. I use a large quantity of diuron and Mojave 70EG, I would think Grazon or another picloram product would lend some long term control on the broadleafs. Diuron early will help slow or stop emergence on the grasses. I know a professional will save money in the long run.

I also will add Glyphosate will not burn like that, would agree with the copper oxide or some sort of acid had to cause that significant of a burn. Get the gloves chemically analyzed before you go to court and get shot down.
 
you know if you really had vegetation to be removed you could always do a build the best flame thrower competition 2day event with bbq and other food and games for the kids . Make it a contest and allow proceeds to go to the range or a charity while you tape the event for s n g and allow those that build em to burn back the brush for you , you might even give 1/2 proceeds to the local fire department who could use the event as practice in fighting fires that would be a win win . who don't like flame throwers and bbq ?
 
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you know if you really had vegetation to be removed you could always do a build the best flame thrower competition 2day event with bbq and other food and games for the kids . Make it a contest and allow proceeds to go to the range or a charity while you tape the event for s n g and allow those that build em to burn back the brush for you , you might even give 1/2 proceeds to the local fire department who could use the event as practice in fighting fires that would be a win win . who don't like flame throwers and bbq ?

I don't bbq anything over a weed grass fire
 
Burns on the picture look crazy , can't imagine Roundup alone being that aggressive on the skin.

Exposed for several hours in what way? Having concentrated Roundup on bare skin? Can't imagine the mix that is being sprayed to be able to cause burns that severe anytime soon.

By the way in US do you need to have any sort of licence to buy and use these things? Here over the pond we need way more training and licencing for Herbicides&pesticide use than for guns. I renew my licence and have to attend a class every 5y . Without that you can only buy 'eco friendly stuff' ,bureaucracy rules ,but on the other hand some of the stuff is proper WMDs
He was spraying a fence row and slipped in some wet grass. The sprayer tangled around his thigh, as he fell. He said he was not hurt when he fell, but as he lay in the grass, on a warm morning, he fell asleep, unaware of being soaked with roundup on several parts of his body. He woke up a few hours later and called me. I thought he'd just need to shower and rest, until I saw the huge blister on his hand and thigh. I called EMS and it went down hill from there. Extensive tests did not indicate any stroke, or heart attack, or any other reason for his spiraling cognitive decline. He was fatigued and dehydrated, when we got him to the ER on a Friday evening. The hospital kept him and when I went to see him the next day he was in a state of severe dementia, unable to speak, feed himself and completely incontinent. Now, three months later, the dementia has gone away, he's can perform all of his activities of daily living. His overnight decline, after we got him to the hospital has been largely unexplained. The burns are absolutely from RoundUp. The temporary dementia, is anyone's guess, but we strongly suspect it was the RoundUp.
 
Napalm in the morning? Some people love the smell.
 
I'm just amazed at the conversation here, and the different tangents it has taken. Not to mention the vast amount of knowledge and experiences about this stuff.

I've used Roundup a few times around the house and on the gravel pad, and wondered why weeds kept coming back. Now I'm smarter.

Flame-thrower's are DEFINITELY the next step!
 
I'm just amazed at the conversation here, and the different tangents it has taken. Not to mention the vast amount of knowledge and experiences about this stuff.

I've used Roundup a few times around the house and on the gravel pad, and wondered why weeds kept coming back. Now I'm smarter.

Flame-thrower's are DEFINITELY the next step!
Flame throwers are less permanent than roundup , and lot more work, but more eco-friendly

flame weeding
 
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2,4 D? It's designed to control broadleaf weeds. Wont kill grass, normally.
We used it on hay fields, corn and grains, even spray the lawn with it on occasion to kill poison oak and dandelion.
I have heard it will also get rid of stickers in your yard.
 
Stickers, as in sand spurs?
They are in the grass family so its not likely.
Nettle bushes, on the other hand, are a broadleaf so yes it will kill those.
Not sure what a sand spur is. Stickers im referring to Id say might very well be a grass. Gets in the kids feet when playing in the yard in summer.
 
Calcium chloride. A lot of farmers use liquid calcium for weight in their rear tires. You can call your local farm tire repair store and they'll sell it to you. Take a 55gal drum up and they'll fill it up. At least they to here.

Last time I had the tubes replaced in my tractor tires, I had the tire changer pump the old calcium into a 55gal drum for me. I then sprayed it on my lane no mixing. It killed everything. I actually think it killed some of the rocks, too. lol

Keep in mind, though, it is very corrosive. Which is one reason why some farmer don't use it anymore in their tires for weight. It will destroy a rim. It takes several years, but it will. Also, it is a MK'er on leather boots.

However, personally, I would not kill everything on a range. If it is too rough to mow, disc it and go over it with a land-leveler. Replant with a good pasture mix and mow it monthly or every 5 weeks or so, depending on rainfall.
 
Not sure what a sand spur is. Stickers im referring to Id say might very well be a grass. Gets in the kids feet when playing in the yard in summer.
it works on buffalo burr and puncture vine or goatheads. Roundup will kill grass or sand burrs.
 
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Having been a commercial applicator for industrial sites, electrical companies substations, railroad lines, etc..., you have better formulations than Primatol and Hyvar to use. Get someone from the ag extension office of your state or county to come out and tell you what weeds you have, and the products that are labeled to eliminate them. Sometimes you have to mix products to eliminate them all. If you use the right stuff, one application in the spring (before it rains a lot), should last all year. You don't have to use a surfactant in year 2, because there is no vegetation growing for the sterilant to stick to. It goes in the ground and stabilizes in the top 6" of soil, and doesn't leach as bad as the old school sterilants.