Any way to quiet down an outdoor shooting range?

Assuming 22LR, how about use subsonic bullets. There are some newer subsonic loads that are 42 or 45 grains which may provide a bit more impulse to a semi auto if that's what you're shooting.

Why do you need to quite it down? The cheap way to make less noise is subsonic rounds. What do you mean it has to be cheap.
If you get your 200.00 tax stamp you can build a suppressor for about 70 - 80 dollars..

You mention suppressor box, but I would think that is where you can make the most difference in sound, especially to neighbors etc. Maybe post up details of it, and improve it. Here is my approach that has worked pretty well.

Shoot through a BIG Goodyear suppressor. Line up some old tires and shoot through the hole in them. Will help quiet down and catch the muzzle blast, and if you shoot subsonic ammunition it should help quite a bit.

You can shoot subs or super, BUT if youre bullet is going supersonic you will always have the crack as the bullet flies. Can't get fast AND quiet, though knocking back the muzzle blast will help quite a bit.

More tires in a row can catch more muzzle blast, and smaller diameter wheels with taller tires should work better. You can get creative if you are target shooting and block off some of the holes, while still allowing you to see and shoot your target. That will trap more of the sound and overpressure from the muzzle.

There is nothing you can do to quiet the sonic crack of the bullet.

All you can do is contain the sound. 100 yards of concrete pipe will do the trick, if that's how far you want to shoot.

You will need adequate diameter for the rise and fall of the bullet over the distance.

Or just run subs and get rid of the blast at the muzzle.

Shartman170 said:

Hi, I have a safe spot to shoot 22 at on my 5 acre property is there any way to quiet down the range? I have a "suppressor box" so I am not worried about the muzzle blast, but the crack of the speed of sound. It has to be cheap! Any help will be appreciated!
-Shartman

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If the spot is safe and legal, why the concern of noise? Especially as quiet as even the loudest .22LR ammo is.

Simple solution is to just shoot your nominally supersonic .22lr ammunition through a handgun, which will reduce the velocity enough to render it subsonic.

The muzzle report will be significantly louder, though.

Safe, and legal, dosent necessarily mean acceptable.
We had a range at my buddies house that was perfectly fine accept the sounds of the guns would set off his neighbors dogs. While we werent doing anything "worng" persay, I doubt they would have liked it if we shot there very often.

Take a look for standard velocity, or "target" rounds next time your buying .22 ammo. Those are usually just below the speed of sound. other than that, your kinda stuck with the crack. They will also usually cycle a semi.

Five acres(217,800 square feet) isn't really big enough for a range unless you've dug some. If the property is a square then each side is of length 466.7 feet(155.6 yards). ANY cartridge will go farther than that.
The speed of sound isn't something you can change. Only thing you can do is not break the sound barrier with sub-sonic ammo.
Or build up the sides and maybe the backstop to alter where the sound waves go. Trees and bushes will literally break up the sound waves too. Knew a guy in the Queen's Service who grew poplars by drilling holes in a poplar branch, sticking other branches in the holes and burying the thing 3" or 4" deep, I think. Had 30 foot trees in 3 years.
Hedge bushes on top of side berms will do as well. Cedars or Pussy Willows, I think, grow fast.

If the spot is safe and legal, why the concern of noise?

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Mine is because my wife will ask me about all the noise I am making and if she is not happy there is a trickle down of unhappiness. I guess there is enough distance between the house and range that the super sonic report isn't a problem but guns with a lot of muzzle blast will get her attention inside.

jmorris said:

Mine is because my wife will ask me about all the noise I am making. I guess there is enough distance between the house and range that the super sonic report isn't a problem but guns with a lot of muzzle blast will get her attention inside.

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If safe and legal, I give a rat's behind what my wife and neighbors think of the noise. My wife shoots as do most of my neighbors. I would be considerate tho and not shoot at times when it might disturb them. Only having 5 acres to shoot on and the fear of neighbors hearing one shoot does raise some questions.

Best and simplest method is from jmorris in post #10. Line it with eggshell foam and it will serve you well.

Standard velocity 22lr is below the speed of sound. No sonic boom.

I have shot .22 sub ammo from a rifle that's about as quiet as a .177/.22 pellet rifle. My paint ball guns are actually noticeably louder than either of those two.

If a .22 LR of any sort is too disturbing for neighbors you are more than likely illegally shooting anyways.

If you already have something to contain noise at the shooting position the next step I would take is putting another set of baffles and sound absorbers at your target. Bullet impact sounds can carry surprisingly well and this will cut the noise even with subsonic ammo.

As for the sonic boom, if shooting through pipe or culvert liner is impractical you can still get some benefit from sound absorbing or reflecting materials along the length of the range. Cinder block walls, wood barriers along the sides of the range, earth berms, etc.. They won't eliminate all sound, but they can make things slightly more tolerable for neighbors. Even plants have some effect.

If I was planning out a private range and was concerned about noise I would probably use culvert liner with dirt mounded over it, but if I just wanted something cheap that gave some privacy and perhaps cut some noise I'd plant the whole range area with bamboo except for a narrow path for the bullets to travel. It isn't going to be a huge improvement but it will damp out some sound, and it is basically free as long as you have time to wait for it to grow.

Five acres is a bit tight, but it could be skinny plot--250' x 870' would be 5 acres, which would leave room for a 150 yard range (presuming that there is a natural ravine or embankment to use as a backstop).

One option to look into is ABS butylene (plastic) drainage culvert. It's considerably less expensive than precast concrete culvert pipe setcion, and far simpler to place. The downside being you really need to bank dirt over the culvert to keep it in place, and to prevent stray rounds from going anywhere unexpected. The other downside is that the ABS culvert is heavily corrugated, so you can't simple skate a mechanic's creeper down the pipe for tasks at the far en, like you can with concrete culvert. So, buliding a manhole area between sticks of culvert can be helpful.

Remember, too, that you want the firing end of the culvert up enough to allow for seated and/or standing shooting which may entail raising that end to slope the whole construct down to its end. So, this will likely want a bit of sketching and calculating. Measure twice and cut once is a handy adage to work to.

I would be considerate tho and not shoot at times when it might disturb them.

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It's going to be difficult for anyone to come up with a less expensive solution than to not shoot.

I give a rat's behind what my wife and neighbors think of the noise.

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And by not shooting, it shows you do care.


My suggestions were aimed towards being considerate of others and still be able to have my fun.

jmorris said:

It's going to be difficult for anyone to come up with a less expensive solution than to not shoot.

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You are correct.

jmorris said:

And by not shooting, it shows you do care.

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You again are correct. My point was, there are times when even the little bit of noise created by shooting .22 may be disturbing....like 3:00 a.m. in the morning. At responsible times of the day, the sound of a .22 will be no louder than the neighbor using a nailer to reroof his house or using a gas powered weed eater. If either of these bother your dogs, it's not your neighbors problem, but yours. Same goes for the sound of a .22 being shot. If it's done safely and within the confines of the law, and not done constantly right outside the neighbors window, where's the issue? A .22LR using a suppressor box is not that loud.

jmorris said:

My suggestions were aimed towards being considerate of others and still be able to have my fun.

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There lies the rub. I don't sit out in the garage and rev my Harley @ 3:00 a.m. in the morning outta consideration of the neighbors. But come 8:00 a.m. and I want to ride to work, I don't worry. I'm considerate of my neighbors and still having my fun. My ride is safe and legal and if the neighbors don't like the sound, too bad. As many have said(me included) 5 acres is not that big. My question has to do with, is the OP trying to be considerate of his neighbors, or trying to hide the fact he is shooting from his neighbors for some reason.