Backstop

No.

I would maybe look into making a mound out of fill dirt or something. It is much better to be safe than sorry...a .308 can go a long way. You want to make sure it is defiantly stopped.

a few acres of heavily wooded and brush covered land ...

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Unless you know (can see) exactly where the bullet will stop, you don't have a backstop. You will never know what (or who) might be hidden by what you can't see.

Actual hunting is only slightly different in that you still never take a shot where the bullet has even the faintest possibly of continuing beyond your knowledge. Many here have had to pass up many opportunities for that reason -- but you never want to live with the possible alternative.

Do ya'll consider a few acres of heavily wooded and brush covered land an acceptable backstop. Handguns and rifles? Not considering big booming wizzbang magnums. Up to 308 of so.

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Absolutely not.

No.

Is the wooded land yours?
Can you absolutely guarantee that a bullet fired into the woods will not exit the woods on to someone else's land?

Build a dirt berm. The bigger the better.

no
a backstop is NOT composed of a general area that "teh boolitz 'll prolly b stopin sumwar insida"

If it isn't an object that catches bullets, it isn't a backstop. And you always over-engineer such an object, there can't be any "maybe" about whether it will catch a round, even after it has absorbed huge amounts of ammunition.

NO ! A earthen berm is the only sure stop.............

Most definitely NOT! As others have already pointed out just firing into a heavily wooded area does not make for any sort of actual backstop. A proper backstop would be a tall, deep, and wide earthen berm that can readily prevent any round from penetrating all the way through it.

Similar situation.

I faced this situation with actually several miles of rolling woods and pine plantation downrange. I built a hardwood log and dirt berm backstop. Why take even a micro chance of an accident?

To be considered as safe I would expect that the woods would have to be fenced all around and clearly marked as being a firing range. If this is not the case and the woods are open to anyone that may be hiking, biking or horse riding through the area then the answer is a simple no.

You are also seriously underrating the distance that a .308 can travel. In this world of Magnum this and that too many folks have forgotten that the "old" rounds can still reach out and kill at a mile and more away. Hell, a few of us like trying to hit the 200 yard gong with handguns at my club's range. The 9mm gets there with only a little holdover and hits with quite the "THOCK!" sound. So even if it were out at 300 yards or more if it were to hit someone it would still be capable of wounding.

So dirt up a berm and be sure that ALL your rounds impact the berm at all times to be sure.

Nope..... Time for some dirt...I am glad you got a place to shoot privately enjoy it and count yourself lucky. Oh did I mention to got get some dirt.

Here's a little illustration to direct your thoughts on this matter. Have you ever walked from a road a few hundred yards into the woods at night in the winter when the foliage is off the trees and followed the headlights of a car passing on that road? You see my point. Not much safer than shooting into thin air.

Only a complete idiotic fool fires into an area where he cannot account for his projectiles. If you have to ask such a question, it is some time for remedial safety training.

splithoof said:

Only a complete idiotic fool fires into an area where he cannot account for his projectiles. If you have to ask such a question, it is some time for remedial safety training.

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I'm pretty sure that kind of hostility isn't necessary. Somebody came here and asked a question, you attacked him for even thinking it.


OP: Dirt is cheap, lawsuits are expensive. Everything would probably be ok. But the risk of injuring or killing someone simply isn't justifiable when the reward is saving a few hundred dollars.

NO!!!

A person recently received a long jail sentence in Vermont. A 45 ACP traveled 250 yards through the woods and hit a man, sitting on his porch, in the head and killed him. The headlights through the trees is a good comparison. Oh ya. It wasn't his gun that fired the fatal shot, but it was his property and his range.

Boy, I can't believe all of the negative remarks here.

Then I suppose it would be idiotic to go hunting in the woods should one chance a miss and have a bullet fly into the trees, right? Does everybody here only fire towards deer, etc. if there is a dirt backstop behind the animal?

I'm not saying it is a good idea to use woods as a backstop for a shooting range but I would have thought that there would be something of a more calm approach to OP's question.

Dan

Here's mine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFzOSwuphBo

I agree...you need something like a berm to terminate the bullets movement safely.

Is it ("some woods") "safe or not"? The answer is a resounding "No". What part of that do some of us not understand?

While hunting in flatland woods, the rule is ALWAYS know where your bullet will go should you miss the target. I learned that rule almost 64 years ago and its a good'un.

Would you put your child out to play on the far side of that wooded lot and still feel comfortable shooting in that direction?

My backstop is ~500 feet high.

Then I suppose it would be idiotic to go hunting in the woods should one chance a miss and have a bullet fly
into the trees, right? Does everybody here only fire towards deer, etc. if there is a dirt backstop behind the animal?

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Yes.

I've passed up many a shot as I couldn't be sure that there was a hard backstop behind a whitetail
-- like a tree, a downward angle into the ground or the side of a ravine. Even a solid hit that becomes
a through & through is dangerous w/o a known backstop.

Why not transform some of that woods into a firewood pile and shoot into it? I split and stack a large pile of firewood and shoot into the end grain of the logs. I replace the wood every two years at it seasons, burning it in my woodstove, and replenish the pile with fresh-cut wood. I always leave two or three unsplit sections of log in the middle of the pile which takes the brunt of the fire. Though I don't cast bullets at this time, the lead is easily reclaimed from the bottom of my woodstove during its yearly post-season cleaning. The end grain of wood effectively swallows up bullets from both rifle and pistol, and I've yet to experience a ricochet.

I often shoot on a farm. About 500-600 yards to the woods. I always set my targets below level. I shoot up to a 30-06. With the target below level i always see the bullet grab dirt well before the woods. Certainly it could richocet in some rare instances but i hope enough energy would be lost to prevent the bullet going to far and with the woods behind it i have always considered this safe.
AM I Wrong Guys??

Could setting up this way solve your issue?

MEHavey said:

Yes.

I've passed up many a shot as I couldn't be sure that there was a hard backstop behind a whitetail
-- like a tree, a downward angle into the ground or the side of a ravine. Even a solid hit that becomes
a through & through is dangerous w/o a known backstop.

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Then you are one heck of a far more conscientious hunter than anyone I've ever hunted with in the past 50 years. I've NEVER know anyone to pass up a shot at a buck as long as their direct hunting partner(s) are not in jeapordy.

Not once has this issue ever been brought up with the dozens of hunters and hunting scenarios I've been associated with in my entire life.

Learn something new everyday I guess.

Dan

Well now this is interesting... with the hunting comparison that is to say. For target practice though "up to .308" I'd say make a berm; and the higher it is, the less you (or anyone else) will have to worry.

Your kidding ,right?