dirt filled tires as backstop?

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KansasPaul

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Has anyone our there used sand/dirt filled tires as a backstop? I have access to used tires through a friends tire shop and I got to thinking about building a wall out of interlocked tires, each filled with dirt. I presume that the rubber would not allow a bullet to deflect or ricochet and the energy of the bullet would be absorbed by the dirt? What say ye?

Paul
 
Mosquitos shouldn't be a problem if they are stacked on their sides and filled with dirt no place for water to collect if they're totally filled / mounded. I'm sure with the proper distance and thickness / setup it would work well. I've always worried about .22 bouncing off but have not tested them; and I've heard there can be problems with the wire 'belts' but that's dependent on the type of tire.

Best of luck.
 
KansasPaul Has anyone our there used sand/dirt filled tires as a backstop? I have access to used tires through a friends tire shop and I got to thinking about building a wall out of interlocked tires, each filled with dirt. I presume that the rubber would not allow a bullet to deflect or ricochet and the energy of the bullet would be absorbed by the dirt? What say ye?
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While dirt filled tires make a good "wall" you need dirt or sand to actually absorb the impact. Tires have steel belting and WILL often cause "bounceback" or richochets if used by themselves as the sole backstop.

TIRETIRETIRETIRETIRE
TIRESand/Dirt/Sand/Dirt
TIRESand/Dirt/Sand/Dirt
TIRESand/Dirt/Sand/Dirt ....................................................................................................................Shooter/Bench
TIRESand/Dirt/Sand/Dirt
TIRESand/Dirt/Sand/Dirt
TIRETIRETIRETIRETIRE
 
I have seen tires send stuff back. If you can shread them and make a berm from that you would be ok.
 
Yeeeeeah, seen slugs come right back off of tires. Especially pistol bullets.

They can be incorporated to act as a base and sort of a binder for a berm, but don't let them get uncovered so bullets strike them directly.
 
You are also going to have to have the tires removed from your property if you ever decide to sell your home.

This may be no small expense to locate and pay a company that will accept them.
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And the lead. Sure, we know that lead/copper just laying there is inert, but the enviro-nutjobs don't see it that way.

If that's of no concern then just go with dirt.
 
Butt loads of discarded tires are one of the things you don't want on your property at the time of a future transfer. Regardless of how things may currently stand in your locale, we will all one day have to bend to the Federal will on scrap tires.

Since to get them to behave effectively, you'll have to not just back-fill soil but tamp it into the tires as well, you end up using a great degree of the same amount of soil as would comprise a decent berm.

Now, I wouldn't be concerned if I were to use two courses of tires on the backside of a berm as a retaining base. Minimal tires - minimal effort to dispose of and great benefit in stabilizing the berm base away from the projectiles. Same with filled "55 gallon" drums.
 
Knew a guy who had a .22 mag bullet bounce off a tire wall and nail him in the thigh. Tumbling bullet didn't break through the denim but it stung like crazy and left a big angry-looking welt.
 
When I built a backstop I built a large wooden box [maybe 5 ft wide, 4 high and 4 deep, and filled it with dirt[by hand I may add.] Front 2x4s where all screwed in and a snap to replace when chewed up. Let it rain on it a few times and yes that dirt will settle. I would shoot a .460 at that thing.
 
You've already read that they'll cause ricochets so form a retaining wall out of them and mound dirt up in front for your berm.
 
We built a backstop out of tires some years back. We stacked them up and filled them with sand. We then put a 2X4 frame in front of it and nailed 3/8 in. plywood to it. We got a few bounce backs but the plywood stopped them and no damage to anything else. We shot it with everything from .22's to .300WSM and nothing went through. We set the tires in sort of a semi-circle design and behind that we cris-crossed telephone poles 15 feet wide and 12 feet high. We made sure the bullets stayed where we wanted them.
 
We use them for my rifle range. Nobody is shooting closer than 100 yards and have never known any rounds to come back. We stair step the tires to help maintain the slope of the berm. The tires are packed on the inside with sand and so there is no mosquito problem. Tires not being used all have a serious of holes drilled in the sidewalls to prevent standing water.

The tires have done an excellent job of preventing soil erosion and providing stability to the berm.
 
Thank you for all of the input. I'll likely be re-thinking the tire issue. Perhaps I'll be on the hunt for some railroad ties to use as a frame and back-fill it with dirt.

I truly appreciate everyone's input!

Paul
 
You may run into the same problems with the Enviro Monkeys with odl creosote impregnated railway ties as you will with old tires. So if you decide to go that route do your home work first! I think old untreated timbers will do the same thing and they will last a very loooong time.
 
I have tires and some railroad crossing rubber mats and use them at 300+ on my personal range. I was concerned about the bounce so all the closer backstops are wood and earth filled.
The mats worried me the most since they are pretty hard and solid rubber that is about 8" thick X about 2' wide and 6' long.
Tires aren't to much to worry over if they are earth filled and reasonably packed, I don't doubt lower velocity rounds might come back but center fire rifle should all contain in the backstop.
 
I chose steel for my backyard range. No dirt work, no erosion and I can move it around if I have to.
 
Got hit by a .22 that bounced back from a tire. I think it was 20 or 30yd out. I barely felt it hit my jeans.
 
I have to agree with what everyone says about the tires causing a huge hassle when you sell your property.
I don't know about the ricochets though. I suppose it can happen but then again I've been hit by ricochets at indoor ranges and outdoor ranges with dirt berms.
My limited experience with sand/dirt filled tires comes from when I was in the Marines. We got to do some live fire training in what was basically a shoot house made of tires. All of the walls were made of old tires filled with what I assume was sand or dirt. I can't remember anyone worrying or complaining about ricochets. I do remember that it was a lot of fun and we didn't do that kind of training nearly enough.
I'm not saying that it couldn't happen but I can't remember an issue with ricochets using our M16's and Beretta's.
 
I've bounced a .45 Federal HST off of a rail road tie. I hit a friend (whose gun I was shooting) in the leg. No damage other than the surprise. Range of about 10 yards. I'll bet tires are a lot tougher than rail road ties.
 
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