Dream shooting building

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emmie

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Aug 26, 2003
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s/e georgia
customer wants me to build him an enclosed building so he can shoot out of it,year round. he is in his late 50's and has retired, has a bad shoulder so most shooting will be off a bench,and bags. he has a bench,which I'll rebuild and a 300yr range at his house.
my thought on this are, bench with opening window to shoot through, plenty of room to move about,clean rifles,reloading and room for another shooter. he wants to heat and air condition building,widows to see folks coming up.
if this was to be YOUR building what would you want in it? how would you set it up? all suggestions wanted as this is a, MONEY IS NO OBJECT, project for him

thank you for your time
emmie
 
Sounds like a fun project. I did something similar for a disabled shooter friend of mine to an existing single room storage shed he had for range supplies on his backyard range. I framed a window opening in the wall facing the targets and built an opening window that hinged at the top. It opened inward and is secured by hooks to the roof trusses overhead.

If your friend has a bad shoulder, you will probably want to build the opening wall/window so that it opens and closes by electric motor.

Air conditioning and heating a building with a big opening in the side can be an expensive proposition. You might want to make those shooting portals with quick opening and closing windows.

If your friend is a reloader and will be testing new loads frequently, I can't think of a better set up than to have a reloading bench readily accessible.

Also if he tests his loads, I suggest an extension from his shooting windows so he can set up his chronograph sky screens.

Make sure there is plenty of electrical power capacity and good lighting. If he can shoot at night, floodlights about a third of the way down range to illuminate the targets would be a good idea. Make them remotely adjustable so he can vary the amount of light.

You might even include a mini-kitchen so he can have hot and cold drinks and snacks available.
 
If he has to deal with extreme cold/heat, try "insulating" the open window with those hanging plastic strips you see in walk-in freezers, factory doors, etc. You could leave out one or two of the central "leaves" and still cut down on the amount of air flowing in or out, whilst allowing light to enter.

Also, for health reasons, consider building his bench so that the muzzle of the rifle protrudes outside the window frame. This will reduce the noise levels in the room, and will also put the muzzle blast outside the room, where it's less likely to be a health hazard over time.
 
I may be mis-remembering, but as I understand it, some Swiss shooting ranges are enclosed and heated with openings for shooting out of so that one can shoot during the winter while remaining comfortable.

I don't know if that helps, but it might be a place to start from. Perhaps one of our international members who has experience with this has some more info.
 
I would also consider noise dampening materials. Some kind of weather resistent carpet framing the window on the outside, and better carpet framing the inside. A window, similar to a drive-thru window, with a good integrated rest. How mobile is he? Look a few years down the line. Is/will he be in a wheel chair? make things height appropriate if he is, or consider adjustable bench height.
Let us know how it turns out! I've got a friend who has a gun room, with 3 shooting benches and a 1200 yd range right out his back door. Your plan would be one step up. I love shooting out there....
Dan
 
Positive pressure inside so that combustion gases and lead from primers get vented as quickly as possible. Even with the muzzle outside, you'll still get some without venting.
 
Being s/e GA, I think heat will be a larger issue than cold.

One thing to consider, is an electric thingy to attach a target to, that runs the length. Since he isn't concerned about price, he can have the targets come to him.
 
Use Sonex foam for sound absorption on walls and ceiling to absorb as much of the noise from gunfire as possible. (http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/products/foams/sonex.asp)

You might try using an automotive power window kit to make opening and closing the window that he'll put the barrel through while shooting automated so that he can get set up, hit the switch opening the window and take his shot. Then all he does is hit the switch to close it. (http://www.thehoffmangroup.com/Autoloc/detail.lasso?itemid=PW55092)

Do not recirculate any of the conditioned air and set up a HEPA filter inside to filter the air in the builidng.

Use a concrete slab for the floor and then put antifatigue mats down (http://www.newpig.com/en_US/main.jh...ANTIFATIGUEMATS&page=browse/pp.jhtml&email=us)

Add a front porch to it so that he can shoot off of it in ideal weather and the reduce the amount of glare on windows.

Fridge for drinks.
 
If you make that window with a long box out toward the target you can readily attenuate the sound. 3/4" ply covered with 2" rigid foam, say 8' long and 3'x3' in cross section. Also, a set of warning lights at the building and at the target position that can be turned on when the range is "HOT".
 
Instead of a big open window... you all ever see those "air curtians" used in some stores? A constant stream of air blown from top to bottom. You might be able to utilize some vent shutoff if you want to just "open" part of the air curtian. If you had a long gun, you might not even need to do that.
 
A very important safety issue: you should find some way of preventing access to the shooting "window" from the side, either permanently, or while shooting is going on. If he's focusing on the target through the sight(s), the last thing he wants is to have a friend or family member suddenly walk in front of his muzzle! :what:
 
Also many sound absorbing products are very flamable. Check into this before you buy any.
 
Make it like a huge den with his guns and associated equipment. An ammo locker, gun cabinet and a separate cleaning area (fumes).

A 42 inch TV, lazy boy recliner, kitchenette, refer for root beer and freezer for ice cream. Computer with 17 inch monitor and desk to order guns and ammo from. A larger bathroom with shower.

Elevator going to the second floor gazebo to shoot clays from on nice days.

Vick
 
Ready Built

I'd suggest one of the ready built "sheds"...they come in all sizes up to 14 X 24...maybe more. Some are built to normal specs: 2 X 4's on 16' centers.
EAsy to cut in windows & AC where you want. Run some elec heat around the baseboard. Insulate/drywall as desired. Nice thing about this is the building can later be moved if desired. Unfinished, set up on the lot, for $4-5K depending on size. Quick and easy.
 
I was thinking about this sort of thing the other day. One thing that I would want that I didn't see posted was a garage door on the side so you can jump on a four wheeler and go change targets. I don't want to have to leave my warm shoot house to walk through 300+ yards of snow to set up targets.
 
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