Range Construction Question

[Blind Bat]

My club has a small 150yd range in need of repair. The backstop and hill behind the backstop are badly worn and need to be rebuilt. We are planning to truck in sand to build a berm against the worn down hill. It's been suggested that we alternate layers of sand and old tires. The tires are supposed to anchor the sand and minimize erosion.

Is this still the accepted way to build a berm? Is there a more politically correct construction method for stabilizing the berm other than using tires?

 

[CapnMac]

Depends upon the sand. "Sand" can be a fine aggregate ground down from larger particles either by natural forces or by grinding. Such material can be "stickier" in some grades than in others.

The real problem with "sand" is it's angle of repose, which is only about 30º What that nets you is that you need about 21" horizontal for very vertical foot of height of sand; which doubles in width if ther is no extant surface to pile up upon. And, 'raw' sand will wash away at phenominal rates. Which means needing some serious erosion control.

Plain old "dirt" will go a bit steeper, 40º with well-rooted grass.

Which is why what you probably need is a form of clay fill, and the right fill is very regional. What you might want to do is contact a local landscaper and ask what they might use for a "rustic" embankment, one exposed but not meant to be constrained with hardscaping.

Barring that, a local soils engineer might be very helpful.

And not learning what a "rotational slump" is the hard way always helps <sigh>

 

[kev74]

The NRA has some good resources available for range construction. It might be worth giving them a call.

If the range is open to the public, there might also be some grant money available to help defray the costs involved.

 

[Blind Bat]

Thanks guys. One thing I should mention: We are opting to sand for lead remediation (sic?). The idea being that if we ever have an environmental problem and need to reclaim the lead we can have the sand filtered.

 

[MinnMooney]

Here is the NRA's page on how to obtain some grant money (up to $5000) toward a range.

http://www.nrahq.org/shootingrange/grants.asp

 

[oneounceload]

Thanks guys. One thing I should mention: We are opting to sand for lead remediation (sic?). The idea being that if we ever have an environmental problem and need to reclaim the lead we can have the sand filtered.

The same can be done with dirt - our shotgun club has the lead mined and reclaimed every so many years.