Affordable Indoor Shooting Range Building

[shaky hands]

I suppose you are interested in shooting powder guns, not merely air guns. Then, to not make your indoor range into a lead chamber, you really need a very advanced ventilation system. Most of the lead you absorb is from inhalation of lead styphnate vapor from the primers -- close to 100% of it gets absorbed, as opposed to ingested lead (as low as 20% absorbed in adults). However, a good ventilation is pricey.

[GOVTMODEL]

Go to range.nra.org

Each range is unique. When my club upgraded the indoor range the ventilation was about a third of the total cost.

[SamEEE]

40' shipping container might make a half decent 10m range? HIAB to throw it in your backyard next to the Torana, behind the Commodore.

[ASchlem]

I built a range from a 53' high box shipping container. It works quiet well, and no taxes added to the property. Mine is fully insulated with plywood walls and ceiling. The backstop is made from AR500 steel. This has stopped everything I have thrown at it. (Hand gun only). With the addition of infrared heat it is my year round sanctuary. Out side the shooting sounds like someone is hitting a anvil with a hammer, not very loud at all. Most of the sound is exiting through the ventilation. My nearest neighbor is 75 yards away with trees in between, and he has never asked me what the late night hammering was about. There is sufficient info out there about building a range of this type. Several companies use them as portable training for law enforcement. Good luck.

[Misny]

I built a range from a 53' high box shipping container. It works quiet well, and no taxes added to the property. Mine is fully insulated with plywood walls and ceiling. The backstop is made from AR500 steel. This has stopped everything I have thrown at it. (Hand gun only). With the addition of infrared heat it is my year round sanctuary. Out side the shooting sounds like someone is hitting a anvil with a hammer, not very loud at all. Most of the sound is exiting through the ventilation. My nearest neighbor is 75 yards away with trees in between, and he has never asked me what the late night hammering was about. There is sufficient info out there about building a range of this type. Several companies use them as portable training for law enforcement. Good luck.

Without photos, it doesn't exist!

[ASchlem]

If you search it has happened many times. Installing adequate ventilation proved to be the most challenging part or the project.

[ASchlem]

few more pictures

[Hemmers]

Nice!

Ventilation isn't too hard in small spaces. I seem to recall from somewhere that the working value in the UK was something like 8 air changes per hour, obviously sucking from the firing point down to the target end.

On the standard dimensions of a 53' container, you get a volume of ~4300cu.ft. If you're changing that every 8 minutes or so, then that's 540cu.ft/min. Lots of fairly modest bathroom extractor fans will do 200-250cu.ft/min, so a pair of them at the target end will serve quite well - especially on a personal/home range where it's just you shooting.

I think that 8/per hour value is based on having 3 or 4 shooters blatting away, so if it's just you slow firing (i.e. under-utilising the range), you're not going to be putting quite the concentration of vapour into the air anyway.

Once you get into 8 lane indoor ranges, suddenly you need industrial grade ventilation to shift that much air, but a narrow container like that is quite neat.

[GOVTMODEL]

Nice!

Ventilation isn't too hard in small spaces. I seem to recall from somewhere that the working value in the UK was something like 8 air changes per hour, obviously sucking from the firing point down to the target end.

On the standard dimensions of a 53' container, you get a volume of ~4300cu.ft. If you're changing that every 8 minutes or so, then that's 540cu.ft/min. Lots of fairly modest bathroom extractor fans will do 200-250cu.ft/min, so a pair of them at the target end will serve quite well - especially on a personal/home range where it's just you shooting.

I think that 8/per hour value is based on having 3 or 4 shooters blatting away, so if it's just you slow firing (i.e. under-utilising the range), you're not going to be putting quite the concentration of vapour into the air anyway.

Once you get into 8 lane indoor ranges, suddenly you need industrial grade ventilation to shift that much air, but a narrow container like that is quite neat.

The NRA manual recommends, to conform to the US OSHA limit for airborne lead, a minimum air flow of 50 feet per minute through the shooting port. At my club, 32 feet wide and an 8 foot ceiling, we flow 15000 cfm through the range. We get a complete change of air about every four minutes.

[ASchlem]

Hemmers

I really wish it were that easy. It will have to be designed to a good standard, then tweaked to work for your ranges needs. I was pulling over 800cu.ft. and not getting a desirable air quality. Then i tried to allow more air to enter, this caused a low pressure area in the furthest low corner. (right where the shooter stands) You could watch the smoke come back toward you before heading down range. After playing around with the incoming air i was able to get it exactly the way i wanted. I now blow in about 500cfm, and pull out about 1000cfm. This negative pressure environment work great for my needs, but watch out the door will slam on you.

[shaky hands]

Why am I suddenly listed the "Author" of this thread. Where did the actual one desert to?

[David Levene]

Why am I suddenly listed the "Author" of this thread. Where did the actual one desert to?

Sorry about that.

He got deleted for repeatedly advertising his company despite being asked not to.

I didn't want to delete the thread as I for one found it interesting.

[mtncwru]

Why am I suddenly listed the "Author" of this thread. Where did the actual one desert to?

Sorry about that.

He got deleted for repeatedly advertising his company despite being asked not to.

I didn't want to delete the thread as I for one found it interesting.

Agreed! Excellent discussion here for anyone looking for a DIY range!

[KatoomDownUnder]

40' shipping container might make a half decent 10m range? HIAB to throw it in your backyard next to the Torana, behind the Commodore.

SamEEE, would that be an XU1 tucked in behind the SS?