Shooting range project
- Thread starter Ian
- Start date
Ian
Notorious member
It's coming together bit by bit. I'll put some bunks in the shack if some of you come down here and help me build it....bring your hiking boots, though, it's up on a small bluff about 40 yards from the driveway and like the berms, all materials will have to be packed up there by hand because I don't want to cut trees and tear up the fragile grass driving up there.
Ian
Notorious member
I am the horse. Or part of one, if you ask my wife....
I'd move closer except for that cold white stuff, no can do. We only visit our Colorado house between May and November. That's an 18 hour drive and still eight more to Fiver, almost made the extra trip this June to go crash his party up there but wifey was seven months along with the baby and having some breathing troubles at 8K ft., going up and down made it worse so we just stayed put while we were there. I actually like the Heartland a lot, nice to drive through it (Iowa in particular) but not sure I could live there full-time.
I'd move closer except for that cold white stuff, no can do. We only visit our Colorado house between May and November. That's an 18 hour drive and still eight more to Fiver, almost made the extra trip this June to go crash his party up there but wifey was seven months along with the baby and having some breathing troubles at 8K ft., going up and down made it worse so we just stayed put while we were there. I actually like the Heartland a lot, nice to drive through it (Iowa in particular) but not sure I could live there full-time.
Best thing about Nebraska is having a low population density in much of the state.
I looked at Apple maps and fiver is 15 min closer than you are. Damn this county is big. 13.5 hr to fiver, 13.75 to you. That is a hard day of driving so no thanks.
Wives always say that about us but they marry us anyway. Who knows.....
I looked at Apple maps and fiver is 15 min closer than you are. Damn this county is big. 13.5 hr to fiver, 13.75 to you. That is a hard day of driving so no thanks.
Wives always say that about us but they marry us anyway. Who knows.....
Ian
Notorious member
I'm still stuck on the idea of using landscape timbers to build the shack. I think it would look neat and save work on insulation. Probably would drywall the inside with moisture-resistant drywall and finish/paint it to keep the preservative fumes out of the space. Here's one I really like, small photo in the article (photo is probably copyrighted so I didn't just grab it and re-post here):
https://www.farmshow.com/view_articles.php?a_id=276
https://www.farmshow.com/view_articles.php?a_id=276
F
freebullet
Guest
Very nice work on the range! With the cans & being right out the house would be extremely helpful in load developments & testing.
Hmm, all those reasons to not drive up there can be resolved by something with flotation tires, like the fat tire mini bike. Fits right through & leaves no tracks. 4low with good tires shouldn't tear it up if you only go 5mph, but the width is an issue. Maybe a bicycle/ deer cart arrangement....?
Either way, don't put drywall or unprotected organic materials in an enclosed space that isn't humidity controlled. The "moisture resistance" is not what they'd have you believe. We remove the moldy "moisture resistant" drywall all the time. It basically has an antimicrobial used when it's made. Yes that buys time to dry it, but won't allow it to live in an area it can't normally survive. Master water damage restorer & mold remediator says don't waste the money.
Honestly I'd round up free or cheap concrete blocks from Craigslist or seconds from a manuf./wholesaler. A timber facia could be applied for look. Could probably get 4-6 on a deer cart behind the bicycle.
The drive don't scare me & I bet we'd have fun, but work...work...work.. is keeping me from any fun.
Hmm, all those reasons to not drive up there can be resolved by something with flotation tires, like the fat tire mini bike. Fits right through & leaves no tracks. 4low with good tires shouldn't tear it up if you only go 5mph, but the width is an issue. Maybe a bicycle/ deer cart arrangement....?
Either way, don't put drywall or unprotected organic materials in an enclosed space that isn't humidity controlled. The "moisture resistance" is not what they'd have you believe. We remove the moldy "moisture resistant" drywall all the time. It basically has an antimicrobial used when it's made. Yes that buys time to dry it, but won't allow it to live in an area it can't normally survive. Master water damage restorer & mold remediator says don't waste the money.
Honestly I'd round up free or cheap concrete blocks from Craigslist or seconds from a manuf./wholesaler. A timber facia could be applied for look. Could probably get 4-6 on a deer cart behind the bicycle.
The drive don't scare me & I bet we'd have fun, but work...work...work.. is keeping me from any fun.
Ian
Notorious member
Good tip on the drywall. It would be better just to nail plaster lathe to it and trowel on a couple layers of mortar mix.
I've always liked log and timber buildings. Timber and native stone would be even better.
The cheapest and quickest thing for me to do would be dry-stack cinder block piers, build a deck, frame walls and roof, put some OSB and corrugated galvalume on the roof, wrap it with tarpaper, and slap some cheap siding on it. It would work but not be the style I want and not have the thermal mass I'd prefer, either. The ideal thing would be build a heavy timber frame with pressure-treated yellow pine and fill in between with native stone and mortar, but that would be expensive and time-consuming.
The foundation needs to come up three feet to get the proper elevation to the berms, and that's a lot of masonry for a perimeter foundation of rock. I may just poke six treated timbers in the ground, frame up a floor deck and roof, and fill it in a little at a time. My biggest challenge other than time and money is lack of creativity when it comes to whimsical construction. Old English garden sheds and the primitive dirt/log/rock construction the Norwegians use are cool as heck but I have a hard time designing something like that. Something built out of mostly salvaged materials like pallet lumber and rusty license plates would be ok too, if done neatly enough, but again that creativity thing....
I'll keep stewing on it, have been for years
I've always liked log and timber buildings. Timber and native stone would be even better.
The cheapest and quickest thing for me to do would be dry-stack cinder block piers, build a deck, frame walls and roof, put some OSB and corrugated galvalume on the roof, wrap it with tarpaper, and slap some cheap siding on it. It would work but not be the style I want and not have the thermal mass I'd prefer, either. The ideal thing would be build a heavy timber frame with pressure-treated yellow pine and fill in between with native stone and mortar, but that would be expensive and time-consuming.
The foundation needs to come up three feet to get the proper elevation to the berms, and that's a lot of masonry for a perimeter foundation of rock. I may just poke six treated timbers in the ground, frame up a floor deck and roof, and fill it in a little at a time. My biggest challenge other than time and money is lack of creativity when it comes to whimsical construction. Old English garden sheds and the primitive dirt/log/rock construction the Norwegians use are cool as heck but I have a hard time designing something like that. Something built out of mostly salvaged materials like pallet lumber and rusty license plates would be ok too, if done neatly enough, but again that creativity thing....
I'll keep stewing on it, have been for years
Pistolero
Well-Known Member
License plates haven't rusted in KS in decades, made of aluminum.
I plan on a shooting house at some point, but will go std stud wall construction
to insulate. Probaby 2x6s, it worked so well in our Colorado house. Same exact
board feet of lumber in 2x6s on 24" centers or 2x4s on 16" centers, stud cost is
essentially identical, vertical strength per running foot is identical, too, but R19
insulation vs R11 insulation....nearly half the heat loss per square foot. That is
important here, winter and summer. Plus I can knock together a 12x12 building
in no time, and, aside from the foundation, for about $650 in material.
A 4x4 treated lumber foundation with 3/4 plywood floor would be about $200 in
material, including Quikrete footers around 4x4 pillars.
Insulation would be about $105 (r19) and sheetrock, about another $100.
Depending on what you plan, shooting out of wind and rain, maybe no interior
at all, just studs. Or 4 season reloading and casting, heat/AC, electric power,
as your needs and budget deem necessary.
But a complete basic building shell 12x12 (144 ft2) should be well under $1000
if you can build it yourself. Even better if you have some salvage or scrap
to contribute.
I will likely start with basic shell and add an interior, and four season touches
over time, make it my reloading AND shooting place.
Cost doesn't scale directly by square footage. Dropping to 8x8 (64 ft2) will only save about 20%
on materials yet have right at about half the floor space. Going up to 14x14 will
get you 1/3 more area (196ft2) for probably $60-100 more in materials.
Bill
I plan on a shooting house at some point, but will go std stud wall construction
to insulate. Probaby 2x6s, it worked so well in our Colorado house. Same exact
board feet of lumber in 2x6s on 24" centers or 2x4s on 16" centers, stud cost is
essentially identical, vertical strength per running foot is identical, too, but R19
insulation vs R11 insulation....nearly half the heat loss per square foot. That is
important here, winter and summer. Plus I can knock together a 12x12 building
in no time, and, aside from the foundation, for about $650 in material.
A 4x4 treated lumber foundation with 3/4 plywood floor would be about $200 in
material, including Quikrete footers around 4x4 pillars.
Insulation would be about $105 (r19) and sheetrock, about another $100.
Depending on what you plan, shooting out of wind and rain, maybe no interior
at all, just studs. Or 4 season reloading and casting, heat/AC, electric power,
as your needs and budget deem necessary.
But a complete basic building shell 12x12 (144 ft2) should be well under $1000
if you can build it yourself. Even better if you have some salvage or scrap
to contribute.
I will likely start with basic shell and add an interior, and four season touches
over time, make it my reloading AND shooting place.
Cost doesn't scale directly by square footage. Dropping to 8x8 (64 ft2) will only save about 20%
on materials yet have right at about half the floor space. Going up to 14x14 will
get you 1/3 more area (196ft2) for probably $60-100 more in materials.
Bill
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Ian
Notorious member
That's the plan right there. First I need a platform so I can use the 75-yard berm, and a roof would be nice to keep sun glare off of the sights. Putting up a basic pole structure with deck platform and roof would get me that, and I can add to it as I have time/funds. Will have power and water eventually, and will add outside bins for deer feed and probably some drums for water storage off the roof for the water trough nearby to supplement the water supply coming from the house.
8x12 is the plan right now, should give me room for a two-sided shooting bench and plenty of storage, plus a reloading setup on the back wall. It won't be climate-controlled all the time, just when I'm using it, so storage will be limited to things that can withstand 125°F and light freezes.
L1A1Rocker
Active Member
Ian, it occurred to me last night. That coop I built I referred a lot to a book on building barns and sheds. Would you like to barrow that book to see if it gives any inspiration on what direction to go?