Best surface for pistol bays?

[kmc]

We are building several new pistol bays at our club to be used largely for USPSA. They are built into a former farm field with lots of dirt. This will be a major improvement from our old bays which are largely limestone, making it very difficult to pin down props. We debated quite a bit on the right surface to put into the bays and opinions ranged from dirt/grass to sand to pea gravel. We obviously want something that drains well and won't turn into a mudbath with some rain. We are currently on a path to put pea gravel in the base. Although this will certainly drain well, one downside of this is it will make it difficult to pick up brass.

Other ideas or opinions?

[juan]

i have always dreamed of astro turf

[JWeber]

Just based on past construction experience take the following for what it is worth. Before putting down any base make sure the sub-grade has some slope to a point you want the water to flow. It can be very minor but that is important. Pea Gravel kind of gives when a shooter pushes off. As a top layer crushed stone might be a better alternative. It compacts a little and when shooters push off won't give. As I recall most clubs around here The Cincinnati Ohio area use crushed stone, some use grass but in rainy seasons they get muddy. How wide and deep are your new pits? Sounds like a major undertaking. Good Luck Jay

[remoandiris]

There are several ways to encourage proper drainage. Hire an experienced civil engineer and use them to make suggestions on the best technique for your area. If your bays are 30+ feet deep, you may not be able to slope them enough to allow the water to drain out the back of the bay. In that case, you may need a sump in the center of the bay and the dirt sloped to it. Will also require drain pipes to get the water from the sump out of the bay.

You also need to consider a cost versus benefit of spending all that money. If the ground is soggy only 3 matches out of 12, is it really worth the cost?

[kmc]

There are several ways to encourage proper drainage. Hire an experienced civil engineer and use them to make suggestions on the best technique for your area. If your bays are 30+ feet deep, you may not be able to slope them enough to allow the water to drain out the back of the bay. In that case, you may need a sump in the center of the bay and the dirt sloped to it. Will also require drain pipes to get the water from the sump out of the bay.

You also need to consider a cost versus benefit of spending all that money. If the ground is soggy only 3 matches out of 12, is it really worth the cost?

An experienced firm is building them and they have a front to back slope of ~1-2%.

[kmc]

...Pea Gravel kind of gives when a shooter pushes off. As a top layer crushed stone might be a better alternative. It compacts a little and when shooters push off won't give. As I recall most clubs around here The Cincinnati Ohio area use crushed stone, some use grass but in rainy seasons they get muddy. How wide and deep are your new pits? Sounds like a major undertaking. Good Luck Jay

That's a good point I hadn't thought of. The bays are big and range from 40x100 to 100x100.

[Jim Norman]

Contact Robert at Double Tap. He has some sort of crushed/pulverized stone that when dry is nearly like concrete, but still drains well and allows you to pin down props.

[amish_rabbi]

my range has grass which is really nice but it does get chewed up, and you have to make sure you have really good drainage. my second favourite is crushed rock, a little hard on the mags but less maintenance for the club

[bigfish]

If the farm field has tiling in it already I would see if you can put alot of tile on the range and tie it into the farm tile. Then you can get the water away from the range completely. At that point you could use about what ever you wanted for sureface. I personally like short mowed grass the best. Gravel sucks, even on a static stage.

[a matt]

If the farm field has tiling in it already I would see if you can put alot of tile on the range and tie it into the farm tile. Then you can get the water away from the range completely. At that point you could use about what ever you wanted for sureface. I personally like short mowed grass the best. Gravel sucks, even on a static stage.

GRASS and good drainage. # 1 in my book.

[Sarge]

Crushed limestone

[snertley]

I think that a crushed rock or gravel like you would use for a driveway or parking lot would be best as far as drainage and not getting muddy. I like grass but it also gets very slick when wet and pea rock is too loose.

[a.roberts]

Whatever Porter has at the Double Tap Ranch is amazing! Seriously. Maybe it's crushed unicorn bones?

Grass gets like a slip 'n' slide when it's wet (think morning dew.)

[a.roberts]

And gravel sucks.

[Dr. Phil]

On my home range I graded for drainage, and on the surface I use a product called "half-minus". It is smaller than pea gravel (1/2" or smaller), and is mixed with stone dust. Once it gets wet it hardens almost like concrete, is easy for brass collecting, and won't cut with running water. It's probably available if you have local quarries in your area. Hope it helps...

[sperman]

One of the downsides to crushed rock is that bullets will skip off of it. Our bays have pretty tall side berms, but we still have to put the targets close to the berms or we get bullets leaving the bay.

[cyprant]

Definitely avoid gravel

[Dr. Phil]

Definitely avoid gravel

I would be very interested to learn of any surface that a bullet at an oblique angle won't skip off... Dirt? Hardly. Gravel? nope. Grass? No, and say "so long" to your brass... I've seen bullets skip off even things like hard-packed snow. If "best" surface for pistol bays is the search parameter, you will have to make some allowances... Of course, to this point I have not yet tried shaving cream or packing peanuts.... Just sayin'

[PopPop]

Best two surfaces I've seen are crushed limestone or grass. Pea gravel is like shooting in a bowl of Cheerios.

[Dr. Phil]

The half-minus I mentioned earlier is crushed gravel mixed with stone dust to bind it. Brass lays on top... I've never actually shot into a bowl of Cheerios tho...

[k1kelli]

Seriously. Maybe it's crushed unicorn bones?

[Dr. Phil]

I think for the area where the targets stand, dirt is fine. Grass is hard to care for unless you remove all the targets, etc. first. For the shooting lines, some sort of fine material is mandated to allow for brass, mags, etc. I believe I read somewhere that crushed Unicorn bones evolve into limestone...

[LYNRDSKYNRD]

The half-minus I mentioned earlier is crushed gravel mixed with stone dust to bind it. Brass lays on top... I've never actually shot into a bowl of Cheerios tho...

Same here its called crush fill locally and makes range maintenance a breeze.

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[Round_Gun_Shooter]

Take a look at Reclaimed asphalt pavement or RAP.

[remoandiris]

I think for the area where the targets stand, dirt is fine. Grass is hard to care for unless you remove all the targets, etc. first. For the shooting lines, some sort of fine material is mandated to allow for brass, mags, etc.

This might be fine for fixed shooting points/target locations, but in bays where dynamic shooting like USPSA occurs, the ground will likely be the same surface throughout.

At the range I'm a member of, it is all grass across the entire complex except for sporting clays...they get to play in the woods.