Paul B Posted November 17, 2004 Share Posted November 17, 2004 In 20 plus years of shooting I've fallen 2 times. One was on grass and the other on gravel. The fall on grass was much more pleasant. I've shot on all kinds of surfaces and into all kinds of backstops and was wondering if there are any opinions on what are the best. My pick for surface is probably wood chips which give pretty good footing all the time and stop the mud. They probably don't hurt much if you fall. I'd probably pick grass next with sand and gravel down the list. Small pea gravel is better than the larger stones. The best backstops I've ever seen were made of sand. With pistol rounds there were absolutely no ricochets. I've heard the army doesn't like sand for rifle because it can cause ricochets, but that is not my experience. In fact the only matches that I've attended where you never heard a ricochet of some sort was with sand backstops. Even at very shallow angles the bullets just seem to stop in the sand. Earthen backstops would be next with railroad ties and tires not on my list because unless very well done they actually cause ricochets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted November 17, 2004 Share Posted November 17, 2004 I think the best is shooting surface is pavement/asphalt. You don't have to worry about mud. Ice and snow can be removed. Retrieving brass is simple ... just sweep it up and sort it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Sweeney Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 I've shot on them all, including broken pavement and scattered broken bottles. Oh wait, that wasn't a range, it was a parking lot in Detroit. They all have drawbacks. Sand. Great until it rains, or unless it hasn't rained in weeks. Wet, sloppy mud or dust devils. Clay. worse than sand, but at least in between the rain and the dust it is hard-packed. Pea gravel. Fine, if you don't drop something. Anything smaller than a small cooler has to be raked out of the loose gravel. Distressed Granite. This stuff sucks. Either hard rock, or a slippery layer of dusty sand-like stuff over rock. Don't fall, or you'll look like a motorcycle rider who dropped his bike. Asphalt. Ohh, baby. You haven't died and been left with squishy boots (from sweat) until you've worked a day on a police range in August, on a freshly-surfaced asphalt range. Yes, the brass is easy to pick up. So are the passed-out shooters. Concrete. Not as bad, heat-wise, as asphalt, but you'll get sunburned under your hat from the reflected light. River Rock. I only shot once on a range with this stuff, which is smooth-rock stuff the size of baseballs. (A newly-bulldozed police range in Utah.) You can't go prone, you can't go kneeling, you daren't drop anything for it will break, and you need feet even bigger than my size 14s to keep your balance. Two dozen cops, trying to keep their balance, while learning the AR-15/M-16, defines pucker factor. Grass. My fave, as long as it is mowed, watered, fertilized and manicured to look like Wimbledon. Otherwise, it ends up as patchy weeds and splotches of sand, clay or pea gravel. What I want is an outdoor range with indoor amenities: shade, a paved floor, heat in the winter and vending machines close-by. When I win the lotto I'll build it, and you can all come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 Well..like Patrick, I have shot on most surfaces and grass has it hands down...and it doesn't have to look like Wimbelton to make me happy...needs to be short.. The rest of the surfaces are terrible...all hard or subject to bad stuff when it rains... The rest of the range facilities can make up for bad surfaces...if you have great potties, some shade to get under and better yet if you have a way to get out of the rain also...water to drink and I am a happy camper... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AikiDale Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Grass. Remember cleats when raining. Short enough to find brass is great. Nearby shade trees are also appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimel Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Try crushed basalt which is the range surface de jour around these parts. Yeah, it is cheap ($10-15/yard) which is the only good thing I can say about it. It is only slighty better than pea gravel to move in. Brass pickup stinks. Almost as bad as asphalt in terms of the heat factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry Cazes Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Gotta put in a vote for short grass as well. Pea gravel drains great in the rain but is slick when the underlying surface is bone dry as it is in mid summer. One of our local clubs shoots on a grass surface and I wear football cleats year round. This is definiately my favorite surface overall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOtherErik Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 yes grass is the best. needs to be short. most importantly the surface must be flat, smooth and free of holes as well as have good drainage. grass sucks when there is standing water ontop of it. The best grass range surface I shot on was at the space city challange. I dont remember what kind of grass it was but it was almost sponge like. Larry, I dont know where you shoot, but the club I belong to the range surface is made of tarnished shell casings, deer poop and the occasional shotgun hull. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Grass is OK at a 20-shooter club match in a California drizzle, but sucks at a 350-shooter nationals in an Illinois downpour. The grass disappears at the high-wear areas and becomes mud. Sand is the best bullet stopper. Desert sucks for berms and backstops, richochet city. I had a bullet jacket inside the cab of my truck from Area 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry Cazes Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 TheOtherErik Wrote: Larry, I dont know where you shoot, but the club I belong to the range surface is made of tarnished shell casings, deer poop and the occasional shotgun hull. Actually the grass at Chabot is still in pretty good shape. Shot a match there this weekend and it was still 90% or so coverage. Could use a good raking, though. Erik Wrote: Grass is OK at a 20-shooter club match in a California drizzle, but sucks at a 350-shooter nationals in an Illinois downpour. The grass disappears at the high-wear areas and becomes mud. Precisely why we pay the exhorbitant cost of living here. Reasonably good shooting conditions year round and even when it does rain it just kinda sprinkles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Mud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skywalker Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Mud. Perhaps this is the reason???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajarrel Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Our Club's range surface is your basic sand. When it is dry it's pretty good but with heavy rains, it starts going to mud. I would prefer grass, but with grass comes the upkeep. You don't have to feed, water and mow sand. dj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 hmmmm...maybe if I say sand...Luca will find a pic of beach volleyball babes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ankeny Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 We can't grow grass at our range so that's not an option. The bay floors are sandstone so we had to do something. I got advice from the highway department, a couple of guys who do dirt work, and a guy who builds locations for oil and gas rigs. Our solution gives us a surface that doesn't get muddy (like we ever get rain) isn't soggy when the frost goes out, and isn't slick. It's a cross of road base with a low ratio of fractured stone, non- fractured gravel, and river sand. It's firm but will give unlike regular road base, doesn't shift too much, and returns to it's original form after use with wind or water. I would venture to say we have the best surface in the state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skywalker Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 hmmmm...maybe if I say sand...Luca will find a pic of beach volleyball babes? Did you ask? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Moore Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 what about crushed limestone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skywalker Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 what about crushed limestone? Is there any (babes) sport played on that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 Buddy of mine scored a bunch of crushed brick a few years back, put it on his range. Pretty nice stuff. Lots of it used on fastpitch softball diamond infields. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 My range has a sand floor at this time. I have a chance to put white rock on the surface if I want to. It would be packed and rather smooth - a good idea or is sand better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shepard Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 After living in sandy Florida and Cal/Ariz I strongly dislike sand. It guarantees that anything dropped will require intense cleaning especially if it has any type of oil on it. Also, depending on how fine the sand is it will gunk up and reduce reliability. my 2 cents, Shepard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 What about caliche road base?? Should be readily available here in Texas, and relatively cheap. Seems to pack nice, and provide a decent surface - although there can be some loose-ish rocks here and there.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 (edited) merged topics Edited March 25, 2005 by Erik Warren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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