Home made indoor range

[brushmore]

As of tomorrow it's only 3 month to go on my first Safari to Africa. Being so close I really wanted to practice my shooting when I got up this morning. The problem is that with the temperature at -2 fahrenheit (that's -19 for the rest of the World) and I really wasn't in the mood for that kind of cold.

So I created my own little range in my basement:

I took some old carpet remnants and clamped them to our pantry shelves with stacks of old boxes around. I have my old BB gun from when I was a kid and a cheap pellet trap. The paper target is a necessity otherwise the BB's bounce all over the basement. Sure a cheap old BB gun isn't perfect practice but it's better than nothing I figure.

At first my wife was a bit taken back when she came done into the basement to look for a can of peas but was pleased that I actually cleaned a significant amount of the basement for a 20 ft firing lane!

 

[billc]

Way to go and think out side of the box. May not be as good as the rifle range but it will not hurt you. Just throw those trigger sticks away and go get a bog pod with the wide rest.

Not sure if you checked out loodts facebook page lately but he is already off to a good start with hunts. You will have a blast on this trip.

 

[bluey]

good thinking,brushmore.
thumbs up to mrs brushmore for not flipping over it ,also .
is that trigger stik the one you plan on using ,on your African adventure?

 

[BRICKBURN]

Some days it is too far to drive for an impromptu shooting session.

The neighbourhood range on a nice day. Cold days, close the door!

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Some days it is too far to drive for an impromptu shooting session.

The neighbourhood range on a nice day. Cold days, close the door!

View attachment 35849

My wife is a wonderfully understanding woman...........but not that understanding.

 

[BRICKBURN]

This was a request from the neighbourhood girls for a birthday party. I never say no to any kid wanting to shoot a gun.

Five of them had never touched a firearm before!

 

[TokkieM]

We are extremely fortunate here in Europe, we have great indoor rifle ranges. What we call shooting cinemas, a large screen were they project game on and you get to shoot at them with live full power ammo. Only limitation is the dictance, 30 meter ranges, but picking far off targets simulates further distance, just not bullet drop.

Nice range you set up there Any practice is better than no practice!

 

[BRICKBURN]

We are extremely fortunate here in Europe, we have great indoor rifle ranges. What we call shooting cinemas, a large screen were they project game on and you get to shoot at them with live full power ammo. Only limitation is the dictance, 30 meter ranges, but picking far off targets simulates further distance, just not bullet drop.

Nice range you set up there Any practice is better than no practice!

We have some of them available.
I've never used one because of a concern about noise and the smoke.

When the real goal is avoidance of the cold, nothing like a little air rifle practice.

 

[CAustin]

Indoor ranges are available here where I live in fact there are a couple that will let you use a rifle. The problem is the longest one is 30 yards. But it can keep you in practice.

 

[TokkieM]

Brickburn we have what they call Cinishot ammo, contains none of the harmfull stuff to inhale, does cost extra. SA has a great 100meter underground range that use to belong to PMP ammo, situated in Pretoria, but SA has great weather so kind of a waste unless you really want no wind when sighting in your rifle.

 

[brushmore]

Is that trigger stik the one you plan on using ,on your African adventure?

I haven't decided. I just know I wanted a set of sticks to practice from so when I got to Africa it wasn't a new experience. Cabelas had them on sale so I figured I give them a try.

 

[Royal27]

That's just awesome!!!!

I made my own wooden sticks (they break down for travel) and took them to Africa. Having my own added to the experience for me.

 

[RickP]

I did the same thing with my air rifle to get practice off of the shooting sticks. My sticks were three pieces of bamboo and a vacuum cleaner belt from Lowes. I 'stole' this idea from someone else who posted it.

I also used the sticks to practice at the range with .22s, a CZ452 bolt action and a Single Six revolver, to shoot and some scaled .22 sized IHMSA steel targets. Handgun range was usually limited to 50 yrds, and the rifle extended to 100 yds.

 

[Nyati]

I´m lucky Spain is not that cold , and my shooting range is only a 10 min drive from home, however some winter days can be unpleasant specially if it rains or is overcast and windy.

So, I go to the indoor air rifle range, 10 meters, good lighting and some heating. There I practice with a scoped air rifle, quick offhand shooting.

On better days it´s the 50 meters range, lots of shooting with a scoped .22, and a few shots with the big boys. If I want to shoot at a longer distance, I have to arrange a visit to a military range, where I have up to 300 meters.

 

[ActionBob]

Great thread! I've been wanting to make an indoor range.

Any suggestions for the best bb or pellet gun to practice with?

There is a 50 yard indoor range in the nearest "big" town about 30 minutes drive from our place... We were there Saturday. Cool thing is they allow up to 50 cal. No problems at all with my 375 and 416. We are also members in an outdoor range with a roof over the shooting benches so it keeps most of the rain and snow off.. Thought about going there today as it warmed up all the way to 10F. But the wife wanted to go for a walk instead as it was the warmest day in a while and she wanted to get outside to exercise.

But it would be nice to have a little indoor range at home for those nasty days.

 

[Velo Dog]

Air rifles have always interested me, from my childhood through now (I'm in my 60's) and I have accordingly owned several over my gray haired lifetime.
Currently, I have an RWS brand, Model 34 Diana, .22 calibre.
It is a full size rifle, wood stock, etc., the type that you cock the heavy main spring by folding the barrel downward, by applying 33 pounds hand pressure (even geezers like me can do this easily).

While the barrel is down, you press a pellet into the chamber with your thumb, then you close the barrel and when ready to fire, you place the "safety" lever (the only true safety catch is your brain) into the "go" position, focus on the front sight and gently press the excellent trigger.
It is quite accurate and I shoot it in my garage during cold winters, plus outside during the warmer months.
I am blessed to live in a wooded setting but unfortunately, it is within the city limits so, I cannot shoot real firearms in my yard, (except of course in an emergency.)

 

[brushmore]

Any suggestions for the best bb or pellet gun to practice with?

For now I am just using my Crosman 840 that I got when I was a kid. It's almost 30 years old and still works fine. There's certainly plenty of options out there now days but my I think I will some day try to find something with similar dimensions to my hunting rifle.

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Very cool shoting.
Witold

 

[Velo Dog]

ActionBob,

The air rifle I have now is an RWS Model 34 Diana, in .22 caliber (it's also available in .17 caliber).
The .17 drives it's projectile at higher velocity and that, combined with the smaller frontal area of the projectile, will possibly cause it to penetrate a bit better than the .22 version.
However, I bought this rifle used (saved almost a hundred bucks) and therefore could not choose the caliber.
Doesn't really matter for me personally anyway, because mine is actually more powerful than I need as it is.

After trying several types of pellets, I have settled on the RWS brand Target Grade ones, due to my rifle grouping them much tighter than the rest.
Although most were not what I would call inaccurate, except the non-lead ones.
I think they were too light and did not build up enough back-pressure to have consistent shot to shot velocity?
Later I read somewhere that powerful spring breach type air rifles can be damaged from repeated firings without enough back-pressure, such as "dry-firing," or using super light pellets.
So, it is good that my dumb luck of them being inaccurate has saved me from damaging my good quality air rifle.

At any rate, my point is (finally!) that I have been satisfied with this air rifle.
It is the best quality one I have owned in my life.
There are probably better ones out there but, this one is just right for what I do with it (paper targets and squirrels trying to chew holes in anything made of wood around here - such as my house.)

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

 

[Bullthrower338]

I am currently in the process of building a better version of my last deceleration bullet trap. My first one was 30" pipe lined with AR500 rolled to ID of pipe. It worked perfectly for the fodder I was slinging at it. I gave it to a friend of mine when I moved and he hasn't worn it out yet. I have recently acquired some 42" heavy wall pipe and some more AR500. I will post on this thread when I get it finished and tested. I got the idea from a friend of mine that has a 20' sea container set up as his practice range. He has many more pesos than myself and his was purchased, mine was much less pleasing to the eye but my right rear pocket still contained most of the earnings that the govt didn't confiscate at the end of the project.
Keep them kids shootin,
Cody