How many bales of straw does it take

[dao]

I live out in the country on some acreage but close enough to neighbors that we can hear various ones shooting their guns when the mood strikes them. I've always used a local range for this as I didn't necessarily want some of the neighbors to know that we have firearms in the house. But I'm starting to think that people knowing could just as easily be a deterrent to unwanted attention as it could be a draw.
So my question is would six bales of straw end to end, two deep, and three high be enough. The question is really whether or not two bales deep would be enough to stop handgun bullets, from .22 to .45, should we miss the steel targets I would set in front of them.

[dao]

Have to rethink this. Realized that the straw could actually catch fire unless it was well wetted down.

[Artie]

I would get some sand bags or build a wooden backstop backed up with dirt.

When I was in the service we built what are called log cribs to stop tanks. Essentially two logs walls a few feet apart where you fill the gap with dirt so a tank can not simply push em over.

Dirt is the best bullet stop ever devised.

[dao]

I think you're right. I was trying to come up with a way to do it on the cheap. Used railroad ties are $18 at Home Depot. And getting a load of dirt or sand across my drain field will be tough. Might have to tough it out though if I want to do it right.
Another thing is that I'm hoping to come up with a way to do it that is easily removable. Should we sell the place, or the county assessor sees it I don't want to get flagged for an environmental offense.

[Artie]

I dunno what the land is like but why not dig the dirt on site? A double layer of sand bags should do the job tho I might go triple just because.

A few pallets stood on edge in parralel lines a foot apart fill the gap with dirt ought to be good to go. Think I would go the same route with sand bags. Instead of just a double wall build the second wall a foot off the first and fill the gap with dirt.

[dao]

The place I want to put it is on the edge of my property, surrounded by lawn. No available dirt, or a way to bring it there. I'll have to give this some thought. Some more thought.

[dustnchips]

Tires stacked on their sides and filled with sand. They won't leak and rot like sand bags. There is no easy low labor solution.

[berettabone]

Sounds like you only have three choices...…......………...get/use an acreage bullet catch type of backstop, or somehow, get a one time dump load of rock-less dirt, or stop shooting there. I wouldn't trust or really want soggy hay, unless you move it every time or tarp it. You don't have anywhere on your property where a truck could leave some dirt??????? I noticed that you mentioned a drain field????????????? A pile of dirt can be raked for lead. Even a pile of dirt sand mix, and if you ever sell the property, who could really object to a pile of dirt on the outskirts of the property....………..a bullet catch can be put anywhere and moved. It can also be used inside a building, like a larger garage. If you have septic service with a drain field, does that truck go on the property??? I'm not trying to be a wiseguy, just trying to get a feel for your property.

[dao]

Our property is 300 x 650. The homesite is on the top half with the bottom half, 300 x 325 down a steep embankment that then levels off. We don't use that half and it's really nothing but a buffer zone between us and a neighbor. It's heavy with brush and trees and for the most part impassable. So on the upper half our house sits almost in the center of it with the drainfield beside the house on one side. That is the side where I'd most like to put a bullet stop. I don't want to do anything with the back part behind the house because the embankment is held in place by trees and brush. We get a LOT of rain here and I don't want our house sliding down the bank. The house sits about 75 feet from the edge but still...
So we have the drainfield on one side and on the other we have power and water crossing from the property line to the house. So I can't bring a large truck beside the house on either side. When we have the septic pumped he has to park in front of the house and use a very long hose to the right rear of the house in order to reach the tank. I've been frustrated by the way the property was laid out by the original owners many times because I can't even put a good size shop anywhere due to the drainfield and the utilities running under the ground.
Tires are a good idea, but an eyesore. The right way I think would be railroad ties backed by dirt or sand but it would not allow me to remove it easily when we decide to move. At one time I thought this would be my last house but I've started thinking I have one more move left in me.
So, I'm not sure what I'll do, but I'd like to do something. I'm paying $145 per year for the range and it's more than 20 miles away. I'd much rather walk out my back door and shoot a box or two a couple of times per month. And I may yet if I can figure out how to make use of the property and our location to get something in place. Along those lines, is a Bobcat capable of excavating and then moving dirt/clay? There is one spot behind the house toward one side of the property where the bank is not steep that I could conceivably set up a small berm, so long as I could excavate the soil and clay mix there and build it from that. If I did that I'd be shooting downward toward the lower half of my own property.

[berettabone]

You sound like your adamant about another potential move. When you said that you just wanted to walk out your back door and shoot a box or two a couple times a month, IMHO you answered the question. I wouldn't change the property. I would get something temporary and wait until you think you have permanent roots, then make a nice berm. I have a drain field and also underground utilities at our second home, so now I understand your dilemma. I would think that a pickup truck load of dirt may not be too heavy. A few of those?????????????? No sticks in the fire here...…………………...Acreage Bullet Stop. Not real cheap but would solve your problem. In fact, if you know someone in the right place, you could make your own...…………………..

[dao]

Not familiar with an Acreage Bullet Stop ???

I don't have a pickup but I do have a trailer. And now that you mention it I'll bet I could pull it over my utility ditches in the dry months, and around the back of the house to the other corner where I want the berm to be.

[Bawanna]

Or there's always the good ole wheelbarrow. Done that a few times. Going out back to the wooded area you don't use isn't an option. Shoot back into the back towards the house if the bank is high enough to be safe?. Just clear a little shooting lane?

[dao]

I went out and scoped it out closely. I can set it up, firing away from the house with my own property behind the berm, with the bullets going downhill. So that should be fine. Years ago I had set up straw bales in that very spot for the kids to shoot their bows into. The bales finally melted away but that spot will work.

[340pd]

If you think you may sell I would avoid tires as you may be responsible to dispose of them at the time of the same. They could be a huge pain to pull out and disposal costs could be high.