Indoor shooting Range

[Salz007]

I apologise in advance as I am new to this.

What's the best way to make an indoor shooting range? What materials do I use? And what can I use to make sure bbs don't fly everywhere, need something that catches bbs when they drop/ricochet. And lastly, what's best to use for targets?

Many thank yous!

New Airsofter

Salz007

 

[Duff]

I use a medium sized box on its side in my garden or garage (dependant on the range I want,) with a piece of target paper over the opening. The bb's get caught in the box and most can be reused as they're only hitting cardboard.

It's cheap, it's pikey... but it works.

Edit:don't reuse bb's 

 

[Salz007]

I use a medium sized box on its side in my garden or garage (dependant on the range I want,) with a piece of target paper over the opening. The bb's get caught in the box and most can be reused as they're only hitting cardboard.

It's cheap, it's pikey... but it works.

Simple & easy, I like it

 

[Gepard]

I use something similar to Duff's but I have a net covering the rear to catch the BBs. 

 

[you can`t shoot me]

If you have a loose cloth as a back drop hanging like a curtain with a box below any bbs should hit the cloth and collect in the box below

 

[AshOnSnow]

I apologise in advance as I am new to this.

What's the best way to make an indoor shooting range? What materials do I use? And what can I use to make sure bbs don't fly everywhere, need something that catches bbs when they drop/ricochet. And lastly, what's best to use for targets?

Many thank yous!

New Airsofter

Salz007

In my last house, I made an airgun range in the garden that was great. Used the motor from the old garage door with a clothes line to move the targets up and back. Didn't have a way to program in the exact distances so I had to sort of eyeball it at the 5m, 10m and 20m. 20mm Plywood and 3mm steel behind to stop the pellets putting chips in the wall or going into the communal pool area. Had a competition with the neighbours a couple of times in the communal area which we set up to 50m - absolutely epic (although I never won with my crackshot mum and the ex australian SF Stephen from next door opposite in the mix!)

With airsoft you don't have such high risk of pellets shooting through your target, I think you'd probably do well to use a soft foam/polystyrene backing to catch the pellets, and just print out paper targets and staple them to it. Maybe a polystyrene insulation board? If you want to have free-standing paper targets like hanging from a wire that you can pull in and send out, use the lowest gsm paper you can, and use a heavy weight BB, at least .28g. Plastic BBs won't punch through as easily as lead pellets. Something like listing paper would probably be perfect (about 60gsm), and you can attach some weights to a binder clip at each side at the bottom to keep it flat and for cleaner target holes. But even with this, don't expect your holes to be uniformly circular like the ones you can get out of airgun flathead match pellets. Let me know how you get on!

 

[LightningCh]

See I just have a plastic bin filled with paper balls and carrier bags and stuff, and a couple of copper bits and stuff to add weight so it doesn't go flying off with each bb hit, and then place it on a chair, lie it on its side, and then just tape the targets to the front lol... not the best but it does the job.

Just I do have to take into account that the background of the target is a solid wall in case of a miss lol

Well I say I have this when I really mean I have plans to make this

 

[Guest]

My local site has an indoor range, curtain back drop, wooden frames with thick carboard facings and sack cloth on the back.

Ive still been hit on the head by ricochets though lol

 

[AshOnSnow]

My local site has an indoor range, curtain back drop, wooden frames with thick carboard facings and sack cloth on the back.

Ive still been hit on the head by ricochets though lol

Yeah that'll probably be the frames. Wood is too hard for BBs. You need soft material everywhere. You might be able to get away with soft wood like cork on some sniper rifles, but other than that I would suggest nothing you can't stick a pencil in with your little finger.

 

[callumbagshaw]

I'm with the guy who uses cardboard boxes filled with foam/paper, so I can't offer different first-hand experience on the target making part.

One thing that hasn't been covered though, is this:

If your RIF cost you more than £50 - i.e. if it's at least semi-kinda-half-decent-ish - DO NOT RE-USE the BBs you're firing at your targets.

they'll break your gun eventually  

Even small amounts of paper/debris/dust etc can cause internal problems which can easily be avoided by using fresh BBs every time you fancy a plink.

 

[Skara]

I used to have a cardboard box filled with extremely soft foam covered by a loose layer of thin cloth..

i used it mainly to test fire guns at home without having bbs ricocheting off and possibly breaking something..

the key is to have as much loose stuff as possible to absorb all the bb energy..

for a proper range target I guess a few layers of cardboard glued together and printed targets stapled onto it will work fine..

 

[Albiscuit]

I dont have space for a range as such, and being in a not so nice part of london where my neighbours are likely to have real guns, or call the cops who will kick my door off with real guns, I just chuck an empty box to the end of the garden (its tiny) open the bay door and stand the otherside of the room to the door and shoot into the box.

Its crappy but the only way I can test a gun shoots at home.