.50 shooters.. Need some advise/feedback

Hawk Gunner

Hawk Gunner

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Oct 29, 2007
372
4
Mobile, AL
#1
Im the safety officer of a range in Southern Mississippi. We just rebuilt our 600yard and repaired our 1000 yard berms. To this point .50/.416 have been banned. We are trying to see if we can do .50 on a limited bases. How much dirt would be sufficient to stop a .50. No AP or API just ball ammo. Right now our berms are 8-10 ft thick at the top and between 14-16 feet on the bottom. We wont have anyone in the pits but dont want our fclass target carriers shot up either.

Thanks in advance.
 
#3
Re: .50 shooters.. Need some advise/feedback

Ive watched tracers do crazy things..... esp when flying shooting from a helicopter at 140 knots. They go Parallel
laugh.gif


we can always add more dirt. this was mainly to stop, slow down the rounds. there is a town 5 miles behind our range we want to avoid depositing lead in.
 
#7
Re: .50 shooters.. Need some advise/feedback

At Atterbury they have to clear the airspace when we are on Range 6 with 50's.

Your berms are plenty thick enough. The far greater danger, is if someone hits low, then the round can skip over the berm and travel a long, long way. The round won't go 5 miles, but it can travel up to a mile. We had some issues at the Ben Avery range, when they didn't have the berms graded properly, and some rounds skipped off the berm and headed over the mountain downrange.

Another way to reinforce the stopping ability of the berm is to place a herringbone pattern of old tires on the front face of the berm. They do a admirable job of slowing everything down, and saving the berm from being cratered in areas of repeated impact.

ETA: How high are the berms?
 
#8
Re: .50 shooters.. Need some advise/feedback

they are 8 ft high and will be for single shot rifles only. Even if you have a semi it would be 1 round in the mag at a time.

Im looking for them to serve mostly as a backstop allowing people to shot paper of their own provided steel targets past 200. What little steel we have is already plagued from people shooting 50 illegally. We are in the middle of a wildlife management area. there is nothing around us for a few miles.
 
#11
Re: .50 shooters.. Need some advise/feedback

I called about a month or so ago to bring my fifty out there. I was quite dissapointed that it wasn't allowed. I hope you guys work things out...Not anymore thousand yard ranges around...
 
#12
Re: .50 shooters.. Need some advise/feedback

With a good zero, your backstop should be adequate. The issue is there are enough novice 50 shooters out there who have no clue about getting on target at 1000 yards, and end up throwing lots of rounds down range, short, long, and this is where the problems start. These issues can be mitigated by having a shooter supervised by a range officer to verify he is on target (or at least in the berm), or by limiting ammunition to jacketed, soft core bullets like the AMAX. They easily deform and are much less likely to skip out intact.
 
#13
Re: .50 shooters.. Need some advise/feedback

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: lrs50bmg</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> The issue is there are enough novice 50 shooters out there who have no clue about getting on target at 1000 yards, and end up throwing lots of rounds down range, short, long, and this is where the problems start. </div></div>

Any reccomendations for this exact point? I am the "issue" and I don't want to waste ammo, and create a "situation".....
 
#14
Re: .50 shooters.. Need some advise/feedback

You can start with a good zero from 100 yards, then come up 27.5 to 29.5 MOA depending on your load. Probably better to make sure you are on at 600 and then work up.

Try getting in touch with the folks who run the Rattlesnake Mountain FCSA matches near Benton City, WA. They have a match scheduled for May 29-31. That would be the best way to start out, as you could have experienced shooters help you get on at 1000.

There are a bunch of 50 shooters who shoot there on a regular basis.

Try contacting Paul Rittmann, paulrittmann (@) verizon.net

Scott Nye
Director, FCSA



 
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