Building a Berm on a ranch

[THE MGD]

Shooting from a top lip of a tank / pond (about 12 - 15 ft up) across 350 yards of a flat unused feild. A 3 wire fence seperaring the field is the start of the back -stop, behind that is a thousand of yards of brush. To the right of my fire lane, about 250yards is another property. Completely as a safety I want to build a berm as a backstop. I will be firing .270, 300wsm , 308, and 30.06
I dont have a bulldozer.
I plan to cut the brush to the left and right behind the back stop and stack the wood up about 6ft (in this shape /''''\ ) suported by vertical rebar or t posts. Then shovel as much dirt as I can over the logs and especially the posts.
I understand this is unneeded but I figure safety is key.
Any better cheap ideas? Renting a dozer is like 200 a day out here and Im not looking to spend much if any.

As always thanks.

 

[El Vaquero]

Re: Building a Berm on a ranch

A bunch of old tires would help too. Too bad you don't live in my neck of the woods. We have an illegal dumping problem with used tires. We could fill up the bed of the truck in no time.

 

[jcfd2201]

Re: Building a Berm on a ranch

Old or scrap tires work well. Most tire shops will give you their scrap or junk tires for free. Use a t-post (rebar should work too) and stack the tires over them. You can stagger them for added protection (thickness of the berm) and then mound dirt against or over it if you want.

 

[kraigWY]

Re: Building a Berm on a ranch

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">A bunch of old tires would help too</div></div>

Nope, stay away from tires. Our club lost part of its range because tires were used as back stops. They float to the top of the dirt and cause wierd richochet's. We had some power lines hit because of those richochets.

We even had some coal haul truck tires, they still float to the top.

 

[THE MGD]

Re: Building a Berm on a ranch

Good advice, I think ill use mesquite brush as my filler over the tire idea , in light of the "floating issue" . Any ideas for errosion control? Ive also heard complaints on "drainage"?

 

[armorpl8chikn]

Re: Building a Berm on a ranch

$200 a day is a pretty good deal, considering the alternative, you could end up being "Dustin Cooked"
The rings of a tree will turn a bullet pretty quick so your idea for the dirt crusted firewood stack in my opinion is a bad one.
Your cheapest way is rent a dozer for a day. You can tear up one hell of a lot of shit in a day with a dozer. Matter of fact I would say just about an hour, 2 at the outside for a berm that would last you a lifetime. Hell I could build you one in a day with a Terramite but I don't live in Texas.

 

[Bryan27]

Re: Building a Berm on a ranch

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: armorpl8chikn</div><div class="ubbcode-body">$200 a day is a pretty good deal, considering the alternative, you could end up being "Dustin Cooked"
The rings of a tree will turn a bullet pretty quick so your idea for the dirt crusted firewood stack in my opinion is a bad one.
Your cheapest way is rent a dozer for a day. You can tear up one hell of a lot of shit in a day with a dozer. Matter of fact I would say just about an hour, 2 at the outside for a berm that would last you a lifetime. Hell I could build you one in a day with a Terramite but I don't live in Texas.</div></div>

That's what I was going to say, 1 day with a dozer and you'll be able to get a LOT of work done. For that price, I wouldn't even pick a shovel up. The amount of dirt you'll need to move to make an effective berm, you'll probably be looking at days of shoveling and packing it down, then you run into the problem of digging a big ass hole right next to the berm. Could you just get a dumptruck load of sand to this location?

 

[RichardTractorGuy]

Re: Building a Berm on a ranch

How close to San Antonio do you live? I have a loader backhoe...course you would have to find a way to move it to and from.

 

[wilb]

#8 crushed stone or gravel is a Great Berm

Depending on the cost of aggregate in your area, several loads of #8s would make an excellent berm. The trucks can dump them in a long pile, no equipment needed.

#8s just eat rifle fire. The require no maintenance, no mowing, no erosion. I've had #8 berms on my range for nearly 15 years with nothing done since the day I piled them up. No need to worry about .50 cal tracers or Incendiary, either

Around here, a truckload of #8s will cost about $160 at the quarry.

 

[THE MGD]

Re: #8 crushed stone or gravel is a Great Berm

Crushed gravel??? wow now thats outside the box. i like this

 

[alibi]

Re: #8 crushed stone or gravel is a Great Berm

The NRA has a lot of information on ranges, berms etc. My club range was built to NRA spec back in the 70's. I'm sure a lot has changed since then, but ours stops bullets dead. I learned recently it's even pointed in the right direction.