Backstop Safety

[suburbanredneck]

Esteemed fellow firearm owners...

I'm in the process of setting up a range on my property. I recently had 5 dumptrucks worth of dirt (~100 yards) delivered to function as a backstop. The property is flat and beyond the backstop is woods. Turns out the fill dirt I received contains more than a couple chunks of old concrete, some about 3' x 3' x 3'. Should I be concerned about this? I've never shot at concrete, so I have no idea if ricochet will be an issue. My house is approximately 75 yards away from the backstop. I'll be shooting everything from 9mm to .223 to .50 muzzleloader.

This is kind of how its setup:

xxxxxxxxxxxxxWOODSxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
.............................xBACKSTOPx

..........xBARNx


xHOUSEx...................xSHOOTERx

[jdonovan]

. Turns out the fill dirt I received contains more than a couple chunks of old concrete, some about 3' x 3' x 3'. Should I be concerned about this? I've never shot at concrete, so I have no idea if ricochet will be an issue.

Yes.

Any solid, non-absorbant object, be it rock, concrete, etc.. has the potential to create ricochets.

I'd suggest sifting the material with a rock bucket or similar, to separate the large material from the smalls. The more solid material can be used on the backside of the berm for thickness, but absolutely should not be used on the striking face if you want to contain the projectiles.

[suburbanredneck]

Thanks for the reply! Good advice. I've got a guy coming this weekend to deal with the concrete chunks.