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A 20+ foot berm is pretty big. I don't think I've seen an outdoor range with a main berm higher than 10-12 feet and side berms over 6-8 feet.

C-dub wrote:A 20+ foot berm is pretty big. I don't think I've seen an outdoor range with a main berm higher than 10-12 feet and side berms over 6-8 feet.

The range that got shut down, previously discussed, had 20 ft berms.

Jumping Frog wrote:

C-dub wrote:A 20+ foot berm is pretty big. I don't think I've seen an outdoor range with a main berm higher than 10-12 feet and side berms over 6-8 feet.

The range that got shut down, previously discussed, had 20 ft berms.

and a 40ft berm would not have stopped a shooter from hitting the ground in front of the target, having the bullet ricochet to a down range location ..or shooting over the berm,, Most likely

Im sure your not implying a berm, 20ft high and of most any depth it would take to pile dirt 20 high, is incapable of stopping the average handgun or rifle round....

Cant fix stupid.. Hit the target, where the range is designed to stop the bullets, or have bullets end up in areas not planned.

Liability wise, sure i guess you need to assume your shooters are ignorant and will not shoot in a manner the range is built for..
Plan for the worst kind of thing

Berm, overhead cover at the target line back to some distance to the shooter line that math tells you SHOULD stop ricochets and inadvertent over the berm shots.

Heck maybe even a cheap plywood "High Wall" above the berm, to A: slow or deflect an errant round IF it happens, and/ or another piece of evidence that no bullet left the range over the berm..(ie no holes in the plywood)

When I have friends come over we go over the safety rules. And I act as the RSO. Because of that, I rarely get a chance to shoot when I have friends come over. I enjoy getting to see all the cool guns and and getting to shoot some of them. To get to shoot my own guns, I usually go out with the wife or my old man. I'm going to let this die down, just shoot with family and putting up the plywood over the back stop I think is a good idea and one that I'll do. To put steal up there, like the Marshal wants is going to be expensive.

With the backstop, we have a much better backstop than most even attempt at having on private land. We are blessed that we have a backhoe and can make the backstop. I'm going to try and email, i.e. "paper trail", the marshal on the laws to which he is referring. I do IT work, and usually do not have time during the day to sit and talk with the Fire Marshal during work hours.

On the subject of an attorney/lawyer, I need to find out where the FM is coming from and then if he is unwilling to follow the law then I'll get legal help. However, often just a letter from an attorney can be persuasive.

Entertaining and enlightening thread to read...but feel for the land owner. I hope this ends well for you.

I am about to purchase some land to hunt and shoot on so this thread has been very interesting.

Can the OP give us an update?

Right now the FM is wanting Certificates of Occupancy for the bussinesses my dad has out there, he helps people acquire their used car dealer license. He said that if we mess up any that he will pull those and not reissue them to us. So we are at his mercy, and not wanting to lose the income that my dad gets from consulting. Plus I've been so busy with school, I graduate this May, and with the ammo shortage I haven't even been able to go shoot.

I don't know what county you are in and the pop and distribution but try letting the VFW have some events out at your range. My local one has monthly turkey shoots and any fire marshal who screwed with them would be up the creek for sure. You have a pretty nice range and with just a little work it could be real nice.

EEllis wrote:I don't know what county you are in and the pop and distribution but try letting the VFW have some events out at your range. My local one has monthly turkey shoots and any fire marshal who screwed with them would be up the creek for sure. You have a pretty nice range and with just a little work it could be real nice.

This is just private land that we are trying to make it as safe as possible. At the moment, not sure what would happen if we had friends come over and shoot. I dont want anybody to get arrested over this.

TeXJ wrote:This is just private land that we are trying to make it as safe as possible. At the moment, not sure what would happen if we had friends come over and shoot. I dont want anybody to get arrested over this.

So basically their intimidation has worked. That's a shame. (Not faulting you, I understand the need for prudence.)

Jumping Frog wrote:

TeXJ wrote:This is just private land that we are trying to make it as safe as possible. At the moment, not sure what would happen if we had friends come over and shoot. I dont want anybody to get arrested over this.

So basically their intimidation has worked. That's a shame. (Not faulting you, I understand the need for prudence.)

TexJ, call AG Abbott's office. I'll bet a dollar to donuts his office will be over this like a pit bull on a third grader.

Anygunanywhere

TeXJ wrote:

EEllis wrote:I don't know what county you are in and the pop and distribution but try letting the VFW have some events out at your range. My local one has monthly turkey shoots and any fire marshal who screwed with them would be up the creek for sure. You have a pretty nice range and with just a little work it could be real nice.

This is just private land that we are trying to make it as safe as possible. At the moment, not sure what would happen if we had friends come over and shoot. I dont want anybody to get arrested over this.

I understand and that's my point. Just because it's private land shouldn't mean you can't allow the VFW to hold events there. At that point in time it would be the VFW's issue with the fire Marshell not yours and no one with any sense messes with the VFW.

EEllis wrote:

TeXJ wrote:

EEllis wrote:I don't know what county you are in and the pop and distribution but try letting the VFW have some events out at your range. My local one has monthly turkey shoots and any fire marshal who screwed with them would be up the creek for sure. You have a pretty nice range and with just a little work it could be real nice.

This is just private land that we are trying to make it as safe as possible. At the moment, not sure what would happen if we had friends come over and shoot. I dont want anybody to get arrested over this.

I understand and that's my point. Just because it's private land shouldn't mean you can't allow the VFW to hold events there. At that point in time it would be the VFW's issue with the fire Marshell not yours and no one with any sense messes with the VFW.

The problem is, IIRC, the Fire Marshal doesn't appear to have any sense of right and wrong and might make things bad for TexJ's dad and not the VFW.

C-dub wrote:

EEllis wrote:

TeXJ wrote:

EEllis wrote:I don't know what county you are in and the pop and distribution but try letting the VFW have some events out at your range. My local one has monthly turkey shoots and any fire marshal who screwed with them would be up the creek for sure. You have a pretty nice range and with just a little work it could be real nice.

This is just private land that we are trying to make it as safe as possible. At the moment, not sure what would happen if we had friends come over and shoot. I dont want anybody to get arrested over this.

I understand and that's my point. Just because it's private land shouldn't mean you can't allow the VFW to hold events there. At that point in time it would be the VFW's issue with the fire Marshell not yours and no one with any sense messes with the VFW.

The problem is, IIRC, the Fire Marshal doesn't appear to have any sense of right and wrong and might make things bad for TexJ's dad and not the VFW.

^This

The problem is, IIRC, the Fire Marshal doesn't appear to have any sense of right and wrong and might make things bad for TexJ's dad and not the VFW.

Last thing I will say. It seems easy for the fire Marshall to push around some guys who don't have the will or the money to fight back. My point is that wouldn't be the case with the VFW or some other org. If you get them in to take up the fight then you could step back. The idea that he would harass the VFW with bogus bull is absurd and while I realize that the Dallas suburbs are pushing in the county politics still should have that "small town" feel to them. The idea that some rich newcomer can steamroll long time residents should piss a lot of people off. That is the angle I would play. Spend a couple of bucks to get a letter written by some lawyer to the fire Marshall. Speak to the county judge. You do have a nice, or what with very little effort can be made very nice, range so use that to attract orgs that would help so they could have access to your range. Right now all I'm getting is he'll take the bullying because anything else is to much effort. If that is the case, and it's not my problem if it is, them why bother posting about it. Right now it's a "watch me get bullied and do nothing" thread.