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Hey Everyone! Long time no post, I've been busier than the fry cook at Rosie O'donnell's favorite buffet. I want to thank all of you that have stopped by and toured the new indoor range, and thank you for all of your kind words and encouragement. A few guys off of here really gave us some EXTREMELY valuable feedback that we have already implemented. All we are waiting on now is the (dadgum) ATF to send us the physical copy of our FFL. Everything has been approved and signed off, and we are just waiting for the mail.

Whoda thunk that it would have taken a father/son team consisting of 2 spotlessly clean individuals nearly a year to get a Dealer's License????

Regardless, my little brother and I tested Lanes 1 and 2 today with my 7.62 Mosin, an AR15, and a 7.62x39 AK. The report? PERFECT! Not a scratch or dent on any of the traps, and we rapid fired 50 round mags as if it were our last cling on life. I shot approx 20 rounds of 7.62x54R and not a scratch on the plates in back! That means that we are officially allowing any caliber assault rifle to be fired in these lanes when we finally open! The only downfall is that we only have 76 feet of lane with which to work.

I haven't tested any .50AE yet, but I think it should be fine. The 7.62x39 was sparking like the 4th of July back there. One MAJOR problem that we are having right now is the noise. We are brainstorming and getting every Home Theater knobjob expert on the planet to offer their feedback on how to COST EFFECTIVELY dampen some of the noise in there. Its not that we are worried about ear protection inside, its the neighboring businesses that we are trying to stay in good standing with! Hell, next door is a Hair Salon and across the street is a Quilt Knitting store. Two places that wouldn't exactly BENEFIT from constant "POW! POW! POW!" in their serene environment! I'll try to figger out how to post up some pics in a second.

As always, EVERYONE is welcome! Come on by anytime!

Mac Truck wrote:The only downfall is that we only have 76 feet of lane with which to work.
. . .
COST EFFECTIVELY dampen some of the noise in there. Its not that we are worried about ear protection inside,

76 feet of lane is just short of the "1000 inch range" that we used to use for preliminary sighting with reduced targets. Are you sure you can't get another eight feet?

How about massive amounts of "egg crate" foam like TV and Radio studios use?

Mac,

Congrats on the range!! Wish it was a lot closer to Dallas

You might try acoustical ceiling tiles or panels. They work pretty well to dampen sound and usually can be found cheaper at surplus building supply houses if you are not picky about the pattern.

Good construction adhesive (Liquid Nails) will glue it to the walls with little problem.

jimlongley wrote:How about massive amounts of "egg crate" foam like TV and Radio studios use?

Or even egg crates (cartons) themselves. Back in my misspent youth (somewhere around 1968-69) I shared a house with fellow rock band members and, in order to keep the neighbors from calling the police about the "noise", we lined the walls of the practice room with egg boxes. Suprising how well they worked.

I think the concern there would be unburnt powder collecting in the foam, creating a bad fire hazard.
sound proofing is difficult, in this sichy-ation. talk to the folks at http://www.bullettrapinc.com , as they are a business amongst other businesses. I think it's safe to say that althought you can hear the "racket" outside, it is not distracting.

another thought is insulation filled walls. add another layer of sheetrock, with insulation, that will dampen things a bit.
hanging tiles in a manner such that they are not flush, but create a "wave" pattern will probably do the most good, works for the walls, too.

I'd build a false wall set just inside the real one, not connected laterally, insulated connectors at the top. Sheetrock both sides, acoustic tiles facing the lanes. Acoustic tiles hanging from the ceiling by their edges, 90-degrees to the firing direction. Find out what the approximate wavelength of gunfire is and space multiple rows accordingly.
As for unburnt powder, you could hang a plastic barrier in front of the first few rows without losing much effectiveness.

Hot doggie Mac.... Guess I need to slide over there and test to make sure the traps will take my hot 45 acp rounds

multiple layers of 3 lb. per cubic foot density fiberglass (board) covered with (white) corrugated perforated metal is what we used in our little firing room (850,000 holes). 6 lb. density can have a little beter sound reduction coefficient, but is even more pricey. Most of what little sound that gets out is from AC vent and exhaust.

Rex B wrote:Find out what the approximate wavelength of gunfire is and space multiple rows accordingly.

Gunfire is impulse and very broadband, lots of wavelengths.

Mac,

Check your PM bro...

Thanks for all the input, fellas! We had a very unfortunate circumstance in nearby Humble at Sportsman's, when it burned down a few months ago. The stories are many, but the basic consensus from what I gather, is that there WAS foam on the walls, and that's what caught fire. I heard the place had a backdraft and was nothing but steel beams and concrete in a matter of 2 minutes. My heart really goes out to that guy over there.

We can't use any sound-deadening material that can collect any form of gunpowder residue, so that rules out curtains, cloth, eggcrates, foam, etc. Our hands are really kind of tied on it. My idea was to take the 7,000,000 old tires that were dumped at the end of the road over here for the past 20 years, slice them in half, and pin the halves to the walls, tread side out, every few inches, then line the shooter's box with rubber restaurant floor mats. That way they won't collect any residue.

The lanes are divided by concrete filled cinderblock, so the source of the noise starts out from the barrel of the gun and bounces off of both walls before heading "downrange". I figured we could take the same concept, slice up a bunch of tires into 2"x1" squares, and use an adhesive to stick them to the walls behind the trap.

Either way, gotta do something! The usually nice old man down the road came by today in Geezer Mode, complaining about "them noisemakers we call guns".

The key to muffling broadband waveforms is a big variety of sound-absorbing and reflecting surfaces. As few flat surfaces as possible, and no right angles. Every time a sound wave reflects, it attenuates. Give it enough opportunity to bounce around, and it will eventually fade away.

For large-impulse sound waves like gunfire, you also need very dense material. If you're concerned with your neighbors, you also have to worry about penetration. For that, the cheapest/easiest solution is simple cellulose insulation in a standard 4" or 6" wall. Cover with black fiberboard instead of drywall, then apply whatever you need to apply to deal with the environment. Completely surround the shooting room with cellulose insulation, and almost no sound will escape.

Mac Truck wrote:Hey Everyone! Long time no post, I've been busier than the fry cook at Rosie O'donnell's favorite buffet. I want to thank all

Mac,

Awesome to see (well, read) you're getting close. I've stopped by a couple of times since my first visit, but missed you each time. Will definitely try to be one of your early customers - definitely looking forward to your place opening up!

Wow, those are some hefty traps if they take a 7.62x54R with out any marking! I wasn't aware you could build a real trap for something that with that much power. I'm not a big fan of indoor ranges, but next time I'm up in the land of the North, I'll have to stop by.

I wish I had a suggestion for your sound problems. Hopefully you'll have them resolved soon so business can get up and going. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors!

mac

oh yeah ill be bringing my M44 once you're open for business.