# Shooting range on private property



## 4x4_Hunter

Just wondering if anyone can give me some details. I want to construct a berm of sand so that I can safely shoot my handgun on my property. There is nothing but fields behind my property and I am able to stay 450' (I think that is the rule) away from any occupied residence (that is not my own). So, are there restrictions as to what size the berm needs to be or do I need any special permit? Allowable shooting hours? Etc.....

Thanks for the help.


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## Luv2hunteup

Contact the NRA they have a great book for construction of different types of ranges. Here's a link to the book they have. 
http://www.nrahq.org/shootingrange/sourcebook.asp


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## boehr

What Luv2hunteup said. Also the safety zone (450') only applies to hunting not target practice.


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## 4x4_Hunter

Ah... I didn't realize that Boehr. Do you know then off hand what the distance restriction is for target practice?


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## boehr

There is no set distance by law. If a neighbor complained it would be a civil matter unless the local governmental agency (township etc.) created a local ordinance.


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## lwingwatcher

Just a suggestion....berm it waaay bigger than you think that you will need and don't put your posts for the targets too close to it. With enough lead, you will have your bank caving toward your target holder....

Also, if you are gonna build one....you may as well build it so you can shoot as far as you can back away. If you are strictly handgun ranges, sink blocks in the ground for your short yardages and then go to posts for the longer distances. 

The only bad thing about having a ranges is that all your friends will want to use it.... I eventually came up with a bench rest on skids that is towable from my 25 yard marker back to 300 yards. Everybody with a trailer hitch loves it....

I don't have to deal with neigbor issues too much, I have had the range longer than they have lived nearby but then again, I live in a rural community where it is common place to hear shots all year round without feeling the need to head for cover...


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## Hamilton Reef

"Also the safety zone (450') only applies to hunting not target practice."
Thank you boehr. Learned something new today.


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## windwalker

I just learned this at a Twsp meeting on enacting a new firearm discharge law in Lansing. Boehr is correct in that there is no minimum distance regarding target practice. Agreed by DNR officers that were present. But common curtesy would be to talk to anyone effected by shooting. Another law that may be used is careless discharge of a firearm.


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## redneckdan

my friend and I build a range on his property in St. Clair Township a couple years ago. Every friday night we shoot steel IPSC style. The neighbor calls the sheriff every time and says that that we are breaking the noise ordinace, which there is none. So we started calling the sheriff before we practiced and let them know that we were practicing. Stopped all the interuptions, but the deputies still come by some times to shoot with us!:lol:


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## Brian S.Kroll

In addition to the NRA Range Guide which is the authority on range construction, you also need a copy of the Sport Shooting Range Act.(SSRA)MCL 691.1542


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## lwingwatcher

windwalker said:


> I just learned this at a Twsp meeting on enacting a new firearm discharge law in Lansing.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Another law that may be used is careless discharge of a firearm.



1) I am confused....how can a township enact a law in the City of Lansing???

2) What circumstances are you thinking of where LE would try and charge somebody with careless discharge of a firearm (and get a conviction) at a range for Petes sake?


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## boehr

lwingwatcher said:


> 2) What circumstances are you thinking of where LE would try and charge somebody with careless discharge of a firearm (and get a conviction) at a range for Petes sake?


Stop and think for a minute. Maybe not everyone is quiet as safe as you, somebody jerking around, a round goes off and the gun is point in a direction other than down range and the bullet hits a house off to the side. You have to plan for someone that just might have a brain fart, it happens for petes sake.


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## lwingwatcher

boehr said:


> You have to plan for someone that just might have a brain fart, it happens for petes sake.


Really hard to "plan" any outdoor range that would prevent that type of thing from coming back to bite you....unless it is totally underground...but I guess I see where you are coming from...


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## Rondevous

redneckdan said:


> my friend and I build a range on his property in St. Clair Township a couple years ago. Every friday night we shoot steel IPSC style. The neighbor calls the sheriff every time and says that that we are breaking the noise ordinace, which there is none. So we started calling the sheriff before we practiced and let them know that we were practicing. Stopped all the interuptions, but the deputies still come by some times to shoot with us!:lol:


I used to hunt and trap alot in that Twp.
Too bad the yuppie city types took it over.
The noise ordinace is still being considered, so your buddy better gather his troops and fight it.


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## lwingwatcher

Rondevous said:


> I used to hunt and trap alot in that Twp.
> 
> 
> Too bad the yuppie city types took it over.



I moved out of Oakland County years ago when they tore down my squirrel woods and built a K-Mart.

There are definite advantages to living in "podunk"....and I certainly won't live long enough to "see the day" that it happens where I live now.


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## windwalker

Hi, 
I meant that Delta Twsp is on the west side of Lansing. 
Not in the "city of Lansing" 
The definition of a "FIREARM " that was discussed at this meeting by the Delta Twsp manager was: "A firearm is described as anything that can move a projectile by force". 
It was asked by numerous caring parties at this meeting if that meant firearms, bow and arrow, pellet guns, paintball guns.
The answer was YES. 
It was also asked if this could mean golf and baseball because they are projectiles moved by force. 
He couldn't answer that.
I anticipate the wording to change.
The sportspeople of this country need to pay more attention, It is happening everywhere and it's not going away.


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## lwingwatcher

Sounds like your Twp Supervisor better start getting legal definitions before he starts dreaming ones up his own.

But, they will come up with language that will effectively prohibit all that they want to. I live outside a small City which permits the PD to shoot at an outdoor range but prohibits it's citizenry from hunting on their own land....go figure...


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## Crawfish

Nice work, windwalker. You would think they would draft the policy to address the problems they are having. For example, limiting the use of gunpowder fired firearms to reduce noise. Sounds like they are just creating a new ordinance without having a problem for it to address.

I was aware that the 450' restriction does not apply to target shooting, but you still have to be somewhat courteous to neighbors if you don't want the hassle of a nuisance lawsuit. I have nobody living behind me for a mile, but houses to either side of mine about 300' away. It would be nice to plink away with the .22, but I don't want to drive the neighbors crazy either. Too bad attached suppression devices are illegal. 

Anybody ever use unattached suppression devices? I've heard of things such as a tube made from tires attached to a frame that sits in front of your shooting bench. The end of the barrel is shooting through the center of the tires, and as long as it is not attached to the firearm, it is legal.


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## boehr

I would guess that if you built some type of sound supression tunnel to shoot through that wasn't attached to the firearm it would be fine. Kind of like they did to supress some of the sound on the DNR Range over in the Detroit area. Shooting stations or a shed like structure with sound absorbing material on the inside.


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## Downstate Doug

I am surprised there is not some sort of environmental law about it. I know they are having a hell of a time reclaiming the land where Wurtsmith AFB had its practice range.

DD


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