Shooting Shed Sound Proofing

[TrxR]

What about stacking some round hay bales outside the window? Im thinking 2 rows stacked 2 high in each side.

[Ricco1949]

Back in the 90's I shot in an evening winter 10-22 50 BR group league. We shot from within the clubhouse with barrels extending out shooting ports.

This range is located in a setting with houses within 1/4 mile of the range.

In order to muffle the muzzle blasts one of the members built two 8 Foot x 16" x16" tubes lined with carpet that was waffled up about two inches in each direction, kind of like waves within the tubes, mimicking suppressor baffles. These tubes were set up outside the shooting port tight to the building

IIRC there were caps on the ends of the plywood tubes that reduced the entrance and exit holes somewhat like a suppressor however the holes were still quite large......maybe 10-12 inches.

The net result was the tubes very effectively reduced the muzzle blasts from subsonic ammo.

However I seem to recall that the plywood tubes could not sustain the muzzle blast from center fire......they quickly began to come apart at the seams.

Thinking back on it now, 55 gallon drums may have been a better option.

[OliveOil]

If you shoot a rifle with the muzzle inside a small room, even sound dampened, watch out for the repetitive pressure blast on your eyes. You will have to wear ear plugs AND ear muff to protect ear and brain from concussion (human skull is very thin in ear area).

Think ventilation to avoid breathing primer and powder fumes.

The already mentioned car tyres tunnel aka giant silencer is an excellent concept. Use 2 metal 200 liters barrels (sorry I am metric) opened at both end, fill them with used tyres, weld/assembly them well aligned and place them on a support outside your shooting cabin.

Using some ventilation to increase air pressure inside the cabin and naturally exhaust through the "silencer" will keep you safe from fumes.

Here we have plates made from very small pieces of used tyres, glued together. They are usually used as "pavement" in schools to protect kids falling in playing area. That makes an outstanding firearm noise dampener. The ones I have seen in use are approx 10"x10"x2".

[Bill Wynne]

An underground tunnel would solve a lot of problems.

[John Kielly]

An underground tunnel would solve a lot of problems.

or a million acre lot.

[vtmarmot]

My shooting shack is uninsulated. I have small windows on each side and in front, and an inside bench. I have berms at 40 and 80 yards. I put two blue barrels together. They are stuffed with insulation with about a 10 inch hole all the way through. I put the muzzle out the window and into the barrels a bit.

This all faces away from my house which is about 80 yards in back of it. The range is in the woods. When I touch off anything centerfire, my wife says the windows rattle in the house. A .22 WMR makes a pretty sharp crack. Subsonic .22 match rounds are very quiet.

I limit my centerfire use to checking zero on guns I have a question about. My neighbors are not close, but they are all nice and I don't want to tick them off. I have one neighbor that I call double-tap man. He must spend a fortune on ammo. He shoots for hours on end, generally on nice days when you want to be outside or have your windows open. I don't want to be that guy.

In short, it's nice to have an "in a pinch" range and one for .22's but it was not the glorious trimph I was hoping for. On rainy days, I hunt from the porch. I hunted from inside once, fell asleep and woke up to a deer in front of the 80 yard berm and moving. I up and fired. No ear plugs and the muzzle inside. Big mistake. My right ear used to be my good one. Now it's the bad one. DO NOT do this.

I still drive 90 miles one way to get to my favorite range. I take 3 or 4 rifles and a sandwich and make a day of it.

[TomK]

Paul built a sound reduced room in his walkout basement with doubled walls and insulation between the walls and sound containing paneling that you use in soundproof walls. It looks like loosely glued wood fibers or excelsior. He used the same stuff on the ceiling. He spray painted the walls and ceiling. It works quite well. He isn’t so concerned about sound outside the house and so the rifle muzzle is about even with the opened window. He put a couple stickers on the window so he wouldn’t forget to open it. He also raised the floor with 2X6 framing resting on the concrete floor and shimmed and insulated that also. My outdoor range has a lot of shrubs and trees running the full 300 yards but everyone knows when I’m shooting. I don’t know what to tell you about soundproofing or reducing an entire range. How did your shooting go this year, Josh?
I can’t believe 42 people saw your post and didn’t have experience or opinions on a range such as what you are looking to do.

Armstrong tectum. Also fireproof but not mouse proof.

[BillBrawand]

an underground tunnel would solve a lot of problems.

there are a few of them around.

[BillBrawand]

or a million acre lot.

i bult mine out of strafoam could here neighbor punding nails over my gun shots.

[doghunter]

I once visited the home of a young digger whom I supervised (as a Warrant Officer) and he showed me his garden shed where he practised playing his drums. The shed was made from pressed metal.

The shed was lined with cardboard egg cartons glued to the walls and ceiling and I stood outside while he gave the drums a few rolls and could barely hear a sound. So worth considering for the internal noise issue.

I gave him a big tick on his annual report for his ingenuity and also for his consideration for his neighbours. He made corporal within a year.

I like smart people.

* doggie *

[BillBrawand]

[QUOTE YOUR NOISE IS ONLY AT MUZZEL MAKE PARTIAL ROLL OF HEAVY FENCE WIRE TO LET YOUR REST SET RIGHT WITH STRAFOAM WRAPED AROUND IT YOU GET A LITTLE DUST AT FIRST BUT REALY CUTS NOISE=josh shrum;839261]I am thinking about building a shed to practice from, but with a slight twist.

In an effort to keep folks from hearing/knowing I am shooting I want to to keep the muzzle INSIDE the building to prevent as much noise as possible from escaping. I likes my privacy and don't want neighbors nebbin'.

If I go forward with this plan I would fence in the range (100 yards) to keep folks, pets, etc from wandering into my field of fire.

So my question is:

With sound proofing the walls and ceiling, baffling in front of the muzzle, carpet on the floor, ear plugs and muffs, is my idea safe/viable? I am thinking along the lines a of Jam Room that a lot of musicians build, something with sound proofing to keep sound in as well as baffling to keep sound from blowing up my ears.

Almost an anechoic chamber, except I will need at least one opening for the bullets to go through.

In addition, I was considering planting some species of Thuja/Arborvitae around the building, possibly the entire range, in an effort to reduce noise.

I would welcome any concerns and/or suggestions.

Thanks!

Josh[/QUOTE]

[BillBrawand]

what about stacking some round hay bales outside the window? Im thinking 2 rows stacked 2 high in each side.

bales will help .

[BillBrawand]

bales will help .

cover with plastic.

[John S]

hay bales shot with stucco in a color to match the land scape

[ray porter]

hay sounds great. if you find a farmer that stashed a bunch and did not sell for a couple of years, you can probably get it for free. hauling might be a pain.