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airgun range in the basement?

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drboom

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We bought our first house late last summer and have been diligently working on the long list of things that need fixing. Now that the basement is mostly done, it occurred to me that I have enough room for and airgun range - I have an easy 38ft, more if I try to figure out a diagonal path.

I've always shot 'real' firearms but I don't get to the range very often and the idea of plinking in my basement is quite appealing but obviously only realistic for airguns. I started googling for airgun info but I'd like some advice from boardmembers. My goal is to be able to plink cheaply and improve my mediocre marksmanship skills. As my goal is to improve marksmanship, I'd very much like to shoot with something that closely resembles the firearms I shoot with regularly (cz75b and 1911). Given the length of my basement range, I think that an airgun need only be accurate for tight groups at 25' or so.

I'm sure I'll also get into air-rifle in short order as well but I feel that similarity to other firearms is less important for air-rifle. I'd like to keep my entry into the airgun market reasonably inexpensive.

Any specific thoughts on what to buy that might meet my goals? I see that there are several different airgun technologies as well as airsoft (although I haven't figured out what makes airsoft different). Do any of the local shops carry much airgun stuff? I don't recall seeing much in my gunshop travels but I wasn't looking at/for airgun stuff.

Thanks,
Jon
 
Don't kow what's local for you, as your profile doesn't say, but K&R Target Sports in Hudson has air pistol stuff, as does most any Dick's Sporting Goods.

You probably want to be sure that you have REAL good ventilation, though... and that your wife has a clear path to the washer and dryer. Or she'll be shooting at YOU. [wink] (Note: I'm NOT being sexist here - this is exactly the reason I don't do the same!)
 
Dick's Sporting goods as a small niche for Airsoft / pellet guns. I know a lot of poeple that utilize airguns to work on markmenship in their homes. It's a great alternative to the real deal, but nothing beats the real thing.
 
dwarven1 said:
Don't kow what's local for you, as your profile doesn't say, but K&R Target Sports in Hudson has air pistol stuff, as does most any Dick's Sporting Goods.

You probably want to be sure that you have REAL good ventilation, though... and that your wife has a clear path to the washer and dryer. Or she'll be shooting at YOU. [wink] (Note: I'm NOT being sexist here - this is exactly the reason I don't do the same!)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the pointer to Dick's - I drive by the one in Dedham regularly but I've never been in. I'll take a look soon.

Regarding ventilation - I've confused, from my initial reading, I thought there was no lead danger from airguns and no ventilation issues. Please tell me more.

And yes, I'll make sure we have good rules worked out so there is no chance of anyone walking through the firing line on the way to the laundry or something. My wife can't shoot the real stuff now since she is pregnant but I will get a huge kick out of watching her shoot airguns with a big pregnant belly in our basement...
 
As a kid, my grandfather would put me in the basement and let me shoot the BB Gun.

If it was raining, or if I was bugging him... To the basement we went.

He had a good sized box filled with newspapers, phone books, etc... We'd put a target on the front. He'd hand me my Crossman 2600 and a tube of BBs. And I'd shoot down there for hours.

I'm not sure why you would need good ventilation, as BBs are copper. But it was a good time.

I've actually been thinking about it for my daughter.
 
I get all my airguns and pellets from http://www.pyramydair.com/

They also have GREAT daily blog http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/

I use a Walther CP99 Compact with blowback in my kitchen (BBs), but it is not exactly accurate. For Accuracy I use a Daisy Avanti 747 single shot (.177) or my Benjamin Sheridan HB22 single shot (.22 pellets). Both are accurate at 25 feet.

Never thought of ventilation, never seemed to be a problem. I have a few holes in my wall now when I miss my Cardboard Box/Phone book, back stop and BBs all over the house.
 
Jon,

I just got myself a Gamo whisper pellet rifle. I use it in my backyard with subsonic pellets. This thing is a blast to shoot and the neighbors dont even hear me. Great for plinking at less than a penny a pop.
 
I'm thinking of lead pellets, as that's what I shoot in my air pistols. I'd think that a lead pellet hitting a pellet trap will probably put some lead dust into the air.
 
Setting up a basement air pistol range is a great way to improve your marksmanship. I started shooting in my basement a bit over a year ago, and my Bullseye scores have improved noticeably. Along the way, I started to enjoy shooting the AP every bit as much as my "real" handguns.

The standard distance, and the one that the "official" targets are set up for, is 10 meters - approximately 33 ft, so you've got enough room for a regulation distance range. There are various ways to set up a suitable backstop, none of them particularly expensive. I happened to have an old Outers brand .22 bullet trap, so that's what I use but it's really more than is absolutely necessary. I thought about installing some sort of target carrier, but eventually figured it wasn't really worth it for the short distance involved, as well as the fact that I'm the only one there.

With the lack of lead-vaporizing heat generated by the propellant and also no lead coming from lead styphnate priming compound, I'm unaware of any need for ventilation and I've never seen a discussion of ventilation in any of the sources I looked into regarding setting up an airgun range. AP pellet velocities are in the 500 fps range, so I don't think there's enough heat generated by the pellet passing through the barrel to be and issue. There may be some lead getting into the air from the pellet trap, but I can't imagine it's a major issue (and some traps use modeling clay to trap the pellets in any case). There's also no need for ear protection, but you do want to be careful to always wear shooting glasses - pellets do like to bounce around on occasion - and also to wash your hands after handling pellets.

The center of the airgun universe is Pilkington Competition Equipment (www.pilkguns.com), where you can get anything you'd possibly need to get started, including lots of good information that doesn't cost anything. They sell APs that range from the most inexpensive entry-level guns to world-class equipment, and Pilkington is where many of the top international competitors go for their equipment. I particularly like the Edelmann targets they sell which will give you a much cleaner and easier-to-score hole than the usual NRA targets, which tend to tear at low AP velocities.

I started with a Gamo Compact single-shot gun, but eventually moved on to a Steyr LP50 because I wanted to practice the sustained fire Bullseye stages as well. The Gamo is comparatively inexpensive and readily available from a number of vendors. It's plenty accurate and has a reasonable trigger, with some limited adjustment. The Steyr is a true work of art, but it was always expensive and now with the weak dollar it's a $3K investment to set up properly. You might also find some high-end used APs for sale at a good price on Pilkington's target-shooting forum (www.targettalk.org).
 
I'm thinking of doing something similar myself. The "only" issue that I can see is hitting something important in the basement (either directly, or from a richochet). Either a water pipe, cable, or worse of all - a gas pipe!!! I don't know if there's enough energy in an airgun to puncture something like that?

I was looking at one of the SIG Airsoft guns (mainly because my favorite handgun is a P229) : http://www.sigsauer.com/Products/ShowCatalogCategory.aspx?categoryid=51
 
I have a Benjamin 22 also. 40ft basement, I hang a moving blanket from the ceiling joists, and pop off at a hanging strofoam ball for accuracy.
 
airsoft != airgun

Airsoft is far less energy, with a much lighter pellet made out of plastic. If you get shot in the chest with an airsoft gun, you will get a welt.

Airguns use a lead pellet. Some air rifles can be pumped up high enough that they have the same muzzle energy as a .22lr. People have been killed after being shot in the chest with an air rifle.
 
pipmaster1971 said:
I'm thinking of doing something similar myself. The "only" issue that I can see is hitting something important in the basement (either directly, or from a richochet). Either a water pipe, cable, or worse of all - a gas pipe!!! I don't know if there's enough energy in an airgun to puncture something like that?

I was looking at one of the SIG Airsoft guns (mainly because my favorite handgun is a P229) : http://www.sigsauer.com/Products/ShowCatalogCategory.aspx?categoryid=51
Click to expand...

I don't think a properly setup range has much risk of damaging pipes or the like from a .177 airgun. In my case, the target will be in an area with no risk and I'll setup some sort of absorbing backstop that will eliminate richochets (foam, mattress... etc).

I'm interested in the airsoft stuff but I'd really like to hear opinions from those with some experience.
Thanks,
Jon
 
You can read my review of the 226 airsoft here:

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=27769

I went with an airsoft pistol to practice drawing and firing: it will repeatedly fire for double tap drills, decock for double action practice, and it's gas powered so there's no pumping. I don't have the patients for bulls-eye target shooting so for me the airsoft is plenty accurate. I mostly plink at soda cans (it'll penetrate at least one side) and I made some scaled down IPSC targets for move and shoot. Keep in mind you get what you pay for; there are airsoft guns for $25 and there are ones for $250. Plus, I'm not sure my basement is big enough to practically use a pellet rifle--I don't have very good line of sight for a house-long alley. Unfortunately I live in a city and my neighbors would freak if I was shooting even a pellet rifle outside.

That said I do want to get a high end German pellet gun. Years spent looking at the catalog as a youngin still makes me want one! So--in the spirit of the NES forums--GET BOTH!
 
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I have a 25’ setup and what I’ve found works best for me as a backstop is a good sized box filled with old rags. I haven’t had a ricochet out of that yet. I’ve been using BBs and pellets without issues. I use a cheap pellet trap outside because I have had a stray or two bounce off that and I don’t like to be too close so I don’t use it in the basement. The rags last forever so the only money I spend on the basement range is ammo and targets. I do need to find new boxes every now and then.
 
Joe G said:
2nd for Pyramid. I bought an IZH 46M with a red dot from them. Match quality.
Click to expand...

Ooh... I came so close to buying an IZH as a Christmas-present-to-me last winter... if Pyramid wasn't backordered at the time, I would certainly have given in to the impulse. Maybe next season [smile]
 
re: Lead pellets:

I'd set up a cheapo pellet trap in my garage this winter, and shot across my basement (ground-level) into the garage. It was great for practice -- my pistol skills in the spring were noticeably improved (which, for me, isn't saying much).

Anyway... the pellets would occasionally ricochet back through the paper. This wasn't really a risk of injury for the distance I was at (they were squished, their energy was all but spent), but it did leave some lead lying around the garage floor for me to clean up. I finally quit the indoor shooting for fear of my daughter picking up a piece of lead that I'd missed.

For next winter, I'm considering investing in a better trap, with putty backing to stop the pellets. This one looks like it'll do the job, although it sure isn't cheap.
 
I occasionally shoot in my basement with a pellet gun. I copied this design for a pellet trap, http://www.archerairguns.com/airgun-pellet-trap-s/6.htm

I bought a big tub of plumbers putty from the home center to trap the pellets. It makes for an easy clean up for .177 cal, but .22 will tear it up pretty quickly. Once your are done shooting, just pull out the pellets and put the putty into a zip lock bag. Or if you are lazy, just leave it in trap. It'll stay pretty pliable for a while, but will eventually get hard.

I usually get my my stuff from Pyramid Air, they have an NRA discount as well.

In regards to AirSoft, I get stuff from Red Wolf Airsoft or Dentrinity. Both of these companies are based out of Hong Kong. It usually takes about 5-7 days to get pistols and bbs from them. I do not recommend getting gas though, since it is ORM-D, it gets shipped over on a boat which can take up to 2 months to get. But shooting AirSoft is more realistic than any pellet/ bb gun I've shot. On some of them, the blowback is surprisingly powerful. I like stuff from Western Arms, they make SV replicas. One disadvantage of AirSoft is that a decent pistol will be a lot more expensive than a pellet gun. i.e I have a Colt 1911 from Umarex, it was half the price of my Western Arms SV Infinity. But I use the SV more than the Colt when I'm shooting in the garage or basement.
 
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Pretty decent advice given so far. It's hard to add to this but here's my $.02.

1) The airsoft stuff is good for practice of drawing and running drills. The accuracy of them leave a lot to be desired because of what they are. You take a Western Arms gas pistol and replace the standard barrel with a tightbore barrel and tweak the trigger, you might get one that might help you with practice for shooting. I'd stick with the air pistols.

2) I have one of the IZH-46M's and it rocks! I picked it up from Kevin the CT airgun guy at one of the gunshows awhile back. Accuracy is top notch and will help you out on most of your practice except for multiple rounds. The bad thing about the pistol now is that the price has increased to somewhere between $300 to $350 - if you can get one. If you want to keep it cheaper but still good, the Daisy Avanti 747 is good for the price.

I wish I had a house so I could set up a range in the basement. I miss the one I had as a kid but my apartment isn't long enough or sound-proofed enough to even try. I have an old Anshcutz LG250 that I need to start using more to get the standing part of my game into shape!

Joe R.
 
The problem with shooting air pistol is that it's quite addictive all by itself. (Or is that a feature?) It's also cheap and good practice for bullseye shooting; recoil is so low that if you have any flinch/trigger/followthrough/whatever problems, it's painfully obvious.

The little pellet trap that Pilkington sells is pretty nice, though I'm for adding a bit of putty to keep the noise down. Have a larger backstop in case of bad misses; a .177 pellet is far less of a hazard than a .22 bullet, but you can still break stuff and kill people with one.

I'm yet another IZH-46 fan, although cranking it up for an entire 60-shot match can get old. (Or maybe I'm lazy?) For an alternative, CO2 guns are very unfashionable right now in favor of compressed air guns, and are correspondingly (imho) underpriced, but my favorite entry-level-but-really-nice CO2 gun (BRNO Tau-7) isn't $200 any more, it's $500! Yikes.
 
I made it over to Dick's in Dedham to see their selection. They have a few air rifles (I don't know much but at first glance, nothing special - maybe 6 total), no air pistols, some traps and paper targets as well as CO2 canisters. If nothing else, maybe it will be a convenient place to refill CO2 canisters. Now off to order my first airgun stuff.

Thanks for the help,
Jon
 
I have 60 ft from garage door to opposite wall, longer if I open the garage door, think I can make a range in my garage? :)

I know I'm going to most likely put a climbing wall in.
 
The standard air rifle/pistol competition distance is 10 meters (33 ft), so it sounds like you've got plenty of room. The targets are sized for that distance, so there's no point in going any longer even if you have the room. And for those who don't have the room - you can get targets that have been scaled for 25 ft or even 5 meters.
 
Here's a free target from Project Appleseed for 10 meter air rifle.
 

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drboom said:
I made it over to Dick's in Dedham to see their selection. They have a few air rifles (I don't know much but at first glance, nothing special - maybe 6 total), no air pistols, some traps and paper targets as well as CO2 canisters. If nothing else, maybe it will be a convenient place to refill CO2 canisters. Now off to order my first airgun stuff.

Thanks for the help,
Jon
Click to expand...

Dicks in Dedham has some self imposed rule about not selling air pistols. They told me they were, "too close to Boston". [rolleyes]

Attached are my IPSC style one-third scale targets. I made them for my short basement use and they fit on regular 8x11.5" paper.
 

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