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HuntMaine

HuntMaine

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Anyone venture into building a home indoor gun range in their basement? I’ve got a nice run of 75 ft and was thinking of building in an indoor range. Obviously with the needed protection from stray shots and exhaust system. Wondered if there was anyone who has done it or if there are general specs out there for them. TIA
 
Asaltweapon said:
So you’re going to spray toxic lead dust inside the living area of your building envelope ?
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HuntMaine said:
Anyone venture into building a home indoor gun range in their basement? I’ve got a nice run of 75 ft and was thinking of building in an indoor range. Obviously with the needed protection from stray shots and exhaust system. Wondered if there was anyone who has done it or if there are general specs out there for them. TIA
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Don’t do it. You will have airborne lead throughout the house and will then need to spend a serious amount of money to clean up your home prior to a sale.
 
M1911 said:
You will still spread lead throughout your house. Lead dust will end up on your floor and clothes and you will track it into the house.
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My reason for asking was I was in Alanna at a house and they had one, to target racks and it was about 25 yds long. It was a friend of a friend so I didn’t think taking pics was ok. It was like a cinder block hallway inside his basement. Had what looked to be a massive vent system down near the end of the range pulling air out and a fresh air intake right behind the shooters position. He also had some sort of scrubber outside the shooting range (which was closed off from the rest of the basement) and I’m guessing that was to get rid of secondary dust? I don’t think that a person is going to pollute their house because of their clothes after shooting, I shoot at an indoor range now so not worried about that. Anyway it was a thought and the budget needed seems to be 50-80k
 
If you really want to do this, use some nice airguns. Anyone want to estimate what a real ventilation system (not a box fan in a basement window) would cost? I start the bidding at $10K for a backstop and ventilation system.
 
it's definitely doable if you want to invest the money. Ventilation system will help with air quality but as others have said you wont escape the lead dust. Everything can be mitigated, its just more of a pain in the ass than it's worth IMO
 
HuntMaine said:
My reason for asking was I was in Alanna at a house and they had one, to target racks and it was about 25 yds long. It was a friend of a friend so I didn’t think taking pics was ok. It was like a cinder block hallway inside his basement. Had what looked to be a massive vent system down near the end of the range pulling air out and a fresh air intake right behind the shooters position. He also had some sort of scrubber outside the shooting range (which was closed off from the rest of the basement) and I’m guessing that was to get rid of secondary dust? I don’t think that a person is going to pollute their house because of their clothes after shooting, I shoot at an indoor range now so not worried about that. Anyway it was a thought and the budget needed seems to be 50-80k
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He may not be worried about it, but I guarantee if you take some lead check swabs you will find lead all over that house.
 
rep308 said:
If you really want to do this, use some nice airguns. Anyone want to estimate what a real ventilation system (not a box fan in a basement window) would cost? I start the bidding at $10K for a backstop and ventilation system.
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It will be a lot more to be effective. You will need a major inflow of air in order to run the ventilation system. So how are you going to supply that air? Are you going to pull from the express of the house or bring in outside air? If you are bringing in outside air in Maine during the winter, how much is it going to cost you to heat that air (and that expensive, heated air will just get exhausted back out into the cold)?

You will need to put in some significant filters to prevent lead dust from exiting your exhaust port. You will then need to regularly change and dispose of these filters (which are likely legally considered to be hazardous waste).
 
I had a range with a portable bullet trap in my basement growing up. There was no lead free ammo at the time. No lead issues in the home, no dogs were harmed, no super elaborate ventilation system required. That same bullet trap I took with me when I bought my first house. Although I didn’t use it as much as when I was a kid, still no lead problems going to sell the home, no problems with the dog, no expensive ventilation system.

Obviously nowadays, I’m more aware of lead so I should outdoors as much as possible. I guess it would just depend on how much shooting you were going to be doing.

Dave
 
Depending on the calibers you plan to shoot there are lead-free ammunition options available. Sinterfire and Federal both manufacture totally lead-free ammunition in a variety of calibers.
There may be other manufacturers as well.

SinterFire, Inc. | The Leader in Lead-Free Frangible Projectiles

sinterfire.com sinterfire.com
www.federalpremium.com

Buy American Eagle Indoor Range Training Lead Free for USD 30.99 | Federal Ammunition

Shopping for the American Eagle Indoor Range Training Lead Free - Learn more about the latest American Eagle Indoor Range Training Lead Free and other hunting or shooting gear at Federal Ammunition.
www.federalpremium.com www.federalpremium.com
 
Tackdriver VillenTactical said:
I had a range with a portable bullet trap in my basement growing up. There was no lead free ammo at the time. No lead issues in the home, no dogs were harmed, no super elaborate ventilation system required. That same bullet trap I took with me when I bought my first house. Although I didn’t use it as much as when I was a kid, still no lead problems going to sell the home, no problems with the dog, no expensive ventilation system.
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How do you know there were no lead issues? Did you have your lead levels checked? Did you swab the floors and walls with lead check wipes?
 

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