Best way to build a canopy over a rifle firing line

Bill Wynne

Bill Wynne

Active member
My gun club is going to build new canopies for our rifle firing lines on our range. I would appreciate any ideas or suggestions for how to build them. We are concerned with utility, looks, cost, durability, and sound factors.

In other words, before we start, are there any mistakes to avoid?

Bill
 
Range Covering

Bill

We put up a 75x24 covering in 2014 and are putting up a 56x24 ft one this month.I have sent you an email with photos plus cost

Thank you,
Jim
 

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From covers i have shot under:
move it forward, and keep it high.
 
yes to the size and placement,
i would think wood might dampen the noise, but will it last as long.
i do not know, hopefully, other will jump in.
Bill Wynne said:
Are you saying a long overhang and a tall ceiling? Does wood deaden the sound much?
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Bill - I've shot under just about every kind of cover you could think of and each type has it's ups and downs. The worst ever was at the old range in Fayette, Alabama....until one Sunday it rained and suddenly it became the best ever. Build it wide enough to keep (some of) the rain off the rifles and you're good to go. Don't forget to build it long enough to protect the end benches. Rain first...then noise.
 
Things I have observed

Our range has a metal roof with the metal nailed to wooden slats so that the metal is exposed on the underside too. One big issue with this is that on certain cold mornings, frost forms on the underside of the metal and when the sun hits it, you guessed it, you get a rain shower under the canopy. This can get very annoying during the first couple of relays.

Our roof has two angles to it with the peak running perpendicular to the line of fire. The peak is more toward the front, so the front of the roof is a little more steeply angled than the back. I believe that this both directs sound back to the shooter, and also causes a downdraft in front of the shooter when wind is coming from behind. I believe that putting a flat ceiling under the trusses, perhaps of corrugated fiberglass, would go a long way to alleviating all three issues.
 
vtmarmot said:
Our range has a metal roof with the metal nailed to wooden slats so that the metal is exposed on the underside too. One big issue with this is that on certain cold mornings, frost forms on the underside of the metal and when the sun hits it, you guessed it, you get a rain shower under the canopy. This can get very annoying during the first couple of relays.

Our roof has two angles to it with the peak running perpendicular to the line of fire. The peak is more toward the front, so the front of the roof is a little more steeply angled than the back. I believe that this both directs sound back to the shooter, and also causes a downdraft in front of the shooter when wind is coming from behind. I believe that putting a flat ceiling under the trusses, perhaps of corrugated fiberglass, would go a long way to alleviating all three issues.
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Regarding the cold rain showers, please note that it will happen WITH or WITHOUT an inner or lowered soffit. In other words just soffit in the ceiling doesn't deal with the water, it just traps and holds it. IMO the correct soution is a product called Typar.
 
Best way to build a rifle firing line

I've seen plenty over the year,s
The best one I have seen so far is 16 ft wide. The upright,s for the line Are set on concrete footing,s made by filling sauna tube.
The upright are steel 6 inch well pipe. base plates are set on the footings and plates to secure the I beam,s are welded on top of the pipe.
It also has steel I beam running the length to mount the trusses, on.
There,s plenty of room for a full rotation.
You have to remember on thing shooting ranges have to be able to host other types of shooting, very few are just for Benchrest.
 
Here are two more pictures of what was done at WBBSC, that Jim (xxper) commented on.
We too went on a lengthy quest for information, just like you are asking.
I posted the same type of request for information on this forum and many others, and got back quite a few replies and a lot of pictures.
One of the issues we had was to build something that would work for a wide variety of disciplines.
From shooting bench to service rifle. (Sitting, standing, prone, etc.)

As you can see it looks like a standard "gable" roof, but it is cantilevered out on the forward edge.

Other things that we looked into that affected the design was that of the "blue sky theory".
For which you can do a search for. But to eliminate the shooters view of the sky at the target.

We do shoot some disciplines all year round. And has made a major difference in participation.
It was easy for some to scoff at the idea until they were able to shoot in the rain and under cover from the blazing summer sun.

Sound is the only complaint by some… But it is part of the result that cannot be totally avoided.

Best of luck to you and your project.
Richard
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Bill Wynne said:
My gun club is going to build new canopies for our rifle firing lines on our range... We are concerned with utility, looks, cost, durability, and sound factors.

In other words, before we start, are there any mistakes to avoid?
Click to expand...

1. Peaked roofs trap sound. Consider using a roof with a single slope, with the high side facing the range.

2. Put a sound absorber under the ceiling to muffle the boom of firearms.

3. Put a sound absorber (rounded gravel works nicely) ahead of the firing line.

4. It should be a rule that ALL muzzles be over the gravel when firing.

Before starting construction, (or doing additional studies), use the following resources:

 
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I want to thank everyone who responded on this subject. Wilbur, once again, this website makes this type of discussion possible.

We are in the south, Texas, and the weather in the summer is hot and we do not have grass or water at our range. We are blessed with a hill to the south and a worried neighbor to the north so we need to shoot to the south. This requires a longer overhang on the firing line to avoid the effects of the sun. We are still in the process of pre planing. We need to get this right and now is the time to plan.

Bill
hab@wcc.net
 
The south facing

Bill Wynne said:
I want to thank everyone who responded on this subject. Wilbur, once again, this website makes this type of discussion possible.

We are in the south, Texas, and the weather in the summer is hot and we do not have grass or water at our range. We are blessed with a hill to the south and a worried neighbor to the north so we need to shoot to the south. This requires a longer overhang on the firing line to avoid the effects of the sun. We are still in the process of pre planing. We need to get this right and now is the time to plan.

Bill
hab@wcc.net
Click to expand...

firing line almost demands you use a peaked roof. Trusses with the long side facing south and the sharp-short side BEHIND the shooters will help w/ the sound. The insulation can be as simple as foam tacked to the truss. Nothing fancy. Also using insulation under the roof will dramatically cut down on reflected sound. If the front edge of the roof is 7 ft off the ground, you will need to have the front edge 6 feet in front of the bench, at least. Further would be better.

David
 
yes i would suggest some dummy build to
look at the low sun, roof line and the shooter/bench.

we actually have curtains that can be pulled in front of the shooter.
 
Bill,

There are a few shots of the Brisbane 1000 yard bench rest club building here: http://brisbane1000yardbenchrest.com.au/gallery.html

The range is in metropolitan Brisbane and over time, we've had to enclose the back & sides because of noise pollution as the acceptable maximum decibel levels have dropped. It ain't ideal, but would be a real issue if that insulation wasn't in the roof.

John
 
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