How much land do you need to have your own range?

[brushmore]

So my kids are either in college or will be in a few years.  My wife and I are fed up with suburban living and plan on finding something a little more rural.  Probably somewhere in Northwest Florida but it depend upon where my wife can find a job as a special ed teacher, I work from home so just need fast internet.  So I got to dreaming about this and thought it would be really cool to have my own 100yd range instead of driving almost an hour to go shooting. (Did I mention I hate living in the suburbs?) 

I know it may depend upon many factors. So assuming the plot is roughly a square how many acres do you generally need for an outdoor range?

[alfsauve]

I always dreamed of 1,000 acres.  I only need 999 more.  It's why golf courses are such wastes of land.

100 acres would give you just under 2,100 ft on a side if it's square.

As important as size will be terrain and neighbors.

[tombogan03884]

As another resort if your neighbors are going to complain about noise you could bury a 100 foot length of culvert, or Quanset hut type structure and at least have your own pistol range.

[crusader rabbit]

I haven't researched this recently, so please take it with a grain of salt.  But, I believe all that's needed in Florida to hunt your own land is 40 acres. 

That would suggest that 40 acres would also qualify for having a range. 

I suspect that you could get by with a much smaller parcel, however.  Recent news events have centered on a fellow in the Keys, and another in Hillsborough County who constructed ranges in their backyards in very suburban environments.   Apparently, in Florida there is no law against it as long as you don't shoot onto/into a neighbor's land.  News coverage of this stimulated a great deal of wailing and gnashing of teeth amongst non-shooters, so I suspect that law is subject to near-term change.

In the Panhandle, however, it tends to be much more relaxed in regards to shooting and gunshots.  You should be able to find a nice plot that will meet your needs at a reasonable price.  I suspect you will have greater difficulty finding fast Internet than you will finding a place to shoot.

Good Luck,

Crusader Rabbit

[MikeBjerum]

Land needed varies greatly depending on the topography.  Two ranges I shoot at are old gravel pits, and due to open ag land beyond (no homes for a mile) they use very little land.  At home I have two shooting lanes at the same berm:  One runs NE and is 100 yards, and the other is 175 yards running north.  The berm is in the very corner of our yard, but there are no building sights for two miles in line with either shooting lane.

For private it is pretty simple, but when you go commercial you will run into local codes and need to meet conditions that may or may not be reasonable based on the elected officials, appointed officials, and residents near and far who speak at the public hearing.

[Sponsor]

[billt]

Here is the thing to remember with ANY range or gun club. This regardless of size or amount of people that are involved. Once you get enough neighbors, and or non shooters complaining, you can expect to be legally shut down in very short order. In my area I've seen no less than 3 gun clubs shut down in the last 17 years. All were there long before any housing encroachment that brought the people who then started the problems. One was the Phoenix Trap & Skeet Club that was there since the early 60's, and hosted the Spring Grand every year. No more. They're gone.

It's much the same with airports. If whining neighbors can legally force a 747 captain to pull back on power in bad weather to reduce noise, they can damn well shut down a gun club with legal shenanigans for much the same reason. Lawyers love these kind of fights. They're easy money because they involve a lot of people.

If they can't get you with noise, they'll come back with lead contamination. If they can't get you with lead, they'll come back with safety. They will get you with any one of, or a combination of all three. I've seen it. I'm not saying or suggesting this is right or just. It's just the way it is in today's liberal world.

Now, if you know your neighbors, and they're much like you, all of this could obviously be avoided. However it also advertises that you own and shoot guns, and will get everyone around you talking about the same. This could bring unwanted visitors. They'll know you have guns. This is why Tom's suggestion of something underground, or built in some type of enclosure, would be by far the best bet, albeit more expensive. Out of sight, out of mind as they say. It will also cut down on any noise. Especially if you made a makeshift muzzle  containment out of a few tires, pipe, etc. No noise, no vision, no problems. At least that's what I've come to notice from experience over the years. The less people in general that know about what you're doing........ The better.

[tombogan03884]

Neighbors complaining about noise are what makes suppressors worth the money and aggravation.

[MikeBjerum]

Neighbors complaining about noise are what makes suppressors worth the money and aggravation.

If you live in a state who allows them 

[PegLeg45]

Brushmore, we'd love to have you in south Georgia....if that is an option......land is fairly cheap in rural areas.

We have just under 20 aces on one side of the road (and about that on the other side) and I can shoot 100+ yards in my back yard (safely) due to the lay of the land.

It really all depends on the arrangement of the acreage as to how much you need to safely shoot 100 yards. I know a guy who shoot at 100 yards on around 10 acres because his strip of property is about 2 acres wide by 5 acres long and is surrounded by trees with a small berm at the back end. My uncle built a dedicated 300 yard range next to his reloading building and all he did was hack out a 30' wide by 300 yard clear-cut on his property.

Where I live, NOT hearing regular gunfire (the good kind) is a cause for concern. 

[Timothy]

Believe it or not, here in the Peoples Republic of Massapoopshits it's legal to shoot recreationally on all state lands.  Just set up targets and shoot following normal safety precautions, of course.

My shooting club's 500 acre property abuts a state forest of 4500 acres.