wonder if you could partition off a section, like a narrow lane, that would keep all the particulate contained, and also add a ventilation system (think bathroom vent but more air flow) if needed to keep the powder/lead/gasses going down range and outside?

I have a mid quality .177 air pistol and a basement range. I can work all fundamentals: stance, grip, breath, trigger, and follow through. I am convinced regular practice has had a positive impact on use of firearms. Backstop is a wood frame with hail screen holding phone books in place. There may be some lead from the pellets, but I think not significant and certainly less than any firearm use.

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Two thoughts for pondering :

I knew a gunsmith some years ago that had his shop in the basement. He has access to a crawl space under part of the house. As a back stop he had a piece of tree trunk, less that 24” diameter and probably about that long, laying on its side in the crawl space. When he had a weapon to test fire, the bullet went into that log, parallel to the grain. I am sure he tested every caliber he worked on by shooting into that log. Once it eventually broke, the log would be relatively simple (and cheap) to replace. Best guess he might have been shooting into oak (Locust might have been even better). It worked for him. The type of wood does matter. I know 308 goes right through 8-9” of pine.

Second thought - there are a number of public schools in Pennsylvania that still have rifle teams. How the numbers break down for .22 vs. .177 I don’t know, but many now shoot air rifles exclusively.
On reflection this makes sense. 1 - there are no explosive powders involved, kids can’t steal a round and cause some kind of mischief with it. 2 - they don’t need a dedicated “rifle range” to practice the sport. Visiting one of the schools I asked to see the “range”. It was an open, multipurpose room. They could take out target stands with plywood backs, set the area for shooting, practice and then put it all away. I would be surprised to think that any “special” effort had been made for extra ventilation or pellet debris. The area got cleaned/dusted/swept just like rest of the building. Negligent on their part? That school, like all of them, has to be insured and the carrier would not have covered them had they any thought of an extraordinary risk.
So an airgun range at home, in most of this country, would be (IMO) a non issue.

If I were to build such a range in my basement and got really into the sport (say 200 shots/day, 6 days/week) I might begin thinking about lead dust. In that case I might line the lane with “curtains” made with old blankets - on the sides and top. Floor would be sawdust. Periodically replace the curtains and sweep the floor.

Remember guys - we all live in different locations - what might be an absolute in your neighborhood might not even be in the codebook in mine. I am sure a percentage of this group has no code whatsoever to worry about. The OP is looking for suggestions, not absolutes.

I'm in the process of remodeling mine and actually giving some thought to converting it to airgun/airsoft/archery. The air exchangers are about 20 years old and the backstop is in need of replacement. To keep it in perspective, that is a MINIMUM of $25,000 for use with range safe, non-lead ammo. If you want to shoot regular ammo, the ventilation is much more expensive due to filtration needs.

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Originally posted by D4Heavy:

quote:

Originally posted by 45 Cal:
Well I am late to the thread.
There are lots of folks on here that have shot in the range.
The fact is it started out as divorce therapy.
I consider it safe with two squirrel cage blowers drawing air out the back .
Was a learning curve and what worked was a member from Argentina that worked for a metal company in atlanta bring me a special 10 Foot long sheet of steal that I mounted at a steep angle to deflect bullets down into the soil

Hi 45Cal, thanks for the response. My basement is truly sealed off except for 2x 6" vents and the entrance door so ventilation is a concern for me. I could open the door and ventilate that way. Sounds like your basement is open on one end. How are you controlling the vaporized lead or are you concerned with it at all? based on some of the responses here, you should have lead walls by now right?

I have a crawl space door with a blower mounted on it and a blower mounted side of the fire line.Those two running get air from the sides of roll up basement door.Kinda like a negative vacuum,they move lots of air.
My setup lets the bullets impact into clay,impossible to retrieve projectiles in that damp gooey mess.
The hand dug clay walls are as hard as bricks.A pick striking them will spark from impact.
Had several cookout with 40 + and the folks had to take turns with about ten at a time in range.

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Originally posted by RichardC:
WARNING: This thread contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.

Ha, I'm 77 years old and out of the child birth age