Shooting Shed Sound Proofing

J

josh shrum

New member
I am thinking about building a shed to practice from, but with a slight twist.

In an effort to keep folks from hearing/knowing I am shooting I want to to keep the muzzle INSIDE the building to prevent as much noise as possible from escaping. I likes my privacy and don't want neighbors nebbin'.

If I go forward with this plan I would fence in the range (100 yards) to keep folks, pets, etc from wandering into my field of fire.

So my question is:

With sound proofing the walls and ceiling, baffling in front of the muzzle, carpet on the floor, ear plugs and muffs, is my idea safe/viable? I am thinking along the lines a of Jam Room that a lot of musicians build, something with sound proofing to keep sound in as well as baffling to keep sound from blowing up my ears.

Almost an anechoic chamber, except I will need at least one opening for the bullets to go through.

In addition, I was considering planting some species of Thuja/Arborvitae around the building, possibly the entire range, in an effort to reduce noise.

I would welcome any concerns and/or suggestions.

Thanks!

Josh
 
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Paul built a sound reduced room in his walkout basement with doubled walls and insulation between the walls and sound containing paneling that you use in soundproof walls. It looks like loosely glued wood fibers or excelsior. He used the same stuff on the ceiling. He spray painted the walls and ceiling. It works quite well. He isn’t so concerned about sound outside the house and so the rifle muzzle is about even with the opened window. He put a couple stickers on the window so he wouldn’t forget to open it. He also raised the floor with 2X6 framing resting on the concrete floor and shimmed and insulated that also. My outdoor range has a lot of shrubs and trees running the full 300 yards but everyone knows when I’m shooting. I don’t know what to tell you about soundproofing or reducing an entire range. How did your shooting go this year, Josh?
I can’t believe 42 people saw your post and didn’t have experience or opinions on a range such as what you are looking to do.
 
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FBecigneul said:
Paul built a sound reduced room in his walkout basement with doubled walls and insulation between the walls and sound containing paneling that you use in soundproof walls. It looks like loosely glued wood fibers or excelsior. He used the same stuff on the ceiling. He spray painted the walls and ceiling. It works quite well. He isn’t so concerned about sound outside the house and so the rifle muzzle is about even with the opened window. He put a couple stickers on the window so he wouldn’t forget to open it. He also raised the floor with 2X6 framing resting on the concrete floor and shimmed and insulated that also. My outdoor range has a lot of shrubs and trees running the full 300 yards but everyone knows when I’m shooting. I don’t know what to tell you about soundproofing or reducing an entire range. How did your shooting go this year, Josh?
I can’t believe 42 people saw your post and didn’t have experience or opinions on a range such as what you are looking to do.
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I was thinking of a small carport type building big enough for a concrete bench. I have soundproofed rooms many times, so keeping the sound from getting through the walls isnt a concern, mass loaded vinyl or a double layer of gypsum board over the wall insulation should work. I am more concerned about the effectiveness of baffling to try and direct the sound away from the opening in the wall for bullets as well as if sound absorbing foam on the walls will keep me from going deaf. The aborvitae would just be to hopefully help cut down on whatever sound does get out.

Haven't been able to compete this year, the wife and I have been busy little beavers with all of this "adulting" malarkey! I am itching to get back to benchrest, this shooting by yourself stuff isn't nearly as much fun.
 
As to the baffles to direct sound away from the wall opening, I was thinking of using polycarb/lexan so that I can see through the baffles to keep an eye on windflags.
 
Out here, we've used those large blue plastic commercial food storage drums to deaden muzzle blast. With both ends opened sufficiently to sight and the drum lined with soundproofing matting, it works quite well. Sonic boom is another issue. Having the muzzle within the drum reduces the need for room proofing, I suspect.

These buggers:

Blue.jpg
 
John Kielly said:
Out here, we've used those large blue plastic commercial food storage drums to deaden muzzle blast. With both ends opened sufficiently to sight and the drum lined with soundproofing matting, it works quite well. Sonic boom is another issue. Having the muzzle within the drum reduces the need for room proofing, I suspect.

These buggers:

View attachment 24093
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I considered doing something like that, rather that the whole shed idea. I honestly was afraid that the ATS would ding me for making a suppressor, as that wouldn't be the... oddest decision they have made.
 
josh shrum said:
I am thinking about building a shed to practice from, but with a slight twist.

In an effort to keep folks from hearing/knowing I am shooting I want to to keep the muzzle INSIDE the building to prevent as much noise as possible from escaping. I likes my privacy and don't want neighbors nebbin'.

If I go forward with this plan I would fence in the range (100 yards) to keep folks, pets, etc from wandering into my field of fire.

So my question is:

With sound proofing the walls and ceiling, baffling in front of the muzzle, carpet on the floor, ear plugs and muffs, is my idea safe/viable? I am thinking along the lines a of Jam Room that a lot of musicians build, something with sound proofing to keep sound in as well as baffling to keep sound from blowing up my ears.

Almost an anechoic chamber, except I will need at least one opening for the bullets to go through.

In addition, I was considering planting some species of Thuja/Arborvitae around the building, possibly the entire range, in an effort to reduce noise.

I would welcome any concerns and/or suggestions.

Thanks!

Josh
Click to expand...



Josh, I tried the same thing, well not the same but basically a 10 foot long by 3 foot square metal enclosed muffler. Baffles on the inside with 12" insulation and a 12" square door on both ends. If I blocked the bullet at the exit door with a 6x6 pine board, it sounded like a car door slamming, thump, but if I shot through it to my target at 100 yards, the sonic crack was just as objectionable. My son was 400 yards away at his house and I asked him to listen when I fired the shot and said it didn't make much difference. It's still sitting out in the woods, 20 years later. I wouldn't spend to much trying the concept.
Charlie
 
CharlieH said:
Josh, I tried the same thing, well not the same but basically a 10 foot long by 3 foot square metal enclosed muffler. Baffles on the inside with 12" insulation and a 12" square door on both ends. If I blocked the bullet at the exit door with a 6x6 pine board, it sounded like a car door slamming, thump, but if I shot through it to my target at 100 yards, the sonic crack was just as objectionable. My son was 400 yards away at his house and I asked him to listen when I fired the shot and said it didn't make much difference. It's still sitting out in the woods, 20 years later. I wouldn't spend to much trying the concept.
Charlie
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Darn, sorry to hear yours didnt work out.

I figured it was something of a longshot, I guess I will just need to convince the wife to let me build that tunnel...
 
if it is super sonic...its gonna crack...its called science.
as a suppressor guy you can reduce "blast" noise.
one guy did a tube of used tires,,i think the best idea would be to do that,
but start adding perimeter holes in the tires near the end....more and more the closer to the end
just my 2cents worth
 
If you put your bench as far away from the shooting aperture (window) as possible it may reduce the amount of noise too. I would add a fence on each side of the building facing down range. Just something to help break up the sound wave exiting the small window of your shooting shack. Even a privacy fence would help.
 
Why wonder on what to do? DO NOT think that simply plowing a clearing, and building a backstop is all that is involved in building a range. The (US) NRA publishes a very useful document known as "The Range Source Book". Available as a (very large) 3 ring binder, it is also available on a USB drive for.....

$20.

See https://materials.nrahq.org/Books-2/2012NRARangeSourceBookOnUSBDRIVE/to order.

Info on reducing range noise (i.e., noise insulation, noise baffles, and other barriers) is in the document. So is information on other items, such as:
  • Siting a range. (HINT: AVOID FLOOD AREAS);
  • Building a range (including the backstop). NOTE: For bullet noise reduction, building baffles on both sides of the range is suggested;
  • Reducing lead vapors in the shoot house;
  • Reducing ricochets (overhead baffles, range floor "ricochet baffles", impact berm design and lead management practices);
  • Construction of shooting benches and seating;
  • Suggested methods for building target frames.

There is additional information in the book. $20 is a very cheap investment, and can save you a lot more than that in the future.
 
josh shrum said:
I considered doing something like that, rather that the whole shed idea. I honestly was afraid that the ATS would ding me for making a suppressor, as that wouldn't be the... oddest decision they have made.
Click to expand...
ATF registers suppressors, but (IIRC) only ones mounted on firearms. The "tube suppressor" (i.e., fiber filled barrels, insulated tubes, or a series of rubber tiles) does a wonderful job of suppressing muzzle blast, but does nothing for the supersonic crack of the bullet. The latter requires a different approach, the "chain link fence" noted earlier in this thread does little to dampen or redirect this noise. (Did you know that the "blast tubes" seen on Vietnam war era CAR-15s are classified by ATF as "suppressors"? They reduce noise by 15 dB, and therefore are "suppressors" by ATF's interpretation, even if the modified muzzle blast is still over 140 dB.)

There is a very detailed document on range noise reduction available online. Produced with the help of the Finnish government, this document was a very detailed reason for why legalizing firearms mounted suppressors was preferred over building noise reduction features on the firing lines of existing ranges. A copy of this document (in English) is available at http://guns.connect.fi/rs/suppress.html. There is a link on that webpage to a more detailed document, but unless you read Finnish (an online translator may not be sufficient), it may not help.

There is additional information available on suppressing firearms/firearms noise. The homepage for the linked webpage is http://guns.connect.fi/rs/Reflex.html. Lots of good info available.
 
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Planting trees or other types of vegetation doesn’t really help much with supressing sound. That has been proven when highway departments need to add sound barriers when adding lanes or building new highways close to schools, residences, etc. What is effective, although expensive, is to build solid sound walls of material such as lumber or concrete.
 
sorry but from a benchrest point of view, the nra is not our friend when it comes to ranges and safety.
they have gone liberal in their version of 'safety".
it is amazing how my club ran for 50 years without input from the nra...total amazing real common sense and simple rules.
i now shoot at a range that we use to share with another club one day a week. they adopted nra rules and we quite shooting with them. all about the rule, not about common sense.
i like most of what asa yam posts, not this time.
its like i do not need the federal government(nra) telling me how to run a range in my city/county state.

Asa Yam said:
Why wonder on what to do? DO NOT think that simply plowing a clearing, and building a backstop is all that is involved in building a range. The (US) NRA publishes a very useful document known as "The Range Source Book". Available as a (very large) 3 ring binder, it is also available on a USB drive for.....

$20.

See https://materials.nrahq.org/Books-2/2012NRARangeSourceBookOnUSBDRIVE/to order.

Info on reducing range noise (i.e., noise insulation, noise baffles, and other barriers) is in the document. So is information on other items, such as:
  • Siting a range. (HINT: AVOID FLOOD AREAS);
  • Building a range (including the backstop). NOTE: For bullet noise reduction, building baffles on both sides of the range is suggested;
  • Reducing lead vapors in the shoot house;
  • Reducing ricochets (overhead baffles, range floor "ricochet baffles", impact berm design and lead management practices);
  • Construction of shooting benches and seating;
  • Suggested methods for building target frames.

There is additional information in the book. $20 is a very cheap investment, and can save you a lot more than that in the future.
Click to expand...
 
[QUOTEI BUILT MINE OUT OF STRAFOAM AROUND THE SHOOTING BENCH SHOT THRU A ROLED PIECE OF FENCINGCOVERED TO CUT SOUND WORKED FINE WITH EAR MUFS=josh shrum;839261]I am thinking about building a shed to practice from, but with a slight twist.

In an effort to keep folks from hearing/knowing I am shooting I want to to keep the muzzle INSIDE the building to prevent as much noise as possible from escaping. I likes my privacy and don't want neighbors nebbin'.

If I go forward with this plan I would fence in the range (100 yards) to keep folks, pets, etc from wandering into my field of fire.

So my question is:

With sound proofing the walls and ceiling, baffling in front of the muzzle, carpet on the floor, ear plugs and muffs, is my idea safe/viable? I am thinking along the lines a of Jam Room that a lot of musicians build, something with sound proofing to keep sound in as well as baffling to keep sound from blowing up my ears.

Almost an anechoic chamber, except I will need at least one opening for the bullets to go through.

In addition, I was considering planting some species of Thuja/Arborvitae around the building, possibly the entire range, in an effort to reduce noise.

I would welcome any concerns and/or suggestions.

Thanks!

Josh[/QUOTE]
 
What about stacking some round hay bales outside the window? Im thinking 2 rows stacked 2 high in each side.
 
8 Foot Long Baffles

Back in the 90's I shot in an evening winter 10-22 50 BR group league. We shot from within the clubhouse with barrels extending out shooting ports.

This range is located in a setting with houses within 1/4 mile of the range.

In order to muffle the muzzle blasts one of the members built two 8 Foot x 16" x16" tubes lined with carpet that was waffled up about two inches in each direction, kind of like waves within the tubes, mimicking suppressor baffles. These tubes were set up outside the shooting port tight to the building

IIRC there were caps on the ends of the plywood tubes that reduced the entrance and exit holes somewhat like a suppressor however the holes were still quite large......maybe 10-12 inches.

The net result was the tubes very effectively reduced the muzzle blasts from subsonic ammo.

However I seem to recall that the plywood tubes could not sustain the muzzle blast from center fire......they quickly began to come apart at the seams.

Thinking back on it now, 55 gallon drums may have been a better option.
 
your health

If you shoot a rifle with the muzzle inside a small room, even sound dampened, watch out for the repetitive pressure blast on your eyes. You will have to wear ear plugs AND ear muff to protect ear and brain from concussion (human skull is very thin in ear area).

Think ventilation to avoid breathing primer and powder fumes.

The already mentioned car tyres tunnel aka giant silencer is an excellent concept. Use 2 metal 200 liters barrels (sorry I am metric) opened at both end, fill them with used tyres, weld/assembly them well aligned and place them on a support outside your shooting cabin.

Using some ventilation to increase air pressure inside the cabin and naturally exhaust through the "silencer" will keep you safe from fumes.

Here we have plates made from very small pieces of used tyres, glued together. They are usually used as "pavement" in schools to protect kids falling in playing area. That makes an outstanding firearm noise dampener. The ones I have seen in use are approx 10"x10"x2".
 
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