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I Have Been Busy

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CB900F View Drop Down
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Honor, Integrity

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    Posted: 14 October 2013 at 07:04

Fella's;

The boys & I are nearing the completion of a "little" project we embarked on earlier this year.  We are upgrading the existing range at the ranch.  As the property has been in my wife's family for well over a hundred years, I think we're grandfathered in, and it's private property for private use too.  But I darn well know that it's been in use since well before WWII.

We modeled the new concrete benches after those of the Stuckenhoff range in Casper Wyoming.  If you wish to, google Stuckenhoff Range & it'll bring up an aerial photo of the complex.  It's a truly impressive city-owned recreational facility, even has a black powder cannon range.  It does not have pictures of their benches, and it should, they're the best design I've ever run across.  The benches are a T shape with a very short leg & a very fat crossbar.  They are supported by three steel post legs set in concrete.  The front two posts are 3" diameter & the rear is of 6" diameter pipe.  The seat base then is able to swivel on the rear post.  It's adjustable for both height and the seat itself can be adjusted fore-and-aft.  The joins of the T leg to the crossbar are radiused & making the forms was a bit interesting. 

So, we set the posts in concrete & waited for things to set & stabilize while we built the table forms for the T's.  The concrete tops will be four inches thick & have a 6" #4 rebar grid to keep things solid.  Yesterday we set the forms on the legs, used a laser level to be kinda professional, and wired the rebar in.  We've used uni-strut in many places to support the forms during the pour & set phase.  No funny business shifting around allowed here by neddy dingo!  We've also arranged for tarp tenting and have some heat available if needed after the pour is done, probably later this week.  Uh, any of you guys concrete finishers?  It's a small job, just run out & do it, OK?  I'll even supply beer afterwards!

The range shoots towards the ridge to the north of the place and, very important, is aligned with the prevailing wind.  We don't know yet what the maximum possible safe range distance is going to be, we ran out of time yesterday & didn't have the super-wow rangefinder before that.  In any case, it's not something that's critical to determine since whatever it is, it's going to be well in excess of a thousand yards.  I'm speculating maybe something around 1800 yards, and 1760 is a mile, so there should be enough distance to satisfy most people's needs.

In the future we want to build a shed to enclose the benches on at least three sides, if not all four with doors to shoot out of.  At this time we're most likely going to go with a gravel pad area for the base of the benches, but that may just become the base of a concrete floor too.

900F



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Wing master Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 October 2013 at 13:58

Sounds like a really cool range. With walls and doors it would be almost an indoor range. I am thinking over a mile should be far enough to do most of your load development.

Hey, Did you build left handed benches?

Wing master

I have always considered myself to be quite the bullshitter, But ocasionally it is nice to sit back and listen to a true professional......So, Carry on.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CB900F Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 October 2013 at 16:25

Wing;

Well, the benches will be T's & the seat will swivel on it's post in either direction.  I did it that way so's the poor right-handed folk could use them too.  You see, both my SIL & I shoot from the left shoulder, my son however is challenged.

But, since he is mine, did do a lotta work on this project, and owns the super-wow rangefinger, we allowed for his idiosyncrasies.

900F

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ursus Major Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 October 2013 at 01:37
sounds great.   with the shed it could double as a stand for antelope!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CB900F Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 October 2013 at 16:46

Fella's;

Yea team!  The benches got poured today.  Fought three rounds with the flippin' heater, but got it working too & it's gonna be needed.  The mountain temps are below freezing at night & no doubt about it either.  After we got the heater's rebellion subdued, we tarped the three benches, so everything should be good.  We'll let 'em sit till Sunday, at which time we'll go up & shut down the heater, remove the tarps & let 'em sit till spring.  Next portion of the project is to get seats made.

Between the bench pouring & tarping all we did is drive about 20 miles to my SIL's area, harvest an antelope, talk with a guy about a tracter, and return to the ranch to do the tarping.  After that, it was drive to town, where my daughter had fixed us a very fine pork roast made with apples & kraut.  It was a job, but somebody had to eat it.

 900F

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RobertMT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 October 2013 at 18:06
Originally posted by CB900F CB900F wrote:

Fella's;

Yea team!  The benches got poured today.  Fought three rounds with the flippin' heater, but got it working too & it's gonna be needed.  The mountain temps are below freezing at night & no doubt about it either.  After we got the heater's rebellion subdued, we tarped the three benches, so everything should be good.  We'll let 'em sit till Sunday, at which time we'll go up & shut down the heater, remove the tarps & let 'em sit till spring.  Next portion of the project is to get seats made.

 900F

I did concrete for 20yrs+. 

I would recommend you protect the tops for at least first 30 days.  You don't need heat on them, but insulate them.  You can make your own blanket, by covering benches top and bottom with plastic, then layer of straw, followed by wrapping with tarp.  You want to wrap with plastic, so straw/hay doesn't stain concrete and to let concrete finish drying slower. 

I would just pile straw under bench and on top, wrap the whole thing up, with a tarp.  I would leave this on until you uncovered it in spring, it will avoid the freeze/thaw cycles, over winter.

Concrete is still curing, it gets 90% of it's strength first 28days, but if it freezes hard, surface will pop off and strength will be reduced.

If you put front wall on, I would keep it close enough to bench, for muzzles to extend out past it.  If you allow brakes, this is even more important.  Even with three sides and a roof, brakes can rattle the rafters.  I've seen single shooting house, in shooting mag,  with window in front of bench, you just opened to shoot.   You could have more light and be more open than with doors. 

Our rifle range, has carpet hung up in front, that rolls down like a blind.  It cuts down on the wind and blocks some of the muzzle blast.  With the wind you get over there, you would have to have some kind of weights, to slow it down.

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CB900F Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 October 2013 at 13:07

Robert;

Thank you for that very sage advice.  I'm trying to source some straw or old hay now.  I think you'rs is an excellent suggestion.

900F

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tikkabuck Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 October 2013 at 02:43
Wow CB sounds really awesome .
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