What size bales?

 

And how many? I think the standard size bale for feeding horses is 16 x 18 x 36. If you stacked 4 of them 3 high and 4 deep and moved the target around so you weren't shooting at the same spot every time that might work for a while but it would probably be cheaper to hire someone with a backhoe to dig and or plow you a berm on the property and that would be much better and more cost effective and permanent and if you ever sold the property it would be easy to grade it flat again.

It's been many years since I owned a horse but I seem to recall that I fed my horse alfalfa that came in bales and each bale broke into cubes or flakes and the horse would eat 2 flakes a day and there were about ten flakes to a bale and I would buy two bales at a time and it wasn't cheap but if you had a horse you could feed him your "backstop" after it got shot full of holes and didn't work as a backstop anymore. And like I said It wasn't cheap, and in the Biden economy, just about everything is double the price this year compared to what it was last year when we had a president who wasn't trying to destroy the country.

Maybe "Hay" is cheaper than alfalfa but then after it's lost it's shape from being shot at, what do you do with the leftover hay? My brother used to have berm on his land to shoot against but what he did was stack up some big truck tires and fill the stack with dirt and staple or tape his targets to the stack of tires so that after a while he could take down the stack and sift out all the fired bullets and melt the down and re-cast them

 

If it’s possible that someone could be affected by bullets, they probably shouldn’t do it regardless. Even with a back stop, wooden target posts, steel plates, whatever could still cause ricochets and fly overs. Looks up SDZ’s for 380. She should probably contact her local sheriff/PD as well.

 

No. Eventually you'll blow a hole in them.

I tried wood and hay. But I had a hill behind them.

Sandy earth is best. 6'+ higher than your targets.

 

You are in a better position to help your friend than anybody on the internet. A safe range depends on a backstop, and a natural backstop such as shooting from a high spot to a low spot with the bullet stoppped by the opposite side is waaay better than a hay bale, LoL. Get yourself on her property to find out if there is a natural backstop, and if there isn’t, then tell her to find a nearby gun range open to the public.

 

NO WAY.

 

It could but i wouldnt count on it. Better still, build a hay bale double wall,& fill the center with dirt. Depending on angle fired, a 380 can go couple miles.

 

Depending on angle fired, a 380 can go couple miles.

NRA Firearms Fact Book. Yew York. Second Edition. 1983.
"a 9 mm 120 grain bullet fired out of an average sized handgun at 45 degrees elevation will travel about 2300 meters"

So just make sure there is no one within 2500+ meters and you should be good

 

Has she considered a side of ribs, a bag of oranges, and some fleece blankets?

 

I see what you did there.

 

The bales on my place would stop a 44 magnum. But it wouldn't be fit for the cattle afterwards.

 

The bales on my place would stop a 44 magnum.

Them ain't bales, Tordon. Them's rolls. Big difference. That's why I feed rolls!

 

Here's an example of good information:

Bullets from a gun, even a small handgun can go a long way if you miss, they ricochet or shoot them into the air at a steep angle.

NRA Family | Gun Safety: Ammunition Maximum Range

Being aware of the maximum range of your gun/cartridge combination is critical.

www.nrafamily.org

Here's an example of bad info.

How Far Will A 380 Bullet Travel

The 380 bullet is yet another small bullet used for target practice. Needless to say, it does not offer the kind of power that other bullets on this article do. Therefore, it is not designed for long-range shooting. In optimal conditions when fired from a 30-degree angle and with a muzzle velocity of 955 FPS the bullet can travel up to 50 yards. Thus, if you want to know how far will a 380 bullet travel, fire in optimal conditions

How Far Can A Bullet Travel – Easy Explanation! -- OUTDOOREVER

Ever wondered how far a bullet travels? If you have, you are not alone. The question of how far can a bullet travel has been the subject of heated debates among shooters for years. And generally speaking, the answer to this question depends on several factors such as Weight, Muzzle velocity...

outdoorever.com

I own several 380's and they will all shoot farther than 50 yards if you shoot them into the air at a 30° angle!

I just had to post that on there for S&G's.

Use or make an earthen backstop, don't use hay bales.

 

Here's an example of good information:

Bullets from a gun, even a small handgun can go a long way if you miss, they ricochet or shoot them into the air at a steep angle.

NRA Family | Gun Safety: Ammunition Maximum Range

Being aware of the maximum range of your gun/cartridge combination is critical.

www.nrafamily.org

Interesting chart. I don't know if I would say that a 38 Super (even if +P) would out-range a 10MM.

 

Big round bales might stop handgun rounds. Might. I would find/build a better backstop. Even just a big pile of dirt would work fine to stop everything up to rifle rounds.

 

Nooooooooo! That is just an accident waiting to happen. You need a solid backing, telephone poles are probably the best, railroad ties are probably second best. BUT a double row and tied together with rebar going thru at least two layers of whatever. We did the railroad ties, the first row set with 4’ pieces of rebar into the ground. Then 2’ pounded into each layer after that. Burned up a makita corded drill while drilling the rr ties. 25’ berm above the ties, we are good.
View attachment 1060099

You are responsible for every round fired. Why take s chance?
Regards, Rick Gibbs

 

If anything happens, your neighbor had better be able to point to an outside authority that says her backstop is suitable. Without that, if there is litigation, I would expect to see a "battle of the (costly) experts" regarding the adequacy of her backstop. What are the credentials of the expert who says hay bales are suitable?

This is not a matter of whether one of her rounds causes damage, but if a round fired by someone, somewhere else, causes damage, and she gets accused. In that case, her backstop is called into question.

 

When one of the clubs I'm a member of wanted to upgrade the berms behind the target barriers, IIRC we contacted the NRA to get their recommendation regarding what is, in their judgement, a suitable design. Yeah, practicing "defensive medicine" sucks, but if you get your tit in a wringer, what will you do then?

 

The best backstop is dirt.

 

A load of fill dirt is cheap. A good bale of hay is $10, cow hay is $4. Round bales 4x4 grass runs $50+ near me. Hay rots dirt doesn't.

 

For the amount of hay you would need you could have a dirt berm that was probably half the size and actually effective

 

 

A couple tandem loads of clay aughta do it

 

I've got some big piles of firewood, but they're only 5' tall. Haven't shot into it. Wonder what effect putting lead in the stove would have.

 

If hot enough, plenty of fumes containing lead compounds. Probably not what you would want to subject yourself and your loved ones to.

 

I have a friend that lives in a rural area with neighbors not in adjoining lots but still close enough to possibly be affected by fired rounds.

She is using a Glock 42 which is a 380 pistol. If she uses bales of hay as a backstop would the hay bales stop a 380 round? Can she use several hay bales positioned behind one another to increase the thickness of the backstop and if yes what would be a good number? Does anyone know approximately the distance a 380 bullet will travel ?

Thank, Bill

NO to hay bales.
NO
NO
NO

While hay bales may occasionally stop a bullet, they generally do not and aren’t a consistent medium.

There are plenty of YouTube videos showing that most bullets will pass through most anything.
There are variables of course.

For example:

One video may show that a particular bullet from a particular rifle might stop in 22 layers of sheet rock.
The next video with same combination takes 37 layers of sheet rock.

While YouTube may not be the best source for what will stop a bullet, it is an excellent source for many materials that do not.

This probably doesn’t answer your question on building a backstop, but can save you tragedy of depending on something that doesn’t work.

It has been shown that the little 22lr will penetrate several walls. That’s enough to leave your house and enter the neighbor’s.
That birdshot in a 12ga won’t be stopped by sheet rock and keep your baby safe.

I know from experience that hardiplank isn’t bulletproof either.
A 45acp round will penetrate it sideways after making a 90 degree turn through a tree.

Generally a large earth berm is effective.
But if other home are within walking distance and in the line of fire, just shoot somewhere else.

Why kill someone just because you don’t want to drive into town and spend $20?

 

From the OP. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts. I agree not to use the bales of hay. I will let my friend know your thoughts.

 

I've seen hay bales used to backstop targets on an archery range. Never saw it done on a firing range. Must be a reason.

 

There’s always the new and improved hi tech fleece bullet stop.

 

I don't even use half-ton square bales as a backstop, foolish to think a 70lb bale will stop a bullet.

 

Don't shoot arrows at round bales. Especially with broadheads. They go in. You can't find them.

Cows can.