ShopTalk Sunday: A Shooting Deck?

The new chainsaw arrived Wednesday. Counting the two “Chineseums” that failed this week (bought on sale two years ago), this makes my fifth electric. Best of the bunch remains the Oregon 16″—but it’s corded, and that’s a problem.

One workaround is loading up the generator (plus fuel and cords), then tractoring everything down to the work site, which started the weekend looking like this:

The old man, the new saw, and the 21-year-old tractor took only a few minutes to return this part of the Big Fire Break to looking like this:

People talk a lot about “taking care of the land,” but when it comes down to it, very few actually do a good job. That’s because it involves actual work—and it’s always easier to talk about a problem than to solve it. (Ask any Democrat. They’ve been talking about America’s problems since the Civil War and still can’t seem to get them fixed.)

LRDP:  A Long-RANGE-Development-Problem

Son G2 will be back on the homestead one of these days this fall—once he tires of the ultra-liberal Yankee-land ailments. Still single. We’ve talked. As if finding a good mate wasn’t already hard enough, nowadays there’s a whole trapline of obstacles designed to ensnare, control, and siphon power from anything testosterone-fueled.

On the other side of the coin, Oilman2—fresh off a “relationship fire”—notes how stunningly nice rural folks are. Church-going. Actually wait to hear your answer when they ask, “How’s it going?” Unspeakably polite humans doing human things. Shocking.

Before heading north, G2 cleared a 100-meter gun range for us. On the official plan, it’s a “fire break,” but that’s too much land to hold without purpose. A big plastic folding table has served as my shooting bench in his absence. It just sits in the sun, rain, and cold.

Saturday, four deer gathered at the shooting table—a sick hunter’s dream. (They won’t be there come November, though.) I was about to go out and explain the range to them—which I somehow seeded with clover. Prepping, right?

The basic idea: I want a roof over the table. Just enough to keep rain and sun off. Summer mornings, calling the neighbors to say “Range going hot” while they’re still nursing cup #1 of coffee? That’s rude. (Not that I lack rudeness, mind you.)

But once you start “enclosing space,” it’s hard to know where—or when—to stop.

A few mornings this week, up at 3 AM (brain on fire), I began sketching out development Concepts. This is where you come in. Reader input is always valuable because there’s always something I’ve missed.

Concept 1:  The Shooting Deck

This version starts with four ground screws around the shooting table (after once again remeasuring the 100-meter range). On that foundation, an 8 x 12 deck (wide side facing downrange), framed with 4 x 4s and 2-bys, gets a tin roof.

Top it with a belly-high wall (lower side downrange), and now a fella can plink away in comfort all day. .22 LR burns through Social Security a lot slower than .223 or 7.62 x 39, after all.

As I built versions of this in my head (with no rain), it occurred to me the space could be multi-use. Add a couple of solar panels and a few Lion batteries and now it’s a perfect little ham shack. Low power, but fine for a 20-meter Morse contest weekend.

Of course, all this shooting (and radioing) builds a powerful hunger. So next comes a cooler (12V off the solar), maybe a cooking setup. Maybe it’s not a deck—it’s a shootin’ shack! And if I get a Cat D-9 for a day, maybe a lake?  Walden kind of thing?

SunOvens work well, but they are slow. We also get clouds. The latest Bug-Out rocket stove I picked up (fearing forest fires) promises to be dramatically faster.  When a man’s hungry, waiting is unacceptable.  Which (“What if there’s solar power and no rain has brought a burn ban?“) eventually winds into the “Maybe a small microwave?” discussion.

This planning frenzy wasted three mornings.  Because I was costing out 12×12 concrete pavers (to put the cooking gear on) and they’re $1.88 each at the local Lowes.  Of course, there would need to be stairs up into the shooting area, so a concrete A/C pad for the lower landing…

Being old, comfort rules, so a collection of fans for when the temp gets over 83 (my favorite set-point for total old-man comfort).  But then – another design fork appears: 12 volt fans?  *(Anything with mobile or marine in the title gets a price-jack…)  Or, a $39 small inverter… Wait, bigger inverter and a small microwave? Skip the paver delivery and all that work…

Concept 2: The Pillbox

The “shooting tower” shack honestly sounded pretty good.  At least, during peaceful times.

But off the ground and up a bit, whoever is inside becomes a target.  Not that anyone could find us (out here), but odd bullets from other properties are possible during deer season.

Maybe the right range shooting shelter would be a spin on the WW II “pillboxes.”  Much easier to defend and no scrounging for 1/4 to 3/8th’s steel plate for the inside walls of the elevated design.

Hmm…World War II pillboxes!  Remember ’em?

A lower roof, say 4-feet off the ground, tops, would keep me off ladders while building.  The solar could go onto the roof, the view downrange would be the same.  And being earth-bermed on three sides and under cover, might actually be inherently cool – especially if I put on a 2-layer tin roof (combination of old and new R-panel. separated by a 2-by and sloped, air flow  would keep temps down.

An old range hood might be fastened at one end to route cooking heat and smoke outside, or we’re back to the small microwave and the second battery power idea.

About the only downside to this design would be needed to keep the range mowed shorter than its present 4-5 inches, so as not to interfere with sight lines.

And there’s the rain problem, too: Ground contouring would need to be considered to prevent roof run-off from creating a swimming puddle. Not trying to build the Darby Queen, here, understand.

Concept 3: Do as Before

This is the “zero effort” answer.  Not as “neat” from the experiential scoring, but it works.

Shoot after 9 AM when coffee is done around the neighborhood.

Drive the pickup truck to the range and back it in.  G2 shoots prone and there are enough bugs in Texas that a clean truck bedliner is certain to have fewer cooties than bare ground.  Except, well, aren’t ticks and chiggers part of “the experience”?

And if you really want to shoot in the rain put the pop-up pick-up tent in the truck. Or drive up to the “mile range” in Frankston, Texas…

If it gets too hot out in the open?  Back to the house or the shop where a/c is plentiful…

Like I said, I’m open to input on this.

Closing Thoughts

Part of me thinks I’d enjoy the range more if there was something more than a table and a couple of schlepped-up stools. Maybe an article on building bushcraft camp stools?

Worst realization hit me Thursday morning: Instead of all this “what iff’ing,” I should sleep in till 5 AM, write the column, and go mow the damn yard. Plan less. Do more.

Coming up next week on Peoplenomics.com ($40/year for the high-rollers): “Vacations Ho!” Timed for Memorial Day—just a week from Monday. It’s a great look at the rise of autocamping and how much has changed since the Roaring Twenties. Savory stuff…

Tuesday: Fill up the tank. And grab extra for the mower and ODPE (Outdoor Power Equipment). This might be the last week with overnight lows under 70° until October.

Once it gets over 80°F.? I lose interest in most outdoor projects—unless BBQs or a pool and an ice-cold adult beverage are involved.

One for the Road

Remember I told you about restoring a ham radio a while back? Hallicrafter Sr-400 Cyclone?  Well there’s one on eBay.  Please notice the price.  Just like mine (may not work but similar condition otherwise).  Notice the price.

Understand my “collecting?”

Write when you get rich,

George@Ure.net