Generally a shooting range is constructed of hard concrete walls or cinder block filled with concrete. These ranges are soundproofed to the outdoors, but on the inside, the noise from muzzle blasts can be unbearable to the shooters even with ear protection.
The problem is that the noise from the firing weapons is confined and has no where to go within this space.
There are ways to reduce this noise by up to 15 dB, which doesn’t sound like a much, but it would actually make the range much more tollerable and would keep the muffle the noise and prevent it from reflecting endlessly off of the walls, ceiling and the floor of the range.
There is a panels that is called BlocknZorbe panel that is a propylene bead board panel that is extremely effective and reducing the reverb and reflective noise from the interior of the range.
Obviously the more area you cover the better the reduction would be.
Decibel Reduction for Shooting
The method for reducing the reflective noise is relatively easy. On the concrete walls as well as the ceiling you would attach 1″ furring strips attached with masonry screws. The furring strips would be placed 2 ft apart to allow for a bonded acoustical cotton backing to be fitted between these strips. The bonded acoustical cotton helps to absorb the reflective noise in conjunction with the BlocknZorbe panels which we will discuss more in this article.
Once the walls and the ceiling are fitted with the 1″ furring strips you would then glue in sections of the 1 ” bonded acoustical cotton strips. The acoustical cotton material is called EcoVerb Roll mat and it comes in rolls that are 4′ wide by 50′ long (200 sq ft per roll) These rolls would need to be cut in half down the middle so they would fit tightly between the 1″ furring strips. it is best to glue the EcoVerb material directly to the concrete walls between the furring strips. Once you have the EcoVerb roll material adhered to the walls between the furring strip you come to the last step in this process.
At this point you would adhere the BlocknZorbe panels directly attached to the 1″ wood furring strips. You can actually hard fasten these panels to the furring strips using decking screws. The BlocknZorbe panels are not heavy and so they could easily be screwed directly to the furring strips. The fact that the BlocknZorbe panels are simply screwed to the furring strips makes it easy to replace the BlocknZorbe panels should it become damaged by a stray round.
As stated before, the more area you cover with the system the better the noise reduction will be.
These materials are relatively inexpensive and can make a remarkable difference in the internal acoustics of your firing range. This system has a two fold purpose and is able to absorb the noise from both sides. The bonded cotton is one of the most sound absorbing panels on the market today and in conjunction with the BlocknZorbe panels which block and diffuse the sound, you would have a very effective sound reduction system and your range would be much more appealing to your shooting customers.
This sound absorbing system works for all indoor shooting ranges whether public or private. The last piece to soundproofing an indoor gun range is to make sure you have the right door. We have all the door soundproofing products you’ll need at Soundproofing America, like our Sound Lock Soundproof Door.
BlocknZorbe™ Multi-Purpose Sound Panels
The BlocknZorbe™ panel is one of our most popular products. It is a multi-purpose panel made of polypropylene bead board type panel that is used extensively in outdoor and indoor applications.
For all your soundproofing and acoustic needs we have you covered. We have guides on how to build a soundproof booth, engine bay sound deadening and soundproofing a party wall and many more specific projects. If you can’t find information on your specific project then give us a call and we will help you find a solution. Thanks for reading and learning about Gun range soundproofing.
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