New shooter, first gun, no powder, but still needs to be handled properly!

[CCWFlaRuger]

What a glorious day, My son is turning 6 and we managed to find a 70th anniversary Red Ryder Carbine Lever Action .177 cal BB gun!

Now, before anyone says anything;

1) He will not have the opportunity to handle this gun in any way shape or form unless I am present and actively supervising.

2) My reasoning behind giving a 6 year old a BB gun is that, in this day and age where he is most likely 2 or 3 years from coming in contact with a firearm outside the house (ie. a friedns parents/sibling/what have you), it is already a bit late for him to have started learning firearm safety, but this seems, to me, to be the best way to go about it.

So, all that being said,

Here is my conundrum... moving to a house in the sticks... not totally rurla, we have neighbors, but they are not right on top of us like some of the "cookie cutter communities" that are out there and we should be able to set up a range without a house behind it, and being that living in Florida, there are no basements, I'm thinking of building a backstop out of wood and draped carpeting, my question is 3 fold...

1) Do any of you have a design that you have had luck with?
2) How wide/tall would you recommend the back stop be?
3) of course the heavier the better for the carpet, but what is the minimum? would indoor outdoor work? or should it be a bit heavier... like a bourbur?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Kerby]

Do you have a garage??? My bow range (in the city) is up my drive way and into the garage....

[OldVet]

Check your city/county ordinances! Would not be permitted in Port St. Lucie--period. Out in the county? Don't know. Because BB guns don't fall under "firearms" definition--therefore not under state preemption--local municipalities can set rules and regs on them.

[ks kid]

We use a shag carpet for a back stop. it works well and we have tought a lot kids using it.

[gasmitty]

No need to over-think the design of your backstop. Let's say your young nimrod will be shooting from 25 feet or so... I'd use two pieces of indoor carpet about 2'x2', stapled or clipped together, or use a pair of furring strips to clamp an edge of the carpet with thru-bolts and wing nuts holding the wood together. Hang the affair so you can adjust the height, or just keep it low enough - maybe centered about 2' off the ground - so that even if shooting from prone you won't launch a BB into a trajectory high enough to leave your yard. Since you get frequent rain out there, whatever you arrange should be easy enough to hang outdoors when you're ready to shoot, then hang it up in the garage for storage when not in use.

You can pin a paper target to the carpet easily enough. Eventually you'll shoot the center out of the carpet, so you want to be able to replace the carpet easily without making it another project.