Women in the SF Bay Area!

[BonnieB]

Ladies of the Bay Area (and that includes you BG and MZ).

There is a thing in Calguns called "C3" which is a Calguns Community Coordinator. I'm one, working with the guys of CGN in Sacramento to organize a stable CGN Monthly Shoot and other fun stuff like shooting leagues and barbecues. A fine lady named SterylP10 did this for a really long time (in Contra Costa?) and did a fine job of it too.

We have a whole lot of people checked in on the Bay Area thread of the NorCal Forum, all yelling for people to shoot with. I know the demand for casual events is there, we just need a few good women and men to run it.

It can be rather simple. I, for instance, just decided where and when I thought a shoot should be, based on my favorite club and a day that happened to be convenient. Called up a couple of friends I shoot with anyhow and said "this is it". When I got to the range on the day, I got a big target, wrote "Calguns" on the back with a sharpie, and tacked it up near where I was shooting.

People just found their way to me. Cool! Six the first time, 10 the second time.

Now we have a lively chapter, establishing monthly shoots, casual weekly shoots, trap on Thursdays at a lighted trap range (!). With raffles and hats and T shirts and more, once we got established a little.

So this is where you jack up yourselves, your hubbies, wives, bf's and girlfriends and make it happen. No big commitment at first, just post where you'll be when, and tack up a sign. "If you build it, they will come". Once that starts to take hold you can email "PennysDad", the C3 honcho for more info and direction.

I'm pointing this to the women of the Bay Area, because it's close to Sacramento and it's kinda a blank spot on the C3 map. But the women of the rest of California, you can do it too. There is need for C3's in the Monterrey area and also I think in the Chico area.

Anybody can PM me with questions. Uppity women unite !

[Christine123]

I'm new to calguns..but not new to shooting...I shoot quite a few pistol and multi gun matches in the bay area and sacramento....would love to find some more ladies to shoot with.

[CalGunMom]

I'm in Cupertino and would love to find some ladies to shoot with. My usual shooting partner was my son but now I live here and he lives in San Diego and he's only been here twice this year and I've been there twice. Four times a year is not enough practice!

[movie zombie]

ever get up to the Los Altos Rod and Gun up on skyline/highway 35 near castle rock state park, CalGunMom?

[CalGunMom]

No, I've only been to Target Masters in Milpitas and Reeds in Santa Clara when my son was here over Christmas. I felt very cramped and uncomfortable at Target Masters, my son and I were the only ones who brought their own firearms and the amateurs renting were all pretty unsafe with their weapon handling and no range master in sight! At Reeds, only one lane had renters and there were two groups of families there ranging in age from about 10 to 70. The range master was very apparent and he even gave me a couple of pointers, which I appreciated because I hadn't been to the range in quite some time. I've read the reviews elsewhere in these forums about Reeds and I didn't have a terrible experience with them. The Range my son and I go to in San Diego is so posh compared to anything I've seen here

I'm really interested in giving both Los Altos and Sunnyvale a try, but the weather has been less than cooperative lately judging by the reviews a lot of folks here on these forums really like Los Altos!

[kaligaran]

Originally Posted by movie zombie

ever get up to the Los Altos Rod and Gun up on skyline/highway 35 near castle rock state park, CalGunMom?

I love LARG! And It's only 25 minutes from my house! Their trap range is beautiful.

Ping me next time you're planning a weekend range day and it's not 45 degrees.

[movie zombie]

i haven't tried sunnyvale yet. i'm much closer to the los altos gun club. its well run and "scenic". i had thoughts about going tomorrow but weather and other things have changed my mind......

i have not been to Reeds. and i find Target Masters scary.

[haw1144]

My fiance/I go are close to Cupertino as well, and we go up to Los Altos a lot for rifle shooting... it's a great place to shoot! We typically goto TargetMasters for handgun shooting.

If you bring a ton of ammo and targets, it's a lot cheaper to shoot at Los Altos Rod & Gun club for a few hours!

[movie zombie]

i shoot handguns and rifles at LAR&G......... and you are so right: you can shoot there for a few hours or the entire time they are open for the same price. i tend to take almost everything and spend the day.......

[movie zombie]

never been on a weekend....i hear its rather crowded. what's your experience of that, kaligaran?

[kaligaran]

Originally Posted by movie zombie

never been on a weekend....i hear its rather crowded. what's your experience of that, kaligaran?

Oops sorry for the delayed response I don't normally browse this forum.

Anyhow, it's CROWDED on the weekends if you go before noon. Around 1 or 2 it usually starts clearing out. I've never had to wait more than 5 minutes to get a booth even before noon but you're not guaranteed two side by side until a bit later. I usually use the 50 yard rifle range so I can't speak to the other ranges.

I typically go do some rifles for about an hour or two then go up to the self-service trap range which is my favorite and do about 50-100 trap rounds.

I have to do weekends usually b/c I work all week so I never really have range days available during the week.

[CalGunMom]

At present I only have handguns to shoot, a S&W 357 and have an HK P30 9mil arriving at an FFL any day now. When I lived in San Diego we'd go to a great outdoor range a lot that was in an old quarry. Los Altos looks a lot prettier When I was younger I did a lot of skeet shooting but I leave that to the youngsters nowadays I'm betting when the time changes back in the spring and its daylight till 8 or 9 LA would be a great after work place.

[movie zombie]

even for summer hours LA is not an evening or night range: winter hours it closes at 4p; summer hours it closes at 5p.

more re the range here: http://www.losaltosrodandgunclub.com/

which s&w 357 do you have, CalGunMom?

[CalGunMom]

Gee, shame they aren't open later in the summer when it is still light out so late. Or is that maybe member only time? Might be worth membership if it is! I may investigate that.

My S&W is a 686 long barrel. Very accurate but not exactly CCW friendly . And compared to the HK P30 VERY heavy! It's a good reliable gun and has served me well. It was the first handgun I ever shot so I'm pretty comfortable with it. I've always liked the fact that I can shoot both 38 and 357 rounds in it. Makes it seem like having two guns at the range! For home protection, it's always loaded with 357 hollow points.

What handguns do you shoot?

[movie zombie]

686 is too big for my hand.....L-frame, if i remember right.

me? i'm fond of the j- and k-frame smiths. i have a model 60 snubbie, a model 19 snubbie, and a model 66 3-inch. i'd like to get the 60 in the 3-inch as well and perhaps even the 5-inch!!!! however, they're rather pricey even used. i do have a .45acp and 9mm as well.......

i too like the .38/357 option so my marlin 1894 lever rifle is also .38.357.

at the range i manly shoot .38......but fire a few .357's to "remember" the difference.

let us know what you find out re membership. i checked it out at one time and remember it as "PRICEY".

[CalGunMom]

I'm 6' barefoot so not a small gal which is why the 686 didn't seem too large for me back when I got it but now that I'm older I think lighter would be better. The HK P30 has a full size grip, but has replaceable panels for the grip to size it up and down in a wide variety of sizes. They are sorta pricey, but I like how their operation is so jam-free. I can stovepipe or jam a 1911 or Glock just about once a 17 round magazine, but have never done that with my sons HK and I really put it through its paces a few weeks ago. I decided to go for quality instead of quantity.

I also shoot mostly 38 at the range too, then end my session with a dozen or so 357 since my home defense loads are 357 hoping for the memory thing as well. We think alike!

LAGC's website had no membership info so I emailed asking about it. Not sure if they are even open to new members. Sunnyvale's site had links to their member info even though they are only taking wait list. They are also open till 9 so I may have to go there for my summer's evening shooting.

[CalGunMom]

Well I heard back from LARG, expensive is right! Of course by joining the "club" you're basically buying part ownership with 163 other people so the buy in is quite steep and at whatever price the selling partner sets, the last sold was between $11,000 and $12,000. Shares for sale only come up when somebody dies or moves out of the area. There is currently a share available so if you're interested I can forward the info. Since I plan on moving back to San Diego when I retire in a few years, it's really not worth the investment for me.

I'm really disappointed with the indoor ranges up here compared to the ones in San Diego. The one my son belongs to is so posh! They have digital target positioning where you attach your target, punch in how many feet you want it to be from the firing line and it zips out to that exact distance. And the whole place is so much cleaner and actually looks like someone with some professional design experience designed it. The counters on the firing line have really nice non skid coverings and the lighting is far better than either of the two indoor ranges I've been to here (Target Masters & Reeds). Even the retail part looks like a proper store and not part of the cow palace gun show. I'll let you know what I think of the outdoor facilities compared to the ones in San Diego once the weather warms up and I try a couple.

[Desdemmonna]

I am co-founder of Alameda/Oakland Pink Pistols group here in the East Bay.
Our home range is San Leandro Optimist Club, there is a Women's night Wends. We usually grab a few lanes outside an hour or so before the general swarm of boyfriends dragging in the SO or the rare women's self defense course comes in. When in good health (I have fibromyalgia) I am qualified to do basic range safety instruction and familiarize those interested with small caliber revolvers and semi-auto, joining Pink Pistols is NEVER a requirement.