Help with Finding a Gun Range or Club

[trigger945]

Judge all you want. I just need a little help here

I am looking for a range or club that offers action shooting (steel plates preferred) and/or friendly competition. It has to have "real" restrooms and not just porto-potties, and running water, as well. It does not have to be fancy at all, but most places I have been to that offer some sort of action shooting or friendly competition (i.e. Prado) only have porto-potties.

Any place that you can recommend that is within 1 hour of Burbank?

Thanks CalGuns!

[CGT80]

What is the deal with no porta potties?

Most ranges will not have running water and a sewer/septic system in place due to being away from those services, which are near more populated areas, or due to the land they sit on.

There are indoor ranges that have competitions (my buddy goes to one in your area) and they will have nicer bathrooms, but I am sure that steel is out of the question due to safety concerns and they do not have the space for the great matches you will see at outdoor ranges.

West End Gun Club is roughly an hour from Irvine. It is outdoors and has porta potties, but they are usually much cleaner than the ones I have seen at other ranges. We have a couple sinks where you can wash your hands, and one of them is piped from a natural spring where people like to collect drinking water (so I have been told). The competitions are quite friendly and well organized. There are cargo containers full of various steel targets and sometimes we will have all steel (that was the case last Sat for Action Pistol). You do have to drive across lytle creek, but many people bring small commuter cars, as we do a great job at maintaining the dirt road.

If you have more questions, look up the West End Gun Club web site or just ask me.

[trigger945]

What is the deal with no porta potties?

Most ranges will not have running water and a sewer/septic system in place due to being away from those services, which are near more populated areas, or due to the land they sit on.

There are indoor ranges that have competitions (my buddy goes to one in your area) and they will have nicer bathrooms, but I am sure that steel is out of the question due to safety concerns and they do not have the space for the great matches you will see at outdoor ranges.

West End Gun Club is roughly an hour from Irvine. It is outdoors and has porta potties, but they are usually much cleaner than the ones I have seen at other ranges. We have a couple sinks where you can wash your hands, and one of them is piped from a natural spring where people like to collect drinking water (so I have been told). The competitions are quite friendly and well organized. There are cargo containers full of various steel targets and sometimes we will have all steel (that was the case last Sat for Action Pistol). You do have to drive across lytle creek, but many people bring small commuter cars, as we do a great job at maintaining the dirt road.

If you have more questions, look up the West End Gun Club web site or just ask me.

Thanks for the reply.

I totally understand the limitation due to distance from the normal services, hence the question. Honestly, I am okay with porto-potties myself - have been to many ranges with no "real" restrooms. However, it would be nice to have them and the people I plan to bring to a friendly competition may be on the "pickier" side (if asking for a real restroom is being picky).

I want the experience to be comfortable for them (and for me, as well). We just want to have fun. We are not very competitive at all and just want to plink and shoot outside of static ranges. I think many casual shooters would be more inclined to attend organized matches had the facilities been more "urban" (for lack of a better term).

I will look up West End Gun Club. Sink with water is a great start. I will contact you for more info, if needed.

[alpha_romeo_XV]

Too far for you ( ~3 hrs) but I was sure happy when my club - Escondido Fish & Game put in a well and a septic system. Also not so much for me but for taking friends especially of the xx chromosome variety. Having covered ranges is nice for hot sun or drizzly days. Even a cold soft drink machine is nice when you planned to be there an hour and end up staying 3 or 4 instead.

[cwilliams]

OP -

I'm also a member at WEGC and I thoroughly recommend them even without the running water and bathroom requirement. There's no electricity either and that still hasn't ever caused me a problem. They keep everything very clean up there. There has not been one person, male, female, new or experienced shooter, who has not loved that place. It's one of the most peaceful shooting ranges you'll ever encounter. I have acquired a fair amount of steel targets the past few years and I make some very fun shooting galleries in the private bays.

If you are wanting a place that already has that set up along with your other requirements, Oak Tree up in Newhall is probably what you are looking for. Though, they are very limited at 100 yards for rifle shooting and the range can get very busy at times.

[trigger945]

^^^Thanks to both responses above. I appreciate it.

WEGC is looking very promising. Escondido does not sound too bad either. Who doesn't like to be in San Diego anyways?

True, Oak Tree has nice facilities and offer some friendly competition on some days.

[89LT1]

I will gove another vote for WEGC. nice place

better yet go shoot a match, you dont have to be a member and you can check it out. Its great let me or any of the guys above that are members know that you want to go (its a little hard to know exactly where to go the first time).

For the restroom and running water thing: there are a couple restaurants and gas stations right off the freeway. make a stop there first and continue on to the range. Easy peasy.

there are two levels of members at the range. And some of the guys can correct me if im wrong the limited member can shoot up to 100 yards at the main range. The full member gets access to the bays 24/7, but there are limited number of full member slots available.

[cwilliams]

I will gove another vote for WEGC. nice place

better yet go shoot a match, you dont have to be a member and you can check it out. Its great let me or any of the guys above that are members know that you want to go (its a little hard to know exactly where to go the first time).

For the restroom and running water thing: there are a couple restaurants and gas stations right off the freeway. make a stop there first and continue on to the range. Easy peasy.

there are two levels of members at the range. And some of the guys can correct me if im wrong the limited member can shoot up to 100 yards at the main range. The full member gets access to the bays 24/7, but there are limited number of full member slots available.

Let me also clarify that limited members (using their membership) are only allowed in the facility on Fri, Sat, and Sun and only on the main range. First come, first serve, but there is usually space. There is a rifle and a pistol side.

Full members have 24/7 access, use of private bays, long range rifle pads, and are allowed up to three guests. If you are married, your spouse is included with your membership and also gets three guests. You also have the ability to reserve a bay in advance if you want to have more than your guest allotment with (I think) a $10 per person charge. That's still less than going to public ranges.

[trigger945]

Thanks a lot fellas. Have not had the chance to look it up yet, but sounds great. 24/7 access is an awesome perk.

[CGT80]

To reserve a private bay for recreational use (you must be a full member), the charge is $100 and you need either a full member per every three shooters, or one of the RO's has to find one or more of your guests capable of being a safety officer for your group. If you have a guest who is a competitive shooter or has enough shooting and safety experience to make an impression on the RO's they you should be good to go. The club doesn't want one member and 10 newbies without having more eyes to watch the safety issue. We rewrote the range reservation policy over the last couple months to clarify a few areas. I would have to look up a copy of the new rules to give more info.

The competitions at WEGC are new shooter friendly and IDPA is a great place to start. Action Pistol would be my second choice for a new shooter. Bob and Cameron run those matches and are great guys. Shooters should know how to handle their firearms safely, load/unload, clear malfunctions, watch the 180/muzzle direction, and be able to hit a 6" target at 10 yards. If the shooters are not up to this, then they will need some instruction and maybe a range day to figure this out ahead of time. You don't have to be a good shooter to compete, but you have to be safe and able to follow directions. If you are a really bad shot, the stages will take you a ton of ammo and a very long time, and that starts to ruin the fun for the new shooter and the other squad mates. Competitors are usually very good about helping the new guys along. The competitions offer a great variety of targets and different levels of challenges. I learned to really like the cardboard targets, so if you haven't shot at IPSC or similar targets, then give it a try.

You are welcome to come out and watch a competition to see how you like it and the range. If you need some practice or introduction to what a competition is like, or for your guests, you might come out as a guest of one of the full members here. We can only have 3 guests, but two full members would make it 6 guests. I would be willing to guide you through a match at WEGC or grab a private bay and let you try out a dueling tree, static steel, and IPSC cardboard targets before doing a match. Of course, maybe you guys are ready to just jump in and don't need it.

The I15 and Sierra off ramp (and food/gas) is only 5-10 minutes and a couple miles from the range. The range sits in a canyon with a lot of exposed dirt so expect your shoes to get dirty and be prepared for what the weather may bring, but the range is kept very clean and the staff and volunteers are great people. The porto potties are cleaner than the bathrooms at the McDonalds by the freeway or most gas stations for that matter. Just watch out for spiders living in the TP (one fell out of the holder when I tore the new paper cover off of it on Sat).

[trigger945]

Wow, this is a ton of great info - more than I think I will get had I looked it up online on my own. Really, really appreciate it.

I feel welcome in this place already just from the replies above and the members seem to be really nice and really proud of their club!

Expect a PM in the near future asking to be one of your guests

[cwilliams]

To reserve a private bay for recreational use (you must be a full member), the charge is $100 and you need either a full member per every three shooters, or one of the RO's has to find one or more of your guests capable of being a safety officer for your group. If you have a guest who is a competitive shooter or has enough shooting and safety experience to make an impression on the RO's they you should be good to go. The club doesn't want one member and 10 newbies without having more eyes to watch the safety issue. We rewrote the range reservation policy over the last couple months to clarify a few areas. I would have to look up a copy of the new rules to give more info.

Thanks for the updated information regarding bay reservation. What I was trying to remember was obviously outdated. Those are some great changes!

[ar15barrels]

Judge all you want. I just need a little help here

I am looking for a range or club that offers action shooting (steel plates preferred) and/or friendly competition. It has to have "real" restrooms and not just porto-potties, and running water, as well. It does not have to be fancy at all, but most places I have been to that offer some sort of action shooting or friendly competition (i.e. Prado) only have porto-potties.

Lopez canyon has real restrooms in the clubhouse, but I don't know if the clubhouse is unlocked except during meetings.
Angeles has real restrooms at the main range, but it's only a public range.

[ar15barrels]

To reserve a private bay for recreational use (you must be a full member), the charge is $100

wow, it's really gone downhill.
It used to be that you just showed up and any of they bays not being used by a match were first-come, first served for any members and never a charge for members to use the bays.
This was before the whole limited membership thing started.

[hellayella]

For me, it is good ole Raahauges in Corona...where **** smells to high heaven but the range is chill and you can use steel case etc...