Obscure and defunct shooting ranges

[jtv3062]

My Dad was an officer in the NG, after graduating OCS in '47 through the late '70's. (He left WWII as an E-6.) He told me that his battalion CO once had a big party for all the officers and their wifes, and part of the entertainment was shooting MGs. He said it was "up in the hills by Berkeley" or something like that. I could never figure out if he had it wrong from being drunk at the party or what. He was more impressed with the spread, which included a spit-roasted pig. This range is the most likely spot I've ever seen, thanks muchly for the info!

Imagine an Army officer hosting a Bacchanalia where the participants are firing off machine guns in this day and age.



Anybody else remember the range just West down the hill from U.S.I. that existed for like 10 minutes? IIRC it was planned to be some Super Cool Tactical Training facility catering to law enforcement. I want to say I heard about it around the late '80's, early '90's, but really not sure. I went down there one day but as usual the access off of the dead end of Evora was a locked gate.

It was supposed in this area, this was before the Chevron station and the industrial park were built.










...and race tracks, and airfields. For those interested in aviation it might be fun to look up how many small airfields there were around Nor Cal, mostly from WWII days as secondary & tertiary back ups to the main ones in the SF Bay Area. Seems like there was one every 20 miles or so. Speaking of old ranges and WWII, there was the aerial gunnery range on Mt. Diablo, with the outline of a submarine painted on a cliff. Be damned if I can find anything about it now.

I remember that "classroom gun range"

[jtv3062]

The Stoneman Range? Now an RC aviation facility.






I watched a cop shoot himself in the foot out there once, and no I don't mean he forgot to charge his mags or something and blew a stage, I mean he pointed his sidearm at his foot and pulled the trigger. That was also the first place I ever saw anybody shooting Major 9. Everybody who met him would check to see if he had all his fingers.

In WWII and for a while afterwards there was an Army rifle range on the North side of Leland, which is why there's a street in the area called "Range Road".

I tried to find the location of the old Brentwood Gun Club, but couldn't even find any scars. Which is weird, because I remember driving by it (private club) way back when, and thinking it was pretty easy to find. Must have houses sitting on the site now, maybe a member can pinpoint where it used to be. I wonder if the folks living in the houses might be lefties and freak out if they knew their house was built on a former gun range.

You drive right over that Brentwood gun range on the now hwy 4. It's just north of that metal building. You might see the remnants of the old parting area of the gun range that the contractor also used it for their construction trail/ yard. In the first picture at the red cross you see the 3 buildings I believe that would be the gun range. The second picture is the same area the thumb tack is where I believe the range was at.

[RustyIron]

A thread on the shooting range that is on the Chevron refinery lands in Richmond got me thinking about old shooting ranges that either few people know about, or are gone but their bones are still showing.

That's funny that you had a Chevron range in Richmond. We had a range on the Chevron lease in La Habra, up until about twenty years ago. It was only open to Chevron employees. There was one trap house, and not much else other than plenty of land and the hill as a backstop. You'd drive up to the guard shack, ask for the key, and you were on your way.

Then, in the interest of public service, the city police were invited to use the range. Before long, they were found to be shooting across a public road, and the range was soon closed. So it goes.

Interestingly, our range was also in the Coyote Hills.

[pd5190]

Indoor range in the basement of the Boys locker room at Santa Monica High School. Was converted to a weight room in the late 60's. After the Calif. Cadet Corp program was dropped.

[Garand1911]

Yeah I rreally miss the San Gabriel Valley Shooting range. It would still be open if it weren't for the dirty city politics during those times.

Mail Clerk

+1
That was a great range.
A lot of local LEO lost their training range, they spoke to the Azusa city council about there needs, Azusa didn't give a sheeit.
Small PDs around LA are having a hard time finding a range to train at, its a serious problem that isn't going to get better. Thanks liberals!


I remember shooting at the Bristow indoor range in City of Commerce.
I think the lead clean up is what shut it down. In 1982 I even got training from Mr. Bristow himself.