Personally I prefer official gun ranges

[ja308]

Besides the comaradery and sense of community the safety of public ranges is mostly comforting !

Here is an example of amateur hour on display. Sadly an innocent woman lost here life in Arizona.

https://bearingarms.com/tom-k/2018/01/16/buckeye-az-shooters-respond-tragic-stray-bullet-shooting/

It’s where hundreds of target shooters and ATV riders recreate every weekend. It’s also where 24-year-old Kami Gilstrap was struck by a stray bullet Sunday that ended her life.

[Jimmy's]

Yeah well mixing Off roaders and shooting in the same area is not hard to figure out.

[OCEquestrian]

Public ranges (matches only) and my private gun clubs for me thank you.

[dwalker]

Yeah... cause nothing ever happens on the public line...

[L8Apex911]

My parents live in Vegas, went to Sloan Canyon with my dad to shoot some plastic water bottles last year. All i heard were ricochets... looked like a trash dump also. Really unfortunate, no one picks up after they are done. Absolutely amazing how close this all is to I15! A young girl was killed a few years ago after being hit in the head by a ricochet. We have not been back since.

[ACfixer]

I like our private gun club. I'm not opposed to shooting on public land, but I don't care to go to the places where nuts congregate. Besides whenever I've gone to places like that I get too pissed off at the junk left behind by the shooting and camping slobs.

[smoothy8500]

Yeah... cause nothing ever happens on the public line...

I hear you on that....still, I prefer organized ranges.

[Rusty Scabbard]

Have not shot at Santa Barbara's glass factory for 5 years for the same reasons. As far as open ranges go, it's probably on the safer side. But the trash, and ricochet throwing wheel rims and compressed gas cylinders are enough to keep me away. Still can't figure out why so many target shooters still think it's fine to turn ranges into dumpsites.

[audiophil2]

I took my son out there last month to show him how trashy public spots have become over the years. We drove along the dirt road with at least 200 people out there. No firing line. People walking out 50 yards to set up garbage (targets) while people to the right and left were shooting their own garbage. I asked him if he wanted me to pull over so he could do a mag dump out of the selectfire UZI he had wedged between the center conzole and his seat. He told me it was way too dangerous and refused to get out. We drove out to an older public spot I used to shoot at and it was closed off so we headed out to our private range.

That stretch of road is very short for legal shooting. People shoot on private property to the east and west of it since no one enforces property rights there. The ATV riders ride on the north side of the popular shooting spot in the opposite direction of gun fire across the road. Someone must have been shooting on the north side of the road facing north if she was hit in the popular riding area. It is also BLM land so both activities are permitted. The common sense thing is that there are few safe spots to shoot yet there are lots of safe spots to ride. Why anyone would stage up in that killbox when much nicer and safer spots are only a few minutes away makes no sense. Couple that with the closure of the other popular spot nearby due to Bill Gates buying up that area and now there are far more shooters in that spot that is so close to Phoenix.

[russ69]

It's the only thing I know, I've been shooting at controlled ranges since I was 12 years old. Open desert shooting is fun but only when you are the only ones around.

[Deedle]

Personally I prefer the old rock pit where I and Dad go shooting, but that's not even in California. Sweet solitude and gunfire. Miss it.

[etwinam]

Private gun clubs are where I go majority of the time. Mostly because BLM land is closed in san Diego and Riverside.

I love my gun club because I can shoot long range and not worry about what is down range. I know it's safe and clear. It's also nice not having to guess the distance of shots.

Blm is my favorite because I can destroy pumpkins and set up multiple targets while transitioning targets. I can even use a holster and practice draw and shoot techniques: IWB & OWB. There is something very satisfying about destroying a pumpkin with a 30-06 then a .357 and finishing it up with a 12g leaving nothing left!

Both are fun, but different shooting for different purposes.

[calif 15-22]

[Chapped Hide]

Yeah well mixing Off roaders and shooting in the same area is not hard to figure out.

Just about everywhere around here is like this^^^^ and haven't heard of any casualties yet.

Yeah... cause nothing ever happens on the public line...

Dumb *** rookie out at Sac Valley sent a 22 round straight cross range right down the line and just missed my boys and I over on the rim fire range. Fiddle ****ing with a new gun and no clue just like many others that frequent ranges. No thanks!

[AYRborneRN87]

BLM areas open to target practice is ideal when SAFETY and CLEANING AFTER ONE’s SELF are exercised. I bring a trash bin and bags when I go. But still there’s just too much crap out there. There are just people that don’t give a damn anymore... even gun owners. Unfortunately, there are enemies from
within.