Outdoor Shooting Ranges/BLM Land?

[fmj92x]

Hello folks,

I am located in Orange County, California, and am looking for a place that I can go to for outdoor shooting. A list of outdoor ranges you suggest and/or preferred would be locations on BLM land that I can go to? I am new to outdoor shooting so any advice/locations/references would be great!

[edgerly779]

Get onx app on phone. Shows blm and state lands

[viragoman]

Hodge road, high desert. Not a fan, can be sketchy. Calico, further out in the Mohave. Bee Canyon, near Hemet. Never been there myself. Split Mountain Road, Ocotillo Wells. My preferred spot, but hot in summer. You can shoot 500, maybe 1000 yards here. Weekends get busy, no walking down range. Those are the free spots. Paid outdoor ranges, Rainbow, Pala, Rauhages(sp). Also there's a private range in Perris, I don't know details but they do CCW classes there.

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[viragoman]

Oh and apparently you can shoot on private land near Cajon pass, just watch for LE on the way out. (Joke)

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[Vytis]

Hodge road, high desert. Not a fan, can be sketchy. Calico, further out in the Mohave. Bee Canyon, near Hemet. Never been there myself. Split Mountain Road, Ocotillo Wells. My preferred spot, but hot in summer. You can shoot 500, maybe 1000 yards here. Weekends get busy, no walking down range. Those are the free spots. Paid outdoor ranges, Rainbow, Pala, Rauhages(sp). Also there's a private range in Perris, I don't know details but they do CCW classes there.

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[smoothy8500]

For pistol it's fine. The rifle line is primitive and only 100 yards.

[Pofoo]

Burro canyon shooting range if you're in north OC. Otherwise, it's a long drive.
FYI, most places will be a major cluster f*ck on weekends. BC is very nice on week days.

[IVC]

There are several outdoor ranges just east of you, way before you hit the BLM land, but they usually require full membership to shoot. Shooting outdoors is the way to go, so consider these options too.

Rainbow Range in Rainbow/Temecula
Pala Shooting Range in Pala
Wren's Ranch in Perris
Raahauqe's in Riverside
Prado in Riverside

There are others, but these are the closest and best known ones.

[Vytis]

For pistol it's fine. The rifle line is primitive and only 100 yards.

[Capybara]

100 yards if fine be me for now. I’ve never been there but what’s appealing from the look at their pictures, is relative “privacy”, ability to move around a few steps without being yelled at by the ranger etc.
Are there more ranges like this is SoCal where you can rent “private” dedicated range for a reasonable price or is this it?

You can rent private ranges at California Tactical in Piru but reasonable or cheap, it ain't. You need 4-6 friends to chip in to make it reasonable. https://ctala.com/

[CGZ]

For BLM areas; Find a spot. Nearly everything past Barstow that's not Mojave Reserve is fair game.

http://cms.sbcounty.gov/portals/1/fishandgame/2010_cnty_shooting_areas_final.pdf

For ranges this thread has a good map of places near Orange County.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=908171

Finally, if you have a military friend that can get you onto Camp Pendleton, its range goes out to 1,000 yards. It's open Fridays and the Weekend only though.

[Vytis]

You can rent private ranges at California Tactical in Piru but reasonable or cheap, it ain't. You need 4-6 friends to chip in to make it reasonable. https://ctala.com/

[smoothy8500]

Burro Canyon has private bays, one of them is close to 100 yards, the rest are pistol length.

Raahaugee rifle bay is seated only, no movement. The other bays are 25 to 50 yds.

Either of those two are the better choices for central or northern parts of OC.

South OC driving time it's a toss up for those two or Pala.

[Jimi Jah]

Go to BLM land now. It will close for generator (fire) season soon.

[EscapePlan]

There's a makeshift range just north of Fillmore on the condor sanctuary. Park as if you're doing the Tar Creek punch bowl hike, but instead of taking the trail to the left that leads you down into the canyon, take the trail on the right.

Added bonus, the three(ish) mile hike down to the pools and waterfalls is my favorite hidden spot in the country. Slide down the waterfalls like slides, 30 ft rock jumps into the deep pools (seasonally deep) and I once spent four days down there without seeing another human.

Edit: I was trying to find more info to link and came across someone who said it was shut down. I'm not sure if that's legit or just locals trying to keep it secret... regardless, probably best to make a call to the ranger station before heading up.