Big Bear Lake target shooting?

[dwh100]

My son and I are camping at Big Bear Lake next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I know the Sportsmans club is only open on the weekends. Where can we go target shooting without driving too far from the lake?

[verapakill]

The closest that I know of is Highland but that is a 30 min drive.

[eqlzr]

http://www.socalcamping.com/shooting/shoot_info.html

Scroll down to San Bernadino Natl Forest info.

[SanPedroShooter]

Last time I went up, we just went off into the woods on the far side of the lake. From the looks of it, we werent the only ones to do some shooting up there...

[liketoshoot]

As a resident of BB I hope you do not just go in the woods and shoot, there are homes that can not be seen because of all the trees not to mention it is illegal.

Now if you do not mind a short ride and know where the Mitsubishi cement plant is on the Lucerne side (Hwy 18) there is a place that is approved for shootgun only shooting, yes they shoot handguns and rifles but if a Ranger comes by you can lose them and be fined.
Now to get there it is on the east side of the road accross from the SB Mountain sign, just south of the cement plant, long dirt road (stay to the left go through the pillars), that goes back about 1 mile very open and safe to shoot at. I have not been here in a year and last time we spent 2 hours cleaning up but I'm sure it a mess now.

[SanPedroShooter]

There were'nt any houses around. I went around to the back of the lake and up the road aways. It was right on the rim of the plateau and you could see the desert floor way down below, whats the name of the highway that runs down the backside in to the desert?. There was a good backstop (the side of a hill) and you could tell people had been shooting quite a bit up there... That doesnt make it legal, of course it could have well been public land, but it was safe enough.

[Iknownot]

There are two or so designated shooting areas up near Big Bear Lake/City, off of forest roads, but they are hardly ever open due to fire conditions.

Call the ranger station up in Big Bear to find out if you can shoot there and where they are located, if you can.

Otherwise, looks like you'll have to skip target shooting this time around.

[liketoshoot]

SanPd.shooter, it's just there are a lot of hikers and bike riders all over that you never know who is in the back ground, i love shooting and try to get out and do it as much as possible, but i don't want to wind up in the backset of a popo car either.

Hope this map works, the road is on the rt side of the map, the map is pointed north.

http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=&ie=UTF8&q=mitsubishi&fb=1&gl=us&t=h&sll=34.354907,-116.854674&sspn=0.003499,0.00677&st=115968771510351694523&rq=1&ev=zi&radius=0.23&split=1&hq=mitsubishi&hnear=&ll=34.352826,-116.844696&spn=0.003499,0.00677&z=17&iwloc=A

[SanPedroShooter]

Yeah, I was just looking at my BLM maps of big bear lake, and its all NF land.

How long does it take to get from town down to Mitsubishi?

[Iknownot]

about 45 mins or so. The road has a bunch of switchbacks and such and you have to drive past Baldwin Lake to get to it, which is a tiny bit of a drive from town.

[5shot]

Big Pine Flat is the closest legal area.
Open Forest shooting areas:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/!ut/p/c5/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gDfxMDT8MwRydLA1cj72BTSw8jAwgAykeaxcN4jhYG_h4eYX5hPgYwefy6w0H24dcPNgEHcDTQ9_PIz03VL8iNMMgycVQEAIzTHkw!/dl3/d3/L2dJQSEvUUt3QS9ZQnZ3LzZfMjAwMDAwMDBBODBPSEhWTjJNMDAwMDAwMDA!/?navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&cid=stelprdb5156888&navid=110250000000000&pnavid=110000000000000&ss=110512&position=Not%2520Yet%2520Determined.Html&ttype=detail&pname=San%2520Bernardino%2520National%2520Forest-%2520Other%2520Activities

[liketoshoot]

@5shot, good info.
the ride to Mitsu isn't to bad

Arrastre Shooting Sites, located along 2N02, 4 miles east of Baldwin Lake Road - Open
This is not a bad shooting site but it is small, and short.
Have a safe fun day.

[dwh100]

@5shot, good info.
the ride to Mitsu isn't to bad

Arrastre Shooting Sites, located along 2N02, 4 miles east of Baldwin Lake Road - Open
This is not a bad shooting site but it is small, and short.
Have a safe fun day.

How short is short?
It looks like the spot on US Forest Rd. 2N02 east of Baldwin Lake is closest. I'll look into Big Pine Flat also, but that looks a bit farther. I'll call the Ranger station on Thursday and get details to post here.

[eqlzr]

Last time I went up, we just went off into the woods on the far side of the lake. From the looks of it, we werent the only ones to do some shooting up there...

I suspect this will get you in some serious doo-doo. First of all, the far side of the lake depends on which side of the lake you're on. Best to check with the local Ranger Station in the area where you are as the link above recommends. They have very nice maps that also give you lots of other useful info.

[5shot]

Target shooting in the San Bernardino Natl. Forest is restricted to specific areas designated by the forest service, in keeping with the S.B. County Shooting Ordnance. These forest areas open and close periodically depending on fire conditions an road conditions.