Thread: Place to shoot near Seattle that doesn't require membership?

I just moved to Washington 3 months ago and coming from CA, it is pretty nice. So I'm pretty eager to shoot my saiga rifle with a clip over 10 rounds and with a detachable magazine, the only problem is that it seems all of the ranges I've found require membership. This is brand new to me and I have not been able to find a range where I can just go and shoot. Is there any place where I can shoot my rifle without needing to be a member? I also have a shotgun and like to shoot some trap, but those places seem like they need membership too. Could use some help. Thanks!

+1 on WCA, for an indoor range.

However, you can go to several of the outdoor ranges without being a member. For example, the range in Kenmore has trap, rifle, pistol & archery -- you can shoot there without a membership. IIRC, non-member Trap is $6+, Rifle & Pistol is $11. The rifle range is single rounds, only.

On most of the local ranges, annual membership is minimal.

Thanks for the replies guys. Those prices don't seem bad really. $10 I can swing. I was seeing membership dues for like $300 and there is no way that is going to happen.

For the IIRC, what do you mean by single rounds only?

Most ranges in the area allow only single rounds to be loaded (other than maybe .22s). That means you can't jam in a full magazine & bang away. There are some exceptions, and are usually authorized by the Rangemaster, for function checking, etc.

Kenmore costs $125/yr with a $200 initiation. (Free shooting, for members. Public pays, per visit.)
Renton is $120/yr with $30 initiation.

I use both for trap, and go to the WCA (Bellevue Gun Club) for most pistol shooting. (Something about being warm and dry is appealing, and the bays are spotless!)

I see.

So are there any ranges that would allow one to shoot with more than one round. I have a saiga 223, not exactly a precision rifle, and shooting single rounds would be a bit ho-hum.

Any recommendations for a good place for shooting a carbine type rifle?( place that allows full clip and rapid fire etc?) Not looking to go Rambo but would like to open up a bit. Thanks again!

you might want to check out Cascade shooting facilities they are open to the public a few days a month. Here is a shortcut to the web sight.
CSF looks like they are having public shooting this fri-sat Nov 12/13
Dan10mmman

Originally Posted by BurtGummer

I see.

...

Any recommendations for a good place for shooting a carbine type rifle?( place that allows full clip and rapid fire etc?) Not looking to go Rambo but would like to open up a bit. Thanks again!

I'm not personally aware of any, but others might be. You can always make the drive to Capitol forest (Olympia) and hit the gravel pit. Most club ranges prohibit rapid fire for safety/liability reasons (And it probably annoys many of those doing slow fire.).

Originally Posted by vico512

I'm not personally aware of any, but others might be. You can always make the drive to Capitol forest (Olympia) and hit the gravel pit. Most club ranges prohibit rapid fire for safety/liability reasons (And it probably annoys many of those doing slow fire.).

How is this place? Shooting at a gravel pit sounds. . . well, a bit scary. But maybe finding a place to shoot out on my own maybe the best.

Are there other locations where it is legal to shoot out on your own?

thanks again.

Yeah, a few of the nut-jobs don't pay much attention to safety, especially when you add-in the booze factor. Capitol Forest, in general, can be a little scary at times -- we have an FAA communications facility up on one of the peaks, and some whackos just can't resist putting bullets through everything on the site. Can't tell you how many times we've had to repair bullet damage.

The only gravel pit I typically use is on the other side of Chinook Pass. So, I'm not aware of other local locations that might work for you -- I generally shoot at the ranges at which I'm a member. In most cases, it's free, with an annual fee that typically works out to $10/month or less.

Good luck with your search.

Originally Posted by WCTLEGUNSMITH

Come to West Coast Armory, our bronze membership is $10-good for a year. Plus Friday Night Rifle League---every friday night

Isn't the bronze membership only good for the pistol bay? I know I'd cheerfully pay a little extra for access to the rifle bay, since I probably wouldn't go often enough to warrant the cost of a silver membership.

Originally Posted by protected static

Isn't the bronze membership only good for the pistol bay? I know I'd cheerfully pay a little extra for access to the rifle bay, since I probably wouldn't go often enough to warrant the cost of a silver membership.

yeah, I looked into it and the bronze is only good for pistol. To shoot rifle there it would take the silver membership which is $275, I think it was. Hard to justify to my wife why I need to drop that.

Thanks vico512 for the help. It is appreciated.

Well, this is certainly ironic. I finally find my way to a free state where I can shoot the guns I couldn't in Cali but all the ranges where one shoots requires near $300 membership to shoot, whereas in Cali you just go to one of the public ranges that costs like $12.

BG --

As mentioned, Renton F&G would cost $150 for first year, then $120/yr after that. Very good trap & skeet, adequate rifle & pistol. Worth a visit.

Another place worth checking would be the Paul Bunyan Rifle & Sportsman's Club in Puyallup. Their annual fee is $90. You must be an NRA member.

It has pistol, trap & rifle (on some days up to 600 yds), but is mostly uncontrolled -- the members police themselves. I've shot there, with a co-worker, and it's clean & safe. They have a clay pigeon thrower, but it is also manually operated.

Just a bit of a hike from Seattle.

Paul Bunyan Rifle & Sportsman's Club Home Page

Almost all of the local ranges will accept the general public, where you pay a nominal fee.

-vic

Originally Posted by protected static

Isn't the bronze membership only good for the pistol bay? I know I'd cheerfully pay a little extra for access to the rifle bay, since I probably wouldn't go often enough to warrant the cost of a silver membership.

Looking at their sheet - rifle bay - $325 annually 11/28/10 Silver Membership

Originally Posted by vico512

BG --

As mentioned, Renton F&G would cost $150 for first year, then $120/yr after that. Very good trap & skeet, adequate rifle & pistol. Worth a visit.

Another place worth checking would be the Paul Bunyan Rifle & Sportsman's Club in Puyallup. Their annual fee is $90. You must be an NRA member.

It has pistol, trap & rifle (on some days up to 600 yds), but is mostly uncontrolled -- the members police themselves. I've shot there, with a co-worker, and it's clean & safe. They have a clay pigeon thrower, but it is also manually operated.

Just a bit of a hike from Seattle.

Paul Bunyan Rifle & Sportsman's Club Home Page

Almost all of the local ranges will accept the general public, where you pay a nominal fee.

-vic

RFG
No need to be a member except to use the action bays alone.
Been using it since 1983. Ive never been a "member" there, but shoot there 3 to 5 times a year + RUCAS , so its not quite cheaper for me to be a member.

Well, just checked out the RFG and they also only allow one round loaded in the chamber or clip. This is absolutely bizarre to me and this is the second place that mentioned that. Is this the norm here? I see a lot of AR and AK rifles at the gun stores here and I can't imagine people would be buying these to load one round in there at a time. . . .

I went to a range in Santa Clarita? that had a bar next to the skeet range,just like at the golf coarse

Originally Posted by mjbskwim

I went to a range in Santa Clarita? that had a bar next to the skeet range,just like at the golf coarse

You must talking about the Oaktree Gun Club? It's actually in Newhall, but close to Santa Clarita. Pretty nice facility (but a l-o-n-g commute from the PNW!)

Originally Posted by vico512

You must talking about the Oaktree Gun Club? It's actually in Newhall, but close to Santa Clarita. Pretty nice facility (but a l-o-n-g commute from the PNW!)

That's the one.Pretty nice facility. My kid tries but I can't keep track of the lines down there.
Mostly just want to see the grand kid and leave.
I did have a "blast" last time I was down there.Took some newbies out for a shoot.

Anyway.
My choice is always the gravel pit.I have a range finder and I shoot how ever I want.

I know it seems alot for a silver membership BUT, indoors, heated, automatic target carriers, pro shop, clean bathrooms, gun cleaning room, and a gunsmith M-F seems to make up for it. Tough to have fun shooting when its 40 degrees out and raining. JMHO

I'm with you on this one. While I prefer the outdoor trap & rifle ranges, for pistol, it's hard to beat warm, well-ventilated & dry indoor shooting.

For those reasons, among others, I sprung for the lifetime gold membership. Yeah, I know, it will take me a while to break even, but that wasn't part of my decision tree. The ability to pop-over to bust a few caps, for example, at 8PM 7-days a week is a nice convenience.

It's also well-regulated. Some of the outdoor ranges tend to ignore the rapid fire restriction. Having someone on the next lane empty their magazine as fast as possible is, no doubt, fun, but is annoying to those of us working on slow-fire groupings. (Bellevue GC does, however, have a limited-use tactical bay for other types of shooting, depending on membership.)

No place is perfect, so we're lucky to have several good options around us.