Areas to shoot in snohomish county?

[Kaniffy117]

Hey all, Im looking for an outdoor area to go shooting, I live in Edmonds so I looking for an area thats east of me or North I'd prefer not going south (Seattle mainly due to traffic). Im not looking for any big range areas something of about 25 - 100 yards would suit me fine. please help a noob.

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[fredgarv]

hey kaniffy, nobody has answered you? I was wondering the exact same thing that's why I found this site in the first place. I went out past granite falls to the green mountain road. now I saw and heard people shooting up there, and did so myself. only signs I saw were no target shooting across the road, or within 1.5 miles of any building or residence etc etc can't remember what else it said but it did not say no shooting period. I just drove up on these old forest service roads until I found an open area. I found one spot that had a nice sand bank. now I was actually backing up and shooting across the road, but you could hear cars coming for a long way's away and if I heard a car coming, I put the gun down and waited till they passed thinking I dont even want somebody to see me with a gun and worry about it. anyway I think any old forest service road that doesn't have a lot or any trailheads with cars and people around would be ok to shoot. just find a nice fairly remote road and drive it until you come accross a clearing or pit. these pits are full of garbage usually , tons of shells etc but they are a good place to shoot. roads past verlot might be good, or outside of Oso, up by darington. a bit ironic though that you get a gun for defense, cause you are concerned about creeps, methheads etc but if you don't want to go to a shooting range, you got's to go up in the mountains, where everybody else is up there too shooting. so if you get some drunk a-hole up there shooting away at stumps or something and not watching where his bullets might be going, you are actually increasing the minute risk that you could get shot, which is the whole point of wanting to have a gun for defense in the first place. to be totally safe I suppose you need to just go to a shooting range. but it's probably no more danger than simply going deer hunting and being accidentally shot by someone who thinks you are a deer. which is extremely rare also. get some good trail maps that show the forrest service roads and drive them and find some places to shoot. and like that one guy who posted here, take a garbage bag with you and pick up any crap you leave and what some others leave. be safe and have fun! if I find some super place to go, I'll let you know. my place I found off the green mountain road was ok but I want to find better places. if I"m wrong about this area, somebody please tell me but I thought the signs were just laying down some rules that if you do shoot, you must obey these things, not that you can't shoot.

 

[fredgarv]

also the guy who said the sultan river road if you drive far enough, I think he's right also

 

[Kaniffy117]

Thanks for the reply man! i will try those roads and tell you my experience.

 

[fredgarv]

news, just went up past verlot today. I was going to this area by red bridge, a road called mallardy ridge road. looked like a great long road with no campgrounds around. got to the beginning of it, and sure enough a sign saying specifically "no shooting this area" or no shooting this road" so I went back to green mountain. ok, I think this is the only area at all left. I drove for 13 miles on the old potohole filled roads. strangely enough, right at the begining of the road within a few miles of some residences, is a shooting pit. there were people there shooting, but for me even though it's up against a sand berm I don't feel comfortable shooting that close to peoples houses. they must hear gunshots a lot. so, I drive and drive and drive and finally found a place where I used to go, but now there are cement blocks painted yellow that say No shooting, no camping, private property" but there were like 4 trucks there and the place is full of shells. oh, and before that I found one area that was full of computer monitors and garbage shot up. but no real bank to shoot against and it was right along the road. I can't believe that people were even shooting back towards the road. I mean it was down low below the main road but still.

so I drove to about 13 miles and found a nice place, big sand hill and lots of range to shoot a hand gun. but before that, 13 miles from the nearest house, I get a flat tire! I had a spare but no jack in my car. I stopped some people and they had a jack, but there tire iron would not fit my lug nuts. but they told me an old man was just up the road camping. So I drove very slowly on my flat tire about half a mile and found the old guy up there just in his trailer with his generator running and a direct tv satelight dish. just him and his cat. right along the main road. so he had a jack from like 1952 and an old rusty tire iron that fit my lug nuts. but it was a huge struggle to change the tire.

good spot to shoot. as I was finished up, a few young kids showed up that wanted to shoot also. I had a small orange football tee set up about 60-80 feet away up on the sand bank. so I told the kid, one last shot, I want to hit that tee. went up there and in one shot hit it from quite a distance. now my eyesight sucks but I seem to have the knack. he just went "that was amazing!" then his friends show up and out from his truck comes the most beautiful amazing east indian girl, probably like 20 years old. amazing. but I shot like 50 rounds or so. I wish she would have seen that last shot. this SR9-c ruger is a great gun. too much fun

 

[owdee tt nl]

can you post a google maps picture of this place? me and a couple friends want to go shooting but I want to be safe so this place sounds pretty good to me

 

[fredgarv]

you know I'm pretty computer savy but I have not gotten into the google maps thing, would those google maps show any detail of a dirt road up by green mountain? sounds interesting and when I have the time, I'll try it. but basically i'ts up that main road, as far as the road goes. 13 miles of driving on that dirt road till you get almost to the end of it. it's a large hill probably like about 150 feet high, all sand and dirt. and yet there is enough distance that you don't even have to shoot across the road.

I'll try the google maps thing and see if I can post it. my problem now is all I have for transportation is a beat up old 88 camry which got a flat tire and has 237,000 miles on it, and I don't wish to be stuck again up 13 miles from the main road if that old car breaks down. and, I have a classic 74 alfa romeo in perfect condition that I don't wish to take on any dirt road period. I sunk so much money into this car, that I can't afford a decent car or truck for everyday use. so no more green mountain shooting for me for a while!

 

[owdee tt nl]

sounds like ill be able to find it okay i think

 

[fredgarv]

I looked up google maps and it does show the entire road complex pretty good. there are lots of roads going off the main one, the trick is to stay on the main one till it almost ends. don't go off on any of the side roads. the green mountain road is not too far from granite falls. you'll see people parked on the right side of the road, to go on this little trail to where these tunnels are alongside the river. but the green mountain road is the one across the street from this. at first, you'll even see some houses. and strangely enough, just past these houses not more than a mile or two off the main highway, is a gravel pit type thing where I did see a guy and his son shooting rifles. I don't know if i'ts within the rules of being too close to houses as far as distance goes, but it definately would be noticed if you shot there as far as the sound goes. but it does look like people shoot there. but where I'm talking about is a 13 mile drive. one thing you could do, is just set your odometer in your car to zero, then drive 13 miles on the main dirt road, and you will be there. I measured the distance on my car odometer. you will know you are on the right road if you cross a small bridge over a river or creek which is just about say 2-5 miles short of the shooting area I found. and, you will pass these big cement baricades along side the road early on, that say "NO shooting", private property" on them. this is around the 5-7 mile point. the road is not bad, it has a few big potholes, but mostly it's pretty decent. let me know if you find this shooting area and what you think of it if you go.

you don't read much here on where to shoot, probably cause people dont' want to share. the way I figure it, the more people we have who are responsible gun owners the better. and this area is not as if too many people will be there, since it's fairly far off the highway.

also there are a few dirt roads outside of OSO, up by darrington, that I drove and found a place to shoot. with no "no shooting" signs in sight. thats' where I went first to shoot my new pistol, but it's a lot farther from everett.

look up the SR9-C ruger on the internet. this is a great handgun. $398 new, and it comes with a 10 round mag, and a 17 round mag and has many safety features. super reliable and it's a nice compromise between a heavy big 45 and say a 38. it's a 9mm and you can get FMJ ammo pretty cheap for target shooting. it's smaller, but not too small, it's lighter, but not too light, it has a hefty feel to it.it's slimmer too. go to youtube and type it in and watch some video reviews of it. this is what sold me on it. this gun just came out this year and has many improvements over the standard SR-9.

 

[martini]

I used to shoot out at Granite Falls for the last 17 years. The road to the left of the Silverton Trail mine, up the hill and aways.

Also at Mt Pilchuck area were there was an AWESOME quarry and the little jog up then down to the overlook for skeet shooting.

As we have been shooting there forever, we would drive up and past the no shooting signs for about a year. Then last May, four friends and I were shooting cans, and paper targets,e even had trash bags for clean up.

We were taking turns shooting, I was up with my Glock and 33 round mag. Had my headphones on and can't hear shiat. About 1/2 way through the mag I hear a bunch of yelling behind me, so I turn around, and Federal officer d-bag is walking toward me with his gun drawn and telling me to drop the weapon. Billy badass couldn't wait until my clip was done and the gun was empty I guess.

Long story short, we put all our guns on our bags, clean up the entire area, brass, trash not ours...etc. Then go home with $300 tickets, which you can contest if you are willing to go to night court in Bellingham.

Moral of the story, break out your maps and only shoot on DNR land. After shooting there for so long, I have no idea why they put up the signs, and started handing out tickets, but it sucks hard. I have been looking for a new place for awhile. I hear there is some between North Bend and Snoqualmie, but have yet to drag my lazy butt out there. I can't stand range shooting...boring as...well you know.

 

[fredgarv]

hey martini, yes thats the green mountain road, opposite the silverton tunnels trail right? I drove past the no shooting private property signs as you said, till almost the end of the road. so if you go 13 miles up, way past the no shooting private property signs, that is not DNR land?

you said federal cops? what kind of feds? I was up there in june and people were shooting up there. maybe the answer is to drive up this road, and then hike a ways and find a clearing. no cops will bother to hike to follow you just cause they hear shots.

I agree with you, it's much more fun to get outdoors and shoot. just shooting at some paper targets at some range aint as much fun. the one outdoor range I found along ebey island road, specifically says no repeat shooting. single shots only. I mean I don't wish to run around shooting my pistol rapid fire all the time, but sometimes, it is fun to do this.

 

[martini]

I am not sure what kind of Federal Agent he was...not Park Ranger, I am sure of that. USFS? I can't remember/don't know.

We were a only a couple miles if that up green mountain, were there was that longish side shooting spot on the right. And if you go up another mile is the nice shot gun overlook.

We explained that we had been shooting in the area for as long as we had and he said/claimed it had always been illegal, that they were just now enforcing it. As I seem to recall he also said that all of that land was federal?

As he was wrapping up writing the tickets, a guy was driving down in a truck with his dog and he asked the guy if he had been shooting to which he unfortunately replied yes. The cop told him to drive up to where he was shooting and clean up the rounds, then he would be up to give him a ticket. Hopefully he kept on driving.

We asked him where then CAN we shoot? And I seem to remember, I might be wrong b/c this was over a year ago, but somewhere near Darrington.

It's become a real pain in the butt to shoot outdoors without a super long drive.

Anyone know where you can buy/get maps that delineate WA state lands, types/ uses etc?

 

[fredgarv]

I drove up past verlot to a road called malardy ridge. it's another long logging road and thought this would be a great place to shoot. but immediately I saw sings saying no shooting period anywhere on this road.

anyway, yesterday I drove out to the everett sportsman club out between snohomish and headed north along the river road, homeacres road area. I was surprised that there were only a few very few people there shooting at this range. it's out in farmland, it's outdoors and a really nice little place of old wood buildings. there was one guy skeet shooting, one guy shooting a rifle, and one guy with a pistol. that's it. they just have bails of hay and you put your target on them and shoot. very relaxed place, very quiet. now for me I dont' know I just can't get that thrilled at shooting paper targets over and over and over. but if you just wan't a place to shoot this would be the place,since it's close in to the city you don't have to drive so far. it's like your just going out to some country farm your friend owns and shooting. it's open to the public friday, sat and sunday from noon till 5pm. only those times. they even have a 50 caliber rifle you can shoot for a donation.

 

[fredgarv]

martini, go up to the verlot ranger station, they have tons of maps there, one is only for roads, and that's free, but get a good nice color one with all the roads and trails etc that costs $6. I asked the ranger there where to shoot, and he even though he was a gun nut himself, just sort of said well, that's a hard one. he said that the highway going up to big four, everything along the right side of the road, there are too many trails and campsites. green mountain he seemed to say was ok, but said it was heavily patroled, whatever that means. if you look at the maps, the first part of the road is all private property not in the mount baker national forrest, but if you keep on going it goes into the mount baker national forrest where it's ok to shoot as long as it's not close to any trails etc. one thing is, he said "some people just go up there, pull alongside the road, and start banging away" but as far as I can tell this is perfectly legal as long as you don't shoot ACROSS a road. seems like this is the only area close by.

further up the road off the mountain loop highway between barlow pass and darrington, there are tons of dirt roads on forrest service land, but tha'ts a long way to drive

this ranger said "its a big problem" people shooting too close to trails

 

[WIRED tactical]

I live in Granite Falls and the situation here for shooting outdoors is ridiculous. You cannot shoot on the DNR land north of Sultan anymore either. I had a Snoco deputy tell us we had to leave (even though I was told by a WSP officer that they had no jurisdiction on federal land and that it was legal as long as you were 100ft from the road) I actually intend to send a letter or email asking about the matter. I also talked to some people who went to the local fire and police stations asking where they can shoot, they were told near the popular red bridge place. Of course they were then met by a Forest service officer and issued citations, I would have had a problem with that. The place I shoot is private property owned by my friend in Darrington quite a ways off the main drag. We have a private range set up. Public shooting in this area has gone down the drain.

 

[fredgarv]

yah the red bridge area, the malardy ridge road, now has signs that specifically say no shooting anywhere along this road, and it's quite the long road.

wired, you had this WSP guy say you had to be 100ft away from the road? the rules on the DNR website only says no shooting across a road, or on a road. I went up on green mountain and found a nice place with a big sand hill right on the road, and just pulled over and shot at some stuff on that bank. I didn't shoot across the road but I sure wasn't 100 ft away from it. I don't see what the problem is as long as nobody is around. If I heard a car coming up the road, I not only stopped shooting, I put the gun away out of site just so as to not scare anybody who just happened to be driving up there to sightsee say from seattle or something. but I was illegal? that guy at the ranger station did say this area was heavily patrolled. but that day, I heard plenty of people shooting along that road, and no cops.

wired do you know if this dirt road right outside from OSO called north brooks rd is good? or road 18 out of swede heaven just before you get to darington? or how about the french creek road on the other side? and ideas?

 

[CarlMc]

I managed to have a phone conversation with a deputy in the sheriff's dept, and he gave me lots of good information, but couldn't help me find a good place to shoot. Private lands are off limits because the trees get filled with lead, rendering them unusable to the owners. The county owned gravel pits have all been shut down due to the trash problem. That leaves WA state DNR or US Forest Service land only which he couldn't speak for. He was kind enough to provide me with the legal stuff, too.
Relative laws to start with:
US Forest Service 36 CFR http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2004/julqtr/pdf/36cfr261.10.pdf
scroll down to the top of page where 261.10 continues
Washington WAC 332-52-145 WAC 332-52-145: Firearms and target shooting.
Note the reference to earthen backstop only. Trees are not an acceptable backstop, and the deputy explained that some areas had threes falling over because folks seem to think cutting trees down with gunfire is a fun thing to do. Grrrr!!!

We talked for awhile and he suggested that I contact the Sedro-Woolley DNR office for the NW region. I ran out of time to contact them, but I'll have to eventually.

 

[WIRED tactical]

Fredgarv- I recently spoke to the (now former, he moved to CO) officer and he told me that was state rules for it. Im not sure if DNR or Forest Service has any rules that differ from that one. He said I should print out the RCW regarding it and speak with a local official. Im not sure on those places as I do not shoot up there due to these problems. I stay on my own property or go to a friends, which I realize im lucky to do, even if our private range is about an hour away.

 

[fredgarv]

wired, funny I just ordered a serbian made zastava (EAA) AK47 and the guy who is doing the transfer who lives in snohomish, a dealer there, I asked him if he knew a place to go up in the mountains to shoot, and he says he just goes up to the sultan area, where a sheriff told him as long as you go 8 miles in, your ok. but then admitted that he hadn't gone up there for a while and it might now not be legal.

also just read that the county council approved a super duper new shooting range up there close to sultan which supposedly will be one of the most coolest advanced outdoor shooting ranges in the country. they have set aside the land for it.

after looking at lots of maps today, to me it seems that the closest place is green mountain as long as you go up into the national forrest service lands. and the second closest place is road 18 just short of darrington, this long road goes on forever up there. the other places are dirt roads off the mountain loop highway between barlow pass and darington. and the highway between darington and rockport, there are some extensive long dirt roads going for miles and miles and miles off that main highway. some quite remote areas there. Think Deliverance.

 

[fredgarv]

man I was itching to shoot my new little kel-tec P11, $235 for a 9mm that holds 10 + 1 rounds. it has a really long trigger pull like a revolver, with no safety on it I guess for this reason. anyway, sams gun shop on airport road in everett out by boeing. figured sunday, might not be that busy, and especially if I went there early in the morning. so I go there, and there are like 33 cars in the lot at 10am. these guys don't go to church. the place full of people with the inside of the shooting area looking like a rock concert, 4 guys loading 30 round mags in their rifles, every spot taken, people milling around behind all the shooters, etc etc. it just turned me off so I left. then thinking ok, maybe around 4pm, it will be somewhat cleared out, people have gotten their shooting out of the way for the day, time to go home for dinner, go home to the wife etc so I go back there and there are MORE cars out there, this time I counted 45 cars in the lot, every spot taken. (and the first time I went, in the morning, only the range was open, not the store.)

but went there on a tuesday at 4pm and it was so slow that 3 gang bangers 18 year olds just wandered in and asked if they could shoot, and the guy says "have fun!" and they got to shoot no problem. one review I read about this place said that he didn't like the fact that the sole person responsible has his back to the shooters and is busy helping people at the desk, selling them targets etc and pays no attention to the shooters. maybe it's no big deal but I don't feel comfortable shooting around tons of people whom I don't know, it seems to me that any one of them could just start wondering around with a loaded gun near their shooting lane and nobody would care or notice. not to mention I would think your concentration would suffer with 28 guns going off at the same time. I want that lonely area in the great outdoors. guess I'm going up to green mountain and try to find some place 100ft from the main road with an earthen backstop.

there is this cool shooting/training school thing in chehalis, a great outdoor place with even a 300 yard rifle range, but I don't know if it's open to the public or if i'ts just a training center.