New to the Portland area. Where do I go shooting?

[Plan-B]

My wife and I just moved here a couple of months ago. She grew up in Oregon and went to college in Eugene. I grew up in the SF Bay Area, lived in Michigan for a number of years, went back to CA, and now we're both here.

I'm new to this forum, but have been on various other shooting forums since the 90s. Back in the day, we talked about guns on Usenet. I was a member of thefiringline.com when they decided to close up shop and signed up for thehighroad.org which spawned from members of TFL. Then TFL reopened. I'm also on HKPro, Waltherforums, Calguns.net, m1911.org, ar15.com, and probably a dozen more that I can't remember my username & password to.

Anyhoo... Can anyone in the PDX area recommend a place to go shooting? I'm used to ranges where you drive up, pay $20-$25 for a lane, shoot for an hour, then pack up and go home. It seems like most places around here are private, member-only ranges. I'm not opposed to joining one, but I've spent the last 2 weeks reading all the various range rules and can't find a place to just go and blast some lead. I'm trying to find a place that will let me:

1. Shoot pistol at various distances (I tend to practice at combat distances, so 20-30ft on average).
2. Not charge me $5 per 50 rounds to shoot my own ammo. That's half the cost of a box of 9mm!! Actually, don't charge me at all, you can keep all my brass. I don't reload.
3. Let me practice the occasional double tap or mag dump. I've been shooting for a couple decades, I know how to control rapid fire.

I mostly go to indoor ranges for handgun and outdoor for rifles. But at this point, I just want to go shooting, so I'm amenable to either. It's ironic, I moved back to a state where getting a gun isn't ridiculously hard, but finding a place to shoot it seems much more difficult.

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[CountryGent]

Welcome to NWFA.

 

[Goosebrown]

Welcome. I went to the place to shoot but they charge for ammo I think.

If you want regular shooting then try tri county gun club. Great range complex. You can do double taps but no mag dumps. $210 per year. Lots of competitions to get involved with from speed steel to NRA high power.

I shoot 600 yard benchrest there and love it.

 

[techiej]

I second Tri-County - you can compete there as a guest and then meet people to show you around.

Also, it's a bit more of a drive (East Vancouver/Camas) but Safefire is a new indoor range that doesn't require membership and lets you collect your brass and use your own ammo. It is limited to 25 yrds but does allow you to shoot up to 30.06.

 

[Mikej]

Welcome to the site. Look for the outdoor shooting, and get together forums for outdoor places to shoot.

 

[HuckleberryFun]

Welcome! I go to Douglas Ridge, which is a member's club.
Once you get through the orientations they pretty much leave you alone to shoot how you like, within reason. If you shoot a lot it works out to be cheaper than the pay as you go ranges.

 

[etrain16]

Welcome. I'll 2nd Douglas Ridge. About the only thing you can't really do there, based on what you said you wanted to do is a mag dump. Double taps are fine. Drawing from a holster is fine (on certain ranges, such as the Dynamic range). Use your own ammo, no requirement for special ammo and no surcharges to use your own - inside or out. You can shoot pistol at various distances, inside and out. You can shoot rifle and shotgun at various distances too. For targets, most are paper, though on the Dynamic and Silhouette ranges, you can bring your own steel. It's not usually too crowded and is well maintained.

Regarding rapid fire, etc:

Ammunition Restrictions - Tracer, incendiary, armor piercing, steel core and .50 BMG ammunition are not allowed on any DRRC range.

Firearm Restrictions – • Full auto and 3 round burst firearms are not to be fired in full auto or 3 round burst mode at DRRC. • You may only use full auto or 3 round burst capable firearm in semi-auto mode.

Rapid Fire - You may not fire any faster than you can keep all rounds on a standard silhouette size target (21" X 24").

Bump Firing - Bump firing or simulated full auto or burst firing is not allowed. Bump Firing includes but is not limited to: • Using grip and or stance to cause bump or simulated full auto or burst firing. • Using any homemade device to cause bump or simulated full auto or burst firing. • Using any commercially made or mechanical device to cause bump or simulated full auto or burst firing.

Targets – • Only paper targets (and steel reactionary targets at the Silhouette, Tactical Shotgun Bay, and Dynamic ranges) are allowed on DRRC firing ranges. • There are exceptions to this target rule for some disciplines and some ranges. • Do not use the target frames, cans, bottles, plastic jugs, etc. as targets. • Exploding targets are not allowed. • Non-fixed reactionary targets such as cubes, triangles, balls, etc. that are designed to move across the ground when shot are not allowed. • No targets may be placed on top of an impact berm, all targets must be placed so all rounds impact into the appropriate impact berm/area.

I think you can get most of what you're looking for there. I've heard Tri County is good, but never been there. For Pay per Visit - you've got The Place to Shoot in N. Portland, The English Pit in Vancouver and the Public Safety Training Center in Clackamas - all have their various restrictions, with the English Pit probably being the least restrictive - it's outdoor, shoot your own ammo, etc. But many folks don't care for it or how it's run, just FYI.

Other than that, start searching this site for discussions of public lands you can shoot on. This site does have info on outdoor areas, but you'll be driving at least an hour, probably more, to get to them. Folks on this site participate in cleanups of some of those areas, so you can get info on where they are by checking those threads. Just be aware, for a variety of reasons, no everyone will want to give out their favorite shooting spots - because it sometimes draws in folks that leave huge messes behind or act like unsafe idiots out there. That said, here are some areas of the forum to check out that will give you some info:

Events & Get Togethers

Outdoor Shooting Areas

 

[3MTA3]

You can shoot for free at just about any MAX station on the East Side...

 

[HuckleberryFun]

You can shoot for free and just about any MAX station on the East Side...

Ouch.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Welcome to the forum , Plan-B ....
Looking forward to seeing your posts.
Andy

 

[Guilty]

From Portland it's a bit of a drive - probably about 90 minutes - ARPC (Albany Rifle and Pistol Club), just South of Albany, is IMO the best range in the Willamette Valley. I pay $147 per year for membership dues, new members have a one time initiation fee. Range currently has a 200 yard main rifle range, I think there are 12 handgun bays, archery range, shotgun range and a indoor 25 yard .22 range but members need a range officer present to use the indoor range. The handgun bays are great, 1/2 have cement floor, all are enclosed on 3 sides which is especially nice during the rainy and/or colder months. I have my own AR 500 steel targets, and the range installed some steel targets this year on one of the handgun bays and on the main range 200 yards out, plus a couple of plate racks are in the process of being installed on one end of the main rifle range. No waiting list for new members, not yet anyhow. If you don't want to shoot in the woods and if you don't mind the drive, it is certainly worth checking out.

 

[Timbertodd]

Welcome! I will echo what Mile said, check out the Outdoor Shooting section.

 

[The Heretic]

Here are some popular shooting spots:



I would suggest you wear some good body armor though.

 

[Larrytpdx]

welcome to the Forum

 

[bbbass]

Pioneer Square...

 

[JedB]

Places:
Tri-County Gun Club (50/100/200/300/600 rifle, Shotgun, Pistols, blackpowder, Action Range)
Multnomah County Sheriff's training center (indoor pistol)
"The Place to Shoot" (indoor pistol & action range)
Threat Dynamics
Beavercreek Armory (also a gunshop)
Johnson Creek

 

[fredball]

Welcome Aboard

 

[Alex V]

I reccomend Douglas Ridge for private ranges as well. I think with initiation fees out of the way, my dues work out to about $14/mo to shoot mostly when I please.
As for public ranges i would reccomend Safefire and Clark County Gun Club (English Pit). Both are in Camas and probably less than a mile from each other.
Safefire is indoor and I believe they charge roughly $20/hr. You can use your own ammunition and I think someone posted that you can collect your brass. They can be busy and facilities while nice, are limited.
English Pit is outdoor and runs $20/day. You can use your own ammunition as well and collect your spent casings as well. They have both 50/100 centerfire, a 50/rimfire and a 10/20 yard pistol range. You can also shoot shotguns on the rimfire range. My only beef is they only have one person supervising the place at any time so you kind of have to treat it like shooting out on public land with sometimes inexperienced or unsafe shooters nearby.

 

[Plan-B]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Douglas Ridge and Albany look like the kinds of places I used to shoot at. Albany might be a bit far for me now, but at some point I plan on moving to the southern part of town so that drive might be more realistic next year.

 

[pdxaaron]

My wife and I just moved here a couple of months ago. She grew up in Oregon and went to college in Eugene. I grew up in the SF Bay Area, lived in Michigan for a number of years, went back to CA, and now we're both here.

I'm new to this forum, but have been on various other shooting forums since the 90s. Back in the day, we talked about guns on Usenet. I was a member of thefiringline.com when they decided to close up shop and signed up for thehighroad.org which spawned from members of TFL. Then TFL reopened. I'm also on HKPro, Waltherforums, Calguns.net, m1911.org, ar15.com, and probably a dozen more that I can't remember my username & password to.

Anyhoo... Can anyone in the PDX area recommend a place to go shooting? I'm used to ranges where you drive up, pay $20-$25 for a lane, shoot for an hour, then pack up and go home. It seems like most places around here are private, member-only ranges. I'm not opposed to joining one, but I've spent the last 2 weeks reading all the various range rules and can't find a place to just go and blast some lead. I'm trying to find a place that will let me:

1. Shoot pistol at various distances (I tend to practice at combat distances, so 20-30ft on average).
2. Not charge me $5 per 50 rounds to shoot my own ammo. That's half the cost of a box of 9mm!! Actually, don't charge me at all, you can keep all my brass. I don't reload.
3. Let me practice the occasional double tap or mag dump. I've been shooting for a couple decades, I know how to control rapid fire.

I mostly go to indoor ranges for handgun and outdoor for rifles. But at this point, I just want to go shooting, so I'm amenable to either. It's ironic, I moved back to a state where getting a gun isn't ridiculously hard, but finding a place to shoot it seems much more difficult.

One of my favorite spots is out towards the coast. Maybe an hour's drive from where I live in Portland. It is in state forest and people go there all the time to shoot. No rules, just be safe and clean up after yourself. There are plenty of spots along the logging roads to pull off and shoot, so if one spot is taken don't worry, there are plenty more!

Coordinates for the area (these give you the exact location of a nice quarry to shoot at): 45°45'16"N 123°25'9"W

If you use google maps or your car's navigation, you should be able to get there just fine. The logging roads are in good condition. The turn off is past the viewing point on highway 26 on the left side. Please clean up when you're done, the people out there do a great job of not leaving stuff behind and we want to keep it that way!