No place to shoot

[TTSX]

Not to be the naybobbing nanny of negativity but maybe it's high time we stop telling everyone where these shooting lanes are. Either that or open some more to accommodate all the new shooters with their Christmas AK's.
(oh come on you were all thinking that....)

I know I've got a shooting spot comfortably out to 650 not to far from home that I refuse to disclose for fear of having it ruined. Anything safe over 300 here is a hard find

 

[Tlock]

I have 100 yards at my house I can shoot. 2 friends close buy with steel out to 1000. Guess I'm pretty fortunate just to.walk out my back door and shoot

 

[barnabus1999]

Not to be the naybobbing nanny of negativity but maybe it's high time we stop telling everyone where these shooting lanes are. Either that or open some more to accommodate all the new shooters with their Christmas Glock's and AK's.
(oh come on you were all thinking that....)

There are bad mean people out in the woods. Unkempt dirty rednecks. Don't go out there. Especially with your 9. Respectable hillbillys use 45.

 

[Koda]

Not to be the naybobbing nanny of negativity but maybe it's high time we stop telling everyone where these shooting lanes are. Either that or open some more to accommodate all the new shooters with their Christmas Glock's and AK's.
(oh come on you were all thinking that....)

The established lanes are no secrete and is best for the new shooters, prior the woods were getting trashed and people shooting in unsafe places. We definetely need more established lanes though.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

Maybe we'll run into each other sometime. I frequent that range at least once a week

We probably have already.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

The established lanes are no secrete and is best for the new shooters, prior the woods were getting trashed and people shooting in unsafe places. We definetely need more established lanes though.

You can thank @Cogs in large part for what we do have. Without him and his cleanups, and public shooting area improvement and development work I doubt we'd still have most of them.

 

[gmerkt]

There are times when I've asked, "Is there room for one more?" And they allowed me to join them. With respectful distance, of course. Target setting was done in a safe manner with mutual consent to a cease fire, just like on a range. Some ranges, that is.

 

[Koda]

You can thank @Cogs in large part for what we do have. Without him and his cleanups, and public shooting area improvement and development work I doubt we'd still have most of them.

yes, I do thank Cogs immensley for the work hes put into building those lanes. And just in time too, when he first began we had no idea there would be so many new shooters all at once. The last couple years have been crazy.

 

[wafisherman]

Around here it seems like most folks are afraid to walk in more than a few yards. Shooting right next to the road and leaving all their trash behind. Now days most of those drive up spots are closed/gated. But walk down just about any DNR, state, national forest road that is gated and things start opening up. Find a year or 2 old clear cut with a nice backstop hill on one end, and you are golden. Only draw back is packing in all the stuff you need. But it's good exercise and fresh air, so worth it. And you avoid the idiots who show up and thinking drinking, loud music, and guns go well together... and leave it all behind when done.

Worst thing I've seen so far though... Last year I was driving up to a lake I like to fish. Come around the corner where there is a popular small pistol sized shooting spot to the left and a big open clearing / gully on the right. They decided that the gully was a great spot for some long distance shooting and had some targets up on the far side at least a few hundred yards. See what may be a separate group just ahead sitting just on the right shoulder with rifles shooting across the clearcut. OK, fine. Slowed down so I didn't dust them out and then I spot her. She's with the first group of pistol shooters on the left. Several cars parked, so didn't notice her right away. As I get about 5-10 yards from her, I stop. She's literally laying on the ground pointing her rifle across the road to the distant targets across the clear cut. I just sit there and look at her like WTF. A guy shooting pistols looks backs, see the situation, and says something to her. She thinks, ooooooh, he doesn't want to drive in front of me when I'm looking down barrel through my scope. No problem, I'll just set the gun down and take my hands off and let him safely pass. Well, the rifle is on a bipod. The rifle that was pointing at my tires is now pointing more at me and my son in the cab..... This is why we can't have nice things....

 

[parallax]

Went out to my favorite go to spots last week, much to my dismay, found both spots had a newly installed metal gate across them. only thing left is a trip out to eastern oregon, but would be quite expensive, gas /hotel/ many miles put on my rig....

 

[arakboss]

Went shooting with neighbor and her son today at cinder pit. He had a 3d printed 10/22 receivered rifle he made and a FA binary trigger AR and a Taurus 357 revolver with a cylinder that could shoot 9mm on moon clips. Last day here, have to be back at work tomorrow. The mice are killing me. 8 here when I arrived and caught two today after rebaiting traps. They were on my kitchen counter which is a red line for me.

 

[Mono1]

Yep we need a "NWFA/safe shooters only" private range.

It certainly seems there is a demand for a decent range west of pdx. Someone with more money and ambition than I could form a corporation and get it done. Hope somebody does.

 

[ScatPackLife]

Salmonberry is a good spot if you're already at Wolf Creek. Only a little ways up the freeway and to the left.
The problem Im running into now is a bunch of jabronies getting there at 6am and setting up effin day camps. I went this last weekend.. there were about 4-5 groups absolutely entrenched: bbq, fires, beer, tables.. they were dug in for an all day event. People are spilling the beans and telling their trash monster sloppy friends about these shooting spots and its ruining it for everyone else that actually gets their shooting done in a reasonable amount of time and maintain a clean spot when the leave.

I dont mind the typical large spots being taken.. but the smaller spots are now getting these trash leaving dudes camping out all effin day. Most of the time when these basic bubblegum bros aren't shooting trees they are drinking beer and just talking.. sure they got targets set up.. but the are just chatting.. sometimes for hours… wasting space that other shooters may need to practice, function test or sight things in. I thought the early AM routine was the trick.. now there are people that get out there sooner than I do.. which makes things tough.

This chit is driving me crazy also. It's not cool. Makes me want to lobby for time limits, 2-3 hours Max. Not that they would care. The worst parts are like you say, they do very little shooting and don't even clean up after them selfs.

With salmonberry, if you drive further there are actually a lot of shooting spots. Remember, in the woods it doesn't have to be a designated shooting spot, it just has to meet certain requirements. That's what it says on the forest website. Unless there are some laws I'm not aware of.

 

[Koda]

With salmonberry, if you drive further there are actually a lot of shooting spots. Remember, in the woods it doesn't have to be a designated shooting spot, it just has to meet certain requirements. That's what it says on the forest website. Unless there are some laws I'm not aware of.

It has to have an earthen backstop. No stumps or trees.
Id rather tell the new shooters or strangers to only use the established shooting spots. Ive seen too many shooting into the woods in the dispersed spots, clueless there could be wildlife or people back there.

 

[nwslopoke]

With salmonberry, if you drive further there are actually a lot of shooting spots. Remember, in the woods it doesn't have to be a designated shooting spot, it just has to meet certain requirements. That's what it says on the forest website. Unless there are some laws I'm not aware of.

Found several spots there but a lot don't have a back stop. A problem at Salmonberry is other non shooters in the shrubs looking for mushrooms, 2 guys walked in my path at the rockpile, they said they were looking for gold.

I asked if they saw/heard me shooting and the said, yes. Granted, they were up higher, but they were old enough to know better.

 

[Koda]

Few weeks ago I drove firther out to the other gravel pit and the main spot was full so there were people setting up to shoot parallel to the road into the rockpile on the side of the road.
I promptly left.
I guess being old enough to know better isnt enough. People just dont know, IMO we need more established lanes like Wolf Creek.

 

[Caveman Jim]

Not to be the naybobbing nanny of negativity but maybe it's high time we stop telling everyone where these shooting lanes are. Either that or open some more to accommodate all the new shooters with their Christmas Glock's and AK's.
(oh come on you were all thinking that....)

Well it would help if people would stop buying gunz…

 

[Mono1]

Few weeks ago I drove firther out to the other gravel pit and the main spot was full so there were people setting up to shoot parallel to the road into the rockpile on the side of the road.
I promptly left.
I guess being old enough to know better isnt enough. People just dont know, IMO we need more established lanes like Wolf Creek.

Yep! @Cogs is our Leader on this. I urge everyone to get involved and support Trash No Land:

Home - Trash No Land

Information for Target Shooting on Public Lands. "Stewardship Keeps It Open"2024 Pick Up The Burn Wolf Creek Lanes Cleanup

www.trashnoland.org

 

[Cogs]

We've experienced so many new gun sales and new gun owners, since Obama, that they all want to go use their new toys ASAP and don't want to wait for an official range, nor the rules that go with it. They hear public land is free, but don't hear it's not a free-for-all! Couple that with other forests being closed, like Mt Hood Hwy 224 & Hillockburn/NF45 and the Santiam SF, and now there's more pressure on the Tillamook and other forests fairly close to the Portland metro area. It's crazy busy out there for the last few years!

Yeah, I have also seen a lot more people making a group day event out of shooting, complete with all the tailgating/family/friends.

I sure would like to do more 'Improved' shooting sites, however I'm limited by a few things...

• Only Oregon State forests are willing to do it and we could do 2 or 3 per year if we had the funding (National and WA state lands won't touch the idea);
• Finding grants for 'Gun' related nonprofits is not an easy thing to find, much less the effort to apply for them;
• Finding volunteers to help apply for grants and help with the estimating/planning stages is few and FAR between (so it's usually just me, and I can't do much in one year), and;
• Fundraisers for special projects takes a ton of organizing (another area where I don't have much time to invest).

I just need to quit my day job and do this full time! (Well, I've already filed for retirement, but still have to work full time till I pay off some bills. Then I'll have more time to spend on this stuff!).

Till then, "Fire at Will!" (poor Will)

 

[ScatPackLife]

It has to have an earthen backstop. No stumps or trees.
Id rather tell the new shooters or strangers to only use the established shooting spots. Ive seen too many shooting into the woods in the dispersed spots, clueless there could be wildlife or people back there.

I do agree there are a lot of places people shoot out there that they shouldn't, but I was referring to spots with earth backstops facing is safe directions. They are their, you just have to look for them. Some you might have to walk a little bit.