OT: Anyone into firearms/firing ranges/hunting?

[Nuuze]

I went to the outdoor range in Concord today with some buddies from work and had a great time. It was my first time at an outdoor range and everyone there was friendly. A few of us at the range even traded off and fired each others different guns. I was wondering if anyone here into firearms, firing ranges and hunting?

[fishnfst]

USI is a great place to shoot.. They have all kinds of stuff for members.. You can join any of the 7 clubs that make up USI and then use all the facilities..

Richmond Rod and Gun, Chabot and USI are the three places I frequent the most..

[Nuuze]

Also the price is pretty decent for non members. $14 all day the they allow you to leave and come back. How cool is that!

[Dyngoe]

I'm a big supporter of the right to bear arms . I come from a family of Pennsylvania deer hinters, my brother worked for many years at Highbridge Arms in the Mission, my Uncle-in-law is an avid duck hunter, my father-in-law is a cop and my nephew was a competitive air-rifle target shooter. Oh, my cousin Karen and her husband Dave are "Big Game" hunters. Yes, my felmale cousin hunts. So, I am "into" firearms. BTW, besides a few ducks my family eats everything they hunt.

Here in the Bay Area I'll also say that Concord and Chabot are my favorites. My only complaint is my riffle. I have a bolt action Remington 22-250 with a great scope. 100yds just isn't far enough for that thing. I end up putting dime sized stickers all over my target.

I'm looking forward to Pheasant season this year. A friend of mine has a membership in the Delta and my brother said I could borrow his over-under. Never gone hunting before, so this should be fun!

[fishnfst]

Join at Richmond or Usi and you have access to the 200 yard ranges... I think Sac has 300 yard.. Sac also has 1000 yard for members use... Your 22-250 might fall slightly short at the 1000 yard though I went out to sac for a uspsa style shoot and ended up watching the 1000yard BR nationals there a couple of years back..

[Nuuze]

I too support the right to bear arms.

What would be a good "first rifle" to start with? Something moderately priced and I will probably be using it at the range and if I get into hunting I will probably start with birds.

There was a guy at the range yesterday with a 50 cal rifle; BMG or Barrett I think. Man, that thing was awesome! You can see the waves when that thing was fired standing behind him.

[stubbsz]

I'm from England and would feel a lot happier if it was harder to get guns than it is over here. You can't get away from the fact that a lot more people die from guns than do anywhere else in the civilized world. However, I support the right to drive cars, drive my own regularly and lots of idiots with cars kill people too so I don't get high and mighty about gun owners when I know a lot of you are highly responsible with your guns.

[Vincerama2]

Originally posted by Nuuze
I too support the right to bear arms.

What would be a good "first rifle" to start with? Something moderately priced and I will probably be using it at the range and if I get into hunting I will probably start with birds.

There was a guy at the range yesterday with a 50 cal rifle; BMG or Barrett I think. Man, that thing was awesome! You can see the waves when that thing was fired standing behind him.

It is quite crazy how accessible guns are here!
However, this is not the place for heated gun threads so I'll just mention that if you want a "cheap" (price wise) rifle, go to Big 5 and see what kind of mil surplus rifles they have. I have a nice Enfield in .303 Brit that I haven't shot in a long time, but used to go to the range down in Saratoga (I can't even remember where it is!)

SOmetimes at lunch time, some coworkers and I will go to Reed's in Santa Clara and shoot pistols. It can get pricey though.

I used to be more gun-nutty, but I'm more reef-nutty now.
(When I moved here from Canada, it was a big novelty to me to go shooting. I even have a Dillon 550B handloading press)...

V

[Nuuze]

Thanks Vincerama2! I'll check out Big 5 and similar surplus stores. What about gun shows? I think there's one in Vallejo today.

[yamaha racer]

i dont need a gun range haha i got 360 acres behind my house and my dad just bought another 27 down the road. and my mom just bough a piece of great hunting land up north near redding. my favorite gun is my 270. man it shoots so smooth. my whole family is into it. my brother is in the army and he said its amazing how many people didnt know how to shoot a gun. he got bored of it cause every weekend we go shooting

[mcurl98]

If you're going to start with birds, get a shotgun. I belong to a duck club and pheasant club. I own many guns. This weekend was the duck opener and it was a pretty good one-bagged a limit in a couple hours.

[fishnfst]

Greatest first rifle ever would be a ruger 10/22.. IF you want to plink all dy t the range its super cheap... If you want to get into bird hunting you can't go wrong with a remington 870 or 11-87 for the money.. There are unlimited choices.. I always recommend to try and support local shops in your area.. You might try canyon sports in Martinez. They have sales all the time.. If you want a cf rifle the savage 112 and 12 series can't be beat for out of the box accuracy to cost value..

[Nuuze]

I've seen some really dressed up 870's that look really awesome! Some setup for hunting and some for home defense. Nice rifle! I also heard the savage line are the best bang for buck. Very accurate out of the box...

[fishnfst]

Here's a 50 yard test target of 5 shot groups from my 10/22..

[fishme]

Originally posted by yamaha racer
i dont need a gun range haha i got 360 acres behind my house and my dad just bought another 27 down the road. and my mom just bough a piece of great hunting land up north near redding. my favorite gun is my 270. man it shoots so smooth. my whole family is into it. my brother is in the army and he said its amazing how many people didnt know how to shoot a gun. he got bored of it cause every weekend we go shooting

Are you really 16 yrs old?

[rommelgin]

Originally posted by fishnfst
Here's a 50 yard test target of 5 shot groups from my 10/22..

Nice grouping!

[black_kapre]

join the army and then you get to shot for free.....

[orientalexpress]

join the army and then you get to shot for free.....

Yeah but Army don't pay enought for reefing tho.Plus i like to see my daugther grow up .Not coming home in a body bag.gl

lapsan

[Vincerama2]

I agree that a 10/22 is a great choice too. Why? Cost of cartridges!

Pick up a Ruger MkII (or III) pistol as well. That way you can buy a brick of 500 cartridges for like $15.

I say this because a box of 50 .45 cal cartridges costs $18-$25!

(This is partly why I have a handloading press, though I'm way more into reefing now than shooting). And rifle cartridges are pricier than handgun cartridges! Like 5-20 cents per cartridge! (Darnit, typing "cartridge" is more tedious than "bullet" but I don't want any nit-picky gun nut to get on my case!)

Handloading for rifles is fun. Handloading for pistols is more like a factory operation.

V

[Vincerama2]

Originally posted by black_kapre
join the army and then you get to shot for free.....

Well "free" meaning "paid for by our taxes"!

Shooting can get expensive though ... but look who I'm discussing this with?! Guys/gals who pay big bucks to buy salt, water, sand and rocks!

I keep wanting to buy a .22 pistol, but then I think "Hmm, I can buy a calcium reactor".

Of course, with kids coming, now it's "Hmm, I can buy two car seats..."



V

[Sparkss]

Any one have any contact info for those gun ranges ? Ever since we moved here from Florida it has been hard to find a place to go shooting. And I do prefer an outdoor range to an indoor one . One with both rifle and pistol ranges would be a plus (Which most outdoor ranges have ).

[rommelgin]

Im interested in contact for these outdoor ranges too.

[Nuuze]

I went to this one for the first time Saturday
http://www.unitedsportsmen.com/

Very friendly atmosphere. $14 all day and you can even leave and come back. They do pistol, rifle and trap/skeet.

Several people we didn't even know ended up trading rifles/pistols. My buddy got to shoot 50 cal (Barrett I think) and I got to try a Kimber 1911. It was great!

[Vincerama2]

I think this is the one I used to go to http://www.sunnyvalegunclub.com/

Sunnyvale Rod and Gun (Come on, what's the "Rod" part for? Fishing? In the hills?)

Actually, use google maps and look for "Rod and Gun"

Coyote Point in San Mateo has a rifle range too, as I recall. I haven't been there yet though.

Oh and I think there is some skeet or trap shooting in Golden Gate Park!

V

[yamaha racer]

im 17 now, why?