I just got transferred from Maine to San Diego Calf. Are there any bench rest ranges and or clubs in the area that you would recommend ? I absolutely love my shooting and hunting and hope I will find others like me out here that enjoy the same. If there are no shooting and bench rest ranges is there someone out there who would just like to get together to talk bench rest and shooting?

Merry Christmas

Deepest sympathies.

Spent 30yrs in San Diego,. No where to shoot. Good luck.

South Bay Rod & Gun Club
Gun/Rifle Ranges, Community Service/Non-Profit, Firearm Training
1020 Marron Valley Rd
Dulzura, CA 91917
(619) 468-3070

Poway Weapons & Gear Range
Gun/Rifle Ranges, Guns & Ammo
13550 Danielson St
Poway, CA 92064
(858) 206-5057

Here are a couple that are close by.

Get on Calguns.net. All the info your looking for and all the gun laws crap your not is there.

Lots of SoCal hunters on there.

If your a big game hunter plan on being open to hunting out of state as well.

Kommiefornia has a lot of public land to hunt on but there are also a lot of competition.

Welcome to the Crazy Train.

Good luck finding a place to benchrest. Can't remember if South Bay has facilities for it, or matches. Left there in '91 and have only shot at an indoor range there since with my brother.

You might find one over in Imperial Valley or up in Riverside/ San Bernadino, or maybe even Orange counties.

https://www.shooting.org/Ranges/California/San_Diego

This one might work:

https://www.shooting.org/Ranges/California/Alpine/Lemon_Grove_Rod_Gun_Club

This one about 45 mins +/- from Downtown SD in a nice area of the county.

Poke around on the internet, you may find some more.

Good hint from FatCity there, I forgot about CalGuns

Geno

I feel for ya

After you have been here for a week you will Gain the Cali. Curse and no one will ever get that you are not a Gigantic Libtard Just like the rest of us that live here.

Good luck to you sir.

Good luck, weather is good there.

Ain't that the truth sometimes.

Although I sometimes seem to get a bit of a break for living about as far from SoCal as one can be and still live in the same state.

Geno

I have a short range in my backyard and a 1000 yard range just a couple miles up the road, but I live about 9 hours north of San Diego.
I know next to nothing about Southern California, but the Cal Guns tip is good.

South Bay Rod and Gun Club is about 30 miles east of downtown San Diego and it's longest range is only 300 yards and like everything in California you have to be a PAID member to shoot there. The indoor range in Poway only goes to a hundred yards and it's expensive to shoot there also.


On the upside you will be exposed to people from about 40 different cultures. you won't understand a word that any of them are saying but it's always fun to watch. . and if your children are Elementary School age they will have the opporunity to eat lunchwith children that have never seen a spoon or Fork before.

God I miss that place!

World class deep sea fishing.
Turners for guns.
Plan on driving a day or more to hunt big game.

If it were me, I'd find another job! There's no way in hell I'd live in that state. It turns my stomach so much just to drive across the commiefornia state line that when I go Fernley NV to visit my brother I drive the extra 100+ miles and go through southwest Idaho to avoid it.
If you're a gun owner in that schit hole (made so by the damnocrats) you are considered public enemy #1 by the tyrants in charge.
Ok, so much for my rant.......

Good luck on your move. I hope it works out for you.

Here, try this, I have been there and shot, it isn't bad and not an all-day drive for you. https://www.ivrpa.club/

Hablas Español?

on a positive note , there are plenty of babysitters.

The weather should be a major improvement!

Andrews1958,

that place jnyork suggested just might fit you. Not too bad of a drive, 3/4 of the year the weather is very pleasant. Camping available around the area if you want to stay for the weekend. They have other matches, but I didn't see any bench rest one. Opportunity for you to start one???



and best of all perhaps, since your OP and title mention "transfer" perhaps you can join for free

"Day use fee is $10 or free with a current membership or current active service military I.D. "

As mentioned by another. Good offshore fishing, the bays and surf are sometimes good too. Quite a number of the local reservoirs have stocked trout and warmwater species fishing, hunting might be a bit of work. Most of the county is suburban now.. Areas we used to shoot/hunt are filled with houses now. But there's small game in the hills/mountains, ground squirrels, quail and dove, and there's always the desert (ever seen one? I see you're coming from Maine).

Again, good luck.

Geno

Turners turned into a bunch of A HOLES after they sold out to a big Corp.

West End Gun Club North of San Bernardino about 2 to 2 1/2 hours from San Diego

Check with Travis......he loves it there.

Check into where hunting is legal, California ground squirrels are fun at distances.

Good weather but sell your guns.

May god have mercy on your soul..

CHIT! cant help with your inquiry, but I'd transfer my ass to the house, have never worked for anyone but myself, it's easy to do, good luck.

The culture shock moving from Maine to Commiefornia will be enormous and the price shock of everything will be even worse. The average price of a home in Maine on a decent lot will buy you a rundown carport in a barrio in SoCal. A $150K salary is a starting wage for a single person just out of college. For instance, a 1,100 sf, 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath townhome I bought new in 1974 for $33K in San Jose (southern part of the SF bay area), is currently going for $953K. Every other home I bought there (6 in all ranging from $78K to $380K when bought new) are now 'worth' between $1.5 and $2.5 million dollars.

Taxes in Commiefornia are the highest in the country. Base state sales tax is 7.25% but with city and county add ons, most places are up at 10%. State income taxes top out at 13.3% and property taxes are enormous compared to Maine's as a result of the high price of homes. Food prices in northern Commiefornia are double the cost here in the Denver area. (I spend time in Tracey, CA with a bud rebuilding a hotrod we first built together 37 years ago so I'm painfully aware of the costs there.)

Living in San Diego, expect to pay a fortune for housing in any decent area. The median home price in San Diego is $632,800 currently and at $468 per sq foot, that's for a small, old, 1,350 sf home or 2-3 bedroom townhome. Also, you need to get ready for the family to learn Spanish as you're actually moving into Northern Mexico. There will be areas where English is not spoken by many, where signage is in Spanish, where 'Gringos' aren't welcome.

Also be ready for the fact that everywhere you go, you'll be engulfed in traffic as you travel with what seems like 400,000 of your 'closest friends'. Even with a Billion dollars, you can't escape the crush of people. I escaped Northern Commiefornia in 1980. Best decision I've ever made to take the family out of the state even though when I first moved there in 1956 as a kid it was actually a great place to grow up in. Now, not so much unless you learn to be into all the latest ridiculous fads, spend a fortune on clothes to 'fit in', and of course, learn to be so left wing that Lenin is considered too much of a right wing conservative.

If I was in Maine I'd call Loggah right here at the fire, he's in NH, I'd drive a log truck, run an overhead crane/forklift at a wood yard and happily live the rest of my life hunting deer, moose, bear and trap anything I could trap, and fish like hell too, any damn thing but go to cali!

I was out there (long beach) for a few years while the wife went to school. I pretty much gave up the shooting while I was there but came back for two weeks of deer hunting. What I did was a lot of backpacking. Yosemite, Seqouia Kings, In the winter lots of stuff on the coast like Los Padres. Had a friend with a boat in a nearby marina and we did a fair bit of sailing too. Its a big ass state and you will have to get used to driving if you want to get to the backcountry.

Honestly I couldn't live there for long, I found the lack of real seasons hard to take and there are just to many people. Did I mention traffic? But for a short time it was ok.

I spent 5 years near Washington and lebrea (LA). Did most of my shooting out in the desert with work buddies. You should have some opportunities to shoot closer to home. I did. Once in defense of my home, and in Eaglerock, in defense of my pet. (Roving bands of feral dogs).
If you are also a bow hunter, there is also a few bow ranges, free to the public. One along the LA River has about 100 individual shooting slots with round targets, and range markers out to 70yards. (Spent a lot of time there)

🤣

You guys...

First off, dont get me wrong, California pisses me off in so many ways.
The nanny state government and the liberal urban culture that enables it and the traffic and overpopulation in developed, urban centers is just disgusting.
The bastards have taken my trapping, my hunting with hounds, mountain lion hunting, and the list of gun restrictions are too long to list.

That said, many commenters are overdramatizing a little or have simply never been outside the urban schittholes of the state.

The state is huge, you can drive north from San Diego for almost 15 hours before you hit it's northern border...15 hours!!!

This state is extremely diverse, geographically and contrary to popular belief, politically too.
There are vast rural wide open spaces and vast tracts of farming and ranching communities that are very conservative that offer excellent hunting and fishing opportunities.
If you have decent communication skills it is possible to network with private land owners and that can lead to world class waterfowl and deer hunting opportunities.
For many years on this page I have posted tons of success photos of me and my son hunting and fishing in Northern California.

Most of my Instagram album is from California...Blacktail deer, trout, salmon, striped bass, sturgeon, steelhead, coyotes, turkeys, black bears etc...

https://www.instagram.com/grizzskinner1/

I think a lot of people on here bitchpissandmoan about California and in reality have less personal freedom than I do as they live in cities or suburban subdivisions and can't even take a piss on their own property without neighbors staring into their property.
Lazy people will always complain about a lack of opportunity, but you can have an enviable life in the outdoors here if you are willing to put in the work....most won't.

Like I said earlier, I live about 9 hours north of San Diego which might as well be a different state.
My grandparents lived down there when I was a kid and we would fish in the ocean and explore the beaches.
San Diego is pretty limited in its outdoor options, but the state is so huge, you can't generalize the whole state based on what you will encounter down there.
Good luck with your move...

Montana isn't that far from San Diego, come on up and we can shoot off portable benches at prairie dogs...

Sell all your ammo that isnt lead free. Even lead shot gun shells are banned as of 2019

NO snow shoveling!!

CARAMBA!!!

Yeah, I'm pissed about the lead bullet ban in Kalifornastan but waterfowlers have been banned from using lead shot for hunting waterfowl nationwide for what 30 years?

San Diego is one of the few places I still want to visit. Mostly because I want to go to the Maritime Museum again. Take inventory of your guns, look at the Cal restrictions on magazines, drop tests, alloy frames, lead free ammo, and what have you and then decide what to do. I would do long term loans or storage to family, sell (?), or just keep very quiet and out of sight.

Vehicles will be another possible thing to deal with with Cal emissions.

Colorado is taking Cal as a model starting in a week, but I cannot move so dont feel alone.

Andrews1958: RECONSIDER!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

https://www.csmonitor.com/Environme...nds-what-does-that-mean-for-conservation

Lead is only banned for hunting. You can target shoot with it. Lord this thread has a lot of FUD in this thread by people who "visited" or "lived here for a year".

Join Cal Guns. Don't stress. San Diego has the best weather on the planet, fantastic restaurants, some really great museums (the Air and Space is fantastic as is the USS Midway), a cool downtown area, an amazing baseball stadium (albeit with a [bleep] team), and has some nice rural areas inland. There are plenty of places to shoot as California has way more gun owners then Maine, Montana, Colorado, etc. probably combined LOL. Some ranges are membership only, but most are not in my experience. If you are into IPDA or IPSC there are some world class clubs and ranges for those games.

That said. There are some good ranges but the ones I know of are up north east of LA. I like Angeles personally. I think it goes out to 600 or 800 yards with steel targets. Has a great shotgun range and is typically populated with pretty normal shooters. It will be a 2-3 hour drive from SD depending on when you go so make it an all day event.

Traffic will suck, big time any time of day, and it's expensive to live here. Enjoy it since you don't have a choice!

What a metric assload of nonsense. Greatly exaggerated accounting of how horrible it is here.

Denver metro area restaurant prices vs CA are slightly lower. In the grocery store, they're equivalent. I know, I worked in the Denver tech center area a bunch. Lived just south of there in Castle Rock.

Housing prices are indeed ridiculous, if you buy. Rentals are not as bad. Not great, but finding something affordable will be doable.

$150K salary out of college is possible, if you're a newly minted Data Science major in San Francisco. Otherwise, not so much.

SD traffic isn't great, but it's nowhere near as bad as Sili Valley or LA

Don't worry about speaking Spanish

My kids aren't left wing, and wear "whatever".

Sales tax, depending on city and county, averages 8-8.25%

If you like beer, SD has a world class beer scene. Enjoy that if you can.

Double check this: As a resident from another state moving to California, I believe that you are not constrained by the drop/safety test for handguns. You'll not be able to bring in standard size magazines (over 10 rounds) but can bring in guns that have not been CA safety tested. CalGuns will be the best source of info on this. Should you bring in a couple of these off-list handguns, they can be sold at a profit in an individual to individual transaction (through a dealer of course). Again, double-check this, but it is my current understanding of the situation.

At any rate, it won't kill you, just make you stronger. And hopefully you'll be able to make it back to sanity in the not too distant future.

Completely agree, Salmonella. And that is a helluva trophy album you posted there. Thanks for sharing it.

Yep....you better look at your vehicles emissions stickers under the hood.....if they are only approved for federal standards they can't be registered in Ca. and are known as 49 state vehicles....unless they are pre 1976. Where you're located, it's more than likely your vehicles don't meet the state standards and you'd best sell them before you move, because in Ca. it's required that sellers of used vehicles ensure that the vehicles will pass a smog inspection...

If I were you, I'd seriously reconsider unless the money is sooo good, you'll be able to retire and move within a few years...it's no longer a free state.
Even regular firearms that would otherwise be legal, can make you a felon if you bring them into the state....they have to be on the "approved list of firearms certified for sale" by the state DOJ...

Wait till you have to pay sales taxes on vehicles you have owned for years.
Other states do that as well, but the first time I heard of it it blew my mind.
Taxing cars on their value, annually!

Andrew,

There is an excellent firearms range in SD. Just ask for directions to USMC/MCRD. They have very proficient Range Officers. Oh, and my sympathies to you & yours.



Jim

BLM land and Borrego Desert. Was worth the drive to camp, shoot and dirt bike back in the 80's. Would look into the regs now.

"you can't generalize the whole state based on what you will encounter down there."

Of course we can, based on what CA does as a whole to f**k up the rest of us, starting with politics, public education, the Circus Court, and moving on to the azzholes who invade other states and bring their low IQ "values" and opinions with them.

I have found that the best thing about visiting CA is leaving. But I'm still stuck with the above.

🤣

You fuggin idiots...

Were you with my buddies slaying coyotes in Modoc County?
Maybe killing Boone and Crockett Blacktails in the Trinity Alps with my buddy Doug.
Out ranching cattle in Lassen County with my good friend Kurt.
Hmmm you weren't catching king salmon with me in Butte county or killing bucks in Napa county.

Noooo you fu ckt ards go to s h I t holes like San Francisco or Los Angeles and are so fu kin stupid that you think you've seen the whole state.
I could go the the deepest shi t hole of Anchorage and complain about how bad Alaska sucks, but I'm a little smarter than that...🤣

I hope people like him stay home and stay off the roads down here. We don't need any more out of state dipshitz slowing me down.

Well gd who knew, California is mother ph ucking shangrala after all... Way you boys are describing it, it's the sportsman's ph ucking paradise...

And now for those of us not living in the great state of California are the dumba$$es. Huh who knew ...

I'll go toe to to toe, pic for pic with most of these mouthy mother fu ck ers.


https://www.instagram.com/grizzskinner1

🤣

Listen, this poor guy HAS BEEN transferred to SD, it's not a choice, it's a done deal, so why try to make him miserable before he even gets there? What's with all the negativism ? Yes, I have been to California, lived there for many years although it was quite some time ago.

I learned while in the military for 20 years, it aint the place, it's the attitude. If you run around screaming "I hate this (bleeping) place", then for sure you wont have any fun and will, indeed, be miserable.

If, on the other hand, you look for the good parts, you'll find them, I certainly would not voluntarily move to SD but if it was necessary I would have a grand time while there. SD is an interesting place, certainly not the worst place a guy could wind up in, tons of things to do and see there. If a guy want to shoot, he can go shoot.

Have a good trlp, andrews1958, hope you enjoy your tour in SD.

As you head inland to Ramona, Poway and Julian, you see some real nice country. And good people with horses, pickup trucks and cowboy boots.

Just not enough of those kinda folks to vote in the right politicians.

You’ll find good folks and have a good time. Just gotta look for it.

DF

jnyork.
You are a class guy.
I'd share a drink in a cabin with you any time.
I've kind of twisted off today and apologize to the regulars.
You have to know where I come from.
Merry Christmas to my 24HRCF friends...

Thanks, Salmonella. I'll pass on the drink but might take a hot coffee.

You are good people and I'd never berate you.

andrews,

I forgot, someone else mentioned turkeys in CA (Salmonella?) . Last I heard there's a decent population of them in the Cuyamaca Mtns, and Laguna Mtns, east of SD. As in they are pests in some of the communities out there from what I've heard.

Anyone else know, are deer tags still relatively easy to get in SD County?

If you do decide to hunt down there, you'll learn about chaparral, poison oak, chaparral, rattlesnakes, chaparral, poison oak, and chaparral. And some heat too, especially the Santa Ana winds if you're near the coast or just in general for summer in the East County.

You never mentioned what part of SD you are being transferred too. Various regions have their own personalities.

Feel free to PM me if you have other questions.

Again, good luck.

Geno

Gees Merry Christmas to you...

When you get beat down several times a day, it doesn't matter what day it is.

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Salmonella’s pics through the years and while California might not be a sportsman’s paradise in this day and age there are guys like Sal that have made it their own sportsman’s paradise. They’ve put in the time and effort to succeed rather than sit on their asses and wallow in self-pity while pounding on a keyboard about things they know NOTHING about.

I’d put Salmonella’s pics against just about anyone else’s and taking into consideration that he’s done it in California it makes it an even bigger accomplishment. Hard work and an intimate knowledge of his state has allowed him to do things many guys from “better” states can only dream of.

Comparing LA, San Francisco or San Diego to the rural areas of Northern California is apples to oranges. Despite the liberal scum in Sacremento that rule the entire state like despots free men are still able to do what they’ve done for centuries...

Merry Christmas Salmonella!

Merry Christmas Aces N 8's.
You are the best and you get it..

Find the Blarneystone Pub in Clairemont and hopefully they still have traditional Irish music. Used to be my favorite pub, lived close enough to walk home.

I definitely get it. I put more value into the work and effort that goes into real hunting. The pairs of boots worn out from countless miles in the mountains, the feeling of success in wild places where it really is man against beast and the fulfillment one gets from doing it the right way....not the easy way.

Spending thousands each year to lease a 100 acre junkyard dirt patch and sitting in an elevated, heated blind over a corn feeder doesn’t seem like much freedom to me but that’s because guys like us have grown up in the mountains and on the ocean and we know what real freedom is, not the man-made construct that tries to redefine the term to soothe their imprisoned souls.

I'm a fan of the outdoor and hunting channels on TV and I always shake my head when guys are hunting whitetail over a feeder. That ain't hunting. Get caught doing that here in California you'll be in jail and lose your hunting privileges for life. I'd like to see some of those fatasses in the blind try to stalk the wily California blacktail like we do out here.

I'm a Career Counselor in the Army its my gig/job. Everyday I have troops come in my office and tell me how much they hate Alaska. Too a guy like me I can't fathom that, but most of these Soldiers are not die hard outdoor guys. They own firearms do the occasional shooting etc, but they are not worried about another states gun laws or politics. That is the furthest thing from there mind. Most are looking for better weather, more things to do with the family etc. If I had an endless supply of assignments to Hawaii I have a line out the door. If the Army had a post in San Diego or outside LA no not Ft Irwin, like they did in the 80's I have Soldiers lined up for days wanting to go. I was stationed in Korea for a year I thought I was going to hate it cause I couldn't go shooting, chit I had the time of my life, I found other things to do baseball games, doing the tourist thing it was a blast. Anymore to the younger generation its about location location. If I ever ended up in California I make the best of it and find things to do, find folks who do the same stuff as I do and learn from them. Unfortunately we all clump you guys in with L.A, I did that with my inlaws who live in central California I mentioned something about them being in southern California they quickly corrected me and said no we live in central California. Anyhow Have a super groovy Christmas!

There’s nothing quite as challenging or as satisfying as hunting the mountains of the west. Many guys have no concept of what it’s like not having cellphone service for a couple weeks when you’re in the mountains hunting. Or not being more than a few hours walk from the pickup truck. Or having to carry everything you need to survive for a couple weeks on your back in the most rugged country imaginable.

I don’t feel sorry for Californians when thinking in the context of outdoor “freedoms”. California is a beautiful and biologically diverse state with a wide variety of opportunities. I do feel sorry for guys to that don’t have those freedoms, they can’t just set out walking in one direction for days and days without seeing another person or even a trace of another person. I do feel sorry for guys that have to pay good money for a chunk of fenced cactus and sagebrush, if they want to be successful they have to have a more enticing blend of deer feed in their automatic feeders and not slam the truck door when headed to their blind for a cold beer.

To the OP....good luck on your transfer and don’t pay attention to the negativity. Life is what we CHOSE to make it and the quality of our lives does not depend on the politics of the day.

Freedom is as much a state of mind as it is a state itself.

It's sure as hell not Maine or some other states I think I'd rather live in but at least you won't have to deal with the negatives of long cold winters. Being a shooter and hunter you'll meet plenty of like minded people. Don't know about bench rest shooting opportunities and the politics suck but Salmonellas right, there's plenty of hunting and fishing. You've got to live where you can make a living, might as well make the best of it.

79S, Great post and spot on.

Merry Christmas.

ps....As far as I’m concerned you live in Paradise, or you’re at least close to it. Alaska still represents, at least to me, the last all around free state.

It's beautiful country to ride a motorcycle. Motorcycle camping is good there too.

If it wasn't for the weird people, California would be one of the most popular states.


Wait.


With the weird people, it is one of the most populated states.

If they left, and weirdos weren't allowed in, it would soon be repopulated.
It is one of the most awesome states . And I have traveled extensively in the lower 48 and
Canada.

Mountains, Ocean, plains.
Rain forests, desert.
Huge cities, desolate open country.
Oranges, citrus in general.
Produce, nuts, grapes, grains, beef ranches, computer chips.......

Ignore them Sal.
They think they are great.

Every Alaskan is exactly like Big Stick!

Merry Christmas from California, folks.

Hopefully a white one here tomorrow, instead of 37F and rain like the last two days.

Yes, some of have to shovel snow,.................then again, I'm not in San Diego like my relations.

Geno

happy Kwanzaa to you..

I figured when Weatherby moved to Wyoming that it was done. However, there are some hunting writers still living there. I hope you do well. I just know that other than Monterrey Bay and the big trees there isn't much of a draw. I felt that when the Hawley mansion in Hollywood hills were broken into and had its swords stolen that that was about it.

Here is a fellow I know, (pretty good hunter for a Californian) with a buck he killed a couple weeks ago (pretty decent for California). 🤣

And Merry Christmas to all!

Really?

Mossback.....so how much did that buck cost him? You think the average person can afford to hire Doyle Moss and his posse and pay for private land/auction tags? Great for him, but let's be realistic here.

I agree.
I haven't used a guide since 2001 as mandated by Alaska law.
The prices of guided hunts these days are absolutely obscene.

The guy in the photo does extremely well on his own, but has a tremendously successful business that allows him to hunt the entire planet.
You can hate him for being wealthy, going guided and also for being a Californian...🤣

What the deer is pretty decent for California or the guy in the picture is pretty decent for a Californian?

Where in Maine are you currently?

The guy does a little hunting....

http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd230/gbp98/Trophy%20Room/?albumview=slideshow

This is his place?

DF