Lower Mainland Shooting

[Snownerd]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me the closest spots to Vancouver I can practice shooting? That is outside of a gun range.

Thanks

[harder rd]

shoot on a range hunt in the woods.

[Phil]

Try the West side of Harrrison Lake.

[HighCountry]

Stake lake FSR.

[Tarp Man]

There is enough of this going on, giving hunters a bad name. Mission Rod and Gun Club has drop in sessions for the public on most Saturdays through the fall. It costs $20? This gives you proper targets, shooting benches, and butts out to 300m. Leave shooting up the woods to the riff raff. I generalize this because of what I have seen out on the FSR's in the valley. People come out from the city, set up targets, shoot their "3 rounds to double check" and call it a day. Then they break out the clays and shotguns and liquor and go to it. Broken glass, spent shells, and garbage all over the place. This won't win you much favour with locals, law enforcement, or the rest of society.

There, now I am off the soapbox.

[Paulyman]

There is a nice pit on your right in the skagit valley out in hope, everyone shoots there, just keep it clean to give hunters/shooters a good name.

[FlyingHigh]

Leave shooting up the woods to the riff raff.

Easy buddy, I almost take offence at that. I see your point with the garbage and all though. People who don't clean up are jackasses. However, me and my buddies would rather shoot in the woods than a range any day. No power tripping range officer, no anti-rapid fire rule, the firing line is wherever the person shooting says it is and everyone stays behind it. We can shoot everything from paper to computers and more, and in the right spot, we can shoot all the way out to 800 yards safely. When we're done, we clean up, and if we want, go wheeling, grouse hunting (in season of course) or in the evening settle down and roast some wienies. We always pack out what we bring in. Sure, we miss some .22 casings (who wouldn't after more than 1000 rounds have been fired), and a few scraps from whatever we've been shooting, but for the most part everything that goes in, comes out.

[Tarp Man]

Flying high, until you live in these areas that people who may or may not be like yourself use for their personal wild west, your comments lack something... Practicing some long range shooting way out in the boondocs is one thing. Bringing garbage (computers?) out to shoot up is just plain silly. You want reactive targets? Go to a range and shoot the iron ones there. They make a pretty good clang and no mess. I agree that shooting stuff up can be fun, and I did not mean to imply that you are responsible for the riff raff's trash that is left behind, but don't be encouraging someone you don't know to go out to someone else's backyard and shoot it up! It has gotten so bad up behind Mission the RCMP have a designated rural officer patrolling there with a truck to go up the backroads. Furthermore, if you have not been up Stave Lake on a weekend, you haven't lived... quad riders doing mach 3 down the middle of the road, burning piles of garbage, liquor being consumed copiously, lack-of-better-judgement logic being exhibited right, left and center... not a great place to spend time taking target practice.

[alremkin]

The closest reasonable range in the Lower Mainland is Mission. I haven't been to Squamish so I can't comment about their range. PoCo is mostly for pistol shooters although they have a poor set-up for rifles. If you want the best long range rifle range in BC,1,000 yard range, go to Burns Lake I did, lol.

[BCJunior]

Port Coquitlam Burke mountain has its own gun club.

[geno]

if you want to go out and do some shooting go up sylvester Rd in mission. fallow it all the way to the end and go up the FSR. you'll end up at one off many shooting pits. but watch out it can get pritty busy up there and not everyone knows how to use a firearm safely. Ive been hit by a ricochet, from some a*****e's shooting at rocks on the ground. it didn't go in me but i dame well hurt. but i dont think that guy will ever be coming back up there, lets just say i had a few choice things to say to him, and i'll told him if i see him up there i'd be coming home with his gun's because he did know how to use them..
but other then that ive had nothing but good time's up there. its great, during the spring and summer im up there just about every sunday. there's familly BBQ's and everything up there.
hope this is what your looking for.
geno

[browningboy]

There is the old military range just past Slesse creek (

[7mmWSM]

Have to agree with Tarpman on this one. We used to run (semi)wilderness camps for disadvantaged kids near Stave Lake, but we have been forced to look elsewhere for sites because of many of the problems mentioned. Hunters have far too many PR issues to worry about as is, why not help keep the image of the hunter as positive as possible where we can?

[Tarp Man]

Flying High, Geno and who ever else's feet I have stepped on - forgive a guy for getting a little hot under the collar. Imagine some guy with a truckload of guns pulls into your neighborhood and proceeds to "have a great day shooting up stuff and 'sighting in' hunting rifles and spending quality time with the family"... spare me. I have seen the... ah... detritus left behind from these fun little forays into the bush from the big city.

Try spending some quality time at a proper gun range where you don't need to worry about someone else's gun handling. Expose your kids to a properly run range and what safe gun handling should be without exposing them to unnecessary risk at the hands of some uneducated or uncaring gun-handler. It may be a pain in the butt to have a range officer there to organize things and keep it safe, but it is an insurance necessity and it keeps the show running safely.

There are those that picture me as an uptight know it all. That I am not, but don't get me started on watching my home stomping grounds get torn up / shot up / crime'd up. It makes me sick. And to see guys who live out of town recommend MY backyard for some stranger's shooting pleasure is too much. This is why we are losing access in the back woods areas in our rural community. Too many municipal forestry branches are sick of having their access roads used as shooting galleries. I have been in talking with the District of Mission and they have had enough. I would not be suprised to see the entire Florence Lake FSR closed to all shooting activity because of the damage and safety concerns caused by out of towners and locals alike using it as a personal shooting gallery.

My point? Either spend the money to join a gun range and show your families how being a part of an organization that has hunters and gun owners as the driving force can be a positive thing. Most gun clubs are active in many different disciplines and provide many "extras" such as game dinners, education programs and fun shoots to help new gunners, bow hunters, etc. Either that or go find someone else's woods to shoot up.

[Tarp Man]

The Chilliwack Fish and Game Protective Association has family memberships that given a few trips a year is very affordable. $90 for the primary member, $25 for Junior or spouse memberships.

Here are the links for various clubs.
www.chilliwackfishandgame.com (http://www.chilliwackfishandgame.com)

www.missionrodandgun.com (http://www.missionrodandgun.com)

www.ridgedale.net (http://www.ridgedale.net)

www.pcdhfc.com (http://www.pcdhfc.com)

SQUAMISH VALLEY ROD & GUN CLUB, (http://www.svrgc.org/)

http://www.lrgc.com/

http://www.abbotsfordfishandgameclub.org/

[browningboy]

The old abandoned gun range ( to 300 yards) is in great shape still, the benches etc. were still there last time I went, its past the vedder hatchery, around the big corner and your first right, you'll follow the fence that will be to your left and your first main road to the right you'll cross a bridge and there you are.:cool:

[Tarp Man]

I give up...:sad:

[.270boy]

The old abandoned gun range ( to 300 yards) is in great shape still, the benches etc. were still there last time I went, its past the vedder hatchery, around the big corner and your first right, you'll follow the fence that will be to your left and your first main road to the right you'll cross a bridge and there you are.:cool:


This range is still military land, and the police are in there training very often and close the whole area down.... they had the whole place booked from sept-nov, last time i was up there we talked to them.. it may seem like a fsr and crown land but it isnt.

[.270boy]

oh....... They also still do explosive training in that area.....I really wouldnt recomend going in there.

[slowkey]

is it illegal to discharge a non restricted firearm in these areas that you are talking about?? if not then this argument is moot. as stated in other threads (Dawson creek guys and the cop) "if I'm legal I can do what I want"

you may not agree with this statment but now we are getting down to ethics again. so of course this will go round and round

[fozzy]

Tarp Man I agree whole heartedly about the garbage issue, it is in poor taste for people to leave their household "targets" strewn about. I've spent many hours with our 4x4 club cleaning this kind of stuff up.
As far as shooting in the bush goes as long as there is no mess left behind I see no foul. As long as it's safe and in an area that shooting is allowed then have at it. We often shoot long distance in a few bush spots. We leave no mess,the steel targets are left there and most can't see them.
Shooting at a range has it's benefits too don't get me wrong. I have membership at two of the local ranges. I use the range for load testing and shooting paper out to 285.
Not everyone shooting in the bush is a polluting jack*ss.

"Either that or go find someone else's woods to shoot up." Don't you shoot in the woods?

[Tarp Man]

I when I shoot in the woods it is usually at animals. I have taken the odd handful of shots with the .22 for offhand practice, prior to joining a gun club. I am not saying all shooting in the woods is bad. Just most of it is, the type that leaves the garbage for me and others and you to clean up. I plan to find a logical place to practice some long range shooting, but will be doing this far back away from people, and will be cleaning up my mess. There is a difference between setting up to practice in an area that is away from the crowds where it is legal to discharge firearms (single projectile) and a heavily trafficed area in some corner of the bush off a FSR. Primarily the risk to others. The trash is an aftertaste from those who seem to disregard their actions' implications.