cuchulainn
February 11, 2003, 08:55 AM
http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203~21481~1171388,00.html
from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Shooters salute 'Firing Line'
Range fills void left from target shooting restrictions at Lytle Creek
By BRIAN McCARTHY
STAFF WRITER
Although indiscriminate target shooting was outlawed in Lytle Creek in the mid 1990s, jewel-like shards of countless bottles still glisten along the roadside, marking where shooters once practiced.
But venture a few more miles up Lytle Creek Road and you'll find a safer, more environmentally friendly, and privately operated range where people can still exercise their Second Amendment rights for a modest fee.
"We call it the best-kept secret in the valley," said Bloomington resident Connie Allen, who has worked at the Lytle Creek Firing Line in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains since it opened in 1999.
The facility, which is approaching its four-year anniversary at the end of this month, has helped forestry officials maintain the delicate balance between wilderness preservation and public use for recreational activities.
"They are really doing a good job for us up there," Bob Wood, district recreation officer for the San Bernardino National Forest Service, said. "They're helping us keep the the canyon clean. We did a major clean-up after we closed it to shooting. We found washing machines, refrigerators, and even cars left up there that people were using for target practice." Even advocates of strict gun control laws say that the Lytle Creek Firing Line is just the sort of place that should be used for shooting practice.
"We are generally not opposed to firings ranges as long as they meet certain standards," said Luis Tooley, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "They should be licensed, they should be in remote locations, and they should have pollution controls in place."
The Lytle Creek range has just such controls in place, prompted by concerns over the years that lead from the accumulation of bullets being shot into the landscape might contaminate the ground water beneath Lytle Creek.
"The EPA did a study in 1975 or 1976 on the old free-firing shooting range, and there was no lead contamination in the ground water," Woods said. "The way the Firing Line was set up, there is no water coursing through there, so no lead could get into the ground water."
And far from damaging the environment, employees point to the range's commitment to recycling.
"Range officials remove the brass (empty ejected casings) that shooters don't take. Along with the recyclable bottles and cans used for target practice, they are sold to recycling outfits," said Don Weeks, a San Bernardino resident who helped in the construction of the range and now runs the pro shop on Sundays. "The money we've raised was used to build the tables and chairs used for the shooters."
Weeks said they get an eclectic group of shooters at the range.
"We are seeing a growing number of Orange County residents here. As that area develops, they are losing the places to shoot there, so they are coming here," he said.
Both Firing Line employees and shooters are serious about their fun, with strict rules in place and no goofing around despite the presence of several kids with their parents on Sunday.
"Every 20 minutes the range office calls a cease fire," Weeks said. "All weapons are placed on the tables -- breech open and not loaded, which the range officer checks -- and for 10 minutes shooters are allowed to set their targets. The range officers are armed and certified by the NRA."
The current set-up is much safer than the old free firing zone. "When they allowed open shooting it was like a war zone," said Allen. "We called it the duck and run."
In the four years they have been open, neither Weeks nor Allen has seen any trouble from the customers.
"A few times we had some guys who had been drinking and we asked them to leave, which they did," Allen said. "There's one thing we don't tolerate up here, and that's alcohol."
Sunday was a typical day for the range, with 160 shooters and four spectators enjoying the challenge of the sport and the balmy weather. "We don't get a lot of spectators," Allen noted.
While the shooters appreciate the range for the services it provides, some feel nostalgic for the days they could shoot in solitude.
Ted Barker of Rancho Cucamonga, who visits the Lytle Creek range every few months, misses the times he spent with just his father as a boy. The thoughtlessness of fellow shooters put an end to those days.
"It's just a matter of being generally considerate" Barker said. "They should have cleaned up after themselves -- we did. It's sad. It was a part of Americana."
Barker said that he is also frustrated by conflicting gun laws in different jurisdictions, "not to mention the negative publicity that makes it difficult to do something that is very innocent and fun. It's just putting holes in paper."
The Lytle Creek Firing Line is located 10 miles north of the Sierra Avenue off ramp from the I-15 freeway. It is open Thursdays through Sundays; hours vary by season. For current hours or other information, call (909) 7-TARGET.
Brian McCarthy can be reached by e-mail at brian.mccarthy@sbsun.com or by phone at (909) 483-9391.
Copyright © 2003 Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Shooters salute 'Firing Line'
Range fills void left from target shooting restrictions at Lytle Creek
By BRIAN McCARTHY
STAFF WRITER
Although indiscriminate target shooting was outlawed in Lytle Creek in the mid 1990s, jewel-like shards of countless bottles still glisten along the roadside, marking where shooters once practiced.
But venture a few more miles up Lytle Creek Road and you'll find a safer, more environmentally friendly, and privately operated range where people can still exercise their Second Amendment rights for a modest fee.
"We call it the best-kept secret in the valley," said Bloomington resident Connie Allen, who has worked at the Lytle Creek Firing Line in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains since it opened in 1999.
The facility, which is approaching its four-year anniversary at the end of this month, has helped forestry officials maintain the delicate balance between wilderness preservation and public use for recreational activities.
"They are really doing a good job for us up there," Bob Wood, district recreation officer for the San Bernardino National Forest Service, said. "They're helping us keep the the canyon clean. We did a major clean-up after we closed it to shooting. We found washing machines, refrigerators, and even cars left up there that people were using for target practice." Even advocates of strict gun control laws say that the Lytle Creek Firing Line is just the sort of place that should be used for shooting practice.
"We are generally not opposed to firings ranges as long as they meet certain standards," said Luis Tooley, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "They should be licensed, they should be in remote locations, and they should have pollution controls in place."
The Lytle Creek range has just such controls in place, prompted by concerns over the years that lead from the accumulation of bullets being shot into the landscape might contaminate the ground water beneath Lytle Creek.
"The EPA did a study in 1975 or 1976 on the old free-firing shooting range, and there was no lead contamination in the ground water," Woods said. "The way the Firing Line was set up, there is no water coursing through there, so no lead could get into the ground water."
And far from damaging the environment, employees point to the range's commitment to recycling.
"Range officials remove the brass (empty ejected casings) that shooters don't take. Along with the recyclable bottles and cans used for target practice, they are sold to recycling outfits," said Don Weeks, a San Bernardino resident who helped in the construction of the range and now runs the pro shop on Sundays. "The money we've raised was used to build the tables and chairs used for the shooters."
Weeks said they get an eclectic group of shooters at the range.
"We are seeing a growing number of Orange County residents here. As that area develops, they are losing the places to shoot there, so they are coming here," he said.
Both Firing Line employees and shooters are serious about their fun, with strict rules in place and no goofing around despite the presence of several kids with their parents on Sunday.
"Every 20 minutes the range office calls a cease fire," Weeks said. "All weapons are placed on the tables -- breech open and not loaded, which the range officer checks -- and for 10 minutes shooters are allowed to set their targets. The range officers are armed and certified by the NRA."
The current set-up is much safer than the old free firing zone. "When they allowed open shooting it was like a war zone," said Allen. "We called it the duck and run."
In the four years they have been open, neither Weeks nor Allen has seen any trouble from the customers.
"A few times we had some guys who had been drinking and we asked them to leave, which they did," Allen said. "There's one thing we don't tolerate up here, and that's alcohol."
Sunday was a typical day for the range, with 160 shooters and four spectators enjoying the challenge of the sport and the balmy weather. "We don't get a lot of spectators," Allen noted.
While the shooters appreciate the range for the services it provides, some feel nostalgic for the days they could shoot in solitude.
Ted Barker of Rancho Cucamonga, who visits the Lytle Creek range every few months, misses the times he spent with just his father as a boy. The thoughtlessness of fellow shooters put an end to those days.
"It's just a matter of being generally considerate" Barker said. "They should have cleaned up after themselves -- we did. It's sad. It was a part of Americana."
Barker said that he is also frustrated by conflicting gun laws in different jurisdictions, "not to mention the negative publicity that makes it difficult to do something that is very innocent and fun. It's just putting holes in paper."
The Lytle Creek Firing Line is located 10 miles north of the Sierra Avenue off ramp from the I-15 freeway. It is open Thursdays through Sundays; hours vary by season. For current hours or other information, call (909) 7-TARGET.
Brian McCarthy can be reached by e-mail at brian.mccarthy@sbsun.com or by phone at (909) 483-9391.
Copyright © 2003 Inland Valley Daily Bulletin