Where legal to shoot in california?

Hey guys and gals, long time reader, first time post. Does anyone know of or have a spot in or around the bay area in california where it is 100 percent legal to target shoot. Somewhere in woods or just any open area would be nice. Just got my new rifle and I would like to do some target shooting. No hunting, just target shooting. All the laws seems to be contradictory so I don't want to piss anyone off. Thanks...

 

The short answer is: No open, public areas exist in the Bay Area where it's legal to shoot. You'll have to go to a range, or travel some distance to some BLM land. Check in with CalGuns for local info.
http://www.calguns.net/
Bay Area shooting ranges:
http://www.dragunov.net/bay_area_ranges.htm

 

The specific place at Calguns is this thread, Firearms in Forests and Parks.. The Outdoor Forum is rather far down the page, and often gets missed.

 

If you are willing to drive a few hours (3 or so), we have a large BLM tract east of Ukiah that allows shooting (Cow Mountain).

There is a North Section that only allows travel on designated roads with motor vehicles (hiking and horse travel everywhere else). There is a shotting range open to the public in this section.

The South Section is intended for off-road recreation (4WD vehicles, quads, ATV's, dirt bikes, etc.). Shooting is allowed in this section as well.

Check at the BLM office in Ukiah for updates on status:

http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/ukiah/cowmtn.html

Drill down a bit farther and firearm and shooting allowances are defined:

http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/ukiah/regposting.html

We've been going to the North Section for years to shoot recreationally.

Dan

 

Why bother with searching out remote forest areas? The Bay area has top notch public ranges. If you want marksmanship/target practice at a beautiful location check out www.chabotgunclub.com. If you want handgun holster practice and action competition practice check out www.richmondrodandgun.com.

On top of that there any number of indoor ranges.