Sunday, October 16, 2011

Range time, or current lack thereof...

So I am looking at the calendar and I realize two things.

1.  It has in fact been over two years since I set foot on a range to actually fire an honest to god firearm instead of a gas blowback airsoft pistol in the backyard.
2.  I naturally misspell the word calendar.

Since spell check is set to automatically tell me that I am an idiot, I discount the latter and start working on the former.  Despite living in the the SF Bay area, there are actually a fair number of options for range time in the south bay area.  I can choose five ranges, two of which are county/city owned.  Entertainingly, the county owned one has the best overall facilities (in my opinion) with prices that are as good as, if not better, than the privately owned ranges.  However, it is an outdoor range, which can be a downer in rainy weather, even with the covered lanes.  To the rescue comes the city owned range, which is small, appears to date back to the Roosevelt administration (the first one) and has limited hours.  But is is indoors and the prices are almost criminally low.  For less than I pay for one adult at the county range for all day access, I can get a lane for my entire family. 

Now, of the private ranges, I have been to all of them and none of them thrill me.  Cost aside, they all have issues that cause me to lose interest. 

One, despite being located across the street from a police department and having strict guidelines on who they sell and rent to, it always feels like its Gang Night (half off for all members!).  I have actually seen people shooting pistols gansta style.  I'm not taking my daughter there.
The second has replaced their backstop with what appears to be either coal or volcanic rock but failed to do anything about ventilation.  10 minutes into a session and its hard to see any targets past the 5 yard mark and even harder to breathe.
The last is just to far to drive on winding mountain roads to get to.  It is a nice outdoor range, but the two municipal ranges are closer. 

So now I have to work a weekly schedule up for visiting the ranges, get signed up for the CMP and start regularly putting lead downrange.  Because living here, I have to do everything I can to make Feinstein cry without breaking the law. 

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