Before I spend a fortune on Long Range Precision shooting I would like to know where to shoot 500 yards. I have done some shooting up the Sea to Sky highway on logging roads near Squamish but could not find a reasonable shooting area past 250 yards. I live near Horseshoe Bay so that direction would be better but willing to check all options within an hours drive. If commuting time is too long the gun will just be a safe queen. Appreciate any suggestions.
Any good locations to shoot to 500 yards an hours drive from Vancouver?
- Thread starter VancouverThunder
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That would be at least a 2 hour drive from Horseshoe Bay, if you break some speeding rules. Closer to 3 or 3.5 hours really.
Stave Lake was an option many years ago but idiots messed it up with dangerous shooting (including a guy seeing a .50" round going right through his cabin before evacuating with his family), littering, and other idiotic stuff that idiots do, so no shooting there any more.
Unfortunately, given our forest and mountain landscape, there aren't a lot of options. The range in Lynn Valley would have been perfect, but they shut that down decades ago. Was good to 800 yards I think. Finding a spot with even 100 yards clear between the trees can be challenging in local crown land forests. I wish you luck. And from previous threads on this subject over the years, I'd say you have very little chance of anyone who does know of a spot being willing to share. The risk of it going the way of Stave Lake is just too great.
Stave Lake was an option many years ago but idiots messed it up with dangerous shooting (including a guy seeing a .50" round going right through his cabin before evacuating with his family), littering, and other idiotic stuff that idiots do, so no shooting there any more.
Unfortunately, given our forest and mountain landscape, there aren't a lot of options. The range in Lynn Valley would have been perfect, but they shut that down decades ago. Was good to 800 yards I think. Finding a spot with even 100 yards clear between the trees can be challenging in local crown land forests. I wish you luck. And from previous threads on this subject over the years, I'd say you have very little chance of anyone who does know of a spot being willing to share. The risk of it going the way of Stave Lake is just too great.
I thought the same when I started looking for shooting spots on crown land. You need to stop looking for long shooting lanes and instead look for a semi open spot on a hill or across a valley. Cut lines or logging roads won't be long and straight enough to shoot through, but there are a ton of valleys or hills to shoot across. Just be sure of what you're shooting over/at and be ready to put in some work to get the targets set up. One good thing about doing it this way also, is that it will make it harder for other people to spot your targets and steal them. Does still happen though
Here's a PDF showing the history of the Blair Range in North Vancouver:
http://www.leelau.net/2016/CMHC/assets/4706 Sacuto Blair Range article.pdf
The aerial view on page 10 makes it clear where it was. Apparently there's unexploded ordinance around the place still, and every once in a while they send in cadets with metal detectors to dig out the odd bit of that. But it is cautioned that one not wander off-trail too far in that area.
That's super interesting will have to read the whole document when I have some time later.
I hike and mountain bike in that area and have seen the signs that it was a former military training area but was unaware of the past rifle range.
Thanks for the history lesson.
I’m around horseshoe bay too, I’m a member at the Pemberton range, they have a range out to 485, otherwise you’ve got to go far up the mamquam FSR in Squamish area.
I’d probably say 15 to 20km, I always double check on the ihunter app, and obviously obey any no-shooting signs that you see. You see lots of signs of where people have been shooting (lots of garbage unfortunately). I’ve shot up there once, but personally I feel more comfortable at an established range. If you select an area with a good backstop, and you’re not shooting across a road, you should be good to go.
Found this on Reddit - looks like that spot has run its course:
"I love shooting as much as the next guy, but that spot sucks. I think it has little to do with not understanding and more to do with the mess that gets left there constantly, and not wanting to be accidentally shot. The areas become far to busy to shoot in."
After reading more about the forest road spots available close to Vancouver I think I'll stick to the local range. The spots were probably good in the past but with the growth of the city and surrounding areas just to many more people around.
With Millions of new people pouring in every couple of years things are bound to get crowded..... All the roadwork that was done at the bottom of the cut leading on to second narrows bridge in North Van and then on the other side into Burnaby..... took them years to do the road improvements and in about the same time the extra load from increased population has pretty much resulted in a similar amount of slow traffic.
Another thing to consider when you leave the city in your YJ to go find a logging road to plast some targets on is that there are more people out in the bush then the average cidiot would imagine.... Mountain bikers, mushroom pickers, hikers, squatters, growers..... make sure of your back stop and don't assume there's no one in the bush behind your target!
Another thing to consider when you leave the city in your YJ to go find a logging road to plast some targets on is that there are more people out in the bush then the average cidiot would imagine.... Mountain bikers, mushroom pickers, hikers, squatters, growers..... make sure of your back stop and don't assume there's no one in the bush behind your target!
I used to walk my dog in the woods that were once the Blair range when I was a teenager (late 90's early 00's) and I'd often find spent .303 cases after heavy rainfall. Never heard about there being unexploded ordnance still kicking around, there are lotsa mountain bike trails that end there and there was plenty of teenage parties in there so luckily no one ever stumbled on any, to my knowledge.
The only range that goes to (just shy of) 500 yds within 2 hours of you is our range up in Pemberton. We host matches a couple times a year and otherwise you'd have to come as a guest of a current member. Next closest would probably be Merritt.
The only range that goes to (just shy of) 500 yds within 2 hours of you is our range up in Pemberton. We host matches a couple times a year and otherwise you'd have to come as a guest of a current member. Next closest would probably be Merritt.
