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I'm curious about places within 40 min. of NE ABQ where it's acceptable to practice shooting various firearms, from handguns to shotguns. Caliber's was an easy find with Google, and it's a good place to practice handguns in a controlled setting, but I'd rather not use a shotgun there due to the liability. Also, I enjoy getting outdoors where I don't have constant noise and someone else's spent shells bouncing off my head and gun ever so often.
Mostly, I'm looking for a well-operated clay/skeet range as well as a remote enough location where I won't be a nuisance to locals/police and there won't be a lot of traffic. More than 40 min. would be quite welcome if a 40 min. commute time is too much to ask, but at that point I'd like to know the approximate commute time.
There are a few private clubs around Albuquerque as well.
Thanks! For my shotgun (and my love of fresh air), that's exactly what I was after.
Some other sites in that link make it pretty clear that apparently shooting is not allowed on a lot of public lands. Are there any property owners who are reputable for being tolerant of roadside target practice (don't worry, I'm savvy enough to know that crossing fences or leaving roadsides in posted areas is not legit). I'm also very clean and view low impact/leave no trace as a responsibility that ought to be intuitive. I'm just curious as a newcomer who doesn't have much time to explore and would like to get straight to the activity at hand when I do head out. I also know that this stuff is usually a well-kept secret, so I'm just castin' a line to see if they're bitin', if you will.
I'll look up the difference between Open Spaces Division/BLM/Forest Service/Reservation land regulations for myself, 'cause that's my responsibility to know for sure. (I always roll my eyes at in-depth legal inquiries on these forums. There's a difference between wanting quick clarification/tips and outright lazy research.)
If you're so inclined, below is some background to comfort those who take my desire for remote shooting as the tell-tale sign of a trigger-happy hick:
I learned to use guns growing up in Idaho and got used to what was pretty much free reign once I left city, BLM, and res boundaries. Most reservations were pretty tolerant, too, though. I had completed hunter's ed in my early teens and even took a concealed carry course before I was 21, just to get an in-depth education about proper handgun use. For shooting locales, I had a few well-kept secrets of my own, but also knew more used places to refer newcomers in my native stomping grounds. Altogether, I've been quite impressed with most of the gun laws of New Mexico. Didn't have to register one I bought today (my first handgun I can call my own!), and it was a 10-min. transaction after a phonecall to the Feds. In this transplant's impression, New Mexico definitely qualifies right up there with Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming as a "Wild West" state (i.e., nowadays that just means "leave me and my guns alone until I do something stupid that warrants regulation/enforcement").
I've got a friend of mine that has a membership to a great range just south of the airport. Multiple skeet stations with throwers, multiple ranges for various weapons and even a sealed long range with a target light for sighting in a high powered rifle with zero wind. I've got a message to him to get specifics (costs, contact #'s etc...) and I'll post when I get them.
I've got a friend of mine that has a membership to a great range just south of the airport. Multiple skeet stations with throwers, multiple ranges for various weapons and even a sealed long range with a target light for sighting in a high powered rifle with zero wind. I've got a message to him to get specifics (costs, contact #'s etc...) and I'll post when I get them.
My friends and I used to go to a piece of BLM land not far as the crow flies from Rio Rancho. There are probably about 2,000 houses within a mile of there now so I suggest going a bit further out. In a lot of the arroyos NW of the Metro area you will see a lot of brass concentrated opposite ditch banks and a lot of shot up cans and washing machines. ;-)
Thanks again. Not that there's anything necessarily wrong with the public ranges, but I can see how that sort of exclusivity would be refreshing. I'll definitely be looking into that. Also, that reminds me that it may be time to renew my NRA membership. I got a 5- or 10-year membership during the Clinton presidency, but that paper is probably buried in one of my parents' old file cabinets in storage.
I'm pretty moderate, so my opinions just tend to slowly but surely skew in the opposite direction of the prevailing Executive branch ideology, mainly because I think opposing opinions exist for a reason and favor an ideological balance as a result. I put my support to whoever I think needs it most, and usually it's those who have to go up against the presidential admin. One good thing with Bush is that he didn't give the NRA much trouble. I've spent the last eight years being more of a supporter of "liberal" and "progressive" causes due to Bush's admin.
If Obama becomes president, I can see him doing a lot of good things, but I can also see areas where he'll shift me back to a more conservative skew in what I support. People always claim to be advocates for the middle class, but I have yet to see those words actually have any meaning. My family, friends, and I have all felt the crunch under both Clinton and Bush. I've always got a libertarian spin on either side, altogether. Clinton and Bush both made me uneasy (and kinda queasy, really) on that front. Seriously, I know enough history to know that those who tread on my neighbors are only biding their time before they start treading on me. Totalitarianism will always have its supporters and they'll usually be the powerful and wealthy factions, so it's absolutely necessary that personal liberty always has the sheer numbers to wager as unbending support. Once people shirk personal and social responsibility for safety and well-being off to the government, it's only a matter of time before we get to stare down the figurative gunpoint of excessive regulation.
Under either McCain or Obama, I don't exactly see the federal suction cups retreating from my livelihood and lifestyle... just feeding different helpful or wasteful interests/enforcements, respectively. Ugh... politics... sorry for the tirade... mainly, I'm just thinking this would be a good time to support the NRA, 'cause they've always kept a good check on the elitist fear mongers and their ignorant minions on both the left and the right who would opt for more regulation over personal liberties and more misspent tax dollars (for which definitions vary, naturally). So... there's the unrequited idealism that seems to forever doom me to a perpetual cycle ending in malcontent cynicism.
My friends and I used to go to a piece of BLM land not far as the crow flies from Rio Rancho. There are probably about 2,000 houses within a mile of there now so I suggest going a bit further out. In a lot of the arroyos NW of the Metro area you will see a lot of brass concentrated opposite ditch banks and a lot of shot up cans and washing machines. ;-)
ABQConvict
Cool... just what I was looking for on the non-associated front. From your description, I think my tidiness would be a nice change of pace for any BLM officials who stumble upon my activities. After flying over that stretch out west of ABQ, I definitely considered that shooting couldn't possibly be a problem in such a barren area, but was curious whether I'd stick out like a sore thumb or just blend in as "the usual". Also, that's convenient if there are pretty apparent areas just outside the Rio Rancho boundary. I'll have to go scout around just to see what development has done in that area.
I did go look at the BLM site, and apparently they are okay with shooting. Much as in Idaho, the deciding factor is nearby human residence or activity. Also, I'll stick to hillsides in arroyos, as you mentioned. The main judgement for a responsible shooter is an obvious point where the projectile momentum will be terminated. If I have that beyond a doubt, an officer can tell me to stop and leave, but he/she won't take me for a dangerous imbecile (a label that's good to avoid fitting when dealing with authorities).
Yeah, it is easy to find places to shoot. I also like to go into the arroyos rather than gun clubs because my politics are different than a lot of gun club members. ;-)
ABQConvict
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Some other sites in that link make it pretty clear that apparently shooting is not allowed on a lot of public lands. Are there any property owners who are reputable for being tolerant of roadside target practice (don't worry, I'm savvy enough to know that crossing fences or leaving roadsides in posted areas is not legit). I'm also very clean and view low impact/leave no trace as a responsibility that ought to be intuitive. I'm just curious as a newcomer who doesn't have much time to explore and would like to get straight to the activity at hand when I do head out. I also know that this stuff is usually a well-kept secret, so I'm just castin' a line to see if they're bitin', if you will.
There's a difference between wanting quick clarification/tips and outright lazy research.) 
), and it was a 10-min. transaction after a phonecall to the Feds. In this transplant's impression, New Mexico definitely qualifies right up there with Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming as a "Wild West" state (i.e., nowadays that just means "leave me and my guns alone until I do something stupid that warrants regulation/enforcement").
