Places to shoot in western Washington

I live in island county WA, and got my first paper airgun that I don't want to plink in my apartment with, just wondering if anyone familiar with western WA could point me in a direction to go
Hi fellow Puget sounder. I'm in Seattle. You will be hard pressed to find anywhere in island county except for private property. If you are willing to go east towards the cascades there's about as many options as you could imagine. Having a 4x4 or vehicle with good ground clearance will certainly help.
 
Last edited:
A lot of the forest roads are well maintained, yes you will find small and large pot holes on gravel roads. Just get a map from the forest service or call them . You can even get on google earth and travel the roads to see first hand. Check out ( places to shoot in Wa. State) My son and I were shooting at a gravel pit last week at about the 2000 foot level with pellet guns and powder burners. Their are plenty of places that you don't need a 4 wheel drive. We went out on a Thursday last week and only seen four rigs
two were forest personal, so better to go in the middle of the week if you can less people. Just be on your guard and try to have someone with you (lots of crazies out there). Carry a shovel, bucket, axe, and a gallon of water if in National Forest and some places you need a Discovery pass or you'll end up with a ticket. P.S. I wouldn't be afraid in a suv you can always turn around lol. Check out target shooting in Wa. State or National forest you might find some good info. Have fun !
 
I'm fortunate in that I have nearby family with acreage where I can shoot and hunt. I only shoot airguns on their property though as I dont want to wear out my welcome. When I want to shoot a powderburner I'll usually drive out to the Capital Forest or up around Green Water or out to the Olympics. That's typically 1.5 hours each way. I'm not very familiar with Island County, but what I'd try and do is make friends with shooters in the area and ask around about places where you can shoot. I understand the islands are teaming with rabbits. You might want to ask a few gardeners if they have rabbit problems. They might just invite you over to get rid of them.
 
I have heard of some National forests that have shooting ranges set up with a backstop .
Out of Vancouver Wash. there are a few I have seen, nothing great, but better than nothing more of a pistol range 30 to 50 yds. they have fairly large piles of 3/8 minus gravel for the backstops. Forestry department or BLM I think put them up. Problem is very few people will keep them clean, they leave targets, shell casings, pop cans, broken glass, ect. so sooner or later that will come to a end also. You need to bring your own target stand and table and pray that you are the only one that shows up.
 
Out of Vancouver Wash. there are a few I have seen, nothing great, but better than nothing more of a pistol range 30 to 50 yds. they have fairly large piles of 3/8 minus gravel for the backstops. Forestry department or BLM I think put them up. Problem is very few people will keep them clean, they leave targets, shell casings, pop cans, broken glass, ect. so sooner or later that will come to an end also. You need to bring your own target stand and table and pray that you are the only one that shows up.
My personal pet peeve are the idiots that use trees as backstops. What exactly do they think happens to a tree after they fire 50 shots through it?
 
Out of Vancouver Wash. there are a few I have seen, nothing great, but better than nothing more of a pistol range 30 to 50 yds. they have fairly large piles of 3/8 minus gravel for the backstops. Forestry department or BLM I think put them up. Problem is very few people will keep them clean, they leave targets, shell casings, pop cans, broken glass, ect. so sooner or later that will come to a end also. You need to bring your own target stand and table and pray that you are the only one that shows up.
bummer !
 
I'm with you on that one bud, also road signs!
Road signs don’t bother me too much. It gives us a bad image, but they can be easily replaced. When I see a mature Douglas fir that’s dead because someone thought it would be a convenient way to stop bullets though it just pisses me off. It probably took 70 years for that tree to grow and it likely won’t even be used for firewood.