Forest Service Closes Saugus Shooting Range

The last target-shooting area open free to the public in the Saugus district of Angeles National Forest closed Wednesday, a victim of high maintenance costs brought about by the illegal acts of some of its users.

Jim McGauley, a U.S. Forest Service district assistant recreation officer, said the Dry Gulch shooting range in recent years had been turned into a dumping ground by shooters who brought everything from mannequins to television sets to the area to use for target practice.

“Welcome to our landfill,” McGauley said as he stood amid piles of debris left behind by shooters. “They shoot at anything and everything just to watch it explode.”

Nearby, a metal Forest Service sign was so filled with bullet holes that the rules printed on it could not be read.

$6,000 in Dumping Fees

Last year at Dry Gulch, District Forest Ranger Mike Wickman said that the district spent $6,000 in dumping fees for trash it had to haul away and at least $2,000 to maintain the range on San Francisquito Canyon Road above Santa Clarita.

Dry Gulch shooters using illegal ammunition have ignited four forest fires within the last 2 years, he said. Two of the fires occurred this year and cost the Forest Service $125,000 to put out, Wickman said. The most recent fire at Dry Gulch burned 120 acres last month.

Shooters also have been wounded by stray bullets at Dry Gulch, McGauley said. In one instance last summer, he said, a person was killed by a ricocheting bullet.

Both Wickman and McGauley said that the Forest Service does not have sufficient staff to patrol the shooting area to enforce laws such as those prohibiting dumping and the use of certain types of ammunition.

The district closed two other free shooting ranges within the last 2 years because of escalating maintenance costs, Wickman said.

But, he said, San Francisquito Canyon still will have a site for target practice. Today, a new, privately operated shooting range called A Place to Shoot will open at 33951 San Francisquito Canyon Road. Tom Watt of Saugus will operate the facility under a permit from the Forest Service.

‘Safe Operation’

“This concessionaire will provide a safe operation,” Wickman said. “We have had a lot of people say they want a safe, supervised area to shoot in and they’re willing to pay for it.”

The new range will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday through Monday. Admission will be $5.

“We’ve designed the place so that a father can bring his son and not be afraid of weekend warriors,” Watt said.

At Dry Gulch on Wednesday, the reactions of shooters to the new range were mixed.

“I won’t go to it,” said David Cooper of Northridge, who was target-shooting with his wife, Mary. “This is the closest shooting area for many, many people. A lot will stop coming.”

Tim Burkhart of Valencia said he welcomes the new, supervised range because “it looks like a nice place where I can do some real target shooting.” He said he has observed people at Dry Gulch illegally using automatic weapons and drinking alcoholic beverages while shooting.

“That’s kind of scary,” he said.

“Some people just don’t want to be told what to shoot at,” McGauley said.

There still are 10 areas open in the Angeles National Forest where gun enthusiasts can practice, he said. The closest to the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys is in the Tujunga district near Palmdale, McGauley said.

The Dry Gulch area was opened for shooting in 1980, he said.