Circle S Ranch & Outdoor Shooting Range

I’ve been shooting here since 2005. I started off with a Ruger ¹⁰⁄₂₂ and kept on colleting guns over the years. My only regret is I don’t come here often enough because of work and not being open on Mondays. The negative reviews about this place are coming from folks who are not fallowing safety rules. I wish to thank all the range masters for doing their jobs so I can enjoy my day of hitting targets. Thank you again, Greg Smith & dog.

Worst gun range in sonoma county! You pay $ 15 to get yelled at. I was walking to up to the range during seiz fire with my rifle in a locked case and he yelled at me to put it down and i cant carry a case during seiz fire, stupid! They dont check ID they just make you pay and write your name down on a sheet of paper, so nobody knows who at the range and if the people shooting are even safe/​responsible. Will never go again. Go to Ukiah gun club and pay the membership and you will not be disappointed, super clean and everyone one is nice and they have all your info so you know your not shooting next at a crazy person.

If you want to be treated like a child, this is the place for you. I will admit that I am no gun master but I do understand the ideas and concepts behind gun safety. First off: anybody can walk in this place, pay 15 $ and start shooting. That’s great, but if your main concern is safety, you think they would establish some sort of screening process for the people coming here to shoot.
I walked around trying to figure out who I give my money to and immediately start getting reamed for placing my LOCKED AND SECURED weapon onto the bench during a a cease fire. There are no instructions when you arrive so you pretty much are destined to be griped at by the very grumpy workers here. It was at that moment that I figured out who to pay to shoot my weapons. I sign in on a piece of paper… could have easily used a fake name– they did not ask for any form of ID, didn’t ask what I was shooting and didn’t bother telling me any rules. I paid my 15 $, waited until we were cleared to return to the bench and started shooting at the long range with my little rifle. When I was done with that, I switched on over to the short distance range to shoot my pistol. This is when I really started to become agitated about wasting my money and ammo at this joke of a range: there were about 5 – 6 targets, 12 different people shooting anything and everything– rifles, shotguns– you name it. There were no available targets open so after asking the youngest worker there if we could shoot at the hill side, he gave my friends and I the go ahead and that’s what we did. I’d like to point out the fact that there was a large group there, about 8 different girls with 2 guys shooting 1 pistol… first of all, why? They were taking up a lot of the bench to just watch each other shoot and it was very annoying for the other people patiently waiting to shoot. Then, the oldest worker there began to gripe at one of my friends about improper safety techniques with his handgun. I found this ridiculous seeing as my friend grew up around guns and I can assure you that his father drilled him on proper safety techniques his entire life. Then the jerk came over to my other friend and started yelling at him for shooting the hill side saying that the bullet can ricochet and hit someone: by that logic alone, everyone’s bullets had the potential to hit someone given the fact that there is only a piece of paper standing between the shooters and the hillside. At this point, we informed him that the youngest worker allowed us to shoot at the hillside since there were not enough targets for everyone to shoot. Obviously, the youngest worker tried to cover his ass and said otherwise so we decided to finish our magazines and leave the establishment. I understand that this place is the only long distance range for miles but do yourself a favor and go ANYWHERE else but here. If you want to be bitched at by a bunch of unprofessional, contradicting, backwood hillbillies, go ahead and waste 15 $. At this point, I really don’t care what type of training these «range masters» have, there is definitely a way to speak to people while ensuring the safety of everyone present and the way they handle their business is not professional in the slightest form of the term. My friends and I will NEVER come back here again.

I went here today with a couple friends to shoot our rifles as well as our pistols. I’d like to start off by saying that parking is minimal and there is no obvious place to sign in/​pay. Once we finally found what you could call a little podium of a front desk, we paid and found a spot to set up. Once we starting shooting, the first thing I noticed was the God complex all of the range masters had. I understand yelling things like «cease fire» as it is necessary for everyone to hear this information to safely run the range. However, there was one older range master in particular who felt that he had to yell at everyone even when standing 2 feet away from them. When we moved to the 25 yd. range I found it strange that there were people with rifles using this range while people with handguns were waiting to shoot. In my opinion, customers with handguns should have priority to use the 25 yd. range because there are at least 5x as many spots for the 50+ yd. range. As one of the customers waiting with my handguns for the 25 yd. range I noticed there was one spot at the very end with no target board. So I asked one of the range masters if I could shoot there just at the hillside since there was no boards set up for targets. He told me to go ahead. While shooting my first magazine the older range master got in my face and started yelling at me. He said that I can’t shoot at a lane with no target because the bullets could ricochet off of the hillside and hit someone. This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. If bullets could ricochet off of hillsides and hit people, what difference would it make if there was a target in front of it? I will not be returning here.

Went here for the first time today with my GF and had a great time. $ 15 per person is kinda expensive so only I did the shooting but she took pictures.
We were up on the pistol range (25yards) and it seemed a lot less stressful than the guys down on the rifle ranges. And that’s because the range instructors were watching like Hawks to make sure none of the rules were being broke. This one guy got yelled at for being on the firing line at a cease fire. I quickly learned the do’s and don’ts. I’ll probably be coming back here sometime soon.

I grew up shooting at circle ‘s’ ranch in the 80s and early 90s and then got back into shooting in the late 2000’s.
I enjoyed the time my girlfriend and I got to spend learning from the former range master named jack, and now when we go billy is the range master. because of jack, both my girlfriend and I were certified as RSOs. Jack was a former navy range master, and billy is a competitive shooter who is a 3^rd generation range master and offers shooting classes, so he knows what he is doing, even though he is as young as he is.
a few things people should know:
1) you need to read and understand the rules. this is for your own safety and due to almost being shut down due to a DA clearing the 300yd berm and hitting a car with his rifle, they take the rules very seriously, as they should. not following the rules will get you booted in short order, and in the world of firearms, «I didn’t know» isn’t an excuse, since you could accidentally hurt or kill someone if the rules aren’t followed closely. so if you’re new, READ THE RULES and make sure you understand them.
2) there are many spots to hang targets at the pistol range, if it doesn’t seem like it, you need to talk to the range master. normally these hangers get shot to hell by shooters and they have to replace them semi regularly. more than what is out are usually available, it usually depends on how many people are there when the range opens that determines how many the owners have out to start with.
3) you will only get yelled at by the range masters if you don’t follow the rules or the instructions given, i.e. approaching the bench during cease fire, or improperly handling a firearm while on the range. otherwise Billy and his helper will leave you alone. those who complained about the range masters need to realize this place was almost shut down by county officials due to the previously mentioned shooting accident which necessitated the installation of the baffles we see there today. you shouldn’t be shooting at a supervised range if you don’t want to be held accountable for your actions. and saying «well I’ll just go shoot at cow mountain» won’t bother them, because they would rather not deal with jack-@$$es who could potentially hurt somebody.
4) the range isn’t suitable for kids. there is an age limit now, unfortunately, which requires you to be a certain age to shoot. this is likely now due to insurance reasons.
5) because it is on a cattle ranch near the coast, it can get wet and muddy when we do get rain out this way, so wearing clothes you don’t mind getting dirty is a must. also, bringing sun protection is a must even on cloudy days, as it’s still possible to get sunburns on days were it appears to be foggy.
6) sighting in rifles at any time after the morning is a crap shoot due to the tomales wind, which is a consistent 5−15mph from the 10 to 11 o’clock directions with respect to the targets. the same can be said for trying to sight in pistols.
7) don’t bother trying to transport during a cease fire, as you’ll be told to wait loudly so you can hear, the first time, and subsequently louder or worse if you don’t heed the warning. if you aren’t sure, listen for firing, or at the very least, ask the range master, and transport after okayed and after you pay.
8) unsafe handling of firearms or violations of California state law is not tolerated, so bringing anything that is not approved or allowed with respect to the DOJ’s rules is a waste of time for both you and the range masters, since things like automatic weapons, high cap magazines without the proper paperwork, etc, is prohibited.
9) 15 per person isn’t high at all when you consider that it’s for the day, meaning you can leave, get more ammo and targets if needed, and still come back. if their hours are 8am-​4pm, that works out to approximately $ 1.87 per hour. go to any other range in the area and it’s between 11 and 20 per hour. you can’t go wrong with $ 1.87 per hour, now can you?
all in all, this range is good for what it is, and is where I take my own customer’s guns to test fire when it’s time for that stage in repair. the guys who own it are all in all good guys.

The 100 – 300 yd range is in a lot better shape than I remember from many years ago. The 25 yd pistol bench is not as nice. The bench is twice as long as the target boards which are crammed in way too close to each other. You are standing shoulder to shoulder with everyone else, do to the target board spacing. Needless to say, I was getting hit with hot brass from several handguns.
My low rating is for the behavior of two of the three range officers. All I will say is that the one guy who takes your money and calls out all the range commands is a decent guy but the other kid and older guy think they’re prison guards in charge of the felons and they will try to embarrass you for small things like proper target placement. I know from first hand experience. I’m not talking about safety violations here. So read the rules carefully to avoid being made an example off. I will go back but only because there is no place else to go locally. If I had somewhere else to shoot I would have let these two know that you don’t treat well behaved 50 year old men like this. The two of them through a complete tantrum when they found that someone earlier in the day had grazed the pistol bench with a round. They were shouting f-​bombs and creating a huge scene when the people that were still at the range had nothing to do with the mishap.
I rated this place as not kid friendly but only due to the bad behavior and swearing of the two range officers. Although I guess it could be used as a lesson on how not to treat respectful people.

Sloppy during winter, loud mouth, obnoxious, A-​nooses supervising. 15 bucks a person expensive, long drive, the crappers stink. Theres got to be better places to shoot than this dump.

My brother and I took my shotgun recently for some clay pigeon shooting. We couldn’t use the shells I brought because they were lead. They had steel shells for a decent price so we were OK with it. The best part was seeing how quickly the staff reacted if they saw somebody do something unsafe (step onto the live range). I was VERY happy with that.

It is the only range I could find in Bay Area acceptable driving distance that has +100 yards rifle range. The facility itself is bare-​bone. 1 potty and I don’t seem able to find any water outlet anywhere. a lot of space to shoot, it offers 25, 50, 100, 200, 300 yards. $ 15 all day fee.
Word of advice, wear something can be washed or thrown away. The down range is muddy and slippy. Heavy boots or sandals. No flip-​flop or you will fall. Definitely wear shorts. Not sure why it was so muddy since we didn’t have rain for weeks. Bring tapes if you want to put on your grow target. Bring hand-​wash with you, again I really can’t find any water outlet around the compound.
Friendly staff, and excellent range master.
I give 3 stars because compare the fee with the same price of those well managed range in Bay Area such as Sunnyvale & Liveramore.
And may I add, the drive to the range is beautiful, excellent for convertible leisure drive.

Went there with a buddy on a quiet Friday afternoon — not a lot of people there. «Rangemaster» was grumpy and unfriendly. There were only 3 «frames» set up on the pistol range and 2 guys were already shooting. So we had to share a frame. If you pay $ 15 to shoot, you should at least be given a place to hang a target. Place is a dump. Actually if it were an actual dump, it would be a lot more fun. At least there would be something to shoot at.

This range isn’t that great. If it wasn’t for the fact that it was the only range in Sonoma County I would never go to Circle S. Lately I have been doing the vast majority of my shooting at Cow Mountain and Ukiah Gun Club even though they are an hour and a half away.
Yes the range master WILL scream at you if you approach the bench for ANYTHING during a cease fire, and he should.
PROS: Easy to visit from Sonoma County, $ 15 to shoot all day isn’t that bad.
CONS: Can’t draw from a holster, can’t shoot rifles standing/​sitting on the ground/​prone from 100 yards, can’t fire faster than a round per 3 seconds, range is VERY poorly maintained in my opinion, novice shooters who have no business handling firearms frequent this place.
Bring water, snacks, sunscreen, stick on targets and a staple gun. Even in the summer bring a sweatshirt just in case.
Be safe.

They’ve made a few improvements which is always nice. I don’t particularly like the new baffles but it keeps the place open. Good people, knowledgable staff (some of whom are gunsmiths) and the weather is always the way I like it, never too hot.
From reading some of the other posts I would like to add a few things. The range masters only yell for a few reasons, a) because you can’t hear with plugs in b) your not following the rules your instructed to read before signing in c) your endangering someone. As I almost had my head blown off by the idiot next to me, cause he didn’t know how to unload his gun… for real!, but was grabbed by a rang master while firing off his gun almost hitting me in the face and instead hit the baffle. So I don’t mind them, they’re there for peoples safety.

Been a couple of times now. Facilities are pretty rustic, but no worse than hunting leases I have visited. Range Masters are firm but cool. They don’t want anyone to get shot. I like that! Ask questions if you don’t understand their common sense rules. Yes, take a dump before you go. You don’t want to use the porta potty. I brought three rifles, a shotgun, an air pellet rifle and a CO2 pellet pistol. Ran through at least 200 rounds. Got my money’s worth. Oh yeah, they give you one 25 yd target, so bring your own and a staple gun… and your own ammo.

I’ve been here about 10 times. I really hate this place but it is the only place to shoot in Sonoma county. I much prefer cow mountain but it takes an hour to drive there. 1. The place is a dump. 2. It is always packed. 3. No PA system. 4. To little supervision in place, seems to be to many novice shooters who are unsafe with their weapons. 5. The place is a dump. I listed that twice because it is run down.

Default great place cuzz it’s outdoors and you can shoot whatever ammo you have (not just frangible). Guys running it could be more professional. Possible doing a more in depth brief of the range rules so they wouldn’t have to yell at people so much. And how about with all the cash you are pulling in you could maybe invest in a PA system of some sort? If you are seeing a trend of range rule violations; it might be a good idea to invest some time in running your range in a safe and professional manner. But hey, I’m no expert, just providing constructive criticism. Oh, and condescending attitudes will only add to the general consensus that you are a douche.

Now they’ve installed all these baffles (due to a negligent discharge from a LEO, no less). Offhand and prone shooting are gone. You must do all rifle shooting while sitting…
Also, price has gone up to $ 15/​day. You think for this price they’d have a concrete pad poured so you don’t have to trudge around in the mud in the winter. I’d rather go to Richmond Rod & Gun now.

This place is horrible. Raised the price to $ 15, the porta potty was foul. The range master did not give us any instruction of the rules, and then yelled at me for shooting a piece of wood inside of the firing range. The owner was drinking beer, so unprofessional.

10 $ per person, all day.
I think there’s only a portapotty out there still.
There isn’t a PA system so you have to make sure that you read their rules and pay attention because you do have to set your weapon down (open chamber) at cease fire and step back… it can be somewhat annoying. Also they do not allow rapid fire here…
Pretty standard shooting range, they also have a skeet shoot set up.
3.5 stars is more accurate than 4… been there a few times and I’m sure I’ll be back… but mostly because its the closest outdoor range.

You get what you pay for. $ 10 for an all-​day permit to shoot at targets.
The only real rule is (other than obvious rules) is leave your weapon with the chamber open and step away from the table during cease fire. I think that cease fires are every 30 minutes. There’s a 2-​minute warning. This can be annoying, but it can also be more relaxing than other places.
I didn’t really feel safe here because when you get here, you sign a paper that looks like a plain sign-​in sheet that doesn’t have any other words on it. You do have to a read a rule list which looks like it’s from 1960.
Overall, I think the range is cool since there’s not too many rules, but then maybe you won’t feel safe.
If you have a group of 6 and maybe 2 people only want to shoot 1 or 2 bullets, you could probably get away with only paying for 4 people because the range master never really checked. Like I said, it’s pretty relax and not many rules, which is good and bad.
There should be a PA system.