Wes Thompson’s Piru Rifle Range

More of the same seen by other Unilocalers — the owner is rude, dangerous/​unsafe, and seems to only be interested in catering to his friends. Go to any range instead of this one. Don’t compromise your safety or happiness.

I don’t know where to begin about this place it is every shooters paradise some of the people who have left bad reviews either don’t know what they’re talking about or work for a competitor knowing that this place is so great it’ll feel everyone’s business mike was a great host I will be returning there again and again Angeles shooting range is nothing but unprofessional and rude and way overpriced for what you’re being offered

Used to be my favorite place to shoot. I used to really enjoy shooting there because the owner didn’t mind the rapidfire every now and then. As an AR user you want the ability to rapidfire every now and then to check the reliability of your rifle. I really have no use to shoot there anymore since he doesn’t allow rapidfire every now and then. I highly recommend Angels shooting range, it’s less expensive and if you don’t mind not rapid firing that’s supposed to be. Piru went up in price from $ 15-​$ 20 and I’m not sure what you’re getting for that.

This place is my favorite place to shoot in Ventura County. Mike and Herby are cool. If you are thin skinned or cannot understand sarcasm well, this is not the place for you. I have even got sarcastic remarks by Mike, but that is him. He was very helpful in showing my friends proper techniques for holding their particular rifle. Herby is a standout gentleman as well. Really kind and helpful. Wish this place was in the Ventura foothills because it would be closer for me.. That is my only complaint. =P

Nice range out to 1,000 yards, VERY hard to find in SoCal. Range master/​owner knows what he’s doing and is very helpful if you ask. Safety is always first. I also shoot X3 Gun at a different range at the same location.

Was a cool place, been there a few times. The range master with the waxed up mustache, Was rude from the second I showed up. I see I am not the only one who noticed it. No need for rude old guys, I’ll drive elsewhere.

Amazingly STUPID range master. Not only is he unprofessional — he is completely unsafe. This was my first time at this range and I was honestly confused as to which lane was steelies versus paper -(nothing marked & no explanation from the range master upon paying). My group which included a teenager, active military and myself — all expert, we picked an unoccupied lane and loaded a magazine. I fired off that magazine. The range master stormed up to me because I was on the wrong lane. NEVER calling a cease fire! I asked for clarification & he showed me a different lane. After taking my empty magazine out & ensuring my gun was unloaded, we walked to that lane with my gun pointed down/​finger off trigger (aka textbook). This ass hat (aka range master with a dumb wax mustache) actually pulled my gun out of my hands claiming I pointed the gun at him (which was NEVER the case).
Needless to say, we will never return & we will gladly tell every single friend & military person we know to NEVER GO HERE!

This is not the best range but it is one of the only outdoor ranges that you can get into and out of with out a lot of hassle. I think that if you like to shoot the experience you have in large part is what you put into it. You need to come prepared with ammo, targets, food, water and gear. It is up to you not the range for your needs. If you fuss about the bugs remember you are outdoors. Bugs live there. If you don’t want to deal with them go to an indoor range. I practice my cowboy shooting here. Never had a problem but I guess that is just my personality.

My favorite place to shoot that is close to Camarillo and hats off to Mike for taking time to give a few pointers and adding to my experience today!

First of let me say I gave this place a chance, numerous times… each and every time I was greeted with the same attitude and disregard, the range is ran down and only seems to be getting worse full of flys, wasps and Yellowjackets while you shoot and that is complimented by the scent of the porta potty nearly 25 feet away. Sometimes it’s 15 dollars to shoot sometimes it’s 20 dollars to shoot depending on who’s working and what they would like to charge, once asked about why the price change only a rude comment from Mike, or the shorter Latino employees with the scratchy voice. I did the eternal sin to mike by bringing a left handed shooter he literally pitched a fit and assisted 5 other customers ahead of me then wiped clean the worst bench in the entire range w/​out a shell catcher and had my friend shoot on it. This range is tucked back in the hills about 35 minutes from Valencia on a twisted rutted out dirt road so don’t expect to see a glamorous movie style range when you get there it’s more like a range that some racist cowboy made in his back yard (his house is across the street). There is no water, no snacks, no ammunition, no cellular service, barely any shade, and when your done you are required to sweep up your own shells into the ranges recycling bin. I hope this review is taken into consideration if you plan to take your friends and family to a clean shooting environment (that this is not). Although this range DOES have a lot of longer distance shooting such as 600‑1000 yard steel keep in mind it is not a true distance because you are shooting uphill and the targets are completely destroyed due to the lack of maintenance. Altogether go somewhere else, anywhere else save yourself the grief..

ISI comp shooting here it is. X3 gun here too. I belong to the private range x3 multi gun and it’s all good clean fun. If High speed action shooting is your game it’s right here! They have 6 combat areas set up and Chang them every week. Long guns on the other side of the creek. Love this place.

I have been to every range in SOCAL. This is by far my favorite range I can use all platforms in one place. Mike is the nicest owner and the safe group of likeable shooters has allowed me to share a day with some nice people everytime. It is simple and affordable without any issues.

I visited this range last Saturday and it is fantastic! I can’t wait to go back! It has something for everyone and the owner (Mike) is the opposite in every good way from the rude bunch at Angeles! I’ve described him to my family as a cross between Santa Claus and a cowboy! The shooting positions are covered. The rifle range has targets at 50 yards, and then every hundred yards out to three or four hundred (perhaps more). He (Mike) calls a cease fire about once every hour and a half and then he replaces your targets for you at whatever distance you chose for your free distance. You get free paper targets at the position of your choice, and then you can add additional distances for $ 4 that he’ll change for you as well. There are a large number of steel targets: there are two at 100 yards, two at 200, several at 300, 400, quite a few at 500 and 600, and then collections of targets at 700, 800 and various other distances all the way out to 1020 yards! Different sizes, different shapes, different colors! It was a feast of steel for a long-​range shooter, and sufficient challenge for all levels of shooters! Like I said, I can’t wait to go back. There’s a pistol area off to the left side with its own which I didn’t try, but they sounded pretty busy. There aren’t as many shooting positions as you can find at some of the bigger outdoor ranges, but there were enough spots to fit everyone that arrived. I understand from Mike that there is sometimes a wait. Mike was a class act! There were four of us there for the first time within our group and he patiently dealt with our learning curves and offered shooting tips as well as brought out his torque wrench to tighten down loosened scope mounts and rings! There were several other newbies there as well and he made everyone feel welcomed. The regulars arrived and got their shooting done during the early part of the day before the wind started to pick up. The wind wasn’t bad, though, coming from the 12:00 position. The targets are laid out pretty flat out to 600, but then they start to climb the steep hill with the ones at 1000 being 12 degrees up from the shooting position. Our temperature stayed right around 75 degrees all day, but I can guess that it gets over 100 degrees F out there on occasion! The dirt road is no problem for a standard car and is well maintained. Bring food and water because there didn’t appear to be anything out there along these lines. Restroom is a port-​potty. My main reason for going was the long-​distance rifle range and I was not disappointed. It can be humbling to try to shoot 1000 yards, but not impossible! But shooting prone uphill 12 degrees can be a strain on the neck and mess with your normal shooting position and eye relief: all good things to find out and learn how to deal with it. Like I told my friend: I’ve found my new favorite range and can’t wait to go back! Just don’t take up all the spots before I get there!

Recently been going to several ranges to shoot. I have to say this is far by the best outdoor range! Mr. Thompson was very kind, even though we moved a scope. He didn’t yell at us or was rude. The targets are great and as a plus, I haven’t seen any other outdoor range provide spotting scopes! Overall the range is great! I believe what makes it great is Mr. Thompson.

This place is cool. Went there for the first time today, with my 10 year old son. Wes is a very nice man. Very friendly and helpful to us (newbies). Nice set up and a great place to shoot outdoors. This is my new spot!

This range is a good range if you like dealing with A holes, the owner is very rude and likes to talk down on people, he definitely caters to his friends and only his friends, if you change your mind in any way or ask to be accommodated cause your a lefty or something it’s the end of the world and he will let you have it the entire time !! I don’t recommend it to anyone !!

Every now and then I strip away my city boy roots and engage in some old fashioned outdoor fun. My dad took up shooting as a hobby a few years ago and it’s one of the few ways I could spend some genuine father and son time with him, so I jump at the opportunity when he asks.
I find shooting rifles to be inherently fun and relaxing, but other rifle ranges I’ve been to have been a little too crowded and a little too full of the wannabe macho men, either living out some dumb fantasy or stuck in their old military lifestyles.
This range, way out in the thriving metropolis of Piru, is the opposite of that. It’s only open a few days a week and is out of the way enough, I guess, to dissuade most from making the trip. The result is most everyone who comes here seems to know each other, and when newbies like my dad and I show up, they treat them with respect.
I’ll admit my aim isn’t the best when it comes to shooting, nor do I really care, but I received some really great advice from «the man,» Wes Thompson himself. Mike, as they seem to call him, sauntered up wearing an awesome cowboy hat, a rancher shirt with wild horses painted across it, a huge golden star belt buckle, and the most gloriously waxed mustache I’ve seen in some time. He has some history in showbiz and I could totally tell by the way he dresses, heh.
But I was genuinely impressed with how kind and patient he was as he gave me good fundamental tips on how to improve my accuracy. He also sighted in my dad’s rifle which made him happy. All in all, I would definitely recommend this range to newcomers and experienced shooters alike — I even hear they offer free clinics to people interested in shooting but not owners of guns themselves.

I’ve been here twice in the last 5 months and I have got to say this place is great. The owner of Wes Thompson’s Piru Rifle Range and his staff are nice and great. Coming here each time, they try to help us get seated down right away at a bench even though I understand it is usually busy on the weekends.
It’s definitely a safe and fun outdoor range to shoot at. The admission is $ 15 for the first 100 yards with targets included (additional $ 4 for if you want to shoot an addition every 100 yards more). Not to mention you can collect as much brass as you want for reloading. They provide two separate sides of the range, left side for primarily handguns & some shotguns, while the right side is for rifles and shotgun slugs.
The range has ceasefire sessions of all the shooters for everyone to look at their targets and see how they did, as well the staff replacing old targets with new targets.
The few times I’ve been there, the owner of Wes Thompson’s Piru Rifle Range is usually there and he’s a pretty cool and funny guy with an epic mustache. Sometimes, he’ll come around to shooters and give some friendly advice or show you some handling techniques for your guns.
This is by far the only outdoor range I know of that is nearby. Long range rifle shooting is pretty fun out here and I’m definitely coming back each time I get.
I recently built a new AR-​15 and haven’t shot it yet. Can’t wait to come down and fire this darn thing.

I’m here pretty much twice a month shooting IDPA matches with ISI. I have also shot the GSSF (GLOCK Sport Shooting Foundation) sponsored by ISI, and attended multiple Appleseeds sponsored by the Revolutionary War Veterans Association (RWVA), so my review is mostly based on those private ranges. I have actually never shot here on the public line, so I cannot speak much to that.
ISI IDPA:
They consistently run IDPA match twice monthly (Compact/​Revolver — 2^nd Saturday, & Standard IDPA — 4^th Saturday). The matches are well run and very efficient. There are monthly raffles for items like boxes of bullets/​accessories, and they collect raffle tickets for the end of the year prize of a free GLOCK, the more matches you shoot, the better your chances are of winning the pistol, and you do not need to be present to win. I have been competing with GSSF for a little over a year now, and shot my first IDPA Match in April, and since then I find myself planning my schedule around IDPA matches for the next several months as I can’t seem to get enough.
You can see videos of the stages here:
RWVA Appleseed:
This is a great experience for new and experienced shooters alike. They provide the basic foundation for rifle marksmanship, and provide a solid foundation to build from if you plan on shooting High Power in the near or distant future. In addition, during lunch they provide a unique perspective on the history of the rifleman and their impact on America and the Revolutionary War. It’s perfect for shooters of all edges, so bring your friends, family and children. It’s best shot with a .22lr rifle which they are more than happy to loan you if you don’t have one of your own.
My only gripe is I wish they would pave the or gravel the road leading up to the range. It can be quite muddy after it rains which can be quite a challenge for the typical vehicle.

I had my very first outdoor shooting range experience here. It was pretty amazing. I really don’t know much about guns and my friends wanted me to experience and learn about gun safety.
The noise was a bit intimidating and the amount of amo on the yard was overwhelming but it was one of the most interesting experiences I’ve ever had. I got to shoot my friend’s rifle and the power of each bullet really made me gasp.
I have little experience but my friends really like this location to shoot. For $ 15 a person we had a great heart pounding shoot-​out. Again, like I already said this was one of the best experiences I’ve had. I had a great time just watching everyone else and their machinery. Everyone there seemed to really enjoy the power of their guns or riffles. Overall the environment was very pleasing, and it was a good Sunday «family» outing. I learned plenty about gun safety, I’m looking forward to doing it again.