When we lived in SoCal, there were fewer and fewer places to just plink. The Nat'l Forest kept closing more and more for trash and safety issues. Our favorite for a long time was a canyon with a road on one side and the other side was used as a back drop. Usually, it was too dangerous to set up targets, so we just shot at whatever litter was already there (punctured cans, small bushes, etc). You couldn't PAY me to go downrange. One day a group of ethnic people squeezed in between is and the next car. Mall Rats==dressed in green camo (not much green in SoCal in the summer), Ranger hats, shoulder holster, the whole nine yards. They immediately ran downrange and set up an old TV, lamps, etc. (without waiting for the range to be safe). One had an H & K and to cock it. he had to set the butt on the ground and "kick-start" it like a motorcycle.
After a few minutes of spray and pray, they still hadn't hit anything but the mountain behind the targets. I decided it was time to put some cold water on them: I got out my Ruger Tropical in 458 Win Mag. One round and silence spread over the informal range and then they started gibbering among themselves. Two rounds and they shut up. During this lull, I went downrange and put up a half dozen 12 ga hulls on top of their TV. Came back and shot all of them off at 50 yards with my scoped Contender in 223. (BTW: The guys on both sides were experienced shooters and knew range safety, as did my brothers and I).
Fun experiences but I prefer it here in the NW, even with 15" of snow on the ground right now!
