Best Firing Range, March 2007

Always keep the muzzle pointed away from humans, wear eye and ear protection, and make sure you’re at the Oak Tree Gun Club. Sharing space with old oaks and California laurels, the outdoor firing range butts up against the 500-acre Michael D. Antonovich Open Space Preserve. Along with sporting clays and skeet and trapshooting areas are a pistol range with moving metal targets and three bays whose spaciousness and separation from others give the feel of a private club. Seasoned shooters will enjoy the well-stocked pro shops, which offer shotguns, rifles, pistols, and hunting accessories. First-timers will appreciate the helpful range masters and rentals of hardware, from pump and semiautomatic shotguns to handguns, such as .22-caliber pistols and .44-caliber Magnums.