Private property in Livermore for Rent to shoot

[Radman64]

In the '60 we used to hunt from the bay marshes to the foothills above and below Mission Blvd in Freekmont. Jacks, greys, cottontails, quail, pheasants even kilt a deer across from GM's main gate. My Portagee bud had family in San Jose and we hunted pheasants at the north end of 1st street into Alviso when Silicon Valley was just forming. One day a Santa Clara County Sheriff came by, called out my bud by name, and said we were freaking out the construction crews and they were getting a lot of calls, so he thought it'd be better if we stopped hunting the cauliflower and was on his merry way. Before they built 580, there was a shooting spot just west of Dublin near Crow Canyon. I shot a Thompson there once. PAX

I hear ya, growing up in Mt View one of my friends dad was a very active hunter/fishermen who was a member of the Palo Alto hunting club, I would go with them quite often hunting duck and dove out there. They had quite a few permanent duck blinds scattered around in the old oyster ponds that were really well constructed, it was all non-public use land back then and only members had the key to the gate lock along with the key to get to the small boat docks where every one had a boat to get you out to the blinds. He also had a duck skiff at the Palo Alto yacht harbor which we would go out into the open bay to shoot ducks. Better yet he worked for PG&E as a linesmen so he had access to huge amounts of private property in the Santa Clara wilderness where we hunted quail, cottontail's, boars, deer, turkey and yes, he had the property owners consent. Some really great memories as there was actually quite a few small hunting cabins on the various properties where we would stay overnight on a weekend, they were something straight out of the Beverly Hillbillies where you had to pump water from the well outside, small wood burning stoves, gas lanterns etc and all of them had an outhouse. If I had to guess I would say they were built in the 20's-30's but I do recall going to one a few times that was a bit more modern and actually had a gas stove, running water (no toilet, sink only) and electricity (2 prong outlets) with bat & lathe walls.

 

[tomrkba]

What's the address?

 

[Radman64]

My Portagee bud had family in San Jose and we hunted pheasants at the north end of 1st street into Alviso

Yeah, I remember when that whole area was nothing but empty outer baylands, 237 was a two lane road that really only connected 101 to 680, Milpitas/Fremont was mostly ranch land, 880 was called 17 till you got past Oakland where it turned into 80.
Alviso was a very poor region along the way but I always thought it was neat because back then it was still filled with all the old oyster canneries and all the old houses that dated back when it was a thriving area and was the main connection hub from San Francisco to San Jose, it's sad as no one knows at one time San Jose was the capitol city of California, it's port was Alviso.
My dad used to load us all up from time to time and take us to Vahls, back then I had a large amount of Italian family on my mom's side that lived in San Jose and that was the location we would gather along with Joe's but sometimes it would just be my family.
Most of old Alviso got wiped away in the floods back in the 80's, I did a hike some years back to the surrounding area, all the oyster beds are still there and even remains of the harvesting facilities before they went to the canneries.

 

[Radman64]

What's the address?

To what?

 

[echo1]

The olden days when Kali was free and Cash was King. Up until recent history, there were a number of places you could shoot between the big ditches, The California Aqueduct and The Delta Mendota, south of 132 between Vernalis and Westly. My bud had a 1K range. If you're local to there, I'm sure you still can. Most of my shootin spots have dried up because of rural development, MOST.
When we move to Freekmont, 2 lane HWY17 ended at the north end of Fremont Blvd. and was the Old Oakland Hwy from there until San Jose. PAX

 

[Radman64]

I stand corrected lol, you are correct.
I completely forgot the name Old Oakland Hwy.

 

[Radman64]

Well this thread definitely mutated into something fun and informative to say the least.

 

[echo1]

Well this thread definitely mutated into something fun and informative to say the least.

I feel sorry for all those folk that missed out getting into mischief back in the day. Then later in life, all the wineries had FREE wine tasting with no limit. Wheel of cheese, stick of Salami, a fresh loaf of French bread cost a quarter. Let the games begin, PAX

 

[Radman64]

Blasting fireworks at Bonnie Dunes, watching others doing it that really came prepared with complete battery's of mortar's and large tents arranged around the beach lol.

 

[Husker415]

Are you referencing Brian Wang’s (Monarch Defense) property? It’s in that vicinity. Yes, he will rent out if you pass his safety test first. Decent pistol range and sweet long range rifle course. Reasonable rates too. Just be safe and pickup your brass and trash. He gets a bad rap, but in my opinion a decent dude who happens to be intense (care about what he does). I like going down there, just a far hike from North Bay. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[tradecraft]

Are you referencing Brian Wang’s (Monarch Defense) property? It’s in that vicinity. Yes, he will rent out if you pass his safety test first. Decent pistol range and sweet long range rifle course. Reasonable rates too. Just be safe and pickup your brass and trash. He gets a bad rap, but in my opinion a decent dude who happens to be intense (care about what he does). I like going down there, just a far hike from North Bay. Good luck and enjoy.

It's a separate property (in the same vicinity iirc).

 

[echo1]

Are you referencing Brian Wang’s (Monarch Defense) property? It’s in that vicinity.....

Looking at google earth, Wangs operation is many miles from the intersection of Mines Road and Del Puerto Canyon Road. Not even close. PAX

 

[NorCalBusa]

I hear ya, growing up in Mt View one of my friends dad was a very active hunter/fishermen who was a member of the Palo Alto hunting club, I would go with them quite often hunting duck and dove out there. They had quite a few permanent duck blinds scattered around in the old oyster ponds that were really well constructed, it was all non-public use land back then and only members had the key to the gate lock along with the key to get to the small boat docks where every one had a boat to get you out to the blinds. He also had a duck skiff at the Palo Alto yacht harbor which we would go out into the open bay to shoot ducks. Better yet he worked for PG&E as a linesmen so he had access to huge amounts of private property in the Santa Clara wilderness where we hunted quail, cottontail's, boars, deer, turkey and yes, he had the property owners consent. Some really great memories as there was actually quite a few small hunting cabins on the various properties where we would stay overnight on a weekend, they were something straight out of the Beverly Hillbillies where you had to pump water from the well outside, small wood burning stoves, gas lanterns etc and all of them had an outhouse. If I had to guess I would say they were built in the 20's-30's but I do recall going to one a few times that was a bit more modern and actually had a gas stove, running water (no toilet, sink only) and electricity (2 prong outlets) with bat & lathe walls.

Me too- we duck hunted off/under the old Dumbarton Bridge and the wetlands on both sides.

 

[Radman64]

Me too- we duck hunted off/under the old Dumbarton Bridge and the wetlands on both sides.

Do they even allow it anymore?
Palo Alto yacht harbor always had a lot of duck skiff's stored on their docks but for some reason they completely closed it I think in the late 80's , I remember seeing some also at the Alviso docks way back but I haven't been there in years.

 

[M1A Rifleman]

Wow, some of you guys are showing your age. I’m 59 and been around the Bay Area from Santa Cruz to Castro Valley and many of the locations you guys mention had changed long before my visits as a kid. For example, HWY 580 was constructed in 1964 if I recall correctly

 

[NorCalBusa]

Do they even allow it anymore?
Palo Alto yacht harbor always had a lot of duck skiff's stored on their docks but for some reason they completely closed it I think in the late 80's , I remember seeing some also at the Alviso docks way back but I haven't been there in years.

No idea, though I suspect it all went away not too long after the new Dumbarton Bridge got built in '84.

 

[BigBossman]

Do they even allow it anymore?
Palo Alto yacht harbor always had a lot of duck skiff's stored on their docks but for some reason they completely closed it I think in the late 80's , I remember seeing some also at the Alviso docks way back but I haven't been there in years.

I left CA about 5 years ago, but up until then you could still hunt there and also around Alviso.

 

[echo1]

Wow, some of you guys are showing your age. I’m 59 and been around the Bay Area from Santa Cruz to Castro Valley and many of the locations you guys mention had changed long before my visits as a kid. For example, HWY 580 was constructed in 1964 if I recall correctly

580 was built in the '60s through the '70s, roughly along the Old Lincoln Hwy. Around Palomares Cayon and all the other canyons, there used to be many places to shoot, at those locations, everything was shot to pieces and there was half a foot deep of brass. There were no "zones" for deer hunting, got a tag, went after it. If you got skunked on the coast you could go up into the Sierra the next weekend. Pigs weren't regulated and you could take as many as you'd like, with a spear or bayonet. A guy down the street from me in Mission San Jose, used to hang his tails on the rafters, they went around his whole house every year. My older buds used to go to the pound, bail out a mess of big dogs for $5 bucks, and head off pig stickin. Some critters would inevitably get killed, the ones that lasted would make good pig dogs. My one bud used an Arisaka bayo I gave him and had an M1 carbine pistol on a lanyard, an "Enforcer" (now a Kali no-no) for pigs. After his wedding reception, he and all the groomsmen went pig huntin in their tuxes. The next morning they showed up covered in blood with a couple monsters we promptly Kaluad. One we threw in a pit, the other we cooked on a spit. The olden days, when Kali was free, were good times. Cash & Carry was King, bartered car work, bales of hay for all manner of guns. A wink & a nod was as good as a handshake. PAX

 

[Radman64]

Wow, some of you guys are showing your age. I’m 59 and been around the Bay Area from Santa Cruz to Castro Valley and many of the locations you guys mention had changed long before my visits as a kid. For example, HWY 580 was constructed in 1964 if I recall correctly

Lol, I'm just a year older then you but 4th generation Bay Area native on my Mom's side, lot's of Italian family in SF & SJ growing up as a kid along with having 5 older siblings so got told a lot of stories along with going places at a very young age. My great Uncle had a house/property in Niles Canyon about half way up the incline he bought back in the 40's and had the house built as a vacation spot to get away from San Francisco quickly, it was actually quite nice with 3 bedrooms, gas/electricity and a full bathroom about 200 yards from the creek (he was a very prominent corporate lawyer at that time so money was never an issue with him) and he gave free use of it to my grandparents who also lived in SF (my Nana was his sister) so many times we younger kids would be dropped off to spend a weekend or such. My oldest brother back then was the only one who hunted and would go there to shoot dove & quail where I was the only one who wanted to tag along with him, it was all private property and he bought a 10 acre parcel from the guy who owned a huge amount of land there so there was never a fear of a F&G warden showing up. That's where I first shot a .22 and later a .410 but honestly what I remember the most was fishing the creek, there was a lot of native rainbow trout in that water along with some kind of small catfish I would catch from time to time. My grandfather was a avid fishermen but mostly stuck with salt water, he just enjoyed teaching me how to fish and I learned very quickly in his presence never to call a rod a pole lol.
My Mom still has a picture of me kissing the first fish I ever caught when I was 6, true story.

 

[Radman64]

The olden days, when Kali was free, were good times. Cash & Carry was King, bartered car work, bales of hay for all manner of guns. A wink & a nod was as good as a handshake.

And block party's on the 4th of July where there was no such things as illegal fireworks, streets were blocked off and everyone was on the sidewalks with lawn chairs.
Next morning was better then Christmas searching for un-used fireworks or those that didn't go off before they got swept into piles to be picked up.