Iron Sights Shooting Range — Local services in Oceanside

Typically, I shoot in So. OC because I reside there however, as my self defense training has become a greater priority, I find myself practicing sidearm drills like double taps, Mozambique and even tactical shotgun practice using 00 buckshot…things my local range no longer allow. The increasingly restrictive policies coupled with increased fees and unfriendly ammo policies compelled me to try Iron Sights Shooting Range. While this range is twice the drive for me (30 minutes vs 15 to shoot locally) my first time shooting here (4/17/24) was so immensely positive I will continue to come here.

The first thing I noticed was the atmosphere…these people enjoy working here and are eager to assist customers in any way they can. Chris was very helpful when I arrived to pattern & sight two tactical shotguns. He was generous with his time and advice and familiar with the Vang Comp features on my new 12ga. I learned some lessons from him that he had learned the hard way. I prefer to learn the easy way from those with lots of experience. The whole place just resonates a good vibe, unlike my local range where the staff seem unhappy and eager to bark at customers for any reason. The tension there is palpable…something that occurred during Covid and stuck. In contrast, ISSR has more of a CHEERS feel, full of friendly folks who freely socialize with each other.

I was fortunate this day, the man in the lane next to me (Mike, who served in the Army and SWAT) was quite helpful to me. I was struggling with my shotgun and asked him to shoot it to confirm it was me and not the new gun that was at fault. But his shots were off exactly as mine were…adversely impacted by the large RDS which messed up the sight picture when turned off. He recommended removing it…something Chris had also said might be a plus when I showed it to him. But I didn’t have the tools in my range bag to do it. No prob, Chris was happy to assist and removed the Aimpoint ACRO P-2 sight. Once removed, all the pieces of the puzzle came together, and my Rem 870 VC is now dialed in and ready for use. The tips both Chris & Mike gave me were invaluable and I left with a big smile, a sense of confidence and a sore shoulder. Shooting slugs and 00 buck will do that to you after a couple of hours.

At checkout, my fee was nearly half that of my local range. I did witness a policy violation on the firing line and watched as the staffer addressed it with the shooter. He was calm, quiet, respectful, and just handled the concern calmly and professionally…as it should be. He was not irked, aggressive, loud and off-putting like the gang at my local range in So. OC. I can conduct all the traditional self-defense drills here which makes the added 15 minutes of driving to Oceanside worthwhile. Iron Sights sets the customer care bar so high, others need to charter a plane just to see it. If you’re looking for a friendly and welcoming place to escape, burn rounds, talk about, upgrade, and buy guns or seek specialized firearm training…this is your new hangout. You will realize it the moment you enter the premises…their encouraging atmosphere is infectious. Customers and staffers are all laughing and getting along, enjoying themselves. Nobody even smiles at my local range. Oh, one other thing…their DROS fees are much lower too. Go visit Iron Sights and see for yourself. Tell em Bruce sent you…you can...

I've been going to Iron Sights Shooting Range for over 10 years now. Their shooting lanes are in fine condition, they can supply everything one needs for a good shooting experience, such as range ammo, targets, eye and ear protection, and a wide variety of handguns and long guns.

I frequently take a friend or family member shooting with me, sometimes someone with little shooting experience. The staff will go over their safety rules in a professional manner. We usually shoot what we have, but it's also fun to rent something like a .44 Magnum once in a while. We see pretty good diversity in the kinds of people that shoot at Iron Sights.

Iron Sights is a popular place to shoot in North County, and during peak hours I've had to wait over an hour to get a lane--but most of the time there's something open, even if I may need to wait for 2-3 others to check in first.

Their small store amazingly seems to always have just what I'm looking for at excellent prices (I thought they might mark things up extra to capitalize on people excited from shooting, but find their prices are often lower than places such as Turners, Midway, or Amazon). This week I thought I'd ask about a couple of things I'd been pondering, but that many stores did not have in stock. Iron Sights had them both in stock and at good prices.

I've purchased a handgun from Iron Sights, completed a private-party-transfer there, purchased ammo under California's DROS system, and had accessories installed by their armorers. The experience is always smooth and professional. They are popular enough for these sorts of things that you may want to call and make an appointment if that's what you're after.

One last comment--sometimes gun establishments treat their customers with disdain or suspicion. I haven't seen this at Iron Sights. I have seen staff calmly and clearly intervene in situations where someone was doing something unsafe or where they didn't know how to deal with a misfire. It's a great place for...

Just make sure if you rent a handgun to keep it in the bucket whenever it’s not at the booth. No one told us that a weapon without a case has to be kept in the bucket, they just reassured us multiple times guns must be kept in a case when leaving the booth and it’s common sense to not leave the booth with a loaded weapon. Still they kicked my entire group out the first time they saw it, weapon wasn’t even loaded. Probably to make space for the line of people outside. They refunded the full boxes but we had to pay for the partial bags that we still wanted to shoot. I’ve been coming for years and this just really got under my skin. I’ll just take my chances elsewhere. It’s nothing special, just an indoor range that’s close. If I’m gonna get kicked out with no warning on Father's Day I don’t wanna come back or buy a gun here. My main complaint is with that girl with tattoos. Everyone else was kind. Even the guy who checked us out because the girl didn’t wanna deal with the refund. I’m honestly frustrated at how little patience she had with our group. No one else bothered us because we weren’t doing anything stupid...