Where I've shot #1: Sonoran Desert National Monument

By Mark Janke

This is the first in a series of what I hope to be numerous articles (more like notes) on places to legally shoot outdoors in Arizona. Since the summer heat is coming, I may not have too many opportunities to visit any other locations for awhile.

My wife and I moved to the Phoenix area from out of state in early 2007, and needless to say we were very excited at the idea of going to shoot out in the desert not far from our home. I happened to join a great shooting forum called Arizona Shooting just in time for an unofficial get together of a couple dozen forum members. We went to some land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management south of Goodyear and Buckeye off of Rainbow Valley Road.

I'd gotten a map from the BLM website and we decided to try to find this location on our own a couple days before the big shoot to see if our car (a 2005 Toyota Prius) was up to the trip. The map was pretty poor as far as information. We headed south down Rainbow Valley Road until we got to Riggs Road which we followed east. Riggs dead ends at Bullard Avenue which we took south. Eventually Bullard turns into an unmaintained road. It seems to end and you take a hard left to the east (it may be the same road but there was no sign). When this road came to an end we saw a fence with a private property sign to our left and open desert to our right. We drove through a massive wash with a giant and picturesque sign (the kind you'd take a family picture in front of on a vacation) welcoming us to the Sonoran Desert National Monument. We then passed a fenced equipment shack for Southwest Gas until cows started emerging from the tall brush. At that point we decided we'd gone far enough and turned around. This may or may not be a legal shooting area, but there was a small mountain here that would provide a more than adequate backstop.

Update: A reader wrote in to tell me they have shot in this area (about a half mile further southeast from the point I've indicated on the map), and used the fenced in mountain as a backstop. There are signs there that indicate no shooting, or fires but do not indicate when. A call to the BLM confirmed during fire season (summer) that this area is off limits for shooting.



The GPS coordinates are: 33° 6'10.43"N latitude and 112°20'8.06"W longitude. Here is a Google Earth placemarker file so you can research the site.



So the next day we meet up with the group from the forum to head out to the shoot. We quickly learned we went to the wrong location the other day. Not to get confusing, but we went in one way and went out another when we were done shooting. I'll give you the play by play on both routes. Long story short, the way we went out was a lot easier (especially for the typical car).

Take Rainbow Valley Road south until it turns into an unmaintained road. Continue until it dead ends and runs into Patterson Road. Turn right on Patterson Road. The road becomes dirt immediately. Follow the beaten path through the desert scrub. There are two dips that a typical car won't be able to make it through, but there are alternate paths around these dips immediately nearby. Keep meandering until you are north of Patterson where you'll reach a gravel road. There are many signs warning of a gas pipeline on this road. You will drive on the gravel road about a mile or two. Eventually you'll find another beaten path through the scrub that takes you to the right and to the base of the mountain. There is one final nasty dip (no car will get through this, you should have 4 wheel drive), it's very fine dirt with very deep gravel just before it). If you are in a car, just park at the dip and walk the final 50 yards to the base of the mountain.

Now for the easier way in. Take Rainbow Valley Road south, take Riggs Road west and take 187th Avenue south. You'll go about three miles (most of it on a gravel road) before making a right turn onto a well worn path through desert scrub to the base of the mountain. If for whatever reason you can't find a way through the scrub, continue heading south on 187th Avenue until you hit the gravel road which has many signs warning of a gas pipeline. Make a right on the gravel road and find an alternate path to the mountain that I described above.



It was a great turn out at this event. This particular area was very clean as of 5/27/07. There was a small pile of broken glass, but that was all. Some people were driving ATVs nearby but saw us and weren't an issue. We shot for about three hours and many containers of tannerite were set off with no local law enforcement interest. There were other groups of people shooting at the larger mountain complex to our immediate south.







The GPS coordinates are: 33°11'44.28"N latitude, 112°27'59.23"W longitude.Here is a Google Earth placemarker file so you can research the site.