Bring your guns
Located in the heart of California’s Central Valley, Rankin Field Weapons Range is the hidden jewel of Tulare! Boasting a 100 yard rifle range and a 5 to 25 yard pistol range, Rankin Field is a safe place to practice and perfect your shooting skills. Bring your .22 rifles, pistols, black powders, muzzle loaders, and shotguns for a day of major sporting fun.
Come out and shoot
Rankin Field Weapons Range is open to the public with flexible hours, providing an optimal training ground for entertaining, safe target practice. Come for gun safety classes or the range can assist you in earning your Carry Concealed Weapon Permit (CCWP). Rankin Field also offers a pistol competition range, Law Enforcement pistol range, challenging competitions and many other special events.
Our history
Rankin Field was established by Tex Rankin in 1940 when he signed a contract with the War Department contract to open a school to train United States Army Air Corps flight cadets. The “Rankin Aeronautical Academy, Inc.” was established and in February 1941. Due to the need for more pilots, in 1939 civilian schools provided the first 60 hours of flight time to Army Aviation Cadets. Rankin Field became one of the 62 civilian-owned flying schools in the U.S. that taught 1.4 million World War II Army pilots to fly. With the end of World War II, Rankin Academy closed and the airfield was inactivated on 30 September 1945.
The Tulare County Deputy Sheriff’s Association (TCDSA) acquired Rankin Field in 1997 and had a vision to reopen the old training facility. In the fall of 1999 that vision became reality and Rankin Field Weapons Range was born. Rankin now boasts multiple pistol ranges, a 100-yard rifle range (with shaded structures and a handicap bench) and a classroom where numerous training classes are offered. We have a variety of ammunition and paper targets available for sale, as well as reactive and steel targets for on-site use.