Last week, I headed to Lakeview, Oregon, to train with world-renowned firearms instructor Clint Smith at Thunder Ranch. A three-day defensive handgun class was available, and I jumped at the chance to train at the finest facility of its kind in the world. Leave it to me to have a one-in-a-million malfunction during a malfunction drill.
Of course, I had to visit historical sites along the way, many relating to Nevada history. Ghost Towns, Peter Lassen’s Grave, emigrant trails, and my favorite, the Willow Ranch Lumber Company.
I traced the route of the Nevada, California, and Oregon Railway, which connected Reno to Lakeview. The company was notorious for issues including infighting and a shootout at a stockholders meeting and was referred to as the “Narrow, Crooked & Ornery Railway.”
Traveling Woman
I can’t go on a trip without visiting historical sites. I drove this section of 395 when I lived in Klamath Falls and visited Reno, but it has been over twenty years, and I never stopped. A sign on the road for a historical marker or something that looks interesting? You better believe I stopped on this trip. There were several historical sites on 395 on the way to Lakeview.
Milford, California
Milford was settled in 1856, making it one of the oldest settlements around Honey Lake. Settlers built the first flour mill in 1861. A post office opened in 1864, and Milford had mills, blacksmithies, hotels, stores, and a school.
Milford was at risk from the Dixie Fire, but firefighters saved the area.
Fort Janesville, California
Fort Janesville was active during the Pauite War in 1859. Settlers constructed a loopholed stockade and a bastion on the southeast corner, but an attack never happened.
Janesville lost in a run for the Lassen County Seat to Susanville by only one vote.
Peter Lassen’s Grave
Peter Lassen, for whom Lassen County was named, was born in Denmark and immigrated to Boston in 1830. He emigrated to California in 1840, wanting to farm the rich lands. He established the Lassen Cutoff of the California Trail, which left the main route at Rye Patch, Nevada. Emigrants used the cutoff between 1848 and 1853 when a less challenging route was established.
Lassen was murdered on April 26, 1859, in Black Rock Canyon, now known as Clapper Canyon, outside of Susanville. He was traveling to Harden City, Nevada, to prospect for silver. (Hmmm, I guess I better add that ghost town to my list to visit.)
Lassen was traveling with Edward Clapper and Americus Wyatt. Lassen and Clapper were shot and killed. Wyatt escaped, saying a hidden sniper shot them. The attack remains a mystery; thoughts are Lassen and Clapper were killed by Paiute Indians, disgruntled travelers on the Lassen Cutoff, or even Wyatt.
Lassen was buried at the site of the attack, but Clapper’s body could not be found. In November, Lassen’s remains were moved to a large tree by Lassen’s ranch outside Susanville. In 1990, rockhounds discovered a skull and upper body bones later determined to be those of Clapper. He was interred alongside Lassen in 1992.
Noble’s Trail, California
In 1851, William Noble developed a shortcut of the Applegate Train in Nevada to Lassen’s Cutoff. The route shortened the trail to northern California. Pioneers used it extensively until the arrival of railroads in the 1870s.
Willow Ranch, California
The Crane Creek and Willow Ranch Lumber Companies operated between 1929 and 1959. Crane Creek was the first lumber mill to operate in Modoc Forest. In 1926, they produced 194 million board feet for the Fandango Logging Unit. They had a standard gauge railroad connected to the narrow gauge Nevada, California, and Oregon Railroad, which ran between Reno, Nevada and Lakeview, Oregon.
(Photo credit: CSU)
Willow Ranch Lumber Company was operating in the 1940s. Logs were cut on the west side of Goose Lake and transported to the mill via ferry. On a good day, the journey took five hours. The boats were 26′ by 8′ and had metal teeth at the front and rear to protect the craft.
The remaining structure is a sawdust burner, also referred to as a wigwam, teepee, or beehive burner. Wood waste was loaded into the opening and fell to a furnace below. Most burners went offline in the 1970s when they were banned due to environmental concerns.
New Pine Creek, California, or is it Oregon?
New Pine Creek started as Pine Creek. Once settlers discovered there was another Pine Creek while applying for a post office in 1876, they threw “New” into the name.
A surveying mistake led to confusion. Like Aurora and Sylvania it was unclear in which state New Pine Creek was located. Now, the post office is on the Oregon side, so California residents have Oregon addresses.
Lakeview, Oregon: Home away from home
Knowing Lakeview has limited accommodations and restaurants, I booked an AirBnB. The owners were sweet and decorated the home for Christmas. It was a welcome sight after my long drive.
The rental was small but comfortable and had a kitchen where I could warm up meals. Knowing I would be tired after training and the family would be hungry at home, I prepared three meals for each of us in advance. I made variations of our favorites: shepherd’s pie with cauliflower, chili relleno casserole, and Thanksgiving Cordon Blue made with leftover turkey and ham.
Thunder Ranch – Day One
I was intimidated heading to Thunder Ranch. Walking into the classroom, I was nervous as a freshman on the first day of college. Though I arrived early, the room was already filled with big men. No one was speaking; I sat at the table’s end to hear better. For ten minutes, we shuffled papers, and there was minimal chatting. Finally, I asked where everyone was from, and only half of the men responded. Then silence returned.
Clint Smith arrived and took command. The syllabus said Clint would deliver a “memorable speech.” It wasn’t kidding. If you haven’t seen or heard Clint, he is known for “Clintisms,” phrases and sayings for which he is famous. Clint is not G-rated or PC. He calls it like he sees it and his humor makes you remember his points. Below are a few Clintisms.
The only handcuffs in your house should be fuzzy and pink!
Don’t shoot fast, shoot good.
Carry enough ammo that your pants are falling down.
I wouldn’t carry a (fill in the blank) up my a** if I had room in there for a tugboat!
We covered topics including Ranch rules, what a threat looks like, and issues you are likely to face in and after an armed confrontation. While Thunder Ranch is thought of as a “shooting school,” it’s really a thinking school. We learned how to avoid bad situations, and practiced gun safety and defensive tactics. According to Clint, “The best example of good training is never having to use it.”
It’s no surprise that the SEALS have trained at Thunder Ranch.
Clint asked me what I carried; I told him I shot a CZ 75 but was familiar with a Glock 19. He told me to use the Glock, and they would get me up to speed on shooting it well.
We had five instructors for fourteen students: Clint, his wife Heidi, Jack, Steve, and Tim. Each instructor has decades of experience teaching firearms; most are retired law enforcement and all have remarkable backgrounds.
After lunch at Clint and Heidi’s beautiful house, we headed to the range. Clint was our rangemaster that day. He had us fire one shot; I was nervous but hit the center. Then he had us shoot twice more; I was off a little but still near the center. Clint reviewed our shots, and I got a “Good, good, good!” and a fist bump. That made my day.
We spent the afternoon working on drawing and stationary shooting drills. By 4 pm, I was tired, quickly becoming a human popsicle and very thankful I meal prepped. I had taken a ton of gear, so I spent the evening lightening the load, reorganizing and preparing for near-zero temps the next day.
Thunder Ranch Day Two
At 1 degree, we started the morning learning a topic often neglected by shooters – treating gunshot wounds. Spending the rest of the day at the range, we worked on drills, including shooting at moving targets, shooting while moving, and shooting at longer distances. Clint said he would be happy if we kept all our shots in the center of the body, the rectangle from head to pelvis. I did great on the stationary drills, but I had some hits outside the rectangle when the target started moving.
We worked on learning the names of and clearing various malfunctions: Stovepipes, failures to eject, and double feeds. My idea of clearing malfunctions had always been to hand the gun to Hubby. The process had always seemed mysterious, involving scowling at the pistol, muttering and strange four-letter incantations. Clint had better advice for malfunctions…
“Your gun doesn’t fire? Load the f***ing gun!”
Tap, rack, and shoot. Nothing mysterious about that. With Clint’s clear yet colorful instructions, I thought I had malfunctions down pat.
I learned the extended malfunction clearance process; remove the magazine, rack the gun three times, then load the gun. I cleared all my malfunctions… until the last one. I tried each step several times. I looked down confused; I had a double feed and one cartridge chambered backward. It was so strange it didn’t even register in my mind.
Leave it to me; I had a one-in-a-million malfunction during a malfunction drill. Somehow the cartridge flipped, ending up backward. Jack said my hand was covering the ejection port while trying to clear the stoppage, and with gloves, I never felt any difference.
Clint had to show everyone on the line what had happened. He and Jack tried to clear the pistol, but Jack had to take it to the shop to remove the cartridge. Thankfully I had my Glock 17 for the rest of the day.
It never warmed up much past 20, and we had snow and wind. I had planned on eating a cold salami and cheese tray, but Clint’s wife, Heidi, made warm cheese and ham sandwiches for lunch. I swear it was just what I needed. After lunch, Heidi was the rangemaster. She is a caretaker of everyone, always ensuring we hydrated and were well-fed, but she is also no-nonsense on the range and we worked hard.
Following lunch, I told Clint I was struggling with hearing the rangemaster’s additional directions after the first shot. When drills started, “The Din,” as Clint calls it, began. Shouts of “Stop!” “Don’t move!” and “Drop the weapon!” were followed by fourteen students shooting multiple times. Once we tracked the target to the ground, we awaited further instructions while issuing verbal commands for the bad guy to stay on the ground. It was stressful and seemed chaotic, to say the least. Often if an additional command to shoot was issued, I couldn’t hear the rangemaster and didn’t shoot. Clint told me it was good I waited to shoot until I was positive it was what I needed to do. I was complemented on my loud, clear shouted commands. (Having two teenagers, it came naturally…)
Following drills, we shot at the red target above the berm. Heidi had each person hit the mark twice. I was nervous but heard the “dink, dink” of the steel plate—the second drill farther away, “dink,” then silence. I sent the shot over the target’s shoulder. Heidi was amazing, walking me through the next shot and the next, which I hit dead center.
Thunder Ranch Day Three
I had clothes down better by day three. Thankfully, it wasn’t nearly as cold. However, I learned quickly that long jackets add complications to drawing and shooting.
We started with warming up at the range. We knew this was the day to work in “Terminator 3.” The Thunder Ranch website states, “The Terminator 3 is a two-story indoor shoot house with every conceivable indoor obstacle and circumstance. The ideal place to learn how to cope with a less-than-ideal situation.” Clint told us it was the most f****d up structure he could imagine: doors opening in different directions, cubby holes, blind corners and a million places where a bad guy could hide.
(Photo credit: Thunder Ranch)
One by one, students were called off the line to work on clearing rooms in the shoot house. I have always had great respect for law enforcement and the military, and I have even more now. I would never want to clear a building, especially one with which I wasn’t familiar. I cleared three rooms, which was nerve-wracking, but I took out the bad guy with one shot. The exercise was mainly to show us how dangerous clearing a house is, but also to prepare us for a dire situation when a bad guy is between my family and me and there is no immediate help.
At lunch we had a graduation ceremony with certificates and pins.
Clint is not only an amazing instructor but a wonderful cook. He made everyone a big pot of delicious chicken and rice soup, a perfect way to warm up after our morning outside.
We spent the rest of the day on various drills at the range. Rangemaster Tim took me through drills on single-hand shooting with dominant and non-dominant hands. I was nervous about my non-dominant hand as I have had multiple surgeries and don’t have the best grip strength. Instructor Steve worked the drill, so I was comfortable and safe. First, he unloaded all but one cartridge. Then, after several times shooting one round, he added ammo until I was shooting a full magazine. Next he introduced a flashlight to see what technique worked best for me.
We reached our final drill, and Tim said to make these the best shots of the class. Verbal compliance, five shots to the head and follow to the ground. I took out the center of the target.
As the third day was a sultry 34 degrees, the dirt backdrop started melting. I found a way to sling mud almost as fun as Jeeping. I ended up with mud everywhere.
Three days of intense training and over 800 rounds was challenging mentally and physically. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! If the Training Fairy visits, I will retake Defensive Handgun 1, then Defensive Handgun 2, and Urban Rifle. (Update: The Training Fairy arrived! I am registered for Defensive Revolver which will allow me to work on the skills I learned, while expanding my skill set.)
December 2022
A reader asked why I went all the way to Lakeview when I could have trained locally. Why? Because I wanted the best safety, the best training program, the best facility, and the best trainers. Hubby told me I shouldn’t settle for second best when you’re learning how to save your life.
Bonus: Heidi loves history and wants to explore! She gave me a wonderful history book on Lake County. Jack likes to explore the desert and Tim is a fellow Jeeper. I need to set up a Thunder Ranch ghost town trip! Maybe a revival of my Humboldt County ghost town trip would be good as it is close to Thunder Ranch.
Homeward Bound
I was worn out by Sunday and miraculously slept in until 6 am. My original thought was to leave a little later in the morning after the roads warmed up. However, as another storm was expected, I left early to miss the worst of the two storms. I drove in and out of the storm front, from blue skies to blizzard conditions, within a few miles. My final stop was in Alturas to meet a friend for coffee and photograph the Alturas Nevada, California and Oregon Railroad station house.
Termo
Termo was the terminus of the Nevada, California, and Oregon (N.C.O) Railway in 1900. A post office was opened in 1908. Once the N.C.O line extended to Madeline, then Lakeview, Termo became a ghost town.
Nevada, California, Oregon Railway
Planning the trip, I stumbled upon the Nevada, California, and Oregon Railway (N.C.O). The rail line was also known as the “Narrow, Crooked, and Onery.”
Survey work for the N.C.O Railway began in 1880, to save construction costs; the line was narrow gauge. Construction started in Reno, with the first spike driven on May 28, 1881. The original plan was to build north to The Dalles, with spurs to Klamath Falls and Eugene.
(Photo credit: Noe Hill)
Due to infighting and monetary issues, progress was slow. The company was fraught with issues. At one time, two boards were separately trying to run the company. Two men were shot at an infamous stockholder meeting in Reno on September 27, 1881. Although Daniel Balch recovered from his wounds, Squire Scoville was not so fortunate. The trial made history, the first time a court hearing in Nevada was transcribed on a typewriter.
Service arrived in Alturas, California in 1908 and in Lakeview, Oregon, in 1912. The N.C.O. declined after 1913. The Reno Depot was closed in 1918 and headquarters were moved to Alturas, California. Southern Pacific Company purchased the Nevada, California, and Oregon railroad on April 30, 1925.
Lakeview Depot
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Alturas Depot
Alturas Office
The N.C.O didn’t have the funds for bells in the tower, so they used wooden replicas.
Reno Depot
(Today, The Depot)
After three days of intense training, it was strange to transition home.
When I got home and started unpacking, Miss Edel decided it was time for a car ride. I promised her we would go to town and get C-O-F-F-E-E tomorrow. I can’t say that word, or she would never leave the car. She gets a treat every time we go to the drive up window. Hubby and the kids were glad to have me back and I finally feel more confident and competent if I have to defend myself or my family.
Acknowledgments
A big thank you to Sue, who scheduled my course, advised me on my gear and made this trip happen. To Clint, Heidi, Jack, Tim, Steve and my fellow students, especially my weekend partner Tom… thank you for making this one of the most informative and valuable classes I’ve ever taken. I’m proud to have joined the Thunder Ranch family!
Follow me on social media:
BILL KULICK says
you the best , injoy the article have a merry christmas you and the family
Tami says
Thank you, and have a Merry Christmas!
Steve R says
You did very well during all portions of the class! I’m happy to see you were able to explore a bit while in the area. Stay Safe & Enjoy Everything, Steve R. 😉
Tami says
I forgot to add a thank you for spending extra time with me at lunch working on drawing.
Bryan Engebritson says
Tami.
Cool story and pictures as usual, The quote ” I wouldn’t carry a (fill in the blank) up my a** if I had room in there for a tugboat!”. What word was use in the fill in the blank
Thank you Bryan
Tami says
He used that phrase several times. Variations included a sub-compact pistol and.380.
Bill says
Tami, THANKS for a wonderful story. I was interested in the weapons education story. I’m in the process ….
Tami says
If you are thinking of attending Thunder Ranch, do it!