Colorado forest fires.

It's the bullets...

Plenty of fires around here have been started by shooting tracer, steel core or steel jacket projectiles with impacts on steel or rocks.

It's not some sort of backdoor gun control tactic.

We used to start fires all the time on the ranges at Camp Lejeune, but we were using lots of tracers and steel-core ammo.

Sure, there’s probably very little chance of starting a fire with regular ammo, but think about how many shops sell stuff like M855 steel core 5.56 ammo, or steel jacketed 7.62x39 ammo. And often the people buying that ammo have no idea it’s different than regular ammo.

I have my doubts that lead or copper bullets will actually start a fire, It is pretty well established that steel core ammo can. But I wouldn't want to be the one to prove my theory wrong and start a major fire that destroyed property and injured or killed people. I understand why they are being cautious.

^^ Well said.

jmr40 said:

I have my doubts that lead or copper bullets will actually start a fire, It is pretty well established that steel core ammo can. But I wouldn't want to be the one to prove my theory wrong and start a major fire that destroyed property and injured or killed people. I understand why they are being cautious.

Click to expand...

I’m with you

Or even if you didn’t start one, but someone nearby did something stupid and started it, you’d be caught up in the mess.

Better to be safe than sorry.

I know that it is no fun but I will not shoot on MY property when there is a fire hazard time. I usually go by whether fire permits are being issued or not. I just take that time to prep brass or make more ammo instead so I can be doing something shooting related. Look on the bright side more ammo for later. Go out and practice stalking wildlife (with a camera) as you can be reasonably sure you will not get shot at.
FWIW I will only shoot tracers in the winter after the ground is covered in snow to reduce the chance of fires.

Highly, highly unlikley that copper & lead projectiles could spark a blaze, though I'll stop short of saying impossible.

I wouldn't even think about tracers right now, and steel core stuff would have to be going into a dirt bank, no hard targets. We've got nearly a dozen blazes right now, none effectively contained, and more are likely if we don't get a ton of rain. Wildfires always have and always will happen, not particularly concerned about the forests, which will grow back denser and greener afterward. It's the damage to structures and cost to combat the fires; our tax dollars and insurance rates have to cover that.

In 2010 Utah states 20 fires were started by shooters, 2011 that number went to 24, and in 2012 it dropped to 19. Most were due to steel bullets or steel core, but too many were caused by exploding targets. I can say from living in SE Utah for over 6.5 years, you have to be very careful where to shoot and what to shoot and you better not get caught on Federal lands with exploding targets. Even in the desert where the trees are scarce and shorter than you are; the brush fires can spread like crazy when the temps are over 100 and there is even a slight breeze (not a red flag day).

And knowing the head of the Interagency Fire detail in Moab UT (includes BLM, Forest, State, Local) a call to ban shooting is a last ditch effort to cut down on fires. But I do know this year, they have already called for NO camping fires, even in the fire pits. It is very hot and dry in the southern parts of UT/CO.

But I do believe, in most states careless campers, and careless people with fireworks (most illegal) start more fires.

You have a couple-few considerations with shooting and fire:
>Activity surrounding the actual shooting like vehicles (exhaust, cats...), smoking, actual fires, etc..
Easy to address relative to overt activity.
>Muzzle flash.
Don't fire prone as that's the most likely scenario to hazard fire.
>Tracers.
Much surplus ammo will have markings worn away queering identification.
>AP by design or coincidental effect.
As above, you can't always count on markings. AP and Solid-Core ammo impacts have been behind nearly every fire I've ever dealt with.
>Impact area kinetics regardless the composition of the projectile.
You can simply have a confluence of materials destined to spark with energies applied. I can't remember what we were riding over butt I saw a fire initiated by the rear tire of the motorcycle in front of me once at Ft Bliss/White Sands.

You are lucky if you can even be in the local National Forest.

In AZ we have several NF that are COMPLEATLY closed due to fire danger (stage 3).

We lose the right to shoot at stage 2.

Having lived out West during severe droughts, firing guns always became prohibited when the fire danger was extreme; even at the range, steel and tracer were prohibited just in case.

My guess is they dont want to dispatch people to investigate gun shot vs fire cracker either.

Because my son is a wildland fire fighter, I am grateful to all of you who are taking this issue seriously. I live in a rural area and dread this time of year because of stupid people coming out to the county to set off their fireworks. My son says another often unreported cause of fires along highways is sparks from trailer safely chains.

I agree that actual shooting with lead or copper is unlikely to start a fire, but as ApacheCoTodd says, the ancillary activities can.

dodo bird said:

Well I am on vacation in Colorado. I brought plenty of ammo and cannot shoot any. Several fires around me and an outright ban on any type of fires including shooting in my area. I am on private property and the local ranch manager says no firearms due to possible spark caused by ricochet. I didn't argue as I dont want to be that guy who starts a fire. I am just wondering for argument sake what are they possiblity of starting a fire with SMOKELESS POWDER gunfire. I am content saving my ammo for a later time. Cheers. And early happy 4th!

Just wanted to add thank you to the firefighters and those who support them. What an amazing service. I am grateful.

Click to expand...

I started a fire in pine needles using a 17hmr shooting an old barrel. The fragments bounced off the back side and caused a fire inside it. Thankfully it was contained in the barrel.

I have seen API catch “dirt on fire”, the GAU-21 spits them out around 1100/min and makes for a good light show with tracers mixed in.

That said I have never started a fire shooting that wasn’t intentional. Sometimes that’s not even as easy as it sounds like it should be.

A friend of mine claims he started dead grass smoldering with his 500 S&W, He stated that the muzzle blast caught it while shooting prone off of crossed sticks. I wasn’t there and can’t say yes or no in that case, but based on the slo-mo flames the .500 belched on Michulek.com it sure could be plausible...

in any event, keep clear of the tinder dry stuff. I’ve been in Orlando the past three days, I’ve seen enough lightning and pouring rain to last me for a year!

thanks to all the Brave men and women that Protect our Beautiful Forrest and home throughout the US

The guy by the wheel.

Someone started a fire at our range a few months ago with tracer ammo. Rules state no tracer ammo. He claimed he didn't know it was tracer ammo.

Where in Colorado are you?

A fire was started a few years ago in my area at a local shooting spot. Not sure what the bullet type was.

Had a 12,000 acre fire get started by a road grater a few years back also. The operator hit a rock and it fractured. The fracture caused a spark, and that was all it took. If the wind had shifted it would've burned up a town of 300 people.

If the state or national forest says no shooting, it's usually for a damn good reason. I impose self prohibitions when I believe it's too dry.

Fires DO start from shooting.

I did wildland fire fighting for two years in my younger days. It was a hell of a job but I moved on to better pay and work. Prayers to all you folks in dry areas whether you just live there or if you might have to fight fires this year for rain and safety.

This is the West side of Colorado Springs burning down. In Colorado we tend to take fires very seriously