geocaching targets

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taliv

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i have an idea, based on my idea of a great vacation, which is to drive into the middle of nowhere BLM land or something, set up some steel targets a few miles apart, note their GPS location and then drive out. hike in, camp, land nav to the targets with map and compass and put a round on them, take a picture and move on to next target.

so my idea is that it would be even more fun if other people set up the targets in different areas of the country and left them for others to shoot, like geocaching.

obviously, there are some challenges, like knuckleheads stealing the targets, and not many places to do this. and it would cost $30 or so for a small plate and cheap stand. but i think they're surmountable. maybe situate the target so there's natural backstop and make it difficult to see from hiking trails.


i'm thinking it would just take sharing a format like this:

Target description/size: (maybe a picture)
Target location: (lat/long or UTM)
Approach from: (azimuth)

Then we'd need something like a blog to advertise it and then people could post their hits and what distance they shot it from or update it if it needs repair or gets horked. maybe password protect it to lessen the likelihood of theft

this sound fun to anybody besides me?
 
For cases like that the "free" railroad plates might be better choices for the targets.

Wonder what the BLM/forest rangers would think of this? littering/dumping?
 
Taliv,

The whole idea of geocaching is that no one knows it's there except other geocachers. I am not sure but believe that public areas, Nat'l forests and State parks have regulations against leaving structures in place overnight or longer even. You stand the chance of a ranger or hiker coming across one or more of the targets and removing them. (which would be total legal for them to do).

The other question would be I am not sure what the regulations are for discharging a firearm outside of hunting season. In my State that is a no-no unless you have a hunting lic, FOID card and are using a 22LR ONLY during the open seasons for whatever animal is legal to hunt during that season. This applies to all State and Federal Parks in Illinois. Private lands, that's a different mater as long as you have permission.

Jim
 
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What about using gun ranges across the country? A person involved in the project could talk with those in charge of different ranges about putting up a target.

Or another possibility would be that a land owner (I know this would probably be a stretch) would set up a target and allow people to come and shoot the target. Maybe set up a way to ask permission to come and shoot on personal property first.
 
Sounds like a great idea. It would certainly be great practice for 2A situations... taking care of business in unfamiliar territory. A dude would have to be pretty hard up for steel plate to get on the site, look up targets, and hike out into the boonies to get them. Most metal thieves are much too lazy for that sort of thing. I would participate if somebody would get it started.
 
" littering/dumping?"

hmm... didn't think about that. but would it be worse than regular geocaching? i mean if you leave a little sealed box out there with some junk in it, is that really different?


jim, the states i had in mind were more like western deserts like nevada, wyoming, etc. where there are more sane gun restrictions
 
If you were to make decent targets that were small (10"x8"), hidden in relatively remote spots to hike to, and anchored well, the chances are that nobody who was not in on the game would ever find them, let alone spot one. A good option would be to geocache the spot from where you were to shoot from, while giving some type of descriptive on the direction of the target. Set up in a remote canyon for example, several targets likely would survive. Most rangers, maintenance folks, tree huggers, etc. likely would not be interested in removing some random piece of steel that was very difficult to reach, if they even spotted it. If done on BLM lands that were open to shooting you might have to wait for a bit for others to vacate the area, and if asked what you were doing you might be able to tell them you are hunting.
I know of one such COF out in a California desert that has been up for over a decade, and none of the twelve targets have ever been removed.
 
taliv said:
" littering/dumping?"

hmm... didn't think about that. but would it be worse than regular geocaching? i mean if you leave a little sealed box out there with some junk in it, is that really different?


jim, the states i had in mind were more like western deserts like nevada, wyoming, etc. where there are more sane gun restrictions
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You mean western states with sane gun legislation Except Colorado.

Just sayin,

Don
 
I tried to place a geocache on some Nat'l Forest land years ago. In the end they required a special use permit and annual fee that made it not worth the trouble.

It sounds like a great idea if doable in your area. Lane safety/backstop is my biggest concern.
 
splithoof yeah, i was thinking prob 8" squares and circles, hidden as well as possible. providing the coordinates to shoot from and the azimuth to target would work. the only reason i did it the other way was so people could plan their own approach and shot. to take a long shot or a short shot, setting their own level of difficulty.
 
A lot of forrest service types are supportive of geocaching as long as the caches aren't permanent, and relatively unobtrusive. Who's to say that a geocache can't be a magnetic hide-a-key stuck to a steel target instead of a .30 cal ammo can hidden in a stump? Honestly, I think that if your geocache is an actual working geocache that just happens to be something you can shoot, it would probably survive in the wild.
 
The level of difficulty is only known once the participant reaches the firing point and has to first locate, and then engage the target with only a fixed, predetermined number of attempts. An individual who has navigated the COF before can act as a proctor, and thus can use a shot timer with par value as to not allow too long to complete the task. Once the shooter steps to the spot, the clock starts. The time factor can be adjusted for level of difficulty, distance, etc.
Not knowing the number of engagements, distances, necessary positions, or much else requires the participant to carry their chosen field gear. Other simple tasks can be completed along the way, such as rope cutting, simulated plugged barrel, compass reading, hydration stop, etc. These can be required at will from the proctor at any point during the COF.
 
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just an update... with the help of derek, i now have a small site dedicated to this. www.targetcaching.com it's pretty much empty at the moment, but a small group of guys are planning to cache several targets, so my guess is we'll have a couple dozen targets cached around the country within the next 12 months. so feel free to sign up, check in and participate
 
I missed this thread the first time around. Really cool idea, really cool. How did you happen to think of this? While I have read some about Geocaching I never would have thought to connect it with targets. :)

Ron
 
I so want to live a cool state and do this right now. :(

When I was in Colorado this summer there was tons of BLM land where you could shoot. When I went to the BLM office and asked for suggestions they pointed me to some informal ranges and basically said you could shoot wherever there was good backstop. (buildings and roads etc. excepted)
 
How did you happen to think of this?
Click to expand...

mostly, hiking the AT thinking "man, that would be an epic shot!" every few hundred yards. I don't mind packing a 17 lb rifle, but dang if i'm going to hump a bunch of steel targets and stands around with me too :) so i just figured, why not stand them up as sort of a community effort.
 
Ok gents,

Target number 1!

Shooting location is

46°25'24.57"N
118°37'37.36"W
elevation 494


target location is

46°24'50.80"N
118°37'40.60"W
elevation 794

here's how this will work, go to shooting location, you need to get at least one hit on target. If and when you do, you will get a free target from JC steel Targets. Its a small target. But we will happily give you something
 
Awesome concept!!!! If any pop up in Maine let me know. Or years down the road when I have some land maybe I'll place one if this is still going.
 
Cool idea. If any pop up near here I will definitely be trying them. Also registered over at your site so I can try to keep an eye on it.
 
Wish I still lived out in WA, tons of NF land I could set some targets on. I'm in AL now and will see if I can find any good land around here in the coming months.
 
Super Cool Idea! I will place one this weekend in the deserts near Los Angeles.
 
from other friends that shoot practical matches, i expect most of the ones popping up will be in the Pacific and Mountain timezones. sadly, I'm in the Southeast and there's not a ton of room around here so we're going to have to work a little harder to find places. but we'll make it happen somehow. but i actually plan to drive out to WA next year to shoot a match so I am going to take some extra vaca and shoot them on the way
 
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