Big E said:
Wow, I can just drive a few minutes out of town and start shooting w/o any trouble from authorities? This truly is land of the free. Gonna go on a shopping spree when I become a resident too. Get all the nice evil features I want w/o a 10 day wait period.
Yes and no. if you have targets set up and are shooting at them, you'll be fine. If you are walking around the desert and shooting at "sage brush", expect to be questioned by F&G. They will ask to see your hunting liscense because alot of ground squirrel/rabbit/badger shooters used this excuse. Although there is no season for them(non game species), you still need a hunting liscense to shoot them.
But in the couple hundred times ive been shooting South of Boise, ive only been stopped once. The officer said they only have 6 officers(3-4 years ago) to patrol Ada, Canyon, Elmore and Ohwyhee county during the late spring/early summer. Those counties cover over 12,000 square miles so its likely youll never see them.
But if you do shoot south of Boise be careful of the National Guard. They do alot of maneuvering about 10-15 miles south of town. They have a large tower on a hill out there(Christmas Mountain) and watch for shooters. This mountain is encompassed by a road that is off limits to civilian shooters. Its where the guard maneuvers. Ive been politely asked to shoot somewhere else 2 times, which is reasonable. I usually shoot into a burm but their troops were ~2 miles behind that burm, so i didnt see them. There have been a couple reports of idiot shooters taking pop shots at their tanks(not a good idea). The soldiers reporting hearing bullet hit them. So beware of some of the Darwin candidates out there.
One time i was reloading a couple mags after shooting into a hillside and i heard the loudest explosion ive ever heard in my life. It shook me and i almost dropped all my stuff(good thing i had ear protection on). I climbed the hill(100ft) and saw the tower abouy 1 mile away(they couldnt see me because of the steep hill). About 500yds away in between me and the tower, there were three tanks lined up. Not sure if they were shooting blanks or live ammo but it definately scared the bejesus out of me.
If you want a more controlled environment, there Blacks creek rifle range. They are about 5 miles south of Boise and their range goes up to 200yds. Its a controlled range with a range master. On one side there is a pistol range that isnt controled. Theres a seperate rifle range that can be used to 400yds but ive never been able to or seen anyone use it. I think its like $8 or $10 for a day.
The best shotgun range IMO, is out in Homedale near the Oregon border. Its called Idaho Sporting Clays/Game birds. They have a piece of property with 12 stages. You pay $15 for 1 round and bring 50 shells. The throwers at each stage are changed daily so its never the same. Sometimes if youre lucky, the guys wife will cook a bunch of pulled pork sandwhiches for lunch. they dont charge, just ask for a tip. Good people out there.
