May is the usual time for me to stop going to the desert to shoot. We have two major wild fires and several small ones in Arizona. Last night just before bedtime the humidity was 9%. This year the temperature is not the issue, 94 predicted today, but the fires. Last week the place that I go to shoot had a big burn area. The smell was terrible. I don’t want to be the person responsible for causing a fire. A few years ago Arizona lost several firefighters because of a wildfire. You may have seen the movie ‘Only The Brave’ it was about them. That happened about 60 miles from me.
My shooting season is done
- Thread starter Lyle
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I was working in Prescott when that happened. What a gut punch. Best I know they were the only municipal type I hotshot crew in the country. And they were good!
I too am paranoid about starting a fire in the desert. I never travel to the desert without a fire extinguisher year round. Though I'll usually wait until the areas are closed to stop shooting my modern/smokeless firearms. Like you I do limit my blackpowder shooting to the wetter times of year and use the established range for BP in the summer/dryer times of the year.
I am expecting the Forrest Service and BLM to close the public lands to shooting sometime in May, June at the latest. I will stop shooting in the desert when they do but I'm not that worried about starting a fire. I shoot black powder cartridges with soft lead bullets that don't cause sparks. The places I go I'm on open ground (no grass or brush) around me or the targets. Still, when the land is posted I'll stick to the dedicated shooting range (Rio Salado) which unfortunately isn't all that friendly toward BPC shooters.
Dave
Dave
44 Dave
Member
Have a friend who was a prospector. He told me they "mower their yard" with a D 6 and kept every thing bare dirt quite a ways around their camp..
Captain*kirk
Member
My season has not yet begun. Too bad you have to hang it up, Lyle
gtrgy888
Member
I do the same thing from May to October. The worst wildfires in the western US kicked off last year and I don’t want to start any. Luckily, some outdoor ranges around me are friendly to blackpowder shooting and completely clear vegetation and firewall the range, so I often continue through the hot months at the range only.
49willys
Member
Is it normal to have such low humidity this time of year?
Yes. Some people suffer from nose bleeds because of it. Once the monsoon hits that will be a distant memory.
brewer12345
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We have had a very dry spring, so I am not optimistic that shooting will continue much into the summer. I got my long range deer rifle sighted in today and will get this year's muzzleloader tuned up on my next shoot. After that, I am shooting for fun, so it lasts as long as it lasts.
AzShooter1
Member
There is always Ben Avery for target practice. I go there on Fridays. I go indoors to Shooter's World every Wednesday.
Steel Challenge Matches twice a month at Ben Avery as well hosted by Deer Tribe and Cactus Combat. Look at Practiscore for match times and dates.
Steel Challenge Matches twice a month at Ben Avery as well hosted by Deer Tribe and Cactus Combat. Look at Practiscore for match times and dates.
Are you aware that on Tuesday the range rental is $10. I call it $10 Tuesday. I don’t remember what they call it. Do you go to the store on Cactus?
Yes! When monsoon starts the humidity will go to 40 - 50%. That is when we get most of our rain. The big problem is during monsoon the temperature will be 110 to 115 degrees.
Jackrabbit1957
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That's one reason I don't live in or around Phoenix. So far have no closures of public lands in my area that I'm aware of. Will see if forest service closes the place the muzzleloaders club shoots at. If they do then it's most likely we will shoot at the range in Sierra Vista.
Sacramento Johnson
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Over here in the Mohave Desert in southern NV, we have very low humidity all year round (in recent years, NO monsoon or even rain to speak of). There is really no significant vegetation like you all have in AZ, so one can shoot on BLM land all year round, if one can handle the high heat.
I helped put out a wild bush fire in.. some county outside of El Paso (my memory fails during the last month of school, bear with me). I lost a good pair of boots, but worth it. Started wetting the area around the house with the hose, then waited. Fire mostly died, grabbed a shovel and started smothering embers.
Firefighters got my respect. Whole county does, people started coming out with tractors, shovels, buckets, and everything in between. Great day.
Firefighters got my respect. Whole county does, people started coming out with tractors, shovels, buckets, and everything in between. Great day.
Ugly Sauce
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I was on a fire line last summer/fall in my neighborhood, kids caught the woods on fire. Boy, did I get a lesson on how out of shape I was. It was pathetic.
Ugly Sauce
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They sure have endurance.
armoredman
Member
God Bless the Granite 19.
I shoot at the Casa Grande range, no problem with black powder there.
I shoot at the Casa Grande range, no problem with black powder there.
AzShooter1
Member
Yes I go to the one on Cactus. I've been a member since before Shooter's World ever opened. My membership was 118. They have a new system now so I can't have my old membership number but I still have the old I.D.
The Glockodile
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Makes me wonder about those YouTube videos featuring .50 BMGs, in AP / Incendiary flavor...
...thankfully they seem to be filmed in areas with sparse vegetation.
...thankfully they seem to be filmed in areas with sparse vegetation.
Eyrie G. Dogg
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- Mar 7, 2018
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Here in coastal N. Cali we shoot all year long - rain, snow or heat. Every season is shooting season.
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