Pike National Forest Shooting

[coloradokevin]

Unfortunately a tragic death in Pike National Forest has drawn attention to shooting on USFS lands in Colorado once again.

http://www.9news.com/story/news/loc...s-cracking-down-on-illegal-shooting/29894993/

Our population is growing in Colorado, and each year the amount of public land we have available for shooting gets smaller. We also have a problem with USFS officials who don't even know their own rules (like the one quoted in this article who believes that semi-automatic shooting is illegal even within legal target shooting areas).

For our side of it, a number of irresponsible shooters have littered the forests with trash, and have created unsafe encounters with other users over the years.

So, how can we go about preserving our ability to use the USFS lands for recreational shooting activities?

What actions could be effective in addressing this ongoing issue?

I've always enjoyed shooting out in the forest, and I don't want to see this become a thing of the past. Unfortunately we seem to be seen as an undesirable group of forest users, and we may be getting phased out over time. I grew up in Ohio, and recreational shooting is not allowed of USFS lands in that state. I think people out here take it for granted to some degree, and don't realize that those regulations could soon be thrust upon us here.

NOTE: Designated USFS ranges don't necessarily seem like a complete solution to me. They can help alleviate some of the problem, but don't work for all user groups. For instance, I do mostly long range shooting, and a 100-yard USFS range is of no use to me for those activities.

 

[Coyote3855]

I can't find the link to the article, but within the last month or so, a vehicle traveling on a back road in the National Forest between Cheyenne and Laramie was struck by an "errant bullet." Fortunately no one was injured. The shooter has not been located.

In proximity to the location of this incident is an "informal" shooting range. Also littered with junk of every description from old computer monitors to broken bottles.

As in many other areas of life, a few pigs ruin a good thing for everyone else.

 

[hso]

We've had this discussion before and we don't want to have it devolve into a "few bad apples" complaint thread.

This forum is to build a plan and not wring our hands.

What about getting groups and shooting sports retailers to do an adopt a highway program except for these sites so they get cleaned up? What about game cameras to spot the "pigs"? Then turn those in.

 

[MErl]

Some more info on CO front range forest use. There is an ongoing use debate around the front range and a comment period just ended on the latest round.

http://www.colorado2a.org/forest-service-land-closure-update/

 

[coloradokevin]

What about getting groups and shooting sports retailers to do an adopt a highway program except for these sites so they get cleaned up? What about game cameras to spot the "pigs"? Then turn those in.

I especially like the game camera idea for this issue. When I lived closer to Colorado Springs I used to shoot at the now-closed range along Rampart Range Road. That range was an official, but unsupervised range that had been in existence since probably long before I was born. It was also an area known for being trashed by shooters who just left their stuff behind. A number of the local retailers would run cleanup days at that range, but it would inevitably be trashed again. It became a huge thorn in the side of the forest service, and was ultimately closed for good after some yahoo shot his friend there one afternoon.

From that standpoint the solution obviously becomes one of finding the culprits and holding them accountable for trashing the forest. Like most people around here, I love shooting on the forests. I also HATE seeing the forests trashed by idiots. And, I think most people probably fall into that category. In that case it just becomes an issue of getting enough buy-in from other forest users.

I also wonder if the USFS could start some kind of call-in tip program like they do with hunters and poaching as a means of curtailing illegal activity? The problem I see here is that you run the risk of them getting thousands of calls from people who have absolutely no knowledge of shooting regulations. But, most of those folks also don't know about the anti-poaching tip lines. So, maybe the forest service could target their efforts in "advertising" such a tip line to places like gun retailers, gun shows, trade shows, etc? If they did something like this, and threw up some kind of valuable incentive to those who aid in the prosecution of law breakers, the program might prove to be successful (ex: waive hunting license fees for the year for those who report an illegal shooting incident that leads to prosecution, etc).

The harsh reality is that we're going to eventually lose these places for good if we don't find a way to police out the bad element within our sport. It only takes one imbecile with a pickup truck full of appliances to make a lot of people start complaining about the need to close USFS lands to recreational shooting. As such, we probably either need to educate that irritating individual away from such behavior, or hold him accountable when he does it anyway.

I wonder if the NRA or groups like Rocky Mountain Gun Owners are doing anything to preserve recreational shooting rights in the national forests right now? Those groups come with lots of members and lots of money, and that can't hurt in times like these.