ID_shooting
Member
OK, here in town we have a real nice piblic place to shoot. It is private land, but the land owner was cracious enough to let people shoot there. We had an excellent natural backstop, relatively flat ground out to 300 yards in most spots and enough room for 30 to 50 groups of shooter to shoot safely (about 2-3 miles of berm. We have been shooting here as long as I can remember.
Now that we have so many more people living in the valley, the place had become extreemly popular. There are days when you have to wait for one of your favorite spots to shoot, even with all the space.
Well, some people felt the nees to bring junk with them to shoot, old washers, dryers, fridges, barrels, computers, you name it, it has been brought out to shoot at. Normally, I could care less what junk people brought out to shoot. To eash thier own, you know. But do they have to leave the junk behind when they leave? This place has gone down hill rapidly the last couple of seasons. There have been cars dumped upside down in the creek, and piles of junk just scattered over this poor guys land.
Several gourps of us have volunteered to come out and pick up and we had been making a difference, they even let some guys out of the prison once or twice to police up the area. All was good and the land owner was at least happy with us. Well, There just to be too many slobs and we couldn't keep up with them any more. We posted signs asking people to pick up after themselfs and posted notices of the dates we would bring trucks out to pick up the trash and aaked for help. It had gotten so bad that the land own started posting signs that if things didn't change he would close the land down. Well, slobs being the slobs they are, even uprooted those signs and shot them up and left them on the ground. WHAT JERKS! Well, the land owner had had enough and rightfully posted his land and closed it off.
Well, a firend and I, having to accept the landowners decision went on a scouting trip to find a new spot to go to. Just south of the now closed land is a huge expance of BLM land. Most of this land is held by the local National Guard for manuver and firing areas. This area is not getting much use from the Guard right now as they are mostly in Iraq at the moment.
Out in this land are several natural berms and safe places to shoot. Think of severl thousand acres of ectreemly flat desert with volcanic mounds and creek beds scattered about. Well, the slobs have been out. Every single spot were you could safely shoot has the same piles of junk left behind that the old range area did, even worse as it is more scattered about.
For many years, the Guard has been very acceptant of sharing the land with AVT riders, horse riders, hikers, explorers (there are some caves), and even shooters, (pigeons, whistle pigs, yotes, and jack rabbits). They have been very good about accepting us on thier land as long as we respected thier space and didn't create unsafe conditions for the troops when they were out training and picked up after ourselvs.
Now, the guard commander has not seen this trash heap his land has turned into, but I can't imagine him reacting very well to it. Somthing like when the DI found Pvt Pyle's jelly doughnut
Why do these people have to be slobs? How gosh darn tough is it to toss empty ammo boxes into the back of the truck, take a trash bad or two with you and police up used targets, blown up milk jugs and spent brass? Why do people think that this is thier dumping ground? Its not like we dont have a freaking trash service in this town. Thee people are just giving shootiner a real bad image.
When the commander gets back, sees this crap pile his traning facility has turned into, I would be rather shocked if he didn't lock it down and boot everyone off (I would if I were him). Then we (shooters) will have made enemies of all the other users out there. The ATVs, horses, nature people will all blame all shooters for the closure of the land.
AAARRRRGGGHHHH!
Now that we have so many more people living in the valley, the place had become extreemly popular. There are days when you have to wait for one of your favorite spots to shoot, even with all the space.
Well, some people felt the nees to bring junk with them to shoot, old washers, dryers, fridges, barrels, computers, you name it, it has been brought out to shoot at. Normally, I could care less what junk people brought out to shoot. To eash thier own, you know. But do they have to leave the junk behind when they leave? This place has gone down hill rapidly the last couple of seasons. There have been cars dumped upside down in the creek, and piles of junk just scattered over this poor guys land.
Several gourps of us have volunteered to come out and pick up and we had been making a difference, they even let some guys out of the prison once or twice to police up the area. All was good and the land owner was at least happy with us. Well, There just to be too many slobs and we couldn't keep up with them any more. We posted signs asking people to pick up after themselfs and posted notices of the dates we would bring trucks out to pick up the trash and aaked for help. It had gotten so bad that the land own started posting signs that if things didn't change he would close the land down. Well, slobs being the slobs they are, even uprooted those signs and shot them up and left them on the ground. WHAT JERKS! Well, the land owner had had enough and rightfully posted his land and closed it off.
Well, a firend and I, having to accept the landowners decision went on a scouting trip to find a new spot to go to. Just south of the now closed land is a huge expance of BLM land. Most of this land is held by the local National Guard for manuver and firing areas. This area is not getting much use from the Guard right now as they are mostly in Iraq at the moment.
Out in this land are several natural berms and safe places to shoot. Think of severl thousand acres of ectreemly flat desert with volcanic mounds and creek beds scattered about. Well, the slobs have been out. Every single spot were you could safely shoot has the same piles of junk left behind that the old range area did, even worse as it is more scattered about.
For many years, the Guard has been very acceptant of sharing the land with AVT riders, horse riders, hikers, explorers (there are some caves), and even shooters, (pigeons, whistle pigs, yotes, and jack rabbits). They have been very good about accepting us on thier land as long as we respected thier space and didn't create unsafe conditions for the troops when they were out training and picked up after ourselvs.
Now, the guard commander has not seen this trash heap his land has turned into, but I can't imagine him reacting very well to it. Somthing like when the DI found Pvt Pyle's jelly doughnut
Why do these people have to be slobs? How gosh darn tough is it to toss empty ammo boxes into the back of the truck, take a trash bad or two with you and police up used targets, blown up milk jugs and spent brass? Why do people think that this is thier dumping ground? Its not like we dont have a freaking trash service in this town. Thee people are just giving shootiner a real bad image.
When the commander gets back, sees this crap pile his traning facility has turned into, I would be rather shocked if he didn't lock it down and boot everyone off (I would if I were him). Then we (shooters) will have made enemies of all the other users out there. The ATVs, horses, nature people will all blame all shooters for the closure of the land.
AAARRRRGGGHHHH!
A more sensible approach is for harsher penalties for thsoe doing this immature crap. Throw them in jail for while - regardless of thier past. 1 strike you're out!
character, a gift you give to yourself. not much gift giving these days, sad to say.
