Pulling over to shoot out West

Status
Not open for further replies.
RE-15

RE-15

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2009
Messages
102
Location
Western Missouri
I have often wondered if one could take advatage of the areas that appear to be no mans land like through Nevada, Utah or other areas while traveling? Do they allow any long range target shooting? Who would ever know as long as you clean up ? Here in Missouri they care, all land is private or very controlled. We get away with on Corps land around the Missouri river, but you have to acsess by boat.
 
Last edited:
Open range, as it is called, provides a lot of shooting opportunities out west. It is usually nationally owned land, like a national forest, but is open for recreational use, and target shooting qualifies as legitimate recreational use. You would not be hunting (requires a season and lincensing, etc), and don't shoot and destroy anything, get about 50 feet off the road, shooting away from any road or "civilization", and you should be good to go. If in doubt about your area in question, consult a local police officer or agency, and they might even give you tips as to where to go for the best opportunities for an open range. Some BLM land is given to control by individuals, and they can restrict access for hunting and such, so you need to know where the access paths are so that you are not trespassing. Do not ASSUME all open areas are gun free zones. I go to Colorado, step out into the national forest, and "plink" to my hearts content (always a safe, uninhabited area), and no one ever bats an eye.
 
Not exactly on topic, but- when my son came home from overseas a year ago, he went on an almost cross country driving vacation to visit his best friend in out west. As he was driving in Utah, the road was blocked by a herd of elk crossing. His first thought was "how quick can I get to my .445 SuperMag in the back of the truck?", followed by "Damn, no hunting license!"
 
While I do frequent a few ranges, most of my shooting and hunting is on BLM or other fed lands. I hunt CA, NV, CO and UT mostly. I have national forrest and BLM land very close to me here in central CA.

I always clean up my mess. I stay away from most established shooting spots so nobody can accuse me of making a mess.
 
Yep clean up and pay attention to the signs and fire away. I believe here in CO you will need a hunter safety card even to shoot on public land. I may be mistaken cause this comes from years back and a friend from Idaho didn't have his card in possession and the warden said to remember it next time.
 
Make sure the area that you are shooting in is not private. Many BLM & NFS areas are adjacent to numerous private properties, or in "restricted" areas, where for example licensed hunting may be allowed in specific season, but otherwise target shooting is not. Always find out first. A BLM peace officer I know has collected many firearms that way. Most National Forests and BLM offices post online their specific areas where hunting and target shooting is allowed, so it would be wise to print it out and carry it with you.
 
Splithoof said was I was gonna say.

Living here in the deserts in Calif and Nev most of my life,
it is clear to me that many many parcels of land near roadways
are actually owned (or leased) by someone.
Land near the roadway is easier to access.
Grazing, mining, speculators, or just plain ownership.
Be very careful assuming that it's mostly just open public land.




Also,
Here in Nevada there are millions of acres of Federal land
that are Desert Conservation Areas (no firearms)
National Recreation Areas of several types
(can carry concealed for self defense, but no shooting)
Military reservation lands, both Air Force and Navy.
DOE lands like the Nevada Test Site, Yucca Mountain, etc.
And lots of BLM land is under No-Dust restriction (no driving).
Nearly all of these terminate at the edge of highways and freeways.

Gee, it ain't so easy as just "Pull the car over, honey, let's go shooting!!! "
 
OK, so now I must perform my own search because memory does not serve. Grrrr!

I want to say that shooting from, across, or within some distance of a road, even a jeep track or logging road is forbidden in some jurisdictions, as is shooting within a specified distance of any building, but my end-of-the-road dial-up connection is slowing my search efforts and I have no citation or link. Probably better you do your own search for the jurisdictions you're interested in, considering the trust worthiness of the errornet. Be sure you check fish and game law as well as the criminal code.
 
Have fun, just remember to cleanup after yourself. plinking cans is great fun, but if you leave the cans, it becomes a mess.

I hate to have to remind people of this, but too often it is necessary.
 
So in short, there is oportunities, just need to confirm first. On all our state conservation land target shooting is not allowed. The public ranges are only 100 yrds. I lost hunting/shooting spot this year not sure what my options are.
 
Go to BLM web site and check out their maps showing land use. Here in the southwest much of the land is checkerboard pattern, meaning there are areas of private land mixed in with public land, nat forest, tribal land, state land, military land, DOE, you name it. You should get a set of maps showing what is public and what is private/government of any type. You can drive down a dirt road and pass through many different types of ownership in just a few miles. Shooting is permitted on much (not all) of the BLM land but may be illegal on other government lands or tribal lands, and certainly on any DOE/military land. Know where you are at all times. Most BLM land is marked with small signs stating PUBLIC LAND but sure not all.

You can contact BLM in any area you are passing through. I have found the BLM folks for the most part to be very helpful. Some told me when asking about places to shoot "It's your land, just be safe." My kind of folks.
 
My own BLM Rules of thumb, 1000 ft off paved road, do not shoot over paved roads or near buildings, always take out more trash than you brought in (even 1 piece of trash is a plus, more = better).

Also, since I have lived in NV the past 30 years, whenever I travel "out there" where there is no law enforcement, I usually have a long gun in the car/truck... just in case. Not to mention hat, water, shovel, web tow strap, first aid kit, chains, etc.

YMMV
 
The western states I've lived in and spent time in had fairly simple laws. A roadway "right-of-way" wasn't legal to shoot from. The exact defintion changed with the type of road. A main highway was generally defined as the fenced part along the road, you had to be outside of that to legally shoot, for fun or hunting. Can't shoot across any road for any reason either. On smaller roads, even two track dirt roads in National Forest, it was a certain distance, generally 20 or 40 feet I believe, but am not positive. I'd be very surprised at the 1000 feet somebody mentioned. Distance from occupied buildings or dwellings has been 1/4 mile in the places I've been, you can't even shoot for hunting within that distance (some people seem to have the idea if they are hunting, they can do whatever they want, no matter what the law is otherwise).

Most decent state maps have National Forest shown. Other maps shold be availalbe that will show public lands. Check the local Forest Service office, or BLM office. Many gun shops and outdoor stores have maps showing public lands also.

In my rural area, the Sheriffs office said anyone can shoot on their private property so long as they have a safe backstop. Distance isn't an issue, unless you are doing something unsafe or seriously annoying someone at odd hours. I shoot in my yard some, but not too often, just don't want to annoy the neighbors too much, as I know them all, and see them fairly regularly.
 
I'm living in NE Ohio right now but spent four years in E Idaho. The thing I miss the MOST is being able to do just that. Driving 10 minutes away from a town of 25,000 and you have just about all the desert you could want to shoot all you want at any range. I suppose I don't know for sure whether or not that is/was allowed, but a LOT of people did it and I never once heard of anyone having a problem with it. I have never had as much fun shooting than I did out there.
 
In Utah, it's yes and no. Yes, there is a lot of BLM land on which you can shoot all you want.

Having said that, I find I really have to do a bit of driving to just go shoot all I want and be truly far away from anyone else. There is a lot of desert west and south of the 'civilized' Salt Lake area, I usually go out there.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top