BLM Shooting
- Thread starter TJD123
- Start date
TJD123 said:
- Do get to know Officer Funk (officer in charge of most of the BLM properties in SD County). He's a really good guy.
- Don't take your vehicle beyond his "no vehicles beyond this point" signs and markers- this doesn't make him happy.
- Don't shoot clay pigeons. As he says, "do yourself a favor by doing me a favor, and don't shoot them; though technically legal, and though they are technically biodegradable, we all know that they take years to break down, and I end up having to go out there an pick them up."
- I shouldn't even have to say this, but unfortunately, I do: don't be an idiot. Of late, there have been a LOT of idiots out on BLM lands. My brother set up to shoot with his girls, and some dope walked out downrange and off to one side a bit (but still in an unsafe position), and set up. Instead of making a stink, my brother moved to another spot. Soon, someone else came along and set up behind him! Instead of making a stink, my brother left. On another occasion, I took my dog quail hunting. As I walked up a road traversing a steep hillside, I saw some morons setting up at the base of the hill. Later, as I was walking out, I could hear the morons shooting. I started blowing my whistle as I walked down the hill, pausing around a bend. When the shooting stopped, I walked out, blowing the whistle again. When the shooting started again, I started yelling at them at the top of my lungs, as I was now directly above them. I said "why are you shooting toward a road?", to which they replied that they weren't, they were shooting at the hill. Please, don't be an idiot.
I am bummed that some of the spots that previously had only a few people using them have become overrun with crowds of inconsiderate, littering morons. Sorry to vent in your thread, but if things continue as they have been going, these areas will be closed to us permanently. The higher-ups in Palm Springs don't seem particularly friendly to public use of BLM land. After the 2003 fires, they closed some areas for a couple years (to allow recovery from the fire or whatever), then re-opened. After the 2007 fires, they closed the same areas and have NOT re-opened them! There is no good reason for this, and it indicates to me that they don't want us there at all. Let's not give them any more reason to close them to all access. Officer Funk says that when he retires in a couple years, there's no telling who will take his place, and that person may not be so friendly to hunters/shooters/outdoors-persons. In fact, it has been said that BLM has turned its focus for the area to drug interdiction! The last thing we need is another 3-letter drug enforcement bureaucracy (besides the DEA and DHS). Leave the area cleaner than you found it.
All good points El Matavenados.
It is a shame that we have got to the point where we can't use the land we continue to pay for and own as citizens.
It is a shame that we have got to the point where we can't use the land we continue to pay for and own as citizens.
8
8SteelTown
Guest
To continue on El Matavenados' bit: My buddy and I have a spot to shoot. It's not big: only about 150 yards and there are quite a few people who know about it. After seeing someone destroyed the shooting stands there and trash all over the place, my buddy and I went up and built a new shooting table, cleaned up trash and thousands of casings (good 8 hours worth of cleanup). We chained a cheapo garbage can and trash bags to the new table. Wouldn't you know it, the next time we went up there, some idiot drove his truck into the shooting table, they shot the table to shi+, left all kinds of trash, stole the garbage can and garbage bags, and went up range and stole all the steel targets. Come on! Where's the respect?!?!
Another thing I forgot: not all BLM areas are open to shooting. This is another good reason to talk to Officer Funk. He'll tell you where to go, and where not to go. He'll tell you where to hunt, and how to access some spots that have difficult access. Really, he's a valuable resource, and a nice guy. I wish the DFGW would hire him as their new head of Public Relations and Enforcement Policy and Warden Training.
Oh, and one more thing. There are BLM properties that are not open to shooting, but are open to hunting. The neighbors, however, might not like you being there, and might just call the Border Patrol on you, and say "there's a guy walking around with a shotgun". And the BP might just show up and say "didn't you see the signs that say "NO SHOOTING"? To which you will respond, "NO SHOOTING except in lawful pursuit of game and mammals." Know the rules better than those who will respond to the calls from the begrudging neighbors.
Oh, and one more thing. There are BLM properties that are not open to shooting, but are open to hunting. The neighbors, however, might not like you being there, and might just call the Border Patrol on you, and say "there's a guy walking around with a shotgun". And the BP might just show up and say "didn't you see the signs that say "NO SHOOTING"? To which you will respond, "NO SHOOTING except in lawful pursuit of game and mammals." Know the rules better than those who will respond to the calls from the begrudging neighbors.
I've been a few times and agree with everything that's already been said. Be safe, communicate well with the folks who may be shooting in your same area, and keep your space clean. In Scouts we strove to always leave a site better than we found it. I don't shoot shotgun, but I always take a rake and shovel to scoop up clays left by others -- I'd encourage anyone else to do the same.
Aside from being a great place to shoot and practice, it really is beautiful country right in our own back yard. Take care of it, and try not to give any bureaucratic yahoos a reason to shut it down for the rest of us.
Aside from being a great place to shoot and practice, it really is beautiful country right in our own back yard. Take care of it, and try not to give any bureaucratic yahoos a reason to shut it down for the rest of us.
In addition to the above advice, DON'T shoot trees or use trees as target holders. There aren't that many oaks left in some areas after the fires, the deer need the acorns and the turkeys need roost trees.
Buy some target stands or come up with another holder. I grab a bunch of the front yard political advertising every fall after the elections, those little wire frames with the plastic signs make great target holders.
Don't shoot steel core ammo on BLM land, it's illegal and pretty stupid this time of the year given our fire conditions.
Buy some target stands or come up with another holder. I grab a bunch of the front yard political advertising every fall after the elections, those little wire frames with the plastic signs make great target holders.
Don't shoot steel core ammo on BLM land, it's illegal and pretty stupid this time of the year given our fire conditions.