# No shooting in the National Forest!



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Took the family for a drive up in the mountains sunday. We were miles off the paved road, miles from any camping areas. I pulled off the dirt road in a nice open spot with a great backstop against the mountain and we set up a single coke can at 5 yards and let my boy practice some shooting (1 round at a time) with my LCP. We'd been there maybe 25 minutes for all of maybe 20 rounds when a Forest Service guy races up and proceeds to give us all kinds of grief for "shooting". 

After letting him rant for a couple minutes I cut him off and politely asked what is the actual problem, we are well away from anyone else, we are being very careful, there are no buildings, camps within at least a mile of us (no camping allowed in this particular area), no hikers, good backstop. He spluttered for a minute and said "well its just not a good idea so you need to leave". 

As we were really about to leave anyway (had 4 bullets left), and moreso that I had my wife and boy next to me, I said ok. Had they not been there I'd have told him to ticket me or F'off. We were legal and he knew it, he just wanted to throw his weight around.

Ticks me off to no end how just having a gun makes you a criminal in the eyes of other people.


-DallanC


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

No problem where I was at. There were people shooting all around me on national forest land. It looks like you just ran into a bad egg.

I thought there was an ammo shortage-O|o-


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

middlefork said:


> I thought there was an ammo shortage-O|o-


I bought the LCP and a bunch of ammo the day before the Sandyhook shooting... so I was luckier than most. Amusingly, its a snappy gun due to its small size but my 12 year old absolutely loved shooting it.

Totally agree on the powertripping Forest Circus employee.

-DallanC


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## DeadI (Sep 12, 2007)

Stupid. What does he think is going to happen in the fall when the hunts are on. National parks? Yes. National Forest? The guy needs to pound sand.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

And they are never around to enforce the camping limit or any of the other duties that they are suppose to do. 

Just to hassle someone doing something that they enjoy and is legal.


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## Al Hansen (Sep 7, 2007)

Did ya get his name ? Call the field office tomorrow. Let them know they got a cowboy on the loose.-O,-


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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

I like the hunting comment, I always thought that was part of what forest service land was for.........that boy will be busy this fall. WOW !!!


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## reb8600 (Sep 8, 2007)

Family there or not, if you knew you were in the right you should have stood your ground. If they are in the wrong, they need to be told.


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

I had a forest ranger harass me and my nephew one time i had my pack goats. I was on a horse trail. He tried to catch us on my way to the top of the mountain but was to out of shape i guess. So on my way down he caught us at my truck. He asked me what i was doing with my goats and i said getting them in shape for the hunts. 
He wanted to give me a ticked for grazing! I laughed and told him good luck with that. He couldn't because they were pack stock on a designated pack stock trail clearly marked for horses. I pointed at tge sign that was 5 ft behind him. I then showed him my book on pack goats and an article that i had highlighted about the regulations on pack stock. 

As i was loading my goats he noticed my side arm jumped out of his vehicle and told me to take it off. I told him i would not take it off. He said let me see your concealed carry permit. I laughed and said i didn't need one because it wasn't concealed and its my Second Amendment right to openly carry. I told him right there to get out of my way and go write me another ticket. I needed to get my goats out off the road before somebody hit one with their car. I then asked him if he new what the second amendment was? He asked me what i need protection from and i said from the government officials that dont know their heads from their backside.

I never took my gun off and i preceded to pack my goats in the trailer. When i was done i walked up to him and said i wanted a badge number and name and i was going to call the sheriff dept on him. I also told him i would fight any ticket and win and then id press charges for harassment if he proceeded.

I then asked for my tickets so i could leave and he just sat there! So i turned around got in my truck and drove off. I never heard anything from that guy or that incident again.

If you know your right stand your ground! Better yet follow it up with a formal complaint.


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## outdoorser (Jan 14, 2013)

I remember a post like this a while back, but it was about fish and game wardens. I agree with all you guys, there are some goof balls with badges on out there.


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## Mojo1 (Sep 8, 2007)

Once while I was out hunting I had a ranger leave a note on my truck windshield telling it was illegal to ride a ATV on that particular road I was parked on. It was short side road that had a no ATV sign. She left the note on one of those nifty FS maps. I was like why did she do that, I was well aware of what roads you could drive one on. Didn't really dwell on it much until......

the very next day when I ran into her again while driving the same road. This time she stopped me and proceeded to lecture me about having my 4 wheeler in the back of my truck bed! I told her I could read the signs, then she demanded to know why then did I have it in my truck. By then I had gotten pi**ed off so I told her I guess in her eyes that means you shouldn't even have one in the truck.  Then I told her thanks for the nice map but she could cram it up her ***, I wasn't breaking any rules!!! I didn't even wait around to talk to hear her response, I just drove off leaving her setting there.:flame::flame:

She didn't follow or bother me again either. I did call the station and complain about her by name too, but never heard back from anyone.


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## Springville Shooter (Oct 15, 2010)

NEVER tolerate inappropriate behavior from a public servant. The safety of the majoity of good officers and the public relies on good relations between the public and their servants. Make the call, push the issue, file a complaint and don't be ignored. Also realize that all of these actions occur after the fact and that you should be as polite as possible in the field. Whenever you let inappropriate behavior go, you are setting up someone else to be abused.------SS


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

Mojo1 said:


> Once while I was out hunting I had a ranger leave a note on my truck windshield telling it was illegal to ride a ATV on that particular road I was parked on. It was short side road that had a no ATV sign. She left the note on one of those nifty FS maps. I was like why did she do that, I was well aware of what roads you could drive one on. Didn't really dwell on it much until......
> 
> the very next day when I ran into her again while driving the same road. This time she stopped me and proceeded to lecture me about having my 4 wheeler in the back of my truck bed! I told her I could read the signs, then she demanded to know why then did I have it in my truck. By then I had gotten pi**ed off so I told her I guess in her eyes that means you shouldn't even have one in the truck.  Then I told her thanks for the nice map but she could cram it up her ***, I wasn't breaking any rules!!! I didn't even wait around to talk to hear her response, I just drove off leaving her setting there.:flame::flame:
> 
> She didn't follow or bother me again either. I did call the station and complain about her by name too, but never heard back from anyone.


 AF canyon?


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Loke said:


> AF canyon?


Correct.

-DallanC


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## Mojo1 (Sep 8, 2007)

I was over on the north slope of the Unitas.


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## massmanute (Apr 23, 2012)

Loke said:


> AF canyon?
> 
> 
> DallanC said:
> ...


AF canyon... interesting. I had a similar experience in AF canyon a year or so ago.

By the way, just what are the regulations for shooting in forest service lands?

As an aside, I once observed a policeman running a stop sign in a residential area in Logan. I waved him down and told him that he had run the stop sign. His response? Definitely not an acknowledgment of wrong doing or an apology for breaking the traffic laws and potentially endangering pedestrians in the neighborhood... instead, he took my identification and called it in to see if there were any outstanding warrants against me. (There weren't.)


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## Frisco Pete (Sep 22, 2007)

This is the same Forest Service that won't allow steel jacketed bullets to be shot at the Bountiful Lions gun range with its expanse of gravel and dirt with no combustable grass present - therefore sending potential shooters somewhere else non-regulated full of June grass to shoot the aforementioned ammo. 
And then we see a news report that a brush fire started above Farmington (theoretically) due to shooters...
Is there a correlation? Hmmm....


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## massmanute (Apr 23, 2012)

I found the following website that explains the rules for shooting on Forest Service land.

http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/trails/welcome.shtml

It seems that there is no general prohibition against shooting on forest service land, though there are some particular limitations and state laws may also apply.


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## klbzdad (Apr 3, 2012)

^^^ This.... Each district can apply controls during emergency situations like drought. Depends on where you're at sometimes.


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## massmanute (Apr 23, 2012)

massmanute said:


> AF canyon... interesting. I had a similar experience in AF canyon a year or so ago.


Correction to my earlier post. In my case it was Spanish Fork Canyon, not American Fork Canyon, but the same principle applies.


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## goonsquad (Sep 15, 2010)

I heard gunshots(22lr) in big cottonwood, not where I would choose to shoot but is it open to shooting now?


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