# Target shooting banned on wma's



## APD (Nov 16, 2008)

Sounds like a temporary ban due to fire conditions. Until further notice no campfires or target shooting on WMA's except where improved ranges exist. 





Campfires and target shooting with a firearm temporarily banned on Utah wildlife management areas due to wildfire concerns


Due to extreme drought and wildfire danger, the Utah DWR is temporarily banning campfires and recreational target shooting with a firearm on its 146 wildlife management areas (WMAs) across the state.




wildlife.utah.gov





Edit: after watching the news tonight, looks like all state lands have the fire ban.


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

Thanks for the info, you may have saved me a ticket. Was thinking about sighting in my smokepole at a nearby WMA nobody ever hunts.


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

Well... I was thinking about going to sight in on some private property owned by a family member, trouble is I'd be shooting into a hill side that is BLM land, and I was just reading there is a target shooting restriction on BLM land now. Tecnically on private, but shooting into public.. sort of a grey area there. Lots of grass out there too. Sooooo.. maybe not.

My next thought was to pick an area I know of that is NFS land, and was burned to a crisp in 2018. Not much fuel there, not BLM, not WMA, and not SITLA land. Any issues with that idea?


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## APD (Nov 16, 2008)

Lone_Hunter said:


> Well... I was thinking about going to sight in on some private property owned by a family member, trouble is I'd be shooting into a hill side that is BLM land, and I was just reading there is a target shooting restriction on BLM land now. Tecnically on private, but shooting into public.. sort of a grey area there. Lots of grass out there too. Sooooo.. maybe not.
> 
> My next thought was to pick an area I know of that is NFS land, and was burned to a crisp in 2018. Not much fuel there, not BLM, not WMA, and not SITLA land. Any issues with that idea?


Depends on if they jump to stage 2 of the fire restrictions before you get there.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Lone_Hunter said:


> ... and I was just reading there is a target shooting restriction on BLM land now.


Where'd you read that? we just got back from shooting on BLM and no signs or otherwise. I've not heard of BLM restrictions. There were a bunch of other people out shooting too.

**Edit: just looked up current shooting restrictions, its still marked open where we were at.

-DallanC


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

Unless I'm misreading it, i go through a lot of stuff pretty quickly. Dated last month.








BLM Issues Statewide Target Shooting Ban To Prevent Wildfires


As the drought deepens and the fire season got an early start this year, the Bureau of Land Management issued a fire prevention order to ban target shooting and fireworks on its Utah lands.




ksltv.com


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

And that link has a link to the actual order, which shows no exploding targets and fireworks, but no mention of firearm shooting. So I'm still confused, as I cant find any direct mention of statewide closures.



https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/docs/2021-05/Fire%20Prevention%20Order_v2_Signed_0.pdf



So the official map still doesnt show any closures;



https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/TargetShootingClosures_ArchE_111918.pdf



I think the link you found, the title is litteral about the "Target" ban, as in "type" of target, not target shooting in general (ie: skeet or paper targets).

Go shoot... I have no doubt they will ban all shooting at some point.

-DallanC


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I went to the BLM link in the article and didn't read any restrictions on firearms, just targets. I didn't look at the county specific restrictions 









Utah Fire Information | Bureau of Land Management







www.blm.gov





Sent from my SM-J737V using Tapatalk


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## jungle (May 10, 2008)

I wonder if the media talking sock puppets at KSL got it wrong? Hmmm..


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## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

If you dig deep enough on the Internet, you can find information on shooting on some BLM properties. Here is a quote from the 'UTAH WILDFIRE INFO' website.


> The year-round restrictions include: fireworks, exploding targets, tracer and incendiary (tracer) ammunition, sky lanterns or similar devices, and operating off-highway vehicles without spark arresters. From June 15 through September 30, the use of steel-core, steel-jacketed, or steel-tipped ammunition are prohibited.
> When target shooting, be aware that ammunition packaging may not indicate the presence of steel in the bullet.
> The public can test the bullet with a strong magnet to determine whether the bullet contains steel.
> The prevention order is posted to blm.gov, utahfireinfo.gov, and on signs where BLM-managed lands are accessed in the 12 counties affected. The public is reminded to use caution and be prepared to prevent wildfires
> ...


So yes, the KSL report isn't 100% accurate, but there are some restrictions on shooting throughout the state on BLM lands. However, there isn't a blanket restriction preventing ALL shooting - yet.


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## jungle (May 10, 2008)

dubob said:


> If you dig deep enough on the Internet, you can find information on shooting on some BLM properties. Here is a quote from the 'UTAH WILDFIRE INFO' website.
> So yes, the KSL report isn't 100% accurate, but there are some restrictions on shooting throughout the state on BLM lands. However, there isn't a blanket restriction preventing ALL shooting - yet.


"Isn't 100% accurate"? Seriously?

From KSL,
*"BLM Issues Statewide Target Shooting Ban To Prevent Wildfire's"*

That's 100% false based on my research, your research and everybody s research on this site. More propaganda.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

jungle said:


> That's 100% false based on my research, your research and everybody s research on this site. More propaganda.


Their title should have been:

*"BLM Issues Statewide Exploding Target Shooting Ban To Prevent Wildfire's"*

That would have solved all confusion and been 100% accurate

-DallanC


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## jungle (May 10, 2008)

DallanC said:


> Their title should have been:
> 
> *"BLM Issues Statewide Exploding Target Shooting Ban To Prevent Wildfire's"*
> 
> ...



Excellent 👍


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