I mentioned the U.S. Forest Service's Ver. 2.0 attack on shooters and hunters who want to exercise their right to shoot on public land. Click on the photo above from a traditional shooting area in Colorado and check out the larger sign below.It says:
"ATTENTION SHOOTERS! It is against regulations to shoot within 150 YARDS of an occupied area or to shoot in an unsafe manner."
That is true.
"Magnolia road is within 150 YARDS of this site."
That is also true.
"If a vehicle, biker, runner or walker comes within 150 YARDS on Magnolia road, you must stop shooting until they are 150 YARDS away."
This is a flat-out lie, a direct contradiction of an edict issued by the Department of the Interior a couple of years back stating unequivocally that a "road" is NOT and "occupied area" under the terms of the regulation.
In fact, when one of the USFS enforcement officers suggested in my presence that "anytime I'm standing in a place it is an occupied area," he was slapped down by his big boss with the statement, "Don't be ridiculous!"
Note that this sign is official and was minted with your tax dollars!
USFS signed a Memorandum of Understanding and publicly gave their word that they would work with our groups before making any changes in regulations on target shooting on public land. Apparently federal regulations that prohibit employees from lying to the people they're supposed to be serving are also subject to USFS "re-interpretation."
10 comments:
Rocky Mountain Gun Owners has been working on this issue for years, and will be happy to help.
Contact us directly.
Wait a minute. Given that "interpretation", if YOU, as the shooter, are "standing there", then the place is "occupied" and you can't shoot. Is this fool trying to revive "CATCH 22"?
The USFS of my father's generation seems to have completely disappeared. That is just so sad.
Not completely Hobie. My eldest son's friend is now working for the USFS. In his college, Southwestern Oklahoma State Univeristy in Weatherford, OK, he took a Park and Recreation Management curriculum which included weapons and live fire.
Rastus: The USFS did not use to be a police force.
Arming former wilderness guards and turning them into USDA-FS cops is a new thing.
Not a good thing.
As for the sign ... yea, it's bullshit. They put it up because they know that no one under an Obama administration will stop them.
I would suggest holding a shoot there, having a volunteer walk on the road, and posting it on youtube. Force the issue.
Until these Clinton era District Rangers are all removed, this crap will continue.
I was shooting at this location yesterday when I saw a sheriff kind of sneaking up through the woods towards me. I held out my hands to show they were empty (I was swapping out a target at the time). He had received a call about "rapid fire". He asked me what the sign (the one in the photo) currently said, and I replied that it said to shop shooting when a car, bike, or pedestrian went by.
He said I was doing everything right, and we ended up in a nice conversation about guns. I also asked if there was a better place to shoot in the area, and he said, no, this is the best place, and to keep using the area.
So at least Boulder County is being reasonable about the sign's interpretation.
p.s. - it is impossible to follow the directions on the sign. To fire safely you have to have your back to the road, making it impossible to know if a car is passing. I was worried about being given grief about this, but I wasn't. Still, it's annoying to have to hope a responding officer is going to be reasonable about a dumb sign.
such boards will be helpful to save the forest
...Alex
AS a long time USFS employee, I can tell you signs like this are designed to provide "enforcement opportunitys"for USFS armed law enforcement. The old friendly USFS is long dead if you are in the "Kings Forest" you are subject to these poorly trained egomaniacs, they are armed and very dangerous. Your freedom to be on public lands are slowly being taken away.
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