Yesterday in an attempt to fend off complete brain failure, I took a drive.
I’ve taken about every obvious close by drive available.
Hold on - when I walk out I front of my house and look West I see Mt. Taylor.
It’s been a while since I was over that way.
So to Grants, NM and then North, Taylor bound!
I coming back South toward Grants when I see a group of about a dozen folks on the side of the road.
I slow and look, Well Now, they’re shooting!
I stop and say Hello.
They are parked nearly in the road, me too, standing against about 100 feet of big concrete road barriers, shooting away from the road!
Down range is an array of targets, boxes, trash, etc.
So folks shoot there all the time.
I was invited to shoot a little, replied yes got a couple of revolvers but no ear protection.
I was given some earplugs, moved down a ways from these folks and blasted away with my J Frames.
Reloaded my guns, holstered one, returned the other to a zippered case, thanked my hosts, took one more look and drove off!
Never seen anybody shoot range style that close to a road!

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Idabel Oklahoma during deer season.

You must be at least 1000' from a paved highway in Nevada.

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Release the Kraken

That’s a good rule!
When I cut loose with my Js I was just over 10 feet from paved State Highway.
And we were only about one mile from a State Prison!

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Like most rules or laws these days, this one is no doubt aimed at those who aren't smart enough to aim away from the highway.

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What could possibly go wrong?

The one thing I miss about New Mexico is never being more than 15 minutes away from a place to shoot. I was in the Four Corners area and it was all either BLM or Indian reservation.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

Used to be that way in Vegas, but the Clark County Commission keeps pushing the "no shoot" zone further and further out of town.

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Release the Kraken

Used to be that way here, I knew of a couple ranges within five miles of my house. Most were abandoned gravel pits, railroad right of ways, DNR land. I would have to say that it wasn't any law that messed things up, it was people. If you give some people a place to dump their trash and don't keep an eyeball on them they will do just that. It seemed that all of the DNR land that had open roads leading into it and were far enough away from another dwelling (1000ft) got turned into dumps for the guys that mow lawns, clean out trash, etc. So the only way the state could effectively control it was to either throw up a pipe gate and lock or "Kelly Hump" it. That period of time was also tough on the guys that like to road hunt, it also led to some violations by guys that figured out how to defeat a Kelly Hump, some got slapped with fairly heavy fines, the word got out. Currently the only nearby place I am aware of where the public can openly shoot is at least fifteen miles away. We are constantly inundated at our rifle range only to turn non members away because of the Covid thing, this is the first year I can remember where we didn't hold our annual "Hunter Sight-In Day". I'm an old guy, I like having the coffee on, a heated or cooled clubhouse, all the comforts of home less than fifteen minutes away...safety, I'm all for it.
I do remember when the transition period began. I was frequenting a piece of DNR land, used to drive right in, set up and shoot over the hood of my truck with blanket and pack. Then I started noticing the garbage, first a bunch of grass clippings, tree cuttings, etc. Then came the refrigerators, television sets, trash. Guys would shoot that stuff up which fragmented it making it nearly impossible to haul out. We always practiced pack it in haul it out, although the spent cartridges were often left and shotgun shells show up as litter. Then the signs went up at the entrances, warning about litter, etc. Over the years of abuse the state finally Kelly Humped it, we would bring a cart, load our stuff and hike in, it was only a couple hundred yards. Guys with lifted trucks figured out how to defeat the Kelly Hump, others figured out how to enter someplace else to get around the Kelly Hump, so the state came in and banned all shooting. Sort of like Natural Progression...

Here you have to be off the right of way (if there is one) and can't shoot across the road. On private land your good to go as long as it is a private road. If you have a fish wildlife and parks disabled permit you can shoot your game right out your window. You have to be pretty stove up to get one of those.

But, here is an interesting one. If your blind you can get a free hunting permit. How does that work anyway???

A person who is certified by the department as experiencing blindness, as defined in 53-7-301, may be issued regular resident deer and elk licenses, in the manner provided in subsection (1) of this section, and must be accompanied by a companion, as provided in subsection (5)(c) of this section.

(c) A permitholder must have a companion to assist in immediately dressing any killed game animal. The companion may also assist the permitholder by hunting a game animal that has been wounded by the permitholder when the permitholder is unable to pursue and kill the wounded game animal.

What is interesting is nowhere does it say the companion can shoot the game in the first place

Thats what I want to be a companion for a blind guy shooting a rifle


Kinman is 100% correct with what happens on informal shooting spots. I have seen it all play out in almost every one I have ever used or seen. First a few busted bottles, cans then comes the small stuff like a TV, when the old fridge shows up the lock up is right around the corner.

When I got here 41 years ago I had to walk maybe 200 yards to shoot. Now there isn’t any public land in 40 miles for shooting. 25 years ago the cops started rolling up on me threatening “armed trespass” if’n I didn’t git right now. Progress. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

What the heck is a "Kelly hump"?

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I always take precautions

At least your guys were shooting away from the highway. Driving on a state highway in rural Georgia, we passed several men in the parking lot of an isolated roadside tavern, shooting parallel to the road, over the hood of a pickup truck.



Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

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Slava Ukraini!

That may explain the bullet holes in the road signs around here.

Once in Colorado out in the Boonies I rolled around a curve and there were two guys shooting across the road.
They lowered their rifles and glared at me.
I slowed but kept going.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Out here we call those guys "deer hunters."

This range in Switzerland shoots over an active road!
This Shooting Range in Switzerland Has A Road Going Through | Amusing Planet

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Buy American
Vote Responsibly

That was probably thought of by the same bunch that puts Braille
keypads on the drive up ATMs.

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protocalldesign.com

Sounds like fun. But don't do that in Texas. A friend and I nearly got arrested one time for it. We were off the road in a rural area. Shooting clays with our 12guage shotguns aiming away from the road. Sheriff stopped by and pointed out that it was illegal to shoot off the side of the road. He started to confiscate our guns and ammo and hook us up. I think he let us go because we were very contrite and respectful and our appearance didn't look suspicious. He just gave us a good chewin' out and sat there and waited until we were packed up and gone.

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Real men love cats!

I don't know if they were named after the genius that figured out how to block a road from four wheeled cars and trucks but its a steep ditch installed across the road with the dirt from the ditch mounded up on either side of the ditch. It makes it nearly impossible to get in and out, basically the depth and angle has your bumper contacting the other side of the ditch. A guy with a back hoe can make one in short order. A few guys will go to the trouble of showing up late at night and knocking the tops off the berm to fill in the ditch then driving their lifted trucks through them. Most guys that are serious about getting around one will find another entrance, off to the side.

per post #3;

However I have been away from Hwy 80 Interstate, on a dirt road and shot at little "Dogs" that were in the fields that lead to the blacktop...............
but always made sure that the shot did not ever get close to being in the direction of the highway and that a back stop or "Burn" was in the way.

Hwy 80 was about 500 yards away, so I doubt that a .22 hitting the dirt would ever reach that far, any ways.

Thats my story and I'm sticking to it !!

On YouTube, check out the videos of "Bloke On The Range". In one of them, he is shooting at a range in Switzerland where shooters shoot over a busy highway that is in constant use.

My old police partner, Lee Harvey (that's what we called him) hunted prairie dogs all the time near a public highway. He would sit in a lawn chair that had an attached umbrella, holding a fishing pole. Fishing line, equipped with a looped steel leader, went out with the steel loop around a prairie dog hole. When dog stuck up his head, Harvey would set the loop and the fight was on. However, Harvey said most of the fun was the look on people's faces as they drove by and seen him sitting in the lawn chair, umbrella, and fishing pole in the middle of a dry pasture with no water around.

7-8 years ago I was driving to Estes Park from Dillon and saw a similar "range" probably along 34.

My fathers old Chiropractor is/was legally blind in his older years. With Dad as his driver he shot a moose he had drawn a tag for. Doc claimed he could see enough out of the corner of his eyes to shoot legally and to be on target. He used a 30-06 on a 3 or 4 year old bull and IIRC it took 3 shots.

A friend has been in a wheelchair since age 19. He used to hunt out of his Bronco and when he had a shot with in 75 yards shoot a deer. He would then crawl out with a rope tied to the bumper, dress the animal and crawl back. Back the animal to the road and he rarely had to wait long for someone to help him load it. He got caught in a snowstorm one time and claimed he hardly had the strength to get back to his Bronco. Like most of us he hunted alone. Never say never when you wonder how tough someone might be.

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Front sight and squeeze