Trashed

[Doublecluck]

Thanks all, really my point in posting this was not to gain recognition for doing something that probably many on this forum have done or would do. Recently I’m reminded that there is much to be said about doing the little things in life that make a difference. I think often, especially with social media as a platform we take on issues that are outside the realm of our knowledge to change. All the while overlooking things we can change. This is a theme my family will focus on going forward. One thing is for sure, I will teach my children to value our public lands, be protective of our public lands and to educate those around them. Additionally I’m going to get in touch with DNRC/Fwp to explore posting signs asking people using this area to picture and report people shooting “junk” or not cleaning up after themselves.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Good on you for the clean up, the whole shooting appliances and leaving them in the field thing drives me crazy as well.

Also quick side bar... can we agree to ban helium balloons. I can count the number of times I’ve been in the woods and not found one on one hand.

 

[Phaseolus]

Look through trash if you find it. Anything with a name or an address. mtmuley

I’ve made home re-deliveries of trash with names and addresses!

 

[Trial153]

WTF is wrong with people. I just hung a couple trail cams on local public land that try to locate a buck that has my interest and found place where people have shot trees to point of killing them. What goes on in these idiots heads?

 

[Hummer]

I’ve been cleaning up BLM near me since I retired two years ago. It’s, unfortunately, a full time job. The local BLM office let’s me use their dumpsters and takes the tv tubes and monitors.

Our farm is also on EOM adjacent to a popular BLM shooting area. The amount of trash and destruction of the land by slob shooters is simply appalling. Every imaginable appliance and electronics is left behind and shot up. I've witnessed and reported people hauling truckloads of junk and trash to the desert grassland. For the most part the BLM doesn't have the field staff or can't be bothered, and the sheriffs have higher priorities. I've hauled trailer loads of junk to the landfill. Over hundreds of acres there's scarcely a square foot of ground that isn't covered with bits of trash.

Some years ago a fellow built a dozen or so concrete shooting benches and set them up for safe shooting sites. All have been shot to pieces. Neighboring homes all have bullet holes, including ours. It took years for us to get the BLM to designate certain areas open or closed to shooting.

Just as bad are the mudders, the clowns with jacked up vehicles who go out after a rain and tear up the ground like they're performing in a beer commercial, only to cover their trucks in splattered mud. Cool, huh? It's destroyed the delicate cryptogamic soil layer and turned the land that once had sparse grasses and forbs into a dead and dusty landscape.

 

[406dn]

What goes on in these idiots heads?

Sadly, not much. It is the same group who have difficulty passing on the chance of slaying traffic control signs. I've seen Stop signs shot up, with housing developments immediately behind the sign.

 

[Hummer]

Near our mountain home a few miles from Rocky Mountain National Park, a shooting area at an old dump site was closed by the Forest Service because of the trash and random shooting landing bullets in homes. It wouldn't have taken much for the FS to build berms for safe shooting, but no.

Now the shooters have found another site in a canyon a mile away. Slob shooters again have trashed a once beautiful area. Large Ponderosa pines and Doug firs have been felled from bullets. The area looks like it's been bombed. Spent shells, orange skeets, broken glass, cans, makeshift targets, tv's and computers cover acres in the forest. The USFS plans to prohibit all shooting in the forest once a range can be built.

 

[WyoDoug]

When we had the farm, my dad and uncle quit letting people they didn't know hunt or fish on our property for this very reason.

 

[D4570]

It is a horrible problem And the bad PR is going to get a lot of access closed.
There is a small peace near us people have used and it became an offal eyesore.
The DNRC came out with a cleaning crew and big equipment and cleaned for 3 days taking out semi loads of trash.
It has been the start of 3 huge wildfires over the past few years.
Again the trash is showing up all the railroad tye posts they used to fence off most the drive-in points have been shot off to the ground.
The brass and hulls carpet the area.
When we go shoot we always end up with a pickup truck full of crap, but when we leave with the 3 or 4 5 gal buckets of brass the sell the brass here.

sell used brass
A good way to offset our efforts, we must work cheep.
But it's a good thing.

 

[Phaseolus]

Yep, trigger trash and mudders. We’re on the north side of Horse Mountain, in Sobre el Rio.

Our farm is also on EOM adjacent to a popular BLM shooting area. The amount of trash and destruction of the land by slob shooters is simply appalling. Every imaginable appliance and electronics is left behind and shot up. I've witnessed and reported people hauling truckloads of junk and trash to the desert grassland. For the most part the BLM doesn't have the field staff or can't be bothered, and the sheriffs have higher priorities. I've hauled trailer loads of junk to the landfill. Over hundreds of acres there's scarcely a square foot of ground that isn't covered with bits of trash.

Some years ago a fellow built a dozen or so concrete shooting benches and set them up for safe shooting sites. All have been shot to pieces. Neighboring homes all have bullet holes, including ours. It took years for us to get the BLM to designate certain areas open or closed to shooting.

Just as bad are the mudders, the clowns with jacked up vehicles who go out after a rain and tear up the ground like they're performing in a beer commercial, only to cover their trucks in splattered mud. Cool, huh? It's destroyed the delicate cryptogamic soil layer and turned the land that once had sparse grasses and forbs into a dead and dusty landscape.

m

 

[thomas89]

Used to be a state section outside of Cheyenne open to recreational shooting until some morons shot down a wooden power pole.

Always curious what’s going through guys heads that see stuff and think, “gee I oughta shoot that!”...I think I’d be sorely disappointed to find that it wasn’t much in their heads at all.

 

[WyoDoug]

They closed an area near Edwards to both shooting and hunting after trees were shot up and a private landowner's house and livestock were shot. I believe this is area 36. Not sure without pulling up a GMU map. Edwards is west of Avon and there is some public land to the north of I-70 my family hunted for several years. I saw people in there shooting at EVERYTHING, trees, fence posts, everything. That used to be a nice area for us meat eaters and now the southern portion of that is fenced off for no hunting. Least it was the last year I hunted it before my dad died. They shot up cans and left them lay. Paper plates they shot up on fence posts were just left there. There was at one time a tractor that sat on private at the south west side of that hunting area that got shot up too. These are the people who will ruin hunting for everyone and that does not matter if you are a trophy hunter or a meat hunter.

 

[Redside]

Thank you for doing that. I honestly quit using some of those because they have been closed down in the past and never know if they are open. Not too long ago they were looking for someone or group to adopt and put in a public shooting range in the Bozeman area. Below is the most recent article on it I found, so it sounds like it's still in the works. A group up in Big Sky adopted a shooting spot up there and have done a great job, put in benches ect. but it does get trashed as well.

Residents weigh pros, cons of public shooting range near Bozeman

Various agencies have been scoping out potential public target shooting sites near Bozeman. On Monday they presented their proposed locations during an open house at the Gallatin County Courthouse. Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the Bozeman Ranger District, the Montana DNRC and the Gallatin County...

nbcmontana.com

 

[EYJONAS!]

I commend you and your daughter on your efforts. We have a little property north of Belgrade there it has a access road through it. The amount of garbage we haul off it on a yearly basis is bullshit. One year someone thought it would be cute to shoot a bunch of stuffed animals off our fence. We picked up garbage bags for of the debris........ after that I lost serious faith in humanity

Good to know there's a few willing to put forth the extra effort to keep things pleasent for others to enjoy. Thanks again.

 

[billy302]

Hey guys. I want to thank you for your contribution to the future of shooting in America....too many people don't get that if you don't pick up your shit, you will seize to have shit to pick up because your freedom will be taken away.

 

[Clam]

I really hope it can be controlled and thank you for doing the right thing.

I have beautiful recreational land in the cascade mountains, and being nice, left the road open. It turned into a free dump for the locals, trash, mattresses, a car body and a few live trees (big ones) were felled and cut for firewood. It was ridiculous, I had to install a gate.