Thread: Why do people trash shooting spots?

I live by a logging road in Deming that I shoot at alot. More and more, I see computers, tvs, any trash people bring to shoot, they demolish it and leave it. I have a feeling its mostly people from the city who have no respect for the area. What happens is these places get shut down because of it (it's happened to basically every 4x4 spot since people would bring cars up and burn them after demolishing them). If you leave a sign, i'm sure they'd shoot that as well, and burn it. I plan to go up next weekend and load my truck up with all their junk so the place stays open. What would you do to try and stop this from happening?

Sorry, just had to rant alittle after going up this past weekend and seeing it filled with crap from these losers.

Every person littering at shooting spots I've witnessed was either a dumb kid or a bubba out with his buddies.

I have a buddy who a while back went up Crooked Finger to go shooting with his sons. Instead they found such a mess they spent nearly 4 hours cleaning up the place the wanted to shoot at. His kids got over 400 beer and pop cans and he said he nearly filled his full size pickup with trash. They took it down to the transfer station and ended up paying $15.00 for what he couldn't toss in one of the recycling bins. Said it was everything from paper plates to a washing machine.

He was so pissed he told me that he has been talking to his employer (one of the lumber companies that own property in the area) about putting up another gate to stop the Morons.

A lot of people didn't grow up in Tom McCalls Oregon where it was about as bad of insult to call someone a litter bug as it would have been to call them a donkey banger.

Because that is how they live at home. Just frinking PIGS. I wish I was a cop at times to write tickets to people who do that. That is why land is closing up because of dirtbags and Shipheads. Arsewipes should be made to pick up that crap with their 4 teeth. Oh this pisses me off. You think your out in the middle of nowhere and step in a damn diaper. Happened to me.

Did you ever notice how people don't use trash cans in parks?

Problem as I see it is all about Monkey See Monkey Do. Todays citizens don't seem to have much backbone, and when they see other's not using a turn signal & such, they don't wanna either. I don't know about the perpetually falling down pants I see everywhere, mine only fall down when my pockets are too full of weapons.
Me & a local group recently spent the day picking up at our favorite shooting place, We all know it will get closed down if left to be further dirtied up, happened for months last year, until it was finally cleaned up once again. Of course, now that I have spent some time cleaning it up, you can bet the next time I see some trash tossed out, there will be something said.

Originally Posted by Dieselfuel12v

... I have a feeling its mostly people from the city who have no respect for the area...

Hey now! City/suburb man, checking in...
You can be sure that I don't leave trash, and echoing another previous comment, most of the trash I see left is from high school kids and non-city looking rednecks. Let's just say that the people littering are bozos and probably come from all areas; local or city.

Originally Posted by Dieselfuel12v

What would you do to try and stop this from happening?

Nothing can be really be done to prevent it from happening, other than saying something when you see it happen. For a while I thought it would be a good idea to chip-in with a few people and get a dumpster out in some of the areas with monthly pickup, but the presence of a receptacle is probably just another target and a sign that someone else is taking responsibility, which would likely encourage the d-bags to bring and leave junk and trash.

I haven't attended a group cleanup effort yet, but I do pick up an extra bag of trash every time I use a shooting spot. And I never shoot glass. I hate glass on the ground.

I have thought about installing a hidden game camera in my favorite spot, but it would be a logistical nightmare to try and sort through all the images and see someone leaving trash *and* hope to get a license plate. Not to mention that *I* wouldn't want to be watched by an anonymous camera while out in the woods, so why should anyone else? Also, I don't want to go through pictures of people taking a leak or necking with their significant other.

Didn't mean to offend city dwellers, my bad . I guess I should have said "non local", since most people wouldn't do that where they live (unless there house is just as dirty). It's just disrespectful, i've been working on a big sign i'm taking up there , we'll see how long that last >_<. A big problem is people dumping their actual garbage deep up these roads since they can't afford the sanitation service. I needed to vent to some guys like you who respect what we've been given as far as the places we can shoot.

Tragedy of the Commons

Its something that the county doesnt GET when they raise tipping fees and decline various things like TVs, Monitors and Refrigerators and freezers...where do they wind up dumped? IN THE WOODS!

SOME folks genuinely do NOT have the money, its $50 to get rid of a dead fridge around here AND you have to drive 25+ miles to DO it ON a week day DURING the work day. Just a bit of an obstacle for those who might still WORK for a living and be just making it by the skin of their teeth

OTHERS dont CARE and will drop it in the FIRST place they think they can get rid of it and not get caught. That is how MOST of our shooting spots got closed.

That and the pit near some houses, the final straw that drove them to ask the county to close it...was some idjits shooting LARGE containers of Tannerite for HOURS and at night. EVEN after being asked to STOP DOING THAT BEFORE THE PIT GETS CLOSED...they didnt..the county did and now NONE of us have a place to shoot. Frigging Morons.

I have a feeling its mostly people from the city who have no respect for the area.

The lack of values and respect for public property recognize no social status. I live in a somewhat rural area where the majority of the population are into shooting and various outdoor sports and we have trashed areas but it's mostly just the locals who are using these areas BUT I will admit throughout my lifetime of using public areas for recreation it seems the closer the areas are to larger, metro areas the worse the littering is. Probably a population issue.

Its not expensive to get rid of appliances. I recently got a new dishwasher. Install and haul off was free. There is simply NO EXCUSE for taking appliances and junk to the woods. Leaving shot up TVs and junk out there, is even worse.

Im all for shooting up yer junk. Can be fun. But you hauled it out there, you best be prepared to take yer bubblegum back with ya. We recently got some people together to clean up a spot and hauled off 600 lbs. of junk. Shotgun shells, glass, computers, cardboard, etc, etc.. If you have a pickup, even to pickup a little bit, is totally awesome.

It sucks to see people disrespectful like that.

too bad the people that do that dont have some sort of target on them, it has gotten scary enough that i carry my mini 14 with a full 20rnd clip in it when i walk down to check targets. sad state of affairs.

Originally Posted by VW_Factor

Its not expensive to get rid of appliances. I recently got a new dishwasher. Install and haul off was free. There is simply NO EXCUSE for taking appliances and junk to the woods. Leaving shot up TVs and junk out there, is even worse.

I'm sure that helps people who have a budget to pay somewhere between free and $100 when they have an appliance break. I'm not even poor and there's no way I could afford a new from the store appliance that comes with free removal of the old one without raiding the emergency fund, reverting to minimum payments on my loans and living tight for a few months...

That being said, personally I think a large part of the problem is some people dumping trash, then other unrelated people shooting it. Once something has bullet holes in it everyone thinks that it's shooters that are littering. It could be worse though, one time I visited a shooting pit and besides all the trash there was someones pet dog all shot up. Things like that make me wonder what is wrong with people. I hate littering but at least I can understand that there might be some semi-logical reason/excuse for it.

there is no excuse for trashing the forests. i have been hunting, shooting, camping, riding four wheelers for years. our campsite is always cleaner than when we got there.

Originally Posted by cwegga

I'm sure that helps people who have a budget to pay somewhere between free and $100 when they have an appliance break. I'm not even poor and there's no way I could afford a new from the store appliance that comes with free removal of the old one without raiding the emergency fund, reverting to minimum payments on my loans and living tight for a few months...

Its called life. It happens. Its not an excuse.

I wouldn't consider myself poor either, however I did as well have to buckle down a bit to replace the appliance.. Unexpected things happen.

I still would never leave my bubblegum behind somewhere. I have more respect for the environment and myself to do that.

Originally Posted by VW_Factor

Its not expensive to get rid of appliances. I recently got a new dishwasher. Install and haul off was free. There is simply NO EXCUSE for taking appliances and junk to the woods. Leaving shot up TVs and junk out there, is even worse.

If you can afford new from a store that hauls away...maybe so. If you are getting a new-to-you used fridge off Craigslist...that is another things all together. As another poster noted...I'd also be pretty tight for a while if i had to go buy new from the appliance stores. I do however haul my "Dont Take That Here" stuff to the appropriate place and pay the robbery.

AND...a dishwasher is NOT on the "Dont Take That Here" list, in fact its pretty benign, no CFCs, no lead, no mercury, just copper, iron/steel, a bit of aluminum and plastic.

I think the point has been missed. /shrug

And are you saying that you wouldn't mind seeing a dishwasher left in the woods because it doesn't have "abnormal" materials in it? /confused

no, no point missed.

as i noted: I do however haul my "Dont Take That Here" stuff to the appropriate place and pay the robbery.

Addendun previously implied but unstated: I also haul the rest to be recycled.

I dont dump crap in the woods. I pick UP my targets, any anything ELSE up there that is not a part of the area. I'ave hauled whole pickup loads of stuff...it occasionally COSTS me to do those cleanups....and in the end it didnt matter...the idjits shooting Tannerite at all hours managed to get the pit closed. That and the IDIOTIC woman waving an empty cartridge case around and in a quavering voice crying" I found this BULLET in my YARD..I could have been KILLED!"

I don't know either.. but it pisses me off to no end. It's another example of our own making us all look bad.

I take a lot of stuff to shoot at when going out...... but I take it ALL back out with me.

Originally Posted by cwegga

I'm sure that helps people who have a budget to pay somewhere between free and $100 when they have an appliance break. I'm not even poor and there's no way I could afford a new from the store appliance that comes with free removal of the old one without raiding the emergency fund, reverting to minimum payments on my loans and living tight for a few months...

That being said, personally I think a large part of the problem is some people dumping trash, then other unrelated people shooting it. Once something has bullet holes in it everyone thinks that it's shooters that are littering. It could be worse though, one time I visited a shooting pit and besides all the trash there was someones pet dog all shot up. Things like that make me wonder what is wrong with people. I hate littering but at least I can understand that there might be some semi-logical reason/excuse for it.

Actually one time I was at sears, I overheard the "Magic" phone number they used for the pickup of old appliances- No questions asked, you just call and the guy on the other end asks if you bought your appliance from Sears, then they come out & pick em' up- Sweet