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This isn't a share your gun or disclose your favorite shooting spot with the world thread:)

My specific topic is about outdoor areas and what you do if anything to prevent or encourage others from "joining you" at your spot while there already shooting.

I realize at a large pit there probably isn't much to be done but im talking about those areas where there may be an extra place to park a car and butt in.


Personally, I always keep a loaded weapon on me at all times, regardless of what I'm shooting.

I generally also set up as much stuff and spread out like there is a large party happening, leaving guns on a table etc.


I do not feel it is brandishing but I'll generally have a rifle near by and will hold it in such a way as to be safe with the muzzle but also showing anyone driving up that I'm already armed.

Between that and waving at them, and then waving them on to keep moving if they slow down too much, I haven't had issues in years with someone crashing my shooting spot.


I just do not feel comfortable with someone I don't know standing anywhere near me with a loaded firearm.


When I was younger and more brash, I've hinted at violence towards some of the more determined crashes but age and confidence seems to have made that a non issue thankfully.


I was just curious how others handle these situations.
 
I don't mind others shooting along side me as long as they're doing so in a safe and respectable manner. In all the years I've been shooting at outdoor, un-managed ranges I can count on one hand the times where I've pulled out because I believed the people were unsafe.

I would like to know more about your veiled violent threats though
 
I've pretty much stopped going to shooting spots out on public lands simply because of some of the folks I've run into over the years. Most folks are decent and respectful of other shooters, but there are some that I want to be nowhere near. That, and I don't like driving 2+ hours to find a decent spot. I finally broke down last year and joined a range, then switched ranges this year to provide more options. Ultimately, I don't have to drive as far and I can shoot just about anything I want. My only issue is that I can't blow up water jugs and pop bottles, but beyond that, I like that I don't have to worry when I go to the range.

But to your question, when I used to shoot on public lands, I never went alone and I always kept a loaded gun on me, just in case. I never had to use it, but when a car load of half-drunk crazies with guns show up, that's when I pack up and head out. I don't enjoy getting muzzle swept by folks that don't have the first inclination to gun safety.
 
I don't mind others shooting along side me as long as they're doing so in a safe and respectable manner. In all the years I've been shooting at outdoor, un-managed ranges I can count on one hand the times where I've pulled out because I believed the people were unsafe.

I would like to know more about your veiled violent threats though

Body language says it all;)

I have had to bail on at least one occasion because the guys were drunk and not getting the point.
 
And hopefully I'm less then a year from joining clark county rifle range.


I'll most likely still go out to public land on weekdays and rainy days.

I shoot mostly steel and paper targets but sometimes coke cans and 2 liters are very satisfying.
 
Currently I save my pop cans, water jugs, etc. for the back yard as in addition to shooting, I also enjoy building and shooting a variety of slingshots, so those can help satisfy the need to make things go boom - and I can do that in my backyard without the neighbors calling the police for backup ;) Every once in a while I also sneak in a few shots from an airgun, one of the quieter ones. It's legal where I live, but again, neighbors don't necessarily care about what's legal.
 
If I want to be around other people when I shoot, I go to the local range.
THAT FEELING DOES NOT HAPPEN OFTEN.

When I want to shoot alone, practice draw, multiple target shooting, unload my 32 round Glock mag :D:D, I go out on BLM property, AWAY from anyone else that is shooting.

THAT FEELING HAPPENS ABOUT 1X PER DAY:)
 
Only time I shoot on Public land is when I am hunting. And typically when I am hunting no one else ever sees me. And unless they are hunting with me no one is ever standing close to me.

I joined a Private Club I do my target shooting there.
 
Public land is PUBLIC land. How does it become "yours"? Do you yell "Claim" like on Walking Dead? :) Interesting attitude.

If people are safe and courteous I introduce myself and start a conversation.

If, as happened once, they are drunk a-holes who start shooting up my B-27 target with a Ruger Blackhawk, I let them blaze away and discreetly GFO.

Anymore, yearly membership at nearby ranges has solved this issue. Also there must be many more publicly available places in Oregon than there are in Washington. Seems like Weyerhaeuser owns everything up here, with their gates across just about every access road.
 
I spread my gear out and get comfortable, look like I'm a tough sob and generally not seem inviting.

A majority of people get the hint from that alone.

In fact it's been a long time I even had to talk to anyone...


For those of you that are more inviting, I say kudos too you! As much as I wish I were that guy, I'm just not.

Very friendly in the right circumstances and I would give my friends my last penny and the shirt off my back and they know it. Everyone else tends to shy away from me unless I put in the effort and honestly, that's always been a plus I'm my book;).


There's no right or wrong as far as I'm concerned and I've enjoyed reading some of the responses in this thread. Thanks for everyone's input so far.
 
I can kind of sympathize. As a bonafide introvert, I truly appreciate my time alone. I don't need to be in big groups of people to get my batteries recharged, rather, quite the opposite. I'm not one to walk up to a stranger and strike up a conversation, and I typically don't like it when strangers do that to me. For the most part, my shooting time is a time to spend alone, concentrating on my shooting. Sometimes, I do enjoy going out shooting with friends, but often I enjoy the solitude. Not as easy to get at a club, but at least the folks there are less likely to be drunk idiots that will be putting my life in danger. I do like chatting guns with gun folks from time to time, but sometimes I just need to shoot on my own.
 
I was just curious how others handle these situations.
I joined ARPC because it takes me less time to drive there than to the nearest "out in the woods" place that I know about. I usually get a bay to myself and can shoot my sub gun with no questions. I also can shoot a variety of targets, but not vegetables or tannerite.

When I did shoot out in the woods, I always went with my son and I would prefer to not share, but I have.
 
Quick TRUE story;

About 2 months ago, I was at my 2nd favorite shooting place in the woods...private logging CO. land that is open for shooters.

Had 5 pistols on my tailgate. Shooting away.

All of a sudden I look at my dog, who is looking at something.

Here comes a guy, aggressively walking towards me.
I look to see where my closest loaded gun is.

He gets close...I ALMOST did the hand out ----STOP! thing

He extends his hand to shake and says hi.

Starts talking about guns, but I could tell he really didn't know what he was talking about.

I kept my loaded Kimber within arms reach, but I knew he could get to me before I could get to that gun.

So, I cut the conversation short.

He starts to walk away, and as he does, I see a girl get out of his car.

I'm thinking "Something's weird here. They should be leaving, not starting to walk around".

It looked as if they were trying to flank me, so I started to pick up brass to get out of there..I had my Kimber in my hand while picking up brass.

Then, they reversed course, and started to flank me from the other side, talking quietly and looking at the ground, bending over once in a while as if they were interested in something.

Enough!

I loaded up my dog, scooped up my guns, and drove away from my brass.

To this day, I know they were seeing if they could get to me and my guns...sizing me up.

I very seldom go back to that place, but I was there a few days ago.......positioned so I could see anyone driving up for 50 yards.

The guy said his name was OSO (bear in espanol'), and he had really long hair and a beard.
His GF or whatever looked like she just woke up.

SO, when I go shooting alone, which is most of the time, I watch my dog constantly. With my headphones on, sometimes I can't hear behind myself.

Many lessons here, but;

STAY AWARE of your surroundings
ALWAYS position yourself to see any approaching shooters.
Always keep one gun loaded and handy.
If it feels wrong, it probably is.
If you see an OSO in the woods, be wary.....Bears too!
But most of all, Relax and enjoy yourself:):cool:
 
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I find myself doing a bit of both, depending on where I am shooting as well as what the people who pull up look like. I usually wear a plate carrier with plates when I am in the woods. It provides easy access to magazines for working that skill set as well as in the off chance that I have an altercation it provedes a level of protection. also the side benifit is that most people see a guy with a loaded up plate carrier and pistol strapped to him hip and move on.

The flip side to this is a while back I was up shooting in the woods and had a guy drive by, turn around and come back. I immediatly went on allert, loaded a fresh magazine in the AR and turned to face him as he got out of his truck. not pointing it or covering him with it but keeping it at the low ready. He looked at me and smiled and says "hey I saw your 3% sticker on your truck! Looks just like the one on mine!" long story short we ended up having a great conversation and sharing the shooting area as well as a beer later after the shooting was done.

You can meet great people out there but I will always lean towards caution.
 
This isn't a share your gun or disclose your favorite shooting spot with the world thread:)

When I was younger and more brash, I've hinted at violence towards some of the more determined crashes but age and confidence seems to have made that a non issue thankfully.

.

Wow you don't sound very friendly. I once had a secret shooting place found it one year hunting used to be able to go there any sat and no one except maybe some locals around deer season sighting in. Nice and clean and we had the place to ourself a big gravel pit with over 120 yards of shooting distance.

along came the interweb and now it rare to not show up with out seeing others already there or showing up after we set up . I used to just drive away when i saw others but it got to where just about every time we made the 1 hr drive someone was there or would show up.

finally I said screw it if we were there first and someone came along and they were polite enough to ask if they could shoot we would say yes and tell them where the firing line is and go over some safe rules. if someone else was there we would observe the situation and ask if we could join most people do not hint violence but rather welcome others as it should be .

because this is what happens when you chase someone off they go shoot up some place where they should not be shooting then some tree hugging lumberjack makes a fuss and next thing you know they want to close up all the land to shooting and shooters get a bad rap or some one who may be new to guns gives up on guns since there is no place to shoot and others shooters look like a bunch of phycopaths and form the opinion that guns should be outlawed because gun owners are scary . I had a friend driving his family out and came across some guys with black rifles that stared them down and did not make them feel welcome so he formed the belief that only thugs and ganstas own black rifles and if were not for me pretty much felt they should be outlawed thats how it happens folks fear leads to gun bans .

Now on the other hand if some riff raff does show up at your favorite pit then chances are that kind of negative behavior will only lead to a comfortation because those who felt intimidated or un welcome were probably good people and left and those who are not most likely will not leave but rather say FU and bad things can happen.

What we do need is more public shooting places and maybe even ad signs with basic safety rules granted it would probably need to be replaced on a regular basis

now then for safety we go to the pit as a group safety in numbers plus its more fun . we keep guns not being used put up. carry a loaded side arm and always keep part of our group at our table with the guns or take them with us when we go set up targets.

the nice thing is there has been a few times i would show up and find someone I know from a gun board and its all good I remember last time out we pulled up and there was a crowed there with machine guns and sporting rifles looked really scary from a distance and my friend same guy mentioned above said hey we should go somewhere else and I said wait let see if i know any of these guys and turns out I did and they all had a great time their daughters got to shoot full auto M16s and MP5s and a suppressed weapons and a 50cal .

I think we at this board and other HTFs should encourage wearing Tshirts that identify us a NWFA or FM or ARFCOM members so it kind of takes away some of the tension and opens a dialog to share a favorite shooting spot and we need to press for more shooting spots more shooting education like keeping people from shooting trees and things they ought not be shooting and build our community and that wont happen if we try to be territorial over land that belongs to all of us.
 
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Wow you don't sound very friendly. I once had a secret shooting place found it one year hunting used to be able to go there any sat and no one except maybe some locals around deer season sighting in. Nice and clean and we had the place to ourself a big gravel pit with over 120 yards of shooting distance.

along came the interweb and now it rare to not show up with out seeing others already there or showing up after we set up . I used to just drive away when i saw others but it got to where just about every time we made the 1 hr drive someone was there or would show up.

finally I said screw it if we were there first and someone came along and they were polite enough to ask if they could shoot we would say yes and tell them where the firing line is and go over some safe rules. if someone else was there we would observe the situation and ask if we could join most people do not hint violence but rather welcome others as it should be .

because this is what happens when you chase someone off they go shoot up some place where they should not be shooting then some tree hugging lumberjack makes a fuss and next thing you know they want to close up all the land to shooting and shooters get a bad rap or some one who may be new to guns gives up on guns since there is no place to shoot and others shooters look like a bunch of phycopaths and form the opinion that guns should be outlawed because gun owners are scary . I had a friend driving his family out and came across some guys with black rifles that stared them down and did not make them feel welcome so he formed the belief that only thugs and ganstas own black rifles and if were not for me pretty much felt they should be outlawed thats how it happens folks fear leads to gun bans .

Now on the other hand if some riff raff does show up at your favorite pit then chances are that kind of negative behavior will only lead to a comfortation because those who felt intimidated or un welcome were probably good people and left and those who are not most likely will not leave but rather say FU and bad things can happen.

What we do need is more public shooting places and maybe even ad signs with basic safety rules granted it would probably need to be replaced on a regular basis

now then for safety we go to the pit as a group safety in numbers plus its more fun . we keep guns not being used put up. carry a loaded side arm and always keep part of our group at our table with the guns or take them with us when we go set up targets.

the nice thing is there has been a few times i would show up and find someone I know from a gun board and its all good I remember last time out we pulled up and there was a crowed there with machine guns and sporting rifles looked really scary from a distance and my friend same guy mentioned above said hey we should go somewhere else and I said wait let see if i know any of these guys and turns out I did and they all had a great time their daughters got to shoot full auto M16s and MP5s and a suppressed weapons and a 50cal .

I think we at this board and other HTFs should encourage wearing Tshirts that identify us a NWFA or FM or ARFCOM members so it kind of takes away some of the tension and opens a dialog to share a favorite shooting spot and we need to press for more shooting spots more shooting education like keeping people from shooting trees and things they ought not be shooting and build our community and that wont happen if we try to be territorial over land that belongs to all of us.

It sounds like your much more comfortable around strangers and guns in an unsupervised situation then I am.

I grew up in the sticks and I have seen firsthand and heard more horror stories then I can count. I'd rather be safe then called polite if needs be.

To each their own though and good on ya for being the friendly type:).
 
I grew up in felony flats guess i figure being armed to the hilt in the woods to be a safer place. Only have had 1 gun aimed at me and another a under the coat threat both were in the wunderful city of Portland never in the woods
 
heres the other thing I would rather have others where I can see them. If someone wanted to cause harm they are not going to pull up and ask to join they would most likely shoot from cover
 

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