Originally Posted By: MotoHunterI wish they would outlaw it here in Newer Mexico, same thing, horrible trash and safety issues here. Some people just can't let us have a good time. driving 4 wheelers and shooting guns in the same place are not a good match. Shut it down, I'll go to the range.
There is not enough shooting ranges to go to. That is the primary reason why people use public lands to target practice. The BLM and USFS want to ban shooting on public lands to control a dumping problem. There are existing laws to prevent dumping that just need to be better enforced. The Sonoran Desert National Monument is currently trying to ban target shooting between Gila Bend and Tucson. The Ironwood Forest National Monument located northwest of Tucson tried to do the same thing a few years ago, but a large turnout of sportsmen opposed it so it was not done.
There are a several reasons why there is a shortage of shooing ranges in AZ. Here are a few.
1) Existing shooing ranges have been closed due to urban sprawl and urban sprawl decreases the locations where shooting ranges can be built.
2) Cities and counties will not set aside their land for a community shooing range and they do not see golf courses as wasted spaces for shooting ranges.
3) There are isolated sections of public land identified as "disposable properties" by the BLM and USFS that could be used to build shooting ranges. Developing a shooting range on public land requires a non-profit organization to receive grant money, coordinate the construction, and operate the shooting range. Most non-profit organizations do not have the means to do that.
The chances of getting more shooting ranges built is not something to depend on. We need to police ourselves to continue having places to shoot on public lands. Here is a link of a good example. Its about an organization conducting a youth predator hunt and cleaning up a shooting area on BLM land where dumping occurred.
http://www.predatormastersforums.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2020559