Desert shooting outside of Lake Havasu City, AZ?
Poor Impulse Control
to do some outdoors shooting in the desert outside of Lake Havasu.
Dad hikes the desert a lot and when I mentioned this to him says "I see
spent casings all the time, I don't think it'd be a problem". Dad's not a
shooter, so whether those areas are generally accepted for shooting or
whether the county sherriff is actively searching for the shooters is
certainly debatable.
All of the maps (printed & online) I've looked at so far simply have blank
space east of Lake Havasu; there's no indication of game preserves, indian
reservations, state parks, national parks, or any other warning flag kinds
of areas. It looks just empty.
I've read that AZ is an open carry state, so I'm assuming that a holstered
.22 in the sticks wouldn't get me in trouble. Would a gunsocked .22
(unloaded, etc) be considered carrying a concealed weapon? I don't have a
holster for my Model 41 (it's not really that kind of a pistol) so carrying
it 'socked in a backpack would both be more convenient *and* lower profile,
but if its illegal or more legal to carry it openly in a holster, I'd
certainly track down a holster for it.
I'm concscious of the need to pick a safe place to shoot, should it be
legally kosher to do so -- a backstop, preferrably angled towards soft
ground -- and to pick up my spent casings when done.
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Lynn K. Circle
"Poor Impulse Control" <use...@grasslake.net> wrote in message
news:cvobdh$9ip$1...@grapevine.wam.umd.edu...
# I'm visiting my Dad there in March and it occured to me it might be
# possible
# to do some outdoors shooting in the desert outside of Lake Havasu.
#
# Dad hikes the desert a lot and when I mentioned this to him says "I see
# spent casings all the time, I don't think it'd be a problem". Dad's not a
# shooter, so whether those areas are generally accepted for shooting or
# whether the county sherriff is actively searching for the shooters is
# certainly debatable.
#
# All of the maps (printed & online) I've looked at so far simply have blank
# space east of Lake Havasu; there's no indication of game preserves, indian
# reservations, state parks, national parks, or any other warning flag kinds
# of areas. It looks just empty.
#
# I've read that AZ is an open carry state, so I'm assuming that a holstered
# .22 in the sticks wouldn't get me in trouble. Would a gunsocked .22
# (unloaded, etc) be considered carrying a concealed weapon? I don't have a
# holster for my Model 41 (it's not really that kind of a pistol) so
# carrying
# it 'socked in a backpack would both be more convenient *and* lower
# profile,
# but if its illegal or more legal to carry it openly in a holster, I'd
# certainly track down a holster for it.
#
# I'm concscious of the need to pick a safe place to shoot, should it be
# legally kosher to do so -- a backstop, preferrably angled towards soft
# ground -- and to pick up my spent casings when done.
#
#
Forty years ago, when I lived in Tucson, going shooting meant driving out to
the desert, finding a suitable hill for a backstop, setting up targets, and
blasting away. I know a lot changes in almost half a century though ....
(All I have to do is to look in the mirror to be reminded of that fact!)
-
Lynn K. Circle
NRA, TSRA, American Legion
Poor Impulse Control
"Lynn K. Circle" <lynnk...@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:cvq0eg$qlf$1...@grapevine.wam.umd.edu...
# Forty years ago, when I lived in Tucson, going shooting meant driving out
# to
# the desert, finding a suitable hill for a backstop, setting up targets,
# and
# blasting away. I know a lot changes in almost half a century though ....
# (All I have to do is to look in the mirror to be reminded of that fact!)
I think a lot of things have changed since then, not the least of which are
attitudes.
My boss at a job I had in high school said in the mid 1950s they used to
drive to a dump in what's now outer-suburban Minneapolis on summer nights
with a case of beer, a case of .22s, and a couple of rifles. They'd sit on
the hood with a cold beer and load their rifles. When loaded, they'd flick
on the headlights and shoot rats. Flick off the lights, sip beer, reload.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
There's just no way you could do any of that now. I'm sure there are tons
of people with rat-shooting stories, though.
Ed Skinner
# I'm visiting my Dad there in March and it occured to me it might be
# possible to do some outdoors shooting in the desert outside of Lake
# Havasu.
Yes, this is certainly possible. You might also want to have him ask
around his friends for any local gun clubs. With the relatively large
retired population there, I'd be willing to bet there's at least one and
they may have a range you can use. That would resolve all uncertainty, and
if your Dad becomes interested after shooting with you, it would provide a
ready connection to some really nice people.
# Dad hikes the desert a lot and when I mentioned this to him says "I see
# spent casings all the time, I don't think it'd be a problem". Dad's not
# a shooter, so whether those areas are generally accepted for shooting or
# whether the county sherriff is actively searching for the shooters is
# certainly debatable.
#
# All of the maps (printed & online) I've looked at so far simply have
# blank space east of Lake Havasu; there's no indication of game
# preserves, indian reservations, state parks, national parks, or any
# other warning flag kinds of areas. It looks just empty.
I'm looking at a "Arizona Road and Recreation Atlas" in the section that
shows public lands. In Arizona, land under the control of the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) is "generally" open to shooting as long as you
follow reasonable safety precautions (which it sounds like you know). [The
map I'm looking at was printed by Benchmark Maps,
http://www.benchmarkmaps.com/, but I don't know how current the BLM
boundaries are in these. Although useful, this is not the definitive
source of BLM information.]
And even in the BLM lands, there are exceptions to where you may and may
not shoot and, unfortunately, the descriptions of the prohibited areas can
be challenging to decipher.
The BEST thing to do might be to contact the BLM office (Lake Havasu Field
Office, 2610 Sweetwater Avenue, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86406-9071, (928)
505-1200) and see what you can find out from them. Your Dad might be able
to do that before you arrive -- Undoubtedly they have "government hours"
which might put a crimp in your planning if not resolved ahead of time.
The second best solution would be to get a map such as the one I have (I
bought mine at a CostCo store in Phoenix but "Wide World of Maps" [also in
Phoenix] would be even better, or get one from the BLM office itself), and
then use it to drive to a BLM area and look for the obvious signs (spent
casings, mangled trash, etc.).
You may also be able to find maps printed by the BLM but are sold by
various retailers. You should be aware, therefore, that boundaries change
from time to time and maps become out of date. Retailers, however, may
continue to sell out-of-date maps, and they may not even be aware that
their supply is out-of-date. Asking the BLM office directly is undoubtedly
your best bet.
You can also browse http://www.blm.gov/ and find a place to order BLM maps
(but not view them online, unfortunately). Nor could I find a statement of
rules about where it is OK to shoot but I've come across that somewhere --
maybe it's printed on a BLM map I have at another location? Regardless,
asking someone in the Lake Havasu BLM office would be the best approach.
Now, having said all that, and for what it may be worth (and don't call me
if you get arrested), about 10 miles south of the center of Lake Havasu
City on highway 95 is a dirt road heading northeast about where "Standard
Wash" appears to cross (under?) the highway. All of that road (on my map)
is in BLM territory up until it passes (after about 8 miles) between two
mountains (big on the left, smaller on the right).
And there's also a road that appears to go to "Crossman's Peak" (NE of
town) that proceeds from what might be a residential street in the NE
corner of Lake Havasu City itself. Once well out of the city, that road
passes through BLM land on the map I'm looking at, all the way to the peak
and then down the other side.
# I've read that AZ is an open carry state, so I'm assuming that a
# holstered .22 in the sticks wouldn't get me in trouble. Would a
# gunsocked .22 (unloaded, etc) be considered carrying a concealed weapon?
# I don't have a holster for my Model 41 (it's not really that kind of a
# pistol) so carrying it 'socked in a backpack would both be more
# convenient *and* lower profile, but if its illegal or more legal to
# carry it openly in a holster, I'd certainly track down a holster for it.
In the car, keep everything locked and unloaded in the trunk. The
operative words here are "locked and unloaded" because that makes it
inaccessible to others, AND difficult for you to get at as well. Anything
less than that might be considered if'y. Hopefully you can park right next
to where you will be shooting and there won't be any issue of concealed
carry.
Failing that, a highly visible holster is good, but again, only when
you're not in the car because, inside, it would be difficult to see and,
again, might be considered a concealed carry.
Oh yeah, if your Dad knows a police officer, ask him. They have to qualify
and may know a good place to shoot that's open to the public, and what, if
any, desert locations are legal.
Be aware that hunting requires an appropriate license. The Fish & Game
inspector may stop by and be interested in what you're doing.
And although Lake Havasu City is pretty well out of the routes followed by
illegals coming into the country, be advised that some of them are well
armed. The Immigration and Naturalization Service probably won't bother
you unless you happen across an area in which they are also interested,
but if that's the case, you don't want to be there.
# I'm concscious of the need to pick a safe place to shoot, should it be
# legally kosher to do so -- a backstop, preferrably angled towards soft
# ground -- and to pick up my spent casings when done.
Picking up your own casings, and maybe a few of those littered by others,
would be a real nice thing to do.
Enjoy your visit to AZ!
Ed, in Phoenix.
Don Lampson
rats, in a dump at Lake Havasu...
The dump was on the CA side, just outside Black Meadow Landing. We
used the "off / on" method with the truck headlights too!
Don