Firearms starting forest fires

I would bet that if any of these fires were in fact caused by shooting, then it was by steel jacketed bullets. I shot some Tokarev 1953 steel plated, copper washed, bullets a few weeks ago. I shot them about 9pm when it was getting dark out. Man, that Tokarev has some flash to it. I had one round that shot just like a tracer and I could see the fire-lite bullet fly for 30-40 yards until it hit the ground. I could see how this could cause a fire.

Yes, they banned steel jacketed bullets, but you know they are still using them.
 
In one of the latest fires here in Utah it was the shooter himself that called after he realized he could not contain the fire himself.
He was shooting some of the old Russian steel cored ammo....... it does happen, lets just try and use a little common sense.
 
Part of the issue may be that lots of folks are now using that stuff that blows up when it's shot. It got popular with Top Shot. Forget what it's called but people need to be smarter than that to use that pyro stuff when there's fire danger.
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If you are talking about Tannerite, it will NOT start a fire. The main
product of the bang is water vapor. What they use on Top Shot IS
capable of starting a fire, it's movie special effects pyrotechnics, and
messing around with homebrew stuff like that will get you a long vacation
at government expense. "Manufacturing an explosive device" is probably
the most common charge.
 
I'm a Utah guy. Gary Herbert, the governer here in Utah is as pro-gun as it gets. HE announced in a press conference that it was target shooting. I have about the same amount of faith in the media as you guys probably do, but this was not them saying it. Keep in mind the only reason Herbert came into office was because he was Lt. Governer when Huntsman resigned. He was too right wing conservative to be elected the first time on his own. We believe strongly in the second amendment out here. The folks who settled the state got to see first hand what even our own government will do to unpopular folks who should have constitutional rights but aren't well armed enough to defend those rights.
 
ETA: Just saw that officials believe a bullet ricocheted off of rock, igniting a spark. The Bureau of Land Management says this is the 20th wildfire in Utah this year to be ignited by shooting.
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I heard that on the news tonight. Kind of hard to beleive.
 
I do not support any anti-gun agenda.I am opposed to regulating target shooting.

One price of freedom is responsibility.We can help to preserve our freedom by being responsible.

If we reject the idea that shooting can start a fire,we may learn the hard way that it can.

I have had it happen to me.I do not need to be convinced.Fortunately,only my target burned.

One other potential mechanism to start a fire:

I have heard ,maybe in India,there is a poor man's cigarrette lighter that it a cylinder and piston,a bit of tinder is placed inside,and the piston is smacked.The diesel engine principle lights the tinder.

Now,if a person was pumping bullets into an old,dry Ponderosa snag,the potential for highly compressing some air ,making heat,and starting a smolder exists.

I am not saying lets not go shooting.I am saying lets pay attention.

We don't need the bad press.

I did receive an e-mail from Sen Mark Udall,Co,about a bill to fund public shooting space on Fed land.Barbara Boxer was on the committee also,and it seemed there was money for personell,but not facilities.

I jumped to my own conclusions.I do suspect there are some who are working to dry up our places to shoot,to make shooting more difficult,and phase it out of our culture.I do not ignore that.

But it is still a really bad idea to shoot in a way that can start fires.The logic that awareness of a fire hazard equates to a gov't plot to take our guns is flawed.I can believe in "from my cold dead fingers" yet still take good care of the National Forest and the Pawnee Grassland.

It was not long ago there was a post on TFL regarding shooting tracers in the woods.Some ,including myself,pointed out the fire hazard.Some said don't worry about it.

The RTKBA is in the Bill of Rights as a Creator given Right.

We had still better take care of the RTKBA as responsible people,as frequently in the news there is evidence many in our government oppose the idea there is a Creator.How much respect would they have for a Creator Given Right?

Be careful where your bullets stop,think of fire.Take steel out of the picture.Becareful where you park,think of your hot cat converter.I might be really careful about the flintlock!!Don't forget to plug your powderhorn(been there,done that!!Shooting sitting in a pile of spilled BP is exciting!)

nuff said
 
I do not question the fact that target shooting can start a fire. BP is especially bad.

My concern is that "target Shooting" has replaced the old "hunters were in the area" statement used to explain unknown woods fires in the 60s and 70s.

I would like the managers to produce evidence from professional fire investigators to support the claim. Even better a citation for starting the fire would be a nice touch.
 
I've put out a half-dozen unattended campfires while 4 wheeling over the years.

Have never seen shooting cause a fire (but haven't tried too hard either).

4th of July will probably see a lot of "shooting" diagnoses of fires. ("shooting" including fireworks)
 
Cause of the fire near Ft Collins,lightning.

I think there was one near Greeley,Co started by a flat tire/wheel sparking.There is a horrible fire going on at Colorado Springs ,Co,suspected cause,arson.Some other Colorado fire suspected cause:tree branch and electric line contact in the wind.

Out in eastern Co,near Last Chance,another fire has destroyed homes,along with all the feed for cattle.

None of these fires were caused by shooting.

We are over 100deg f and relative humidity has been single digit.All firefighting resources are busy.

While I have my concerns about restrictions,somehow any loss of freedom not only becomes permanent,it expands...

I do support all of us being really careful out of common sense
 
Ive taken part in and witnessed SEVERAl range fires, which if they hadnt been promptly contained probably would have expanded very rapidly. They've all had one thing in common: tracers.
 
Tracers cause fires all the time... not sure how many civilians shoot them but they are a definitive cause of some fires.
 
I believe it.
It could be sparks from still-burning cartridge powder exiting the pistol/rifle. I've seen those cause fire.

It could be from a bullet sparking on impact with a rock or metal. I used to think that those were a myth (copper and lead don't spark, silly!), but I've seen that happen.

It could be something completely avoidable, like a thrown cigarette.

HiBC speaks the truth. It's a very very tenuous situation in the Colorado front range this summer. It's also dry even in the high mountains. The USFS has open fire bans in effect for large areas of the mountain forests. I can't imagine it's better in Utah.

If you're going to shoot outdoors this year, takes some extra water with you and pick your shooting spot and target backstop well.
 
It can and does happen. Most of the time its some idiot that is shooting at a target on the slope of a hill covered in dry grass when the humidity is really low then hits a rock. Its not a gun issue its a issue of some peoples total lack of thinking.

A lot of surplus ammo is copper washed steel bullets and even more programatic then you also get dumb-dumbs popping off tracers when its 106 degrees and 4.8% humidity.

The one that gets a bad rap is ciggy butts as for years if there was no determed cause it was "Oh that had to be a ciggybutt".
 
"A few years ago in California a golfer hit a shot into the rough or brush and, trying to hit it out, scraped his club on a rock.

The resulting shower of sparks ignited a fire that burned something like 20 acres of brush and grass.
Mike Irwin"


No offense, but I declare bullcrap on this. Please site the source. Our gun related stories are held to the same regard, so should these stories.
A friend of a friend at who was playing with the guy doesn't count.
 
being a golf course superintendent the story was held as highly unlikely and improbable. Being a golfer who also is an active shooter does not always equate across hobby lines, but you are a million times more likely to start a fire shooting incendiary rounds into dry brush, than striking a rock while attempting to move a golf ball forward. If everything on the Internet was true, than I should better start preparing for WWIII and EOTWAWKI
 
They just started another one, this time in Cache Valley (Logan) Utah where I live.
This is a quote from the local paper,"Firefighters say the cause of the fire is target shooting. Two people have been questioned and released pending the results of an investigation." Other news reports say that these guys admitted to doing it.
The fire so far is not headed for any homes but is just burning in millville canyon Thank God . The entire valley is full of smoke and as an asthmatic I'm already in serious trouble. The entire Wasatch front from the Idaho border well past Salt Lake to the south is smoky and hazy.
I'm the real world consequence of these peoples carelessness, I can't breathe. If I end up in the hospital after people have admitted to starting this with "target shooting" will that be enough proof?
I'm sorry if I sound grouchy I don't feel good. I normally go to a hill by a local lake to do my shooting, I haven't gone for weeks because why risk it?
 
"Your response does not parse. But the point is that you do not declare this or that in such a rude manner. That's a hint."

Understandable, I can see where my comment was taken out of context. It's hard to relate inflection in ones voice via written text. No disrespect was intended.
Thanks
DE
 
Weird sparking, I have started 4 fires with heavy equipment, 2 with dozer's and 2 with big loaders grubbing off a piece of desert at the start of construction. All were caused by sparks off either the tracks on rocks or the cutting edges on rocks. I have also seen fires caused from shooting steel jacketed rounds hitting rocks in dry areas. It can and does happen from time to time.
 
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