Utah shooting?

S

SHAWX

Inactive
Hey guys! new here

Anyway, just recently started getting into shooting, over the past 1-2 years.

We live in cache valley, and we usually just shoot up providence or millville canyon.

But they are always closed in the spring, due to run off.

Does anyone know of any good areas to shoot, that arent closed this time of year?

thanks in advanced!
 
Go west. - BLM land.

Go east. - Logan Canyon back roads.
(Please don't do the all-too-common "I just stop at the side of the road, and shoot at trees", though. Shooting from the road is illegal, and inconsiderate - and unsafe on the switchbacks common to many of our mountain roads.)

Go farther east. - Between Bear Lake and Randolph, and the Wasatch Mountains and the Wyoming border, there are quite a few good public areas (BLM and Forest Service) to shoot in.
 
Its a long ways away from you but if your ever up in the Payson or Spanish fork area, the West Side of west Mountain has a few good places to shoot, as does Hobble Creek Canyon but they are closed in the spring as well.
 
Head out through Tremonten to Promontory point area. The monument itself is closed to shooting, the other bazillion acres around it is not.
 
Utah shooting rules. I also shoot up providence and Millville canyon. what are the rules for shooting in canyons i looked on utah.gov but there isn't much. 150yards away from people camp grounds roads and buildings. and no shooting tree or across roads. anything else im missing. Rule about shooting during the deer hunt? Rules about shooting on BLM land??
 
I'm sure OP has found a place by now. But in Utah most public land managed by the U.S. Forrest Service is open to target shooting as is most of the BLM managed public land.

Utah Code § 76-10-508
You may not discharge a dangerous weapon or firearm under any of the following
circumstances:
  • From a vehicle
  • From, upon or across any highway
  • At power lines or signs
  • At railroad equipment or facilities, including any sign or signal
  • Within Utah state park camp or picnic sites, overlooks, golf courses, boat ramps or developed beaches
  • Without written permission from the owner or property manager, within 600 feet of:
    1. A house, dwelling or any other building
    3. Any structure in which a domestic animal is kept or fed, including a barn, poultry yard, corral, feeding pen or stockyard
The DWR can not stop you using public lands during hunt seasons as they are not land managers, they are game managers. They might give you a hard time and accuse you of poaching but even then if you have targets with you and are polite they'd probably just ask you to be careful and respectful of those who are out there with tags they have paid for.

See below for land closed to target shooting.
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The DWR can not stop you using public lands during hunt seasons as they are not land managers, they are game managers. They might give you a hard time and accuse you of poaching but even then if you have targets with you and are polite they'd probably just ask you to be careful and respectful of those who are out there with tags they have paid for.
Click to expand...

If you are being polite, safe, and not causing an issue for hunters, DWR officers will leave you alone. (Though, they may tell you need to be wearing hunter orange, during some seasons.)

However.... Utah's laws turn hunting lands into "Temporary Game Preserves" during hunting seasons. On a Temporary Game Preserve, possession of anything other than a defined legal weapon for that season is, in the words of the DWR, "Prima facia evidence of poaching".

But, possessing a Hunting License can make most weapons legal, so long as you are willing to tell the DWR that you are hunting cottontails. (Jack Rabbits and Coyotes are a grey area, since they are non-game animals.)
 
However.... Utah's laws turn hunting lands into "Temporary Game Preserves" during hunting seasons. On a Temporary Game Preserve, possession of anything other than a defined legal weapon for that season is, in the words of the DWR, "Prima facia evidence of poaching".
Click to expand...

Frank, this will not stand up in court they know it and they won't waste their money. You have to be caught "keeping" or "taking" game for them to have probable cause. If you're civil with them they won't bother you, because they know they have not grounds to do otherwise.

I'd like to know who sanctions the public land as "Temporary Game Reserves" because DWR do not have the right to do that. It would have to be the BLM or the Forrest Service. Do you know? Also a Game Reserve temporary or otherwise on publicly owned land does not mean you can't target shoot.

-SS-
 
All of our wildlife and hunting regulations are created, maintained, and updated by the State Legislature.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but you really seem to be out of touch with the regulations in our state. Spend a few hours reading the current hunting guide books, perusing the DNR website (including wildlife.ut.gov), reading the actual code, and reading the BLM and DWR blogs. You may be surprised at some of what you find (we had a major review and update a year or two ago, and the 2012 hunting changes are substantial).

Not knowing the law, is how people get in trouble for "stupid" mistakes.
Not knowing how the different agencies are working together, is how people start thinking the laws don't apply to the area they're shooting/hunting in.

I'd like to know who sanctions the public land as "Temporary Game Reserves" because DWR do not have the right to do that.
Click to expand...

They do have that right, because BLM (and the USFS) grants them that right (and there is a lot of state land inter-mingled with BLM land). BLM (and USFS) and the DWR work together to manage wildlife and habitat. For hunting, BLM (and USFS) allows the DWR to enforce all of the state regulations.

From the first big game season of the year, until the last big game season of the year... nearly the entire state is turned into a "Temporary Game Preserve", and no one is supposed to be shooting, except for hunters. (And you can limit that to bow hunting, during those seasons.)

It is very true, that wildlife officers will leave you alone, if you are not causing a problem. ...But the laws and regulations are very clear. If the wildlife officers don't like your attitude, they are well within the law to detain you. Whether they issue a warning, seize property, or cite you, is up to them. Does it really matter how strong their argument is, if you still have to be severely inconvenienced to fight any charges?



The point:
If you a responsible and courteous recreational shooter, you'll be fine.
If you're a jerk, the state has more than enough power to ruin your day (and then some).
 
@Franken... I'm not at all out of touch. I'm not trying to be a jerk either but I can't find a single thing from DWR in any of their guides, or from the BLM that says that during hunting seasons, public hunt lands are closed to target shooting. And further wearing Hunter orange is only required if you are taking part in a hunt according to their literature. Just sayin'... show me the law, it's not like anyone makes it easy is it? I always carry a combination license out there anyways regardless of what I'm doing.

-SS-
 
It took me a moment to get the foot out of my mouth...

You are correct. They changed the exceptions in 20-23-31 this year, to only require hunters to wear orange; and allowed exceptions for some hunts. (In the past, the law was written as to require EVERYONE in the area to wear orange. As we both know, that was not enforced. Though, I had seen game wardens give verbal recommendations to non-hunters.)

Now you have me digging through the wildlife code, to see what else was updated in August. (Many of the old common sense assumptions about the law seem to have been adopted, officially. -- Also; I think Title 65 deals with wildlife, but haven't made it that far.)
 
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