In a recent shooting trip to one of my favorite BLM-managed sites, I couldn’t help but notice how much trash shooters have left in the desert… and this is one of the cleaner sites. I have seen everything from old TV’s, to cars, fridges, dryers, computers, toilets, etc. that were shot up and left to rot slowly, over the course of decades, in the otherwise beautiful desert. I have never considered myself to be an environmentalist, but I do love the outdoors and tend to prefer wild lands be as clean as possible.
I must admit that I do not have a perfect record of public land stewardship myself. So, this is not some hypocritical environmental activist shaking a finger at everyone else, squealing “do as I say, not as I do”! I am only stating that we can do a much better job at representing all gun owners on public lands. In saying that, I have made a firm commitment to follow my own recommendations.
Here are a few ‘best practices’ that I have employed into my own outings; minor changes can help reduce the waste on public lands:
- Shoot steel or paper targets out there, not garbage
- Collect your shells… especially shotgun shells, which tend to linger for decades
- Pack out what you pack in
If we keep going down the path of trashing our public lands, it is only a matter of time until shooting gets banned. Lets all try to be conscious of how we treat public places so that our children and their children may enjoy the same freedoms in years to come.
Stay clean friends,
Adiga Armory
