Shooting On Public Lands

[Moccasin]

Ok guys, Virginia cannot control what is and is not allowed on federal property so there's no use in blaming VA for that. VA can control what happens on the property it owns like the WMA's and there are reasons that they opt not to allow plinking where ever one wants to plink. Like it or not, gun owners are not the only people using these properties. Hunters, hikers, fishermen and others all use WMA's for one reason or another. Believe it or not poachers have been known to use these same WMA's. So a couple of the reasons for not allowing plinking anywhere we want to plink on WMA's would be that others are using it too- for hunting, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, camping and other legal uses so confining plinking to a range helps to protect these other users. To protect the game on these WMA's and make it easier to control poaching DGIF has decided to make it illegal to carry a firearm on WMA's outside of hunting season except at designated ranges or if it is a handgun and you have a CHP.

That being said, the ranges we (Vahunter and I) suggested that you check into are FREE. Try checking things out before complaining about them. And if it really bothers you to go to a range, try moving out away from developed areas and buy a piece of land. It doesn't take much land to plink on and it gets cheaper when you get away from developed areas.

[Vahunter]

Well said Moccasin

[gfost1]

Howdy, Y'all

Didn't mean to sound like I was blaming VA for anything. I believe the Commonwealth is in the top 10 of being favorable to firearms enthusiasts. I'm just whining about how things have changed for all of us over the past thirty years, and not necessarily for the better.

Regards,

George

[zephyp]

If I could convince a certain person, I'll call her Young, to move to the country I'd be packing up right now and heading for a 20 acre plot. That's a long way off though. She likes the city so I'll be stuck with Gilbert's and the occasional trip to Staunton.

[Moccasin]

If I could convince a certain person, I'll call her Young, to move to the country I'd be packing up right now and heading for a 20 acre plot. That's a long way off though. She likes the city so I'll be stuck with Gilbert's and the occasional trip to Staunton.

I can't even stand the suburbs, much less the city. Too many idiots running around, and they all want to come out to the area I live in on weekends. Why can't they stay home? Trust me, theres nothing to see so there's no reason to fart along at 30 mph in a 55 mph zone.

[zephyp]

I can't even stand the suburbs, much less the city. Too many idiots running around, and they all want to come out to the area I live in on weekends. Why can't they stay home? Trust me, theres nothing to see so there's no reason to fart along at 30 mph in a 55 mph zone.

Believe me sometimes I think every idiot in the world lives within 5 miles. As for farting around at 30 in a 55 I do that frequently on a bicycle...

[Moccasin]

Believe me sometimes I think every idiot in the world lives within 5 miles. As for farting around at 30 in a 55 I do that frequently on a bicycle...

I don't worry about bicyclists where I live, Sherry gets them with the door if I miss them with the fender. It's the cars and motorcycles, the ones you have to wait for a passing zone to get around, that piss me off. I know what the sights are on these roads, I don't need to slow down and look at them closely that's for sure. Out-of-staters going to Montpilier have to stop in the middle of the road and try to figure out where they are supposed to be, which turn they want and such. PULL OVER, I know where I want to go so get out of the way while you try and figure out where you want to go. Or they have to stop at every side road and check the number to see if it's the one they want, buy a GPS, program it, follow it. It's not that hard and they are very accurate.

[NATIONALIST]

if VA is firearms friendly then why don't we have castle doctrine yet and why do you need to be 21 to by an AKM or AR-15 and why aren't there more public ranges that are not closed half the year like the WMA ranges ? in the home of the NRA we should have all of this but we don't because VA is fast becoming a permanent blue state...

[zephyp]

if VA is firearms friendly then why don't we have castle doctrine yet and why do you need to be 21 to by an AKM or AR-15 and why aren't there more public ranges that are not closed half the year like the WMA ranges ? in the home of the NRA we should have all of this but we don't because VA is fast becoming a permanent blue state...

Great questions. VA becoming a permanent blue state? Watch what happens in the upcoming governor and congressional elections...Permanent blue state my a$$. I dont think so. [Please God, I pray that I am not wrong]

[Vahunter]

If I could convince a certain person, I'll call her Young, to move to the country I'd be packing up right now and heading for a 20 acre plot. That's a long way off though. She likes the city so I'll be stuck with Gilbert's and the occasional trip to Staunton.

My wife was a city girl. It took some talking but now she says she doesn't understand how anyone could live in the city. I think it's getting too populated here. There are about 12K people in the county. I moved from Mechanicsville after being born and raised there for 35 years, then the city folks took it over. I do need to extend my range. I can only get 73 yards from my front porch. I normally shoot 50 yards because the wife hates it when brass starts bouncing off the windows when I shoot from the porch.

[Moccasin]

if VA is firearms friendly then why don't we have castle doctrine yet and why do you need to be 21 to by an AKM or AR-15 and why aren't there more public ranges that are not closed half the year like the WMA ranges ? in the home of the NRA we should have all of this but we don't because VA is fast becoming a permanent blue state...

Why do we need castle doctrine? To make somebody feel better about shooting when they probably shouldn't have? I can recall 3 recent high profile instances here in VA the BG was shot and the shooter was not prosecuted. If I felt like digging I could probably find many more examples.

As for the age 21 to buy an AKM or AR-15 how about providing a reference for that, the information I get from VA Code and the VSP does not differentiate between a long gun and an "assault weapon."

How well does OC'ing work in SC?

I'm beginning to think we may have a troll here.

[NATIONALIST]

im no troll ! we need castle doctrine so law abiding people have one more tool to use against the bad guys. we didnt have open carry in sc but it dont work so well in certain places in va from what i understand the police harass people that oc in some cities . with the influx of people moving here from the ne and west coast most of them voting dem its only a matter of time before they out number us and va becomes a permanent blue state the dems registered 500,000 new voters in va for the last election.

[zephyp]

im no troll ! we need castle doctrine so law abiding people have one more tool to use against the bad guys. we didnt have open carry in sc but it dont work so well in certain places in va from what i understand the police harass people that oc in some cities . with the influx of people moving here from the ne and west coast most of them voting dem its only a matter of time before they out number us and va becomes a permanent blue state the dems registered 500,000 new voters in va for the last election.

Gary's point does beg the question: What kind of Nationalist are you? I'm just curious.

[allingeneral]

im no troll !

I hope not.

we didnt have open carry in sc but it dont work so well in certain places in va from what i understand the police harass people that oc in some cities .

Generally, I believe that this is because it has recently come to light for many people that OC is legal and the police in many jurisdictions were uninformed about the law. As word continues to spread and as more people OC, and as more people have discussions with (or confrontations with) police, the police have begun to understand the law.

[Moccasin]

Again, why do we need castle doctrine when the Commonwealth's Attorneys don't press charges against shootings that were obviously self-defense? Is it that some people believe we should just shoot first then ask questions?

Find a reference for the statement that you must be 21 to buy an AK or AR?

Open carry in VA- "but it dont work so well in certain places in va from what i understand the police harass people that oc in some cities" References showing this? The only OC problem I am personally aware of happened on my own property, scared the crap out of the preacher going door to door when he realized I had a pistol on me.

"dems registered 500,000 new voters in VA for the last election." I'm going to have to call bravo sierra on that statement. In October of 2008 the SBE reported 400,000 new voters statewide, not quite 500,000 and I'm sure not all democrats. Besides some dems don't vote strict party line or don't follow the exact party philosophy, like a RINO.

"In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional or disciplinary response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion"

hmm,,,,,,,

[zephyp]

"In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional or disciplinary response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion"

hmm,,,,,,,

Thanks, Gary. It certainly looks like that I...dk...am one of the biggest trolls here...

[Moccasin]

Thanks, Gary. It certainly looks like that I...dk...am one of the biggest trolls here...

If the shoe fits,,,,,,,

[gfost1]

Howdy, Y'all,

I'm inclined to agree w/Nationalist on several of his assertions.

While we have a de facto Castle Doctrine in the Commonwealth at this time, that could change at the whim of the politicians. What is wrong with getting it in writing?

Any regular readers of the VCDL newsletter know that OC practitioners have had an ongoing struggle with police harassment. The city of Norfolk for sure cannot claim the excuse of "ignorance", having had three run-ins with one fellow AFTER settling out of court with the guy for a prior harassment case.

Nationalist has a valid observation regarding the effect of the influx of left-leaning voters. They can only serve to accelerate us in the direction we are already moving. As for Virginia becoming a permanent "blue" state, the Commonwealth has been controlled by Democrats for most of our modern history. The recent flirtation with Republican leadership was primarily a backlash against the increasingly leftist policies of the urban dems that have slowly been replacing the conservative rural dems in positions of power. At any rate, the republicans had their chance and failed to distinguish themselves.

Where does that leave us? If we are going to pin our hopes on the Republicans, we need to make sure they understand that we expect certain things in return for our support, and the price for their continued failure to deliver will be too terrible to contemplate. And we have to be prepared follow through on that promise. As a member of the most powerful special interest group in the country, I am tired of being taken for granted.

As an aside, I think we are entitled to demand the same loyalty from the NRA. There is no excuse for them to be anything other than a "No Compromise" gun lobby.

Regards,

George

BTW, does being this far off topic make me a troll, too? (insert smiley here)

[Lexington]

Back to the topic of the thread, I am inclined to do some research on shooting in the national forest. I am having a hard time reconciling the absolute unrestricted freedom I had in CO with the rules I'm hearing about here in VA. No doubt you all have a better understanding of it since I'm new here, but I need to find codified details.

As to the comment that a lot of people are using the forest for a lot of things, shooters are among that population of recreational users, and there is room for us too.

It bums me out to think that I'll be oiling my rifles more than I will be shooting them.

[CCFan]

There's no shortage of available places to shoot in national forest - Moccasin, Vahunter and others have pointed this out - while I can understand it's a bit of a change from the "absolute unrestricted freedom" (some restrictions listed here) I might also be inclined to say that with the Appalachian Trail, campers, hikers, etc. in Virgina, the national forests in Va may be more populated... irregardless, if you're that concerned, befriend a farmer who has a problem with groundhogs and go blaze away - or buy that 20 acres Zephyp was talking about, put up a range and invite us all over!!

Here's the link to the regulations about shooting in George Washington and Jefferson National Forests -
http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj/recreation/ ... ndex.shtml

If you really want to shoot your firearms, you'll find a way - I live in a pretty populated area in SW Virginia, but when i want to shoot, I have no problem making the time and making sure I have a place to do it.