A shooting incident in the Medicine Bow National Forest (MBNF) is prompting officials to examine current target shooting regulations in the area.
Perry and Leslie Irving, long-time Laramie locals, were driving in the Pole Mountain area March 27 when a target bullet hit their van.
“The bullet was pretty much about head height and a few seconds earlier and it could have been extremely tragic,” Perry said.
Perry said he considers it a stroke of luck the bullet did not hit him, his wife or their three dogs.
The responsible party was cited for shooting across a road and paid $2,500 in damages to the Irvings.
The MBNF permits target shooting from October through March, Aaron Voos, MBNF public affairs specialist, said. He said people do have to follow gun safety guidelines and avoid shooting across roads.
Perry said he feels further enforcement should be in place, as this is not his first close call with a bullet. Last year bullets ricocheted around Perry and his dog while they walked on Pole Mountain Road.
It was not until the latest incident that Perry wrote a letter to the forest service.
“I’m not against the shooting. I just think it’s gotten crowded enough up there with people skiing, biking and hiking, and I can see it’s just a matter of time before something tragic happens,” Perry said. “I’d like to see that get changed before something like that does happen.”
A modification Perry said he would like to see is designating specific areas for target shooting, rather than providing unlimited access to the national forest.
Sen. Fred Emerich (R-Laramie County), who serves on the Public Lands Committee, said he admits issues can arise with target shooting and other recreational activities occurring in the same location.
Providing designated target shooting areas would be logical; however, Emerich said enforcing those areas could be tricky.
“You would have lots of swamp marshals out there enforcing things which is hard to do and is more service regulation,” he said. “I don’t like more regulation. People with common sense would dictate that, but sometimes that doesn’t work.”
Although the forest service does receive complaints about the proximity of some target shooting to recreational areas, Voos said the van shooting has been the only major gunfire related incident.
The MBNF implemented the specific target-shooting season in the 1990s due to the high influx of recreationalists in the Pole Mountain area, Voos said.
This proved successful, he said; however, he added that the MBNF would consider further restrictions to recreational gun use if shooting accidents continue to occur.
The Front Range in Colorado limits target shooting to specific areas, yet feedback has shown people who would shoot responsibly to begin with only occupy the areas, Voos said.
“It does alleviate some pressure, but it doesn’t solve the entire problem,” he said.
Emerich said gun safety should continue to be stressed, but specific regulation changes would have to come from a federal level.
A couple’s vehicle was shot recently while in Medicine Bow National Forest similarly to the one pictured here. The couple is now lobbying for the increase of shooting restrictions in the area.
