Oregon fire started by target shooter

[ben4372]

I heard this on the news last night and the said it was trap shooter. This story doesn't say. Looks like they are really excited to tie it to guns. Maybe a guy was smoking while shooting? Tracers aside isn't it almost impossible to start a fire shooting trap? http://www.kgw.com/story/news/local/2014/09/13/wildfire-forest-estacada/15603325/

[Ridge]

Pellets could spark ricocheting off a rock or piece of metal out there.

[Gman]

I could see that only if it was steel shot...but that would still be a slim chance.

Maybe it was another vegetable garden induced fire.




Vegetable garden barrier blamed in Silverado Canyon fire (http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-silverado-fire-vegetable-garden-20140915-story.html)

[Aloha_Shooter]

Detectives told KGW the forest fire originated near a gravel pit where people go to practice target shooting. If the person who sparked the fire is caught, they could be fined, even if it was an accident. It is illegal to shoot at explosive targets on U.S. Forest Service land.

IF they really found point zero of the fire and found it started near the gravel pit then I don't blame them much for leaping to a conclusion here. They could have created sparks by shooting steel core at the gravel or there could have been dummies like the idiots that started the Springer Fire by shooting at propane canisters that weren't empty. Would like to know more before I make any guesses on what happened but I can see the trail of reasoning.

[rockhound]

bs, unless they were shooting at something they should not have been shooting at...

[Ronin13]

Pellets could spark ricocheting off a rock or piece of metal out there.
That's a bit of a stretch... The only time, out of the 10's of thousands of rounds I've fired in my lifetime (both military and civilian), the only time I've ever seen a fire started from shooting was tracers, in dry grass. That's it. And for the "news" saying explosive targets can cause fires, maybe, but not tannerite.

[eneranch]

Pellets could spark ricocheting off a rock or piece of metal out there.

Gotta say from experience this could happen.

I was shooting at Ben Lomand GC on the 600yd range last winter & the guys shooing next to us were using Steel Core Ammo on Steel Targets; started a fire in the grass. We spotted it right away & were able to knock it down.

[rockhound]

OP was talking about "trap shooting" not target shooting

I do agree that rifles shots are more likely to be an issue. We were discussing shot pellets

[MarkCO]

Steel in the projectile on steel or rock surfaces, yes, it can cause a fire, and it has. I have worked on a case as a forensic expert where we proved it conclusively. I know of another expert in Washington who did the same thing with the same result. The linked article says nothing about trap shooting...that was something the OP included for some unknown reason, but not connected to the linked article.

[smokeyradio]

Here is a test of tannerite starting fires. This is the short version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm9d4zK46LM&list=UUqEqCL3yLeTDDKs7ObUGEqQ

[Aloha_Shooter]

That's a bit of a stretch... The only time, out of the 10's of thousands of rounds I've fired in my lifetime (both military and civilian), the only time I've ever seen a fire started from shooting was tracers, in dry grass. That's it. And for the "news" saying explosive targets can cause fires, maybe, but not tannerite.

You need to talk to more range masters then. I was told Cheyenne Mountain Shooting Complex has had a few in the short time since they opened. The range personnel saw them and got them put out before they became a problem but it's not a stretch.

[Ronin13]

You need to talk to more range masters then. I was told Cheyenne Mountain Shooting Complex has had a few in the short time since they opened. The range personnel saw them and got them put out before they became a problem but it's not a stretch.
Why would I need to talk to more range masters? I'm just going off of my own personal experience and haven't seen a fire break out except for that one time. Then again, I don't shoot at many mass use ranges.

[brutal]

Gotta say from experience this could happen.

I was shooting at Ben Lomand GC on the 600yd range last winter & the guys shooing next to us were using Steel Core Ammo on Steel Targets; started a fire in the grass. We spotted it right away & were able to knock it down.

I recall Bill telling me about that.