Safety precautions when shooting clay pigeons on public land

[iquack08]

What safety precautions do you guys take when shooting clay pigeons in a national forest?

My old spot near Squaw Pass is a PITA to get to and is pretty secluded, so I never had to worry about hitting anybody. But with the snow this week, I'm looking for a new spot, and I think I've found one near Buffalo Creek. This spot is closer to the road, so I want to be more careful.

[Tinelement]

Always know your target and beyond. If not, don't pull the trigger.

[Teufelhund]

What Tinelement said. We shoot clays out at Pawnee all the time. Make sure the path of the clay doesn't pass in front of anything you wouldn't ordinarily shoot at and you should be fine. The good part is shotguns don't have a very long effective range and bird shot does not travel far.

[cofi]

if your clear 50-100yd in the direction your shooting youll be fine

[MarkCO]

if your clear 50-100yd in the direction your shooting youll be fine

Probably need a little more than that. Post the load you are using and I'll calculate the maximum fall distance for you.

[iquack08]

Good to know. I think the spot I found on Google Earth should be fine then. I'm seeing something that looks like a trial about 1,500 yards away and 400 ft higher, but it could be nothing because there's nothing marked on the national forest map. But at that distance, I shouldn't need to worry with bird shots.

The area is 300 x 65 yards but is only 50 yards from the main road. I just hope I don't get bothered by a park ranger even though the general restrictions don't specifically say we have to be 150 yards from a road. A distance of 50 ft seems to be the rule for hunting. On the South Platte Ranger District's website, it says target shooting is closed within 1/4 mile of roads, but since it's referencing an expired order, I think I'll stick with 50+ yards for now.

[sniper7]

do a walk after to clean up the non broken or slightly broken clays. the ones you dust will easily get broken down. the full and partial clays take a few years to fully go away.

[Teufelhund]

do a walk after to clean up the non broken or slightly broken clays. the ones you dust will easily get broken down. the full and partial clays take a few years to fully go away.

This is a good point; always leave the place cleaner than you found it. I don't know what the rules are up there, but at Pawnee they want you to use only biodegradable clays and targets.