Illegal and unsafe target and recreational shooting around Crystal River Ranch and Crystal Village Communities AUGUST 2013
Objectives of this Presentation: The most important statement we want to make is that we are not anti gun. Safe and responsible target / recreational shooting and hunting in appropriate forest areas is encouraged. Notwithstanding this, we want to inform our communities on the following: - Illegal and irresponsible target / recreational shooting and hunting can have tragic consequences - It is happening far too close to our communities - There are multiple reasons for why we are being exposed to illegal and / or dangerous shooting - There are a number of actions we believe can be taken to make our communities safer without impinging on gun owners rights - We would like to understand the level of support or disagreement within our communities in respect of the described problem statement and proposed mitigations.
Illegal and unsafe shooting can have tragic consequences
Illegal and unsafe shooting is occurring dangerously close to our CRR/CV communities Below is a small number of examples of known potentially dangerous incidents in the recent past: January 1, 2013: Paul McNabb CV property owner walking in community with his wife was struck and injured in the hand by bullet from above. Something whizzed past my head #13-002-0481 http://mynorthwest.com/11/2301731/stray-bullet-survivor-may-neverknow-who-shot-him June 16, 2012: Remington.223 round came directly through the CRR community recreation room window 1:24 pm. It ricocheted off the floor, went 20+ feet and embedded in far wall. Shooting location determined to be high east ridge point off FS 7013. Case #12-170-0207 Frank Nemeth, CRR property owner heard and located on the ground a bullet that had hit neighbor s metal roof while he was outside one evening. Brian and Sandy Miller, CRR property owners still have the bullet that pierced their hot tub cover one summer within a few hours of family members getting out of the hot tub.
There are multiple reasons why these illegal and unsafe shooting practices are happening 1. Blatant Violation of the law 2. Lack of awareness of the law 3. Lack of awareness of potential impact / dangerousness of certain shooting locations 4. Lack of protection for our communities from existing laws 5. Insufficient law enforcement on public lands and insufficient enforcement on privately owned lands
Blatant violation of the law WA State Law WAC 332-52-145 http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=332-52-45 Discharging a firearm within, from, along, across or down roads or trails Areas designated or posted as no shooting within 500 feet of residences Date: July 2013 Just to keep you in the loop-we found several bullet holes in the bear this weekend (Alpine Drive E) We haven t been up in a while, so don t know when this took place. However, it is clear that this was not from target shooting. It appears that a couple of the shots came from a car on Alpine and one would have come close to or hit the cabin had the shot not hit the bear. Feel free to go have a look. Lee T. Anderson Date: September 2012 A man from within his vehicle on CRR Mountainside Drive (No Shoot Zone) kills bull elk firing in direction of S.Lewis residence. He also did not have an elk tag, but his son was with him.
Lack of awareness of the law WA State Law WAC 332-52-145 http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=332-52-45 Not discharging a firearm in an area with unobstructed earthen backdrop capable of stopping all projectiles and debris.. CV 1.2 mi CRR 1.8 mi 1 mi direct to CRR Bearing 228 Elev 2650 7/7/2013 CVI 1 mile Power utility road FS73 drive in access.
Lack of awareness of potential impact / dangerousness of certain shooting locations 1 mi 4 mi There are a significant number of common target shooting sites that are well within range of our communities. These sites are used for the following reasons: 1 mi 1.2 mi = Common Shooting Sites 1. They are close to Highway 410 and are highly accessible 2. Our communities sit in the valley and are not visible from the shooting zones 3. If target shooters use FS70, FS72 and FS73 they may not even know our communities exist falsely leading to a belief that the areas are safe 4. Anecdotal evidence suggests target shooters fail to understand that effective range and lethal range of ammunition are different.
Lack of awareness of potential impact / dangerousness of certain shooting locations (2) Many of the common shooting sites are within lethal range of our communities for a variety of weapons Gun bullet ranges Sources: The Physics Factbook & NRA Firearms Factbook June 2, 2002 Caliber Weight/Type Muzzle / Impact Velocity (ft / s) Maximum Range (yds / miles).22 Long Rifle 40 gr Round Nose (RN) 1255 / 300 2000 / 1.1.223 Remington 55 gr Soft Point (SP) Boat Tail (BT) 3240 / 545 3875 / 2.2 30-06 Springfield 180 gr SP BT 2700 / 800 5675 / 3.2 9mm Luger 124 gr RN 1120 / 350 2400 / 1.3 45 Automatic Colt Pistol 230 gr RN 850 / 330 1800 / 1.0 44 Magnum 240 gr Flat Point 1760 / 350 2500 / 1.4 Table above shows average maximum range of several types of popular handgun and rifle ammunition. The calculations were made for Sea Level and 72 F. Warmer temperatures and higher elevations will significantly increase the maximum range of the bullets. Carter K. Lord, National Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology Center
Lack of protection from existing laws ~=.84 square miles 537 Acres CRR / CV No Shoot Zone Given the proximity of our communities to Highway 410, the surrounding Forest Roads (especially FS70) and the natural topography of the area the No Shoot Zone protecting our communities is too small. No Shoot Zone signage is too small, difficult to see and wording is ineffective. 10
Insufficient law enforcement on public lands and insufficient enforcement on privately owned lands Forest Service Officer personnel are very limited in number and cover enormous square mileage. Pro-active enforcement of shooting laws is practically non-existent. Despite fairly significant penalties for illegal shooting on forest lands (violation of these prohibitions is punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000 for an individual or $10,000 for an organization, or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both (16 U.S.C. 551, 18 U.S.C. 3559 and 3571) the very small likelihood of being apprehended and the lack of knowledge of potential penalties mean that the deterrent is very low. Reactive Patrol response enforcement by FS officer does occur. Pierce County Sheriff or WA State Patrol, if dispatched, will also provide incident response. Although shooting is illegal on Hancock land (West / South of CV and CRR), except during hunting season with appropriate permits, no pro-active enforcement by Hancock exists. 11
Mitigations proposed to reduce risk to Public safety from illegal and dangerous shooting Short Term Step One Improve Signs Increase size of No Shoot Zone signs, improve wording, increase frequency and visibility Step Two Increase Incident Reporting Call 911 or WA State Patrol Dispatch: 425-649-4370 radio designator "Forest 55 and if possible to do so safely, provide the following information: 1. Incident time 2. Location 3. Vehicle license, make, model & color 4. Description of individual(s) 5. General weapon description, i.e. rifle, handgun, shotgun 6. Observed illegal action(s) Step Three Promote Safe Shooting Zones with Flyers / Directions Produce flyers distribute in Greenwater shops, shooting websites and to shooters hand to hand.
Please provide your feedback to this presentation We want to act and need to understand the sentiment of the community. Please provide your feedback positive or negative to shoot@crystalriverranch.org