My tale of woe and heartbreak.

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BHPshooter

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I've had the itches lately -- you know what I'm talking about... I haven't been shooting for probably 3 months now, and it's taking its toll on my mind.

So yesterday I decided that I have had enough. I load up my stuff into my truck and head to the nearby mountain range where I usually shoot (NO organized ranges within about 30 miles). We've had a lot of snow lately, so I have already decided that I'll just have to pull over on the highway and hike a little ways to where I shoot (about 35-40 yards off the road in a huge pit).

Nobody behind me, so I start slowing down and looking for a good place to pull over.

Ah, there... the snow looks like it's only about 2 inches deep.

So I pull over, and suddenly my 2 wheel drive truck is sucked off the road into more than 3 feet of snow... The snow was level with the road, giving the illusion that it wasn't very deep. :scrutiny:

Yeah, I was stuck. Really stuck. I tried rocking it out, I tried every trick in the book. Nothing. My truck isn't bad in the snow, but this was more that it could handle.

Crap. Time to remember off-road survival 101 -- when stuck, grab anything and everything that's handy and shove it under the tires. So I took my handy pocket knife out, and waded through the snow to a couple of sagebrush bushes that were showing through the snow.

Just as I was stuffing them under my tires, one of my neighbors in his Jeep stopped and asked if they could help. {whew!} About sixty seconds and a tow-strap later, and I was free.

Thank the neighbors, get back in, get going to get traffic moving again.

I drove from Hell to breakfast, and there wasn't a place in my sections of creation that had a dry place to pull over.

So, after driving for who-knows-how-long, I sullenly went back home. I was (and still am) really bummed.

I decided to lessen the effects by playing the most realistic gun-game I've got: Rainbow Six 3.

It just ain't the same. :(

I can't wait for summer.

Wes
 
To ease the shootin' pains ...

When the weather's bad and I can't get out I set up a pellet trap in the bedroom and plink away with an air pistol. No, it ain't the same, but it helps ...
 
Two major errors. No shovel in your truck and no snow shoes. Remember that the next time you see somebody stuck, you owe the Fates. Help the guy. It's a 'what goes around comes around' thing. I'm still paying them off after a guy stopped, picked me up and drove me to a gas station and back to my truck after I stupidly ran out of gas in the middle of the night. Oh, and the shovel is for digging out and the show shoes are for getting out and about. Plan 'B' is a back yard archery range. A pile of packed snow makes a great back stop for arrows.
 
I felt like that once

What I did was turn up the radio real loud and use a couple of thick phone books as a backstop for subsonic .22 target practice
 
You must be talking about that stretch just west of Utah lake, eh? Well, whatever you do, don't try going to Doug's Shoot'n'Sports to scratch that itch. Last time I was there, they only had 3 working stalls. :banghead: But at least its poorly lit.... :scrutiny:
 
I bought a pump BB gun, 6000 BB's, some .177 pellets and a pack of ShootNCs.... now if it's too snowy or bonechillin' cold... I just open my downstairs sliding back door, put out the cardboard box stuffed with cardboard and a target or two stuck to it , come back in, close the door to just a crack and fire away.. got a good wood fence back stop, no-one behind me...... if it's really cold I'll bring a small space heater into the room so the heater doesn't keep kicking on and clothespin up the curtain. Makes me feel like a kid again!:)
 
You must be talking about that stretch just west of Utah lake, eh?
Click to expand...

Yep, the Tooele valley got pounded.

I've got an airsoft pistol, but shooting that just made me feel worse, for some reason.

For a long time, I've thought pretty hard about how Tooele and the surrounding regions have no range (indoor, outdoor, or otherwise). I'd sure like to build one someday. If I could get a plot of land up next to the mountains, there are several places that would be great for indoor and outdoor sections.

I wonder how much that would cost...?

Wes
 
That all could have been avoided for under $50 . :(
Get a ratchet winch and some chain or tow rope , and you are set .
Pop your truck in neutral , tie off to something and get cranking .
I even delt with a roll over with one once while doing the trails .
:D
 
tie off to something
Click to expand...

good luck on that in Utah!!!! Alot of Utah is desert, and there aren't alot of trees unless you're into the foothills or mountains. The area he's talking about is pretty barren, mostly scrub oak, not enough to support a hand winch.
 
Atc1man There is always options . A big rock , a guard rail . The last 2 wheel drive truck somebody drove up there .....:neener:
 
good luck on that in Utah!!!! Alot of Utah is desert, and there aren't alot of trees unless you're into the foothills or mountains. The area he's talking about is pretty barren, mostly scrub oak, not enough to support a hand winch.
Click to expand...

Where I was, it was only sagebrush. Not even any scrub oak for another 200 feet towards the mountains.

Yeah, I should have been better prepared, you're right. However, the "ratchet winch" (we call 'em come-alongs in Utah :neener: ) wouldn't have worked, since I was on the downhill side of the road, so unless I wanted to go lower into the valley, or unless I could stop all traffic, it wouldn't have done much. A good idea, though.



Has anybody here ever started a range? I'd like to... I just don't know what it would entail.

Wes
 
You'd need land or a good large building, and probably buttloads of insurance. Oh...and fully automatic weapons for rent
:neener:
Hey if you're in Tooele, you're not too far from the Lee Kay Hunter's Education Center....great range if you don't mind the really long live fire periods and short cease fires....can't beat it for $2 though!
 
Well, that depends.

Officially? Neither you nor I have the money for the bonds, liability insurance, pollution insurance for lead contamination, and future liability for every nanny-statist that walks in the door (and I have some...shall we say....discretionary funds).

Unofficially? Absolutely. I am currently looking for a good stretch of BLM land to mildly improve for long distance shooting. I am also looking for a canyon to set up a pistol range. And maybe later, a threat lane for movement to contact.

Some wood, some steel, a little concrete. Voila. Well, I may need some precious time as well.

I promise not to hurt any endangered species.
 
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