I had something similar happen. I was shooting in a spot popular for that activity on public land. It's a canyon that's shaped like a pit, about 200 yards wide and 100 feet deep. It's an ideal spot because the backstop is more than 270 degrees around and plenty high. Someone or another is shooting there several times a week, and the ground on the bottom is littered with cases. When it rains, so many bullets wash out of there you can scoop them up by the handful. There's some short trees in the canyon, maybe 10' or 15' tall but mostly short bushes or bare ground. I was shooting some paper targets one day and a dude with his dog came down into the canyon. I didn't see them right away because the trees were obscuring my view of the approach. The dog, which was harder to see, came closer to my impact area than was safe. It wasn't hit, but it took me too long to see it and stop shooting.
It disturbed me that the man would come down into that little bowl when he must have known someone was shooting down there. A .357 can be heard. I walk my dog in the same area, but I know better than to even be on the ridgeline when someone is shooting down there. This idiot came right down into the bowl. Nevertheless, he has as much right to walk through there as I have to shoot there, and if he so chooses, I am not absolved of any responsibility.
For me, the take-away was that I needed to be more aware of my impact area for every shot. We know the rule, "be sure of your target and what is behind it." But let's say you set up a target and there's a bush behind it. You check to make sure the backdrop behind the bush is clear before you start shooting. You might not think anyone is stupid enough to move into your impact area behind that bush, but you'd be wrong. I really need to have a full view of the impact area and all the approaches to it for every shot I take. It can help to have more people looking out, but I most often shoot alone. I can't afford to get too focused on what I'm doing and lose sight and awareness of my surroundings.
I was very disturbed by that event, and I can only imagine stillquietvoice was even more disturbed by the arrogant, impudent behavior of the man he described. I too decided to find another place to shoot. Fortunately they are very abundant and varied around here. Lately I've been shooting in a wide open space where I can see the approach in all directions for over a mile. There's still a slope to shoot into for a backstop.
It disturbed me that the man would come down into that little bowl when he must have known someone was shooting down there. A .357 can be heard. I walk my dog in the same area, but I know better than to even be on the ridgeline when someone is shooting down there. This idiot came right down into the bowl. Nevertheless, he has as much right to walk through there as I have to shoot there, and if he so chooses, I am not absolved of any responsibility.
For me, the take-away was that I needed to be more aware of my impact area for every shot. We know the rule, "be sure of your target and what is behind it." But let's say you set up a target and there's a bush behind it. You check to make sure the backdrop behind the bush is clear before you start shooting. You might not think anyone is stupid enough to move into your impact area behind that bush, but you'd be wrong. I really need to have a full view of the impact area and all the approaches to it for every shot I take. It can help to have more people looking out, but I most often shoot alone. I can't afford to get too focused on what I'm doing and lose sight and awareness of my surroundings.
I was very disturbed by that event, and I can only imagine stillquietvoice was even more disturbed by the arrogant, impudent behavior of the man he described. I too decided to find another place to shoot. Fortunately they are very abundant and varied around here. Lately I've been shooting in a wide open space where I can see the approach in all directions for over a mile. There's still a slope to shoot into for a backstop.
