BLM 2 people, safe or not?

[Manolito]

The press and Mother State have an agenda to make you feel unsafe when not under their control. I know people who live in fear of a Brow Recluse spider because they read on the internet. Don't let the fact we don't have them where they live get in the way of the fear caused by the media and urban legend.

7-11 gets robbed enough they are called stop and rob yet I bet you still go there.

Enjoy your lands and look around while out there a lot to see before you shoot and after you shoot.
Respectfully,
Bill

[SB1964]

I go to several BLM spots alone, I'm not worried about it. It's possible to get robbed anywhere & I could understand a band of illegals etc coming through. I just wear a sidearm.

[welchy]

Don't be scared or worried man. Go have fun. I go out to BLM almost every weekend to either hunt jacks or blow up watermelons (yes I pick up when done and for those of you who do not, you're a douche) by myself or with brother.

Why would you need to pick up blown up watermelons?

[SloChicken]

Why would you need to pick up blown up watermelons?

Pack out what you pack in. And a responsible shooter will pick up a little more for those who feel the can leave their shot up targets.
Unless you feel like looking at others rotting garbage is okay with you

[welchy]

Pack out what you pack in. And a responsible shooter will pick up a little more for those who feel the can leave their shot up targets.
Unless you feel like looking at others rotting garbage is okay with you

I always leave with more than I came with, but packing out things that are just going to compost seems a bit extreme.

[ar15robert]

i usually take my kids out to barstow area a couple times a year for a weekend shooting trip never really worried about it but will be a lil more aware of surroundings.

[toby]

Really? some people just need to stay home.

[x-007]

I had a bit of a run-in with a group of thugs on motorcycles (not dirt bikes) several years ago. Their spokesidiot told me that I was trespassing on private property! I think that they wanted that spot for a party, or for cooking up some meth. Anyway, I stood my ground, even though I was alone. The spokesidiot said that they'd be back, and that I should leave before they returned. I stayed.

They DID return, and I noticed that several of them had firearms on them. So did I....all strategically placed near a freshly dug fire pit that I was going to use as a "kill hole". They didn't like the looks of my M1A rifle!

Anyway, we exchanged a few words, but the bikers turned and rode away. My guess was that they were local punks that had used that same spot before.
While I did feel intimated quite a bit (there were 7 of them), I was MORE uneasy about the situation AFTER they departed the second time. It made me shoot my targets faster than I had planned, so that I could leave a bit earlier.

One other time, out near the Palm Springs BLM area, I saw a line of about 12 people walking through a canyon, and they looked like "undocumented immigrants". A BLM ranger stopped by shortly after that, and said that there was a lot of foot traffic by "undocumenteds" in that area.

[Teeko]

You'll be fine.

[land locked]

Lots of good advice. Like others I always keep a loaded firearm on me especially going down to check targets. I usually go shooting alone so this is a must for me.

Be aware of your surroundings. The two guys walking down the dirt road and no parked vehicle around are probably returning to their grow site.

Be aware of the car full of tweekers that quickly drives past you in a cloud of dust. When you come across their car a mile down the road, and you see a lone woman flagging you down but the man in the passenger side isn't in sight, don't get out and help her with the car she claims just ran out of gas. Mind you there is no gas station for another 25 miles. Its probably a ruse to get you out of your truck to rob you. Just crack your window, tell her no and drive.

For range safety, it might be time to pack up and leave when two idiots set up on your left 200 yards away and decide its a good idea to shoot cross way onto your range.

Be aware and stay safe. BLM is usually good but can be like the wild west sometimes.

[CK_32]

I'd say 2 or more. Not only for thieft but most for safety if something goes like Tex Grubner

[golfish]

I go shooting a lot on BLM land, I'm only 1.5 miles off the hwy yet I see nobody (except for that one day when the geocachers crashed my party) I have never thought about being rolled up on by bad guys.

Seems kind of risky for bad guys to rob good guys with guns. That movie with John Wayne, The War Wagon, that was cool.

[Paul]

I've been shooting on BLM property for +20 years and have had "two" odd encounters but still I don't worry. My wife and I camp, cook, and shoot out there.

One day we were camping and my dog started growling and then going nuts. We leashed her at that point as occassionally we'll have a coyote or fox come to visit and I don't want my dog engaging with the local K9's. I was wearing my .45 on my hip and had a rifle leaning against a bush next to me. Out of the bush comes a desert rat - some unwashed dirty middle-aged guy who looked a hundred years old because of his worn skin. He came and asked if the rifle was an M-16 and wanted us to feed him. Sorry, we only bring enough for us. I offered him a bottle of water and watched him for 20 minutes as he walked away.

Another time I was out for a walk and a brand-new truck came down the road raising a big ole cloud of dust. I crossed to the up-wide side and the guys didn't slow down the least. I watched them as they came to my camp site about 3/4 of a mile away where they abruptly turned and cut off the lights. My wife and dog were alone at the site. I ran back with my pistol on my hip and found that they hadn't actually turned at my camp site but another 100 yards beyond. My wife had stopped cleaning dishes and was waiting with her .38.

I went down to where the truck had disappeared and found that the truck was in fact, wrecked. Taking with the two guys in the truck one was a boy who just turned 16 that day and his father had given him a brand new 4WD pickup. The second person was the boy's uncle who had bought the boy his first two six packs of beer. The truck was totaled with the front wheels sitting 90 degrees from each other and the engine/radiator embedded on a rather hard rock.

The two wanted me to drive them back into town about 20 miles away. No sorry, out of the question. When I lost track of them they were walking across the desert toward the highway.

The next morning my dog went nuts just as a voice said "in the tent, this is the ranger". Ranger Rick had a list of fines about five long for the truck including dumping oil and cutting a trail in violation of the regulations.

I always have the dog with me and when I shoot I'll wear a pistol. I keep an eye out as any trucks will raise a dust cloud and can be heard for a mile or more away. If I leave a rifle on my shooting mat I'll make sure it's at least unloaded but normally I'll sling up while tending targets.

[emptybottle151]

I always go shooting with a buddy and I always have a loaded firearm on me.

[MrElectric03]

Been shooting on BLM land for 17 years now and never had an issue. I mostly shoot at the same spot though which is not too easy to get to and you can easily see someone coming up the road at a mile away. Someone's really gotta have a set on em to rob someone who is shooting.