Firearms in Forests and Parks

[B yond]

Food for thought ..

What's the likelihood of getting caught illegally ccwing vs the likelihood of needing a weapon? Penalties for each?

No encouragement one way or the other. Just food for thought.

[metalhead]

Hello Calgunners,

Has anyone camped in Tahoe Donner Campground in Truckee before ? If so please share if you know about their specific firearms policy. Thanks in advance !


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[Dvrjon]

that's probably to dissuade the people who would go there and shoot up the landscape and dump shells everywhere. i think the doctrine of competing harms should apply in real self defense cases. maybe it's why some of the rangers don't care if people carry pistols for personal protection

[johncage]

that's probably to dissuade the people who would go there and shoot up the landscape and dump shells everywhere. i think the doctrine of competing harms should apply in real self defense cases. maybe it's why some of the rangers don't care if people carry pistols for personal protection

[Ishooter]

That's funny, though. In general meaning, you can't even discharge your gun for self defense.

[Jason95357]

Yosemite ranger saw me carrying a can of bear spray and said you can't use that inside the park... we will cite you if you do...I said OK.. a ticket or being bear food...duh !

I can see the ranger having a melt down if they saw a real firearm... what about while fishing , there is something in the code about that (?)

Yosemite is under Federal law and the Superintendent of the NP there sets the rules (to some degree). Last I saw, weapons were forbidden without a permit.

Guess what, a CCW is a permit. Federal law says you can carry in National Parks so long as the state allows it. California allows it with a CCW. Just stay outta the staffed buildings as that's a Federal no-no.

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/weapons.htm

The long list of all the rules at Yosemite is found here:

https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/management/upload/yose-compendium.pdf

There are other laws and and such in various parts of the park. It's very complicated, unfortunately, in that there is no one single place to check, and you've got to check all the places the laws and rules may be located.

https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/management/lawsandpolicies.htm

[Dvrjon]

Yosemite ranger saw me carrying a can of bear spray and said you can't use that inside the park... we will cite you if you do...I said OK.. a ticket or being bear food...duh !

I can see the ranger having a melt down if they saw a real firearm... what about while fishing , there is something in the code about that (?)

Firearms

As of February 22, 2010, a federal law allows people who can legally possess firearms under applicable federal, state, and local laws, to legally possess firearms in this park.

It is the responsibility of visitors to understand and comply with all applicable state, local, and federal firearms laws before entering this park. As a starting point, visit the California Attorney General's website.

Federal law also prohibits firearms in certain facilities in this park; those places are marked with signs at all public entrances.

Discharging a firearm for any reason is illegal.

[JWil]

Huh, I thought you could OC in CA national parks, guess I was lucky the park ranger we met while backpacking didn't care about my gun lol. Good to know the law though.

So far I've carried in Death Valley, Zion, Valley of Fire, and Lassen.

[glenCOCO]

“ LOC and UOC are legal everywhere except "prohibited areas" (areas where shooting is prohibited)
- LOC, UOC, UCC, and LCC are all legal in one's campsite. (PC 26055, 26383, & 25605)”

So if I setup a campsite on a primitive campGROUND(just tables and fire rings) does they mean I can’t open carry within my campsite?

[The Tiger]

Per Yosemite

.....Bear spray/pepper spray is not allowed in Yosemite.
The intent is not to harm the bear, but to scare it from the area and restore its natural fear of people by providing a negative experience.


What happens if the bear isn't scared?

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In Yosemite the preferred bear deterrent is harsh language

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/scarebears.htm

If you are in a developed area (e.g., campground, parking lot, lodging area) or if a bear approaches you, act immediately to scare it away: yell aggressively and as loudly as possible.

Also

When a ranger sees a bear, the ranger may use non-lethal aversive tactics to chase the bear out of a developed area. During your overnight stay, expect to see and hear rangers patrolling public areas for bears. You may hear rangers yelling at and chasing bears.

[CheapBloke]

Yosemite ranger saw me carrying a can of bear spray and said you can't use that inside the park... we will cite you if you do...I said OK.. a ticket or being bear food...duh !

I can see the ranger having a melt down if they saw a real firearm... what about while fishing , there is something in the code about that (?)

Per Yosemite

.....Bear spray/pepper spray is not allowed in Yosemite.
The intent is not to harm the bear, but to scare it from the area and restore its natural fear of people by providing a negative experience.


What happens if the bear isn't scared?

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[green grunt]

Yosemite ranger saw me carrying a can of bear spray and said you can't use that inside the park... we will cite you if you do...I said OK.. a ticket or being bear food...duh !

I can see the ranger having a melt down if they saw a real firearm... what about while fishing , there is something in the code about that (?)

[rustyx]

So basically all the situations where you are more likely to rub into a bad guy with a gun are the exact ones where it is illegal to carry one? (Unless you have a cow permit)?

Bingo. Thank your local politicians and police that enforce their idiotic laws.

[Alacrity]

So basically all the situations where you are more likely to rub into a bad guy with a gun are the exact ones where it is illegal to carry one? (Unless you have a cow permit)?

[mi4]

First, thank MudCamper so much for making this thread, which is very helpful for a lot of people. And also thank all the fellows who have answered questions in this thread.

Now, some specific questions. I am bringing family to Yosemite NP for the first time this weekend. I don't have a CCW but will get a hunting license (not getting a tag though).

1. If I want to carry a handgun, is the only legal way when hiking in the NP to unloaded conceal carry or locked unloaded cc?

2. If I want to carry a PCC, is the only legal way when hiking to UCC in a backpack?

3. Since I am using exemption with hunting license (I guess hunting is prohibited in Yosemite NP, so I can only use the exemption code related to "going to or from hunting"), do I have to bring unleaded ammo only?

Edit: just read most posts in this thread, it seems that I should replace all "hunting" with "fishing" in my original post since hunting is not allowed in Yosemite. But then I need to carry a fishing pole while hiking