‘Out of control’: When target shooters and hikers collide

Hiker Billy Taylor hits the trails around Las Vegas about three times a week — more when the weather is nice. Almost every time, he encounters people shooting guns.

As Southern Nevada grows and suburbia spreads farther into the desert, Taylor has seen what he describes as a tenfold increase in open-desert shooters (Metro Police does not measure such incidents and cannot comment on the change).

“It has gotten out of control,” Taylor said. “They shoot indiscriminately and don’t pay attention to the activities around them like hikers, mountain bikers and four-wheelers. They don’t stop shooting even when they know others are near. They will often get aggressive when you make them aware of your presence. ... Something needs to be done about this.”

Almost 50 million acres of public land exists in Nevada. It’s designated mixed-use, which means it’s open to target shooting and hunting, as well as hiking, biking, cattle grazing and more. Boundaries and rules exist to keep people safe, but there are no designated shooting areas. And with overlapping jurisdiction between the Bureau of Land Management, Metro Police, the Forest Service and Clark County, it’s easy to get confused.

GC Gates runs Nevada Carry, an online resource for gun-related news and information. He makes maps and ordinances available on his website nevadacarry.org. He too is frustrated by the bad behavior of a certain type of shooter.

“The ones sweeping muzzles, shooting when people are down range, littering, shooting appliances, and those with fingers on the trigger at the wrong time are in the ‘novice’ group,” he said. “Most of them don’t know better and lack the drive to learn better habits.”

Gates says the local gun community has discussed possible solutions, such as an info booth, addi-