I'd like some input on the idea of back country target shooting on state land in the Adirondacks. I know in theory target shooting on state land is legal unless posted otherwise but if I were to hike into the back country and do some long range shooting?
Adirondack State Land
- Thread starter 505PIR
- Start date
Mike1Juliet
9mm
What I did was contact the forest ranger for that specific plot of forest. There isn't one ranger for the entirety of the Adirondack forest. I'm my case the ranger for the forest near me said it's a-OK so long as I clean up after myself, don't shoot trees, over rivers or trails, and made sure I used a back stop. Also no glass anything, no bottles, etc
alistair
6.5 Creedmoor
Where specifically in the "back country" are you talking about ?
Bustedknees
.308 Win
I have , I do , and I will again and I'll never call anyone and ask their permission .. It's public land..
The Indian Lake area and further north there are some other possibilities.
alistair
6.5 Creedmoor
Just wanted to make sure your not shooting off the top of Mt Marcy.
You pretty much have the gist of it:
Target shooting (while not explicitly permitted on the DEC website) isn't illegal (and therefore allowed) unless there are specific postings against such activities. To my knowledge, the only pieces of public land that explicitly forbid target shooting (and hunting) are certain public easements (some of the access trails to the High Peaks which run across private land) and certain historic sites (the Great Camp on Sagamore Lake comes to mind). Also, bare in mind that state parks and historic sites (Letchworth SP, old forts, Allegheny SP) fall under different jurisdiction and thus have different rules.
Legal concerns aside, you'll be hard pressed to find an area suitable for long-range target shooting in the middle of the Adirondack wilderness. There are some road-side gravel dug-out's which are well suited to pistol and short range stuff. Long range (+300 yards) shots are only available in recently logged areas (which aren't that common on ADK public lands) or frozen lakes.