Tri Cities Community Service

cbpeck · Apr 7, 2011

Capn Camo,

I get where you're coming from. Owens Road isn't my favorite place to shoot either, but it is a place to shoot. In any uncontrolled area we have to practice safe shooting techniques and compensate for the possibility that someone else isn't being as cautious as they should be.

For me this means using the "lane" at either end of the canyon and parking the truck between myself & and others. Is it a guarantee? No. But good luck getting your safety guaranteed at any range.

I should also add that I do most of my pistol shooting indoors at PRPC & only venture out to Owens when I want to shoot shotguns and/or rifles as well.

amzbrady · Apr 7, 2011

cbpeck said:
Capn Camo,

I get where you're coming from. Owens Road isn't my favorite place to shoot either, but it is a place to shoot. In any uncontrolled area we have to practice safe shooting techniques and compensate for the possibility that someone else isn't being as cautious as they should be.

For me this means using the "lane" at either end of the canyon and parking the truck between myself & and others. Is it a guarantee? No. But good luck getting your safety guaranteed at any range.

I should also add that I do most of my pistol shooting indoors at PRPC & only venture out to Owens when I want to shoot shotguns and/or rifles as well.

The 3 times I've been out there there hasnt been anyone shooting around me, I drove from 397 to Jump off joe rd. Might be different on the weekend during the summer but the most "UNSAFE" thing I could see right now is stepping on something sharp, or catching a ricochet off a rock.

ak56 · Apr 8, 2011

Capn Camo said:
Heres the reply from someone in a position to know (which aint me...):

"Kennewick General hospital district is legal owner.

...
Anyway, the owner is KGHD. Its bad form, and potentialy illegal to shoot or do anything else there without the owners permission, after all, it is private property. that no one says anything doesnt change the ownership or laws regarding trespass.

The Kennewick General Hospital District - or more correctly the Kennewick Public Hospital District (dba Kennewick General Hospital) is a public hospital, making it a Municipal Corporation under state law. It is not private property.

amzbrady · Apr 8, 2011

ak56 said:
The Kennewick General Hospital District - or more correctly the Kennewick Public Hospital District (dba Kennewick General Hospital) is a public hospital, making it a Municipal Corporation under state law. It is not private property.

So is it state, city, federal, or what? Public sounds better than private. Is the public hospital private property or are they city owned?

ak56 · Apr 8, 2011

amzbrady said:
So is it state, city, federal, or what? Public sounds better than private. Is the public hospital private property or are they city owned?

Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts

Public hospital districts are community created governmental entities authorized by state law...

Public hospital districts belong to the Washington state family of special purpose districts and are organized as municipal corporations.

Public hospital districts are organized and exist as a result of chapter 70.44 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW). It is this statute that created public hospital districts and fundamentally defines their purpose, operations, powers and limitations.

...public hospital district are governed by commissioners who are publicly elected.

In a nutshell, they are their own government entity, within the state, and not belonging to a particular city, county, etc. They may consist of an entire county, part of a county, or span areas of multiple counties.

As a government entity, they are public, not private.

As a municipal corporation, preemption applies.

Usual disclaimer IANAL, etc. The above links provide a lot of information.

cbpeck · Apr 26, 2011

Wife & I met some friends out on Owens Rd around 4pm on Saturday, April 23rd. The place was PACKED. We occupied the very last lane (if you can call it that) before the road starts climbing out of the valley. Overall, the place looked great, except for a truck that the Sheriff Dept was photographing. Apparently it had been stolen and abandoned the day before. I'm sure it has been removed by now.

As is customary, we hauled out more than we brought in.

I hope that all of the people out there recognize what effort has gone into cleaning it up. I'd hate to see it get trashed again, and with that many people it could easily happen in a weekend.

I wonder if we could get permission to post signs that ask people to help maintain the area by not dumping and by packing out at least as much as they pack in. It is one way to inform people that an effort to maintain the area is underway. Otherwise people may leave trash behind out of habit.

cbpeck · Apr 28, 2011

bump... for the sake of getting some signage out on Owens Rd.

Freedom First · Apr 28, 2011

cbpeck,

Have you looked at the other signs out there? Any sign close to Owens road along the shooting areas will be turned into another target. Perhaps a 4x8 sign at the intersection with 397 would work though. Being close to the main road might protect it from the dorks.

Be safe!

amzbrady · Apr 28, 2011

I think it would be awesome if we could get the shooting community to come up with some steel plates and pipe to set up some hanging and stand targets to put out that we could set up a and leave there. They go ding, they stand up to many shots, and people wouldnt need to bring trash to shoot and leave behind. I just went to ranch and home and bought the metal targets for my wifes 10/22.

cbpeck · Apr 29, 2011

amzbrady said:
I think it would be awesome if we could get the shooting community to come up with some steel plates and pipe to set up some hanging and stand targets to put out that we could set up a and leave there. They go ding, they stand up to many shots, and people wouldnt need to bring trash to shoot and leave behind. I just went to ranch and home and bought the metal targets for my wifes 10/22.

I like the idea, but I wonder how long it'd be before they disappeared.

amlevin · Apr 29, 2011

cbpeck said:
I like the idea, but I wonder how long it'd be before they disappeared.

There is a range where this was done down in Colorado. For those familiar with the State it was along Rampart Range Road which runs in the foothills behind the Air Force Academy in Co Springs.

Shooting stations were made of steel pipe buried in concrete and steel plate welded to the top of the pipes.

No targets there but one could do the same for a target frame and hang plate from it on chains. Welding is a pretty good way to stop casual theft. Some heat treated chain would discourage bolt cutters and most hacksaws.

That just leaves the garbage problem. The Colorado range yielded several dump truck loads of trash every year. People just don't get the concept of cleaning up after themselves.

amzbrady · Apr 29, 2011

cbpeck said:
I like the idea, but I wonder how long it'd be before they disappeared.

T Posts driven in would be hard to pull out, at least by hand, with summer coming more people are present. Nice thing is, all the shooting spots are pretty much off the main road and visible for a distance. I also think it would take some of the focus off of road signs. If people need to shoot something from a car window, it would give them a degree of difficulty from a distance with a backdrop. A generator and a 110 welder means some stands could be built on spot. What would be truely awesome is if Griggs, and Ranch and Home could donate some supplies with their name on it for free advertising. A shooters playground...

I think it would be worth a shot. :lol:

cbpeck · Apr 29, 2011

amzbrady said:
T Posts driven in would be hard to pull out, at least by hand, with summer coming more people are present. Nice thing is, all the shooting spots are pretty much off the main road and visible for a distance. I also think it would take some of the focus off of road signs. If people need to shoot something from a car window, it would give them a degree of difficulty from a distance with a backdrop. A generator and a 110 welder means some stands could be built on spot. What would be truely awesome is if Griggs, and Ranch and Home could donate some supplies with their name on it for free advertising. A shooters playground...

I think it would be worth a shot. :lol:

I don't want to rain on your parade amzbrady, but I don't think we can develop land that doesn't belong to us. Going and cleaning up is a friendly gesture that keeps the area available to shooters. Building serviceable, semi-permanent targets (a la reactive steel) is a whole different story.

That being said, if someone was able to build them out there I'd take a shot at them. Not from my car window, though. That's a no no.

amlevin · Apr 29, 2011

cbpeck said:
Not from my car window, though. That's a no no.

OK if handicapped but not from roadway.

It will be the rare land owner that will allow anyone to "develop" an informal gun range. They will all be afraid of the liability. That's one of the reasons we all see so many "No Trespassing, NO Shooting" signs. That way the problem of someone hurting themselves doesn't spill over on them, no matter how stupid the shooter was.

amzbrady · Apr 30, 2011

amlevin said:
OK if handicapped but not from roadway.

It will be the rare land owner that will allow anyone to "develop" an informal gun range. They will all be afraid of the liability. That's one of the reasons we all see so many "No Trespassing, NO Shooting" signs. That way the problem of someone hurting themselves doesn't spill over on them, no matter how stupid the shooter was.

Thats the nice thing about this stretch of road. NO signs that say no tresspassing, no signs that say no shooting.

My wife loves the new metal targets. They spin when they are hit. I made fun of the way she was holding the rifle standing behind the jeep till she hit the targets 10 for 10 2 times in a row. :shocker:

cbpeck · May 3, 2011

Amzbrady,

Do you have any photos of the metal targets?

Did you stash them out on Owens somewhere, or are you hauling them in/out each time?

Also, to Freedom First - Unfortunately I wasn't about to get out to Owens this past weekend. Had I been able to, I would've called you. Next time!

Freedom First · Jul 8, 2011

The real issue...

Illegal dumpers.

I was out there yesterday for a drive through. I didn't shoot, too hot and dry. Can you say, "Tinderbox?"

Anyways it's a wreck again. People just take truck load of junk on a dump run out there and just toss it out on the ground. Then folks come to shoot (without targets I might add!!!) and shoot up the wreckage left by the dumpers.

So, brass, plastic and garbage in one big mess. Damn.

Anyone interested in a trip out there when things cool down a bit and the fire danger is less?

Tri Cities Community Service

cbpeck

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amzbrady

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ak56

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amzbrady

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ak56

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cbpeck

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cbpeck

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Freedom First

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amzbrady

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cbpeck

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amlevin

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amzbrady

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cbpeck

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amlevin

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amzbrady

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cbpeck

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Freedom First

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