GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Campers in Montana’s national forests are getting skittish as more sportsmen take advantage of rules that allow target shooting, even though they comply with the rules.
The rules bar target shooting within 150 yards of a residence, a building, or campsite or developed recreation site. But for some campers, that’s way too close.
Campers point to trees that have been shredded with bullets not far from group campsites.
“If they shoot this way, we’re in jeopardy,” said John Metrione, a recreation and trails resource specialist with Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. “They’re actually sawing them in half with high-powered rifles. I think that’s part of the attraction.”
“We just want people to recognize that’s not an appropriate use of a firearm to use trees as targets,” he said.
