What kind of sport shooters shoot at our own Nat'l Guard Units?

[Skinny Shooter]

Anyone know more about this story?
I can't imagine that responsible hunters act like this.
If its true, the Guard troops should be returning fire...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17964382/

BOISE, Idaho - For years, ATV-riding, gun-toting sport shooters have flouted gun laws in part of Idaho’s high desert by taking pot shots at ground squirrels and other animals.

Now, officials say, they’re also setting their sights on National Guard tanks that train in the area.

Rifles and pistols have been banned in a 68,000-acre area of the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area since 1996.

But the federal Bureau of Land Management is considering expanding the gun-restricted area by 41,000 acres to try to limit shootings at Idaho Army National Guard troops who report slugs bouncing off their tanks on a regular basis.

“There’s a segment of the shooting community that will shoot at anything that moves,” said John Sullivan, the area’s manager.

National Guard spokeswoman Lt. Col. Stephanie Dowling said she thinks the proposed expansion would help alleviate the problem.

“What’s happened over time, as the population has grown, we get more and more people out there,” said Dowling. “Not everybody uses good safety precautions.”

Idaho is the third-fastest growing state, after only Nevada and Arizona.

Rancher Tom Nicholson sees changes in the range as more people move to Boise 25 miles away, then drive out into this mostly open country looking for fun.

The region is part of a 490,000-acre federal preserve where prairie falcons and eagles soar above, hunting ground squirrels that pop their heads by the thousands above the warming earth.

With just two agents to patrol 4 million acres of desert near Boise, gun enthusiasts regularly defy the ban by shooting squirrels, protected birds and even grazing cattle, park officials say.

Little chance of arrest
Because money is already stretched thin, land management agents generally only cite illegal shooters they catch in the act. A photographer recently captured what looked to be a squirrel gunner in a restricted part of the conservation area, but even in that case, chances of prosecution are slim.

“If that was a photo of sufficient clarity that we could identify him, we would seek to prosecute,” Sullivan said.

Fewer than 10 people per year are ticketed for illegal shooting in the area of the park, said Sullivan. A citation carries a penalty of up to a $1,000 fine and a year in prison.

Mark Fuller, director of the Rapter Research Center at Boise State University, estimates that dozens of protected birds are shot annually in the park, including in the restricted area.

Birds, livestock in cross hairs, too
He said the long-term negative effects on the park’s 24 bird species populations haven’t yet been documented.

Nicholson, who owns thousands of cattle that graze in the park, said shooters kill several each year.

He’s remarkably forgiving, especially for someone who is out more than $1,000 every time a cow dies.

“It’s public land,” Nicholson said. “They have as much right to be on the range as we do.”

Shotguns, which have a shorter range, are still allowed in the area.

The situation was even worse before the rifle-and-pistol ban in 1996, Sullivan said.

Soldiers training for missions in Iraq or other war zones are only looking for simulated battles, he said — not real bullets whizzing their way.

“It was like World War III on the weekends,” he said.

[BILLY D.]

I read that on a previous forum. The only thing I could think of, they ought to have their guns taken away and shoved up their nose.

Thats all we need is more idgits to make the rest of us responsible gun owners look bad.

This has several bad odors. What the hell is the Guard doing training on Public Land. They should be separated and on a Military reservation. The Guard should go after these folks and have arrest capabilities to incarcerate these morons.

Also increasing the size of the area isn't going to solve any problems, it'll only worsen them. They have 2 agents to patrol 4 million acres? What a freaking joke. Somebody needs to go to management school.

One other little important tidbit, "why the hell doesn't the guard shoot back?"

Has any deep thinkers thought of installing PUBLIC ranges on these lands? Perhaps the Idaho Fish and Game Division could do this, but on the other hand I have heard some rather uncomplimentary remarks about them on other forums.

Tater whats going on out there? What say you?

Best wishes, Bill

[Tater]

I say I've lived here for 10 years and I've never heard of anything like this.

[Rocky Raab]

I've shot ground squirrels up in that area myself, but not in the bird refuge (which is clearly posted).

I'd question the "long-term negative effect" on the birds. Unless somebody shoots the birds themselves, all squirrel shooting does is provide the birds with free lunch. I've had raptors swoop down and pick up squirrels that I'd just shot; once, even an eagle. They seem to actually FOLLOW shooters from the air, just waiting for a chance at an easy meal. Don't think the birds don't learn quick what a hunter is and what it means to them!

Finally, I cringe at the media yet again. They ALWAYS label armed criminals like this as "hunters" and I am positive they do it deliberately to create a slob image. It's no more accurate to call these criminals hunters than it is to call spammers and identity thieves "reporters" because they do their crimes at the keyboard. I'll repeat what I've often said: if you see it in the media, it's a lie.