Straw_Cat

This video show some riders ducking to dodge bullets while someone is shooting near their trail.

WATCH: Mountain Bikers Take Cover From Gunfire Mid Ride In Washington | Unofficial Networks

Chris.

canklecat

Put up a sign that says "No shooting: Mountain bike/hiking trail ahead". But place the sign immediately in front of a safe backstop well away from the actual trail direction, because shooters will use it as a target.

jefnvk

It is a common problem with rec areas: lots of people using them for lots of things, eventually the users come in conflict. Some of them around me that allow hunting close trails for purposes other than hunting during hunting season for that reason specifically.

vol

Remote Washington and Nevada areas has another kind of danger:

?Get the f*** outta here!? Mysterious armed men in camouflage stop adventure bikers at 'secret back gate' to Area 51

Nycycle

Here in Utah everything is clearly marked,
They designated the whole south end of a mountain as NO SHOOTING.
We have hundreds of bike trails all are clearly designated,

Nycycle

Thats gutsy....Military base,,,

rumrunn6

last three weekend rides, in 3 different geographic areas, I heard shooting while riding

JoeyBike

You folks don't know that Fall is hunting season? Squirrel starts in October down south where I live, Deer in November, Ducks and Rabbits all winter. Archery too, but you won't hear that. Most trails require the same amount of square inches of "Hunter Orange" as the hunters are required to wear. Firearm use is limited or restricted near hiking/biking trails but the hunters may use those trails for access. Gunshots carry a long distance. I can not imagine NOT hearing gunshots October-Februrary in Louisiana/Mississippi woodlands.

It's a big world folks. Live and let live. Or lock yourselves in the basement.

Sounds like the locals shooting up the video were breaking the rules according to the cyclists. Locals tend to think they own the place. Que banjo music...
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Miele Man

Just saw this and watched the video. I think it's fake. Watch the little guy doing the frisking. Notice that he walks directly in front of his partner who is supposedly covering him? that's one of the first things you learn in the military not to do = do not get in your partner's line of fire.

Cheers

jfowler85

Fake video.

rumrunn6

at first I felt awkward wearing my usual dayglo hiviz green to ride in the woods but then I remembered the "hunters". BTW the shooting I hear arent hunters. hunters stalk their prey and then maybe take a shot, they don't fire continuously for hours

JoeyBike

We talking about the same video? Didn't look fake to me and what would be the motivation for faking that? It was boring other than the bullets whizzing past the cyclists. Did they fake the bottles and cans all shot up too?

The video I saw featured three or four dudes riding bikes on a path through a clear-cut forest. Eventually they heard shots really close. They yelled at the dude (hilarioius because either the shooter is wearing hearing protection or he is temporarily deaf from the shots) and he finally responded with "I didn't know you were down there". And so on.

Is ^THIS the video you watched?
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1989Pre 

This is why orange is my cycling color. Then again, my helmet is mostly white, so until state and federal law begins to take gun-use law enforcement seriously, any drunk "hunter" can shoot someone and say, "I didn't see him". The powerful gun lobby will support him, and he will walk.
Another example of U.S.A's love affair with violence.

kevindsingleton 

A little biased, are we?

JoeyBike

"Target practice" on public lands is even more restrictive than hunting, ESPECIALLY during hunting seasons. As far as I know in the USA in every state, it is illegal to take target practice outside of a target range on public lands and completely illegal to discharge a firearm during hunting season unless you ARE HUNTING on public lands (outside of an approved range).

Laws have been passed to prevent "tree huggers" and "bunny lovers" from interfering with hunters during hunting season. This includes every kind of noise making device imaginable to herd or disturb game animals. You can not walk through a National Wildlife Refuge during hunting season blowing a fog horn or ringing cowbells. It is expressly forbidden to take target practice near hunting zones by several different laws.

Generally, if someone is hunting near a road/freeway or hiking trail it is forbidden to fire a rifle within 1000 feet of the center-line of the nearest highway lane or hiking path. 1000 feet in a heavily wooded area almost ensures that a stray bullet will hit a tree before leaving the forest. Open areas like the OP video is a different animal altogether, especially since the forest was just cut down. I heard one of the cyclists yell to the shooter that there was a 5-Mile buffer zone for that location. I do not know if that is true. High powered rifles have a max range of roughly 7 miles if shot into the air at a 45 degree angle. Shooting at a deer on a ridge - and missing - could create a problem five miles away.

Now, what happens on PRIVATE land in rural areas is another story entirely.
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no motor?

That's one of the reasons I like my white motorcycle helmet with a high vis band, there aren't many deer that wear those. And even fewer of them that ride motorcycles.

VegasTriker

It makes good sense to stay off trails that run through areas where hunting is going on at least for the period where it is legal to hunt with a rifle. When I lived in Wisconsin I had several hunter friends relate stories about being the a target of some other hunter who saw movement and fired at it without having a clear view. Blaze orange clothing , a requirement for hunters, was no guarantee you wouldn't get shot at. I used to like to camp on land a friend owned along the Wisconsin River but never during active hunting season.

fietsbob

Deer Hunting Season right Now .. Summary of General Hunting Season Dates | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

rumrunn6

saw lots of dog walkers on the Mass Central Trail in Rutland Oakham & Barre MA with dogs wearing blaze orange vests

I must say, if you shoot a dog or a human you're not much of a marksman

rumrunn6

what travels further, the sound of a rifle being shot, or the actual bullet? I ask, because I often hear gunshots & wonder if a stray bullet could reach me

"teens were shooting a rifle in Bethel, VT at a homemade range that lacked an adequate back stop. The bullet traveled more than 3,700 feet before going through the window of home, passing within three feet of where someone was sitting"

Vermont Teens Charged After Stray Bullet Ends Up In Dining Room | NECN

JoeyBike

Depends on wind direction. Wind has a huge effect on sound waves, not so much on supersonic bits of led. Under certain circumstances you could be in range of a bullet but never hear the sound. If you are hearing the sound I would assume you could be hit by a rifle projectile. A projectile from a deer hunting rifle could travel 7 miles.

Generally there are two sounds a hunting rifle makes. 1. The exploding powder and 2. The "crack" of the bullet breaking the sound barrier. The two sounds are markedly different but almost simultaneous.

A shotgun with subsonic projectiles goes "Boom". A rifle with supersonic projectiles goes "Pa-Tow". It's the rifle bullet you have to worry about.
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howsteepisit

Also, when a bullet goes over your head you can hear a high pitched "zing". But by then its too late to anything about that one, but you can yell like hell to try and prevent the next one, and take cover.

Paul Barnard

That's not my experience. I probably had over 100 bullets fly over my head and all I hear is the sonic crack. Bullets that ricochet will often make that zinging sound.

howsteepisit

Paul were yours military? the couple of times I experienced this was from outdoor shooters - maybe way less powerful slugs.

dynodonn 

Years ago, some drunk teens started taking pot shots, from their apartment back balcony, at pigeons roosting on my workplace roof. Luckily that law enforcement got to the teens first, since several workers and customers had got their firearms from their vehicles, and were out in force looking for them.