<rant:pissed src=paranoidRanger>

I decided to go camping with my family at Pinecrest Lake in the Stanislaus National Forest. As an avvid backpacker, I don't like car camping much. Still, it's hard to find people willing to hike for a few days in the wilderness. Even when I find willing parties, they usually don't have the money for the gear. This was still a fine opportunity to spend some quality time with my family, as well as my brother-in-law, nieces, etc. To make the best of it, I figured I would bring the black-rifle along and pass the time with a little target shooting.

As it turns out, my brother-in-law has an old Western Field .22LR that he aquired in trade some time ago. Neither one of us had any idea of how long ago it had been shot. He'd never shot it. Since I brought my range bag with me, I decided that I could spare some patches and a little CLP for his rifle. He had no idea how to dissasemble and clean it, and I figured it would be a learning experience as well as a prudent measure to make sure the rifle was safe to fire. Complicated little booger. Moving on...

I was fairly certain that target shooting in the National Forest was ok, but I wanted to make sure. I didn't want any suprises, and I wanted to make sure I knew all of the wherefore's/therefore's/hereto's/etc.  I felt that a visit to the ranger station was in order, though my brother-in-law and my father initially objected. This is California after all, and they felt that bringing attention to our planned target shooting activities would garner a negative response from the ranger station. I suggested that it's either legal to shoot in the forest,or it isn't. If there weren't any areas reasonably close by where shooting was permitted, then I didn't want to do it. I just wanted to have a little fun, and do so while obeing the law.

So we loaded up our rifles and headed a mile up the road to the ranger station. I told the ranger what we were planning to do, and asked where we could do it without bringing undue attention on ourselves, or ending up in the back of a police car. Obviously unwilling to be helpful, he tells me in a gruff voice "Eh, the shooting regulations are over there". Ok, fine. I can read.

So I pick up a copy of the regulations. "Shooting is an activity enjoyed by many in the forest,. California has a rich hunting and..." blah blah blah. Then I get to the actual rules. They were simple and common sense - know your target and what's behind it. Keep at least 300yds away from any campsites, roads, or homes. That kind of stuff. I read them all, decided they were reasonable and jumped in the car to scope out a nice place to go shooting.

We found a turnout about 3 miles north of Strawberry. We looked down from the road and figured that down the hill a few hundred yards, looked like a nice place to shoot. At the bottom, it was flat for about 75yds, with a nice mountain behind it for a backstop. There was a mountain behind the shooting spot. To the right of the line of fire would be a road at least 400yds away, and a couple of hundred feet above us. To the left would be a road at least 1000yds away and a few hundred feet below us. Wonderful!

So we grabbed the rifles, a couple hundred rounds of ammo, and hiked down. Neither my father nor by brother-in-law had every seen my rifle, or any other AR for that matter. As a matter of fact, neither had ever heard a rifle of any sort before, only handguns. Needless to say, they were anxious to shoot it. I loaded up 10 rounds and asked if there were any takers. They wanted me to demonstrate first, so I obliged.

A quick note about my rifle: For those of you who don't know, AR-15's are banned here in California. In addition, we have a rather strict definition of assault rifles. This includes any centerfire with a detachable mag and *one* or more other "evil" features. It's similar in many regards to the now defunct  federal AWB, just stricter on the feature test. To skirt this, some of us use aFAB-10 lower receiver, which has a fixed 10 round magazine. To load it, one must remove the rear takedown pin, pivot the upper forward and feed 10 rounds into the fixed magazine from the top. It's irritating, but it's better than nothing.

So, I loaded up 10 rounds and bump-fired it. In hindsight, I wish I hadn't of done that. My father and brother-in-law thought it was pretty funny, though. They were both anxious to see if the .22 would fire and how it would perform, so they opted to try that first. It performed admirably. So, they were shooting cans, bottles and what not, while I was happily doing the same with my AR.  A good time was had by all...for about 10 to 15 minutes.

As I had just finished reloading, I was getting ready make a difficult shot while prone. At the top of the hill to my right, I heard what sounded like a little kid screaming "CEASE FIRE!!! CEASE FIRE!!!" It almost sounded like a laugh. Still thinking it was a little kid, I thought "Kid, that ain't funny". I glanced through the bushes and saw a Forest Service vehicle. Lovely. This is EXACTLY what I was trying to avoid.

Turns out it was a woman. And she wasn't laughing, her voice was trembling. "LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS! LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS! NOW!" Crap. I obliged. "MOVE SLOWLY OUT INTO THE OPEN!" Grrr. Fine. As I'm walking out, I see a ranger - all of about 5 feet tall and maybe 110lbs, leveling her pistol at me. Still screaming, she cries "HANDS ABOVE YOUR HEAD! ABOVE YOUR HEAD! NOW!" Mind you, she was about a quarter of the way down the hill, standing on unstable ground, visibly shaken and trembling, with HER FINGER ON THE DAMN TRIGGER. She then asked us if we had any other weapons on our persons, to which we replied "no". She made us lift our shirts, turn around, etc. She ordered us to walk up the hill - hands above our heads - while she walked down. With her GOD DAMN FINGER STILL ON THE TRIGGER, she kept that 1911 pointed straight at me (why me?). She patted us down - with one hand - while the other still held the .45.  

I have never been systematically disarmed before in my life, and this is the first time anybody has EVER pointed a gun at me. I've never set foot in a courthouse, for God's sake. This was the most humiliating experience I've ever been through. The entire time, all I could think was "Lady, if I wanted to shoot you, I would have done it already. Relax". Note that I never SAID that. I was mad, not stupid.

After seeing that we weren't armed or crazy, she holstered her weapon and asked us to walk up to the top of the hill and wait wih her partner, while she investigated the shooting site. Good, because my fingers were getting numb. At the top of the hill, we met up with her partner. He was leaning up against his truck, smoking a cigarette. "Bad day, huh?" he asks. We both chuckled and I had a smoke with him.  I told him that this was EXACTLY the kind of situation that I was tring to avoid by going to the ranger station first, and that I wasn't in the mood to go to jail. He smiled and said "Ahh, I don't see that happening. Just relax". Cool.

After a few minutes, the ranger comes back up the hill with our rifles. She put my brother-in-law's rifle in the back of her truck and said "This one's fine". Holding mine, her voice grows stern and asks "Now. Who owns THIS?" I knew she'd ask that.

"That'd me me" I said. "Is this thing registered? Do you have your paperwork with you?" Sigh. Here it comes. "No ma'am, it's not registered. It's not an assault rifle".  She looked puzzled and said "Well, I don't know about THAT. You see..." That's when I interrupted her. "You know, rather than quote the Penal Code as it pertains to assault rifles to you, I tell ya what. I keep a letter from the California DOJ in the buttstock that explains everything. I keep it in there just for times like this". She says "Well, we'll just see about that". She pulled the letter out, read it for maybe 15 seconds, rolled it back up and said "Well, looks like we're ok here. Oh, just one more thing. Neighbors called and said they heard full-auto fire. As a matter of fact, I heard full-auto fire from my office".  I said "Uh, no ma'am this is a semi-auto." She says "Ya well, these things can be easily converted". Grrrr. I wasn't about to get into a lengthy discussion about that obvious fallacy, nor was I in the mood to discuss the intricacies of bump-firing or the fact that it's legal. I just replied "Uh, no. It's a semi-auto. You are more than welcome to break the rifle down and investigate it for yourself. In fact, shoot it if you want". She declined and simply said "Well, don't worry about it. I believe you". Sheesh.

Now for the obligitory speech. "You guys are shooting in an unsafe area. There are homes around here, and it's bothering the neighbors. You're too close to the road, and a stray bullet could kill someone". Homes? What friggin' homes? I still have no idea what she's talking about. I'd like to know how M193 is supposed to plow through a mountain, enter an unseen home and kill somebody. Add to that, we were shooting parallel to the road, and it was more than 400yds away and above us. I kindly pulled the shooting regulations out of my back pocket and asked her to point out what rule I broke. She couldn't. I explained to her that this was EXACTLY the kind of situation I was trying to avoid, and that the ranger station could have done us all a favor by simply answering my question when I asked where I could shoot without being hassled.

In the end, she gave us a warning. Fine. She complimented us for being calm and cooperative. I asked her and her parter where we could go shoot and avoid this sort of thing, and they gave us a few places that they themselves like to go shoot. She also couldn't help but point out that she has a REAL AR-15, and twisted the knife in my back a little more when she explained how she could have hicaps, and what not. Thanks, lady. We subjects admire you.

When we got back to camp, my mother took a picture of us holding our rifles and our warnings. I laminated and framed my warning. It hangs above my workbench, so I can see it while I'm cleaning my rifle.

</rant:pissed>

Dude. That sucks hardcore.

Oh come on thats BS.

I would have asked the bitch why she felt the need to point her gun at me!!!

Quoted: Oh come on thats BS.

I dont think he could make that one up

Quoted: Quoted: Oh come on thats BS. I dont think he could make that one up

rangers dont carry .45's let alone 1911's

BITCH.  

Quoted: Dude. That sucks hardcore.

+1

bummer.

I could belive it. I live in California, and there are some real anti-gun asshats who would complain if they heard anything resembling gunfire.

rangers dont carry .45's let alone 1911's

Uh, this one sure did. I was actually kind of suprised, because she was so dang tiny. hinking.gif Napolean complex, perhaps? I dunno.

I wouldn't have cared if it was a damn 9mm. It's not the caliber that pissed me off.

I smell shit, bullshit.


What was the "rangers" name and badge number? What agency does she work for BLM, Forrest Service, State Parks & Recreation, County Parks?  I'm sure you have the info becuase any responsible gun owner having gone throught what you describe would have at least gotten her business card.

PS..What district of the national forrest is this, and what the phone munumber on the business card.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Oh come on thats BS. I dont think he could make that one up rangers dont carry .45's let alone 1911's

BS meter is pegged on this one.  Looks like a "I want attention" post.  That Ranger would be in deep shit if it was a true story...

i would move to a free state.  

what should have been a joyous outing with the family turned into an embarassing disappointment.  all because some idiot who don't know shit about guns or crime makes stupid laws.  

i've had forest rangers/leos stop and talk to me when i've been shooting on public land, but mostly they just want to BS with someone for a while.  even had a fish and game guy shoot some pop cans with my 10/22.

could totally be true. thats just a standard camping trip here in cali (if youre shooting of course).

Quoted: i would move to a free state.   what should have been a joyous outing with the family turned into an embarassing disappointment.  all because some idiot who don't know shit about guns or crime makes stupid laws.   i've had forest rangers/leos stop and talk to me when i've been shooting on public land, but mostly they just want to BS with someone for a while.  even had a fish and game guy shoot some pop cans with my 10/22.

pretty much been my experience, they are all really cool.

Plus you think a ranger is going to come out and investigate someone with a automatic weapon.

I even saw a BLM agent who wasnt even armed.

Quoted: I smell shit, bullshit. What was the "rangers" name and badge number? What agency does she work for BLM, Forrest Service, State Parks & Recreation, County Parks?  I'm sure you have the info becuase any responsible gun owner having gone throught what you describe would have at least gotten her business card. PS..What district of the national forrest is this, and what the phone munumber on the business card.

Jeez, nobody has ever questioned the authenticity of the story before. From the warning notice:

Officer name: H. Maffucco
Officer ID No: 1415
Incident Description: Unsafe Shooting
Remarks: Shooting Ops in Herring-Creek Area

I did get her business card. She asked me to call her if I ever had any questions about where it was ok to shoot. I'll see if I can find it.

Hi Imbroglio

Quoted: I smell shit, bullshit. What was the "rangers" name and badge number? What agency does she work for BLM, Forrest Service, State Parks & Recreation, County Parks?  I'm sure you have the info becuase any responsible gun owner having gone throught what you describe would have at least gotten her business card. PS..What district of the national forrest is this, and what the phone munumber on the business card.

You also smell that?...

Man, I feel for you.  That' sucks ot be in a slave state.

It's times like these that I've got to say:

God Bless Texas

CMOS

Quoted: Quoted: I smell shit, bullshit. What was the "rangers" name and badge number? What agency does she work for BLM, Forrest Service, State Parks & Recreation, County Parks?  I'm sure you have the info becuase any responsible gun owner having gone throught what you describe would have at least gotten her business card. PS..What district of the national forrest is this, and what the phone munumber on the business card. Jeez, nobody has ever questioned the authenticity of the story before. From the warning notice: Officer name: H. Maffucco Officer ID No: 1415 Incident Description: Unsafe Shooting Remarks: Shooting Ops in Herring-Creek Area I did get her business card. She asked me to call her if I ever had any questions about where it was ok to shoot. I'll see if I can find it.

The statements you attribute to the "ranger" sound like something a letter to the editor.  Cops dont talk like that.

BTW: What agency, again.

It happens.

"She"

Uh huh.........

Quoted: Man, I feel for you.  That' sucks ot be in a slave state. It's times like these that I've got to say: God Bless Texas CMOS

I'm actually looking for work in Ohio at the moment, as that's where most of my family lives.

The shop where I bought my FAB-10 even offered to buy the lower back from me, minus $75. Cool. That'll go towards the new one as soon as I move

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I smell shit, bullshit. What was the "rangers" name and badge number? What agency does she work for BLM, Forrest Service, State Parks & Recreation, County Parks?  I'm sure you have the info becuase any responsible gun owner having gone throught what you describe would have at least gotten her business card. PS..What district of the national forrest is this, and what the phone munumber on the business card. Jeez, nobody has ever questioned the authenticity of the story before. From the warning notice: Officer name: H. Maffucco Officer ID No: 1415 Incident Description: Unsafe Shooting Remarks: Shooting Ops in Herring-Creek Area I did get her business card. She asked me to call her if I ever had any questions about where it was ok to shoot. I'll see if I can find it. The statements you attribute to the "ranger" sound like something a letter to the editor.  Cops dont talk like that. BTW: What agency, again.

Im guessing USFS...

I am on the phone right now with a buddy that works in the San G. ranger dist. to see what he can find out about  something like this....When I was there that would  be a very big no-no..

Forrest Rangers aren't "cops".

And I remember many thinking it was overkill when they started allowing them to carry sidearms around here.

Quoted: Forrest Rangers aren't "cops". And I remember many thinking it was overkill when they started allowing them to carry sidearms around here.

The ones in my area drive green suburbans with full light bars, and LAW ENFORCEMENT on the front fenders...But they sure as hell dont carry .45's

The statements you attribute to the "ranger" sound like something a letter to the editor.  Cops dont talk like that. BTW: What agency, again.

Jesus Christ dude, after reading a few rants, I figured a few folks would like to spend a couple of minutes on a Sunday and read about something that happened to me.

USDA Forest Service, Summit Ranger District, BTW.

Damn.

In CA I can believe that.

Heck wouldn't you expect that?

In the Smokies Park rangers carry .357 revolvers.

CRC

So MOVE to a real state.  You like in a state dominated by idiots and losers.  I am mystified why anyone would live there in the first place.  I was down there last week for a training session, what a shithole.  You people elected a steroid retard for king, he is a gun banning peice of eurotrash, do you expect it to get better?  

Quoted: Quoted: Forrest Rangers aren't "cops". And I remember many thinking it was overkill when they started allowing them to carry sidearms around here. The ones in my area drive green suburbans with full light bars, and LAW ENFORCEMENT on the front fenders...But they sure as hell dont carry .45's

in 9 years of target shooting in the California backcountry i have encountered two "park Rangers"

The first was a BLM Agent, a sworn Federal LE officer, driving a White SUV with Black & Green markings.  He was in the basic wool uniform, with same brown, a Glock, and had a shotgun and patrol rifle in the vehicle.

The second was USDA Forest Service "ranger", driving a lime green truck and wearing a tan uniform. no gunbelt, and a pin on badge. Again, a federal agency, but not a sworn peace officer.

I'm very curious what agency this little .45 toting lady cop works for.

Man that sucks bad, I will never go to Kalifornia.

Quoted: A quick note about my rifle: For those of you who don't know, AR-15's are banned here in California. You are also the first in California history to have asked if the weapon was registered that I know of here.

+1, plus she even asked him if he had his "paperwork" which isnt required under Roberti-Roo's or SB23. Although there is much hand wringing about it on boards like ASSweb.

So he ran into the worlds only 45 toting lady park rangers who cares enough about gun laws to know that some AR15 pattern rifles are restricted in Cali, but is also ignorant enough to believe the owner must carry documentation of the firearms registration status?

Quoted: . I'm very curious what agency this little .45 toting lady cop works for.

He posted it a few posts above yours...try reading.

If true, that sucks. But then again, it's to be expected where you live.

I actually liked PRK when I first moved there, back in '89.

I left in '98 and other than visiting friends there, you couldn't drag me kicking and screaming back to that state.

I hunt in a national forest here in AZ and one time a couple of years ago a game warden stopped in our camp to check our tags. He asked if we'd seen anything he should know about and we said no, other than someone down the road from us shooting for a few hours.

His reply was, "Sorry to hear that they're shooting while you guys are trying to hunt, but there's NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT unless they're shooting in an unsafe manner. This is a national forest and people are allowed to shoot here."

There ARE some restrictions in the Tonto National Forest close to the Phoenix area, due to some homeowners complaining. I think it's a combination of asshat shooters and assclown homeowners.

I've found that not all shooters are the kind gentlemen we'd all like to consider ourselves. In fact, I've seen some rather irresponsible and genuinely asshole-ish behavior out there in the desert.

Quoted: A quick note about my rifle: For those of you who don't know, AR-15's are banned here in California. First a tiny correction - you are flat out dead nutx wrong about that. There are more AR-15's sunk in the bottom of lakes in California then in any other state in the union. That's based on the sales numbers pre-2000 when the sale of new rifles was banned. Not the posession of old ones, new ones. Somehow about 95% of the rifles never got registered as required so I woudl think that they are in the bottom of lakes following tragic fishing accidents. Or shipped out of state hooting You are also the first in California history to have asked if the weapon was registered that I know of here. I wonder why her partner wasn't covering her as she approached with gun drawn? I thought the rangers switched to Glocks about 10 years ago?

I didn't want to get into a lengthy discussion about California AW laws in the middle of my post. Yes, existing registered ones are OK. And you're right, most didn't register. Once in a while I STILL meet people that had no idea that they had to register it. They say "I bought it before the ban, so it's ok".

The way this ranger acted was very extaordinary, which is why I posted it. Keep in mind that she calmed down afterwards, and we chatted for a bit. She even commented favorably on my ammo (Federal XM193). When all was said and done, everything turned out fine. I was just mad at the way she handled the situation, that's all. I thought it was dangerous and stupid. That's why I posted the story.

I now shoot alot in the Stanislaus National Forest, and I don't get bothered at all. The last time I went out, a ranger stuck his head out of his truck, asked how we were doing, etc. He just told us to "keep it safe". Fine and dandy.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Forrest Rangers aren't "cops". And I remember many thinking it was overkill when they started allowing them to carry sidearms around here. The ones in my area drive green suburbans with full light bars, and LAW ENFORCEMENT on the front fenders...But they sure as hell dont carry .45's in 9 years of target shooting in the California backcountry i have encountered two "park Rangers" The first was a BLM Agent, a sworn Federal LE officer, driving a White SUV with Black & Green markings.  He was in the basic wool uniform, with same brown, a Glock, and had a shotgun and patrol rifle in the vehicle. The second was USDA Forest Service "ranger", driving a lime green truck and wearing a tan uniform. no gunbelt, and a pin on badge. Again, a federal agency, but not a sworn peace officer. I'm very curious what agency this little .45 toting lady cop works for.

It has been 6 years since I was in Calif. But I was on the sheriffs SAR team, and in the 4 years I was on that team, the only time I ever saw any govt type worker armed was....well ...... The members of the Sheriffs SAR team. I know that the rangers at Lake Paris are now packing AR-15's, and Im sure that there are BLM/ And USFS persons that are armed now, but It  just sounds all wrong.... I just got off the phone with my buddy, and he is going to read the thread later, He did say if anything the fire danger has put the halt to a lot of shooting in his area, and that the Public Relations is piss poor in this story, He cant say anything about Ranger in the story because he has not heard of her.

Quoted: So he ran into the worlds only 45 toting lady park rangers who cares enough about gun laws to know that some AR15 pattern rifles are restricted in Cali, but is also ignorant enough to believe the owner must carry documentation of the firearms registration status?

Not only that but she owns a AR15 but can't figure out that its a fixed magazine?

Quoted: in 9 years of target shooting in the California backcountry i have encountered two "park Rangers" The first was a BLM Agent

Is that a game warden?

I make 50K a year here, it almost never rains on my side of the state and my house was 1/3rd the price of a house in Kali and is bigger.  If you drive an hour from my house you can shoot in two different states, camp and fish as well if you are inclined.  Nobody here wants a colonic or a set of rubber titties or laments that they do not have the Johnny Kerry orange slow of a tan.  

Of course it is 4 and 1/2 hours to the ship from my house.

Oh, I have zero doubt that this really happened. I used to train Forest Service LEOs and there is a world of difference between some of the guys and gals with common sense and the others. The "bunny huggers" have taken over Calif. and a few other states...sad, but true. They will hire anybody with paper qualifications regardless of "common sense" or not. This sort of shit used to be confined to Park Rangers...especially part-time Parkies...but unfortunately, no longer.

Don't get soured on all USFS LEOs because of this incident...many are really fine officers and more than willing to work with you rather than against you! You had a bad experience and for that I am sorry, but that will not be the case with all these guys!

You might consider a note to her supervisors regarding her behavior.  I am dead set againt the use of the 1911 style of handgun in LE work with the possible exception of highly trained tactical teams.  Your story if true, is the reason why.  While others may disgaree, I believe the 1911 requires too much trigger discipline for ordinary officers.  

As other's have said, for her to draw that weapon all the while having her partner out of position is tatical lunacy.  The whole incident wreeks of either a BS story or extreamly amature behavior by both these officers.  

If I were their supervisor, I would want to know so such behavior could be corrected before someone got hurt.

Here is their regional headquaters info:

Pacific Southwest Region
1323 Club Drive
Vallejo, CA 94592
707.562.8737


Regards,
Gary

Quoted: Quoted: So he ran into the worlds only 45 toting lady park rangers who cares enough about gun laws to know that some AR15 pattern rifles are restricted in Cali, but is also ignorant enough to believe the owner must carry documentation of the firearms registration status? Not only that but she owns a AR15 but can't figure out that its a fixed magazine?

Well, I figure it like this: She knows AR15's are considered assault weapons. She knows they have to be registered. Having proof of that registration is prudent, so as to prove you legally own it. I don't know if she believed it was required or not, but she asked. I didn't expect her to know the feature requirements by heart. It looks like an AR15,so she asked. Shoot, a customer of mine who is a retired Sherrif's Deputy, didn't know that my rifle was legal when I told him about it after I bought it. After explaining it to him, he thought it was a neat way to legally own one. In my case, the ranger read the letter that comes with all FAB-10 purchases, and dropped the matter (after a brief question about hearing FA).

I honestly think it was the bump-firing that scared the crap out of her. That's why I wished I hadn't done that, in hindsight.  Now when I do it, I make sure I'm VERY far away from anybody that might hear it. It's not illegal, but anymore, I don't want to freak people out.

You should call her and tell her that you saw a bunch of guys in camoflage spraying automatic weapons fire around the mount ST helen's area, and that she should go investigate...

Just want to let others know of my experiences. I don't want all to think this is normal for California....

I've been shooting at many California US Forest & BLM areas for 15+ years. Have never had anything like this remotely like this happen.

I've brought a many AK, ARs, FALs, UZI, HKs, 1919s, M2, .50 BMG out to public lands. I've had about  a dozen contacts with Fish & Game and Forest Service come by to say hi. They saw all the black rifles and belt feds on tri-pods, not once did they give us any shit. Even with the bump firing and Tannerite. I've never been asked to see any AW paperwork, even though I have my stuff registered.

They were all nice and told us to have a nice day. Their only comments were about picking up any trash and and no campfires if it was during fire season. That was always their biggest concerns trash & fire. I've also been reminded not to park our vehicles on the tall grass (we weren't). In LA & San Bernardino Forest areas there is a Wilderness pass (parking permit) that they sometimes roll by to see if you have on your rear view mirrors.

The Ranger & BLM stations have always been very helpful and nice to me.

If the story is true -

Why would a Forest Service agent who appears to be a shooting hobbiest herself be so ignorant of California laws at the same time she was able to quote them?

Also, don't people hunt on this land?  Reacting in that manner to people with weapons seems a but odd for someone used to interracting with armed people.

Anyway, I can see why some people would call BS.  I have never been on that side of the Rockies except Seattle, Ft. Lewis, and the west side of New Mexico - so I have no idea.

Yes, there are USFS "Law Enforcement" officers, and they tend to be much more uninformed and jack-booted than "city cops".  (Of course, the USFS has some of the worst hiring practices I've ever seen - imagine a really wierd combination of "affirmative action" AND nepotism, at the same time.)

I've seen people get "written up" or harassed for:

- parking with one wheel off the pavement and on the dirt, in a USFS campground.
- "running a guided river trip without a permit"  (bunch of college kids in a Campus Rec rental boat)
-  "allowing a dog to run unleashed and uncontrolled" - a retriever doing its job while duck hunting on a lake near a USFS campground (but a safe and legal distance away)... everything was legal and kosher, the prick just wanted SOMETHING to bust my buddy for.
- a situation like the one described by SubnetMask - out target shooting in a safe area, again totally legal and kosher. The prick wanted SOMETHING to bust us for, so what did he dig up? a buddy's plates were from out of state but he had a brand new in-state driver's license. So the USFS guy (with no jurisdiction over motor vehicle licensing) wrote up some kind of bogus citation - buddy brought it into the county courthouse and they just laughed at it.

P.S. People should really get a clue before they call "BS" on shit they know nothing about - that means you, AR15fan.