I'm thinking about heading out with some friends in a couple of weekends to  Clear Creek Recreation area located in the Hollister BLM area.  They say they have brought all the black rifles out and had at it.  When checking the BLM website for that area, it states that "assault weapons" are prohibited on BLM land.  It also said there are exceptions.  

So.. I called the Hollister field office and asked the person who answered the phone the if they are prohibited and her reply was... "If the website says so I guess so"  

I asked for the law enforcement ranger's number and will be leaving him a voicemail to get the real poop.

Anyone from the area "target" shoot out at the Clear Creek area or have any first hand info on what the scoop is out there?  I'm not taking my baby out for show and tell if there's a hairs chance some over zealous fed. ranger is gonna pry it from my hands.

Any info/prior experiences would be appreciated.  

Where the hell is Clear Creek? Some areas are off limits to rifle shooting and allow Shotguns only, other then that you can shoot AW's on BLM land. There was an internal memo out that stated AW's were okay to shoot on BLM land as long as they were registered. If I can find it I will post it.

Here's a copy of the memo.

EMS TRANSMISSION: 07/15/03
Instruction Memorandum No. CA-2003-049

To: All Field Offices

From: State Director

Subject: State Policy on Use and Possession of Assault Weapons

The State of California has in recent years issued amendments to the 1989 California Assault Weapons law, and in 2000 changed the definition of “Assault Weapons” to include specific items instead of make and model. As a result of these changes, this office has received requests to address the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) current policy regarding the use and possession of these weapons on BLM-administered public lands.

In 1989, the State of California enacted legislation restricting the possession and use of firearms defined as assault weapons. The Governor approved this legislation, titled the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989, on May 24, 1989. It was coded into the California Penal Code and became effective January 1, 1990. This law places restrictions on the use and possession of assault weapons in the State of California. Among other things, the law requires that persons owning a firearm defined as an assault weapon, must register it with the California Department of Justice before January 1, 1991. The law also places conditions on uses of legally registered assault weapons, including the following:
Chapter 2.3, 12285, (c) (6) “While on publicly owned land if the possession and use of a firearm described in Section 12276 or 12276.1 is specifically permitted by the managing agency of the land.”

In accordance with this provision, BLM-California’s policy for the use of assault weapons is:
Persons have the permission of the BLM to possess and use firearms, including lawfully registered assault weapons, on BLM-administered public lands except when prohibited by other applicable laws and regulations.

This policy is consistent with the U.S. Forest Service’s policy for Region 5.

Our responsibility for public safety, property, and resource protection can be met using Federal laws and regulations. BLM Law Enforcement Officers should continue to enforce appropriate Federal laws and regulations related to the use and possession of firearms as needed. Questions related to this subject should be directed to the Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Ross Butler, at (916) 978-4450.

Signed Authenticated
Mike Pool Louise Tichy
State Director Records Management
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hmmmm, tempted to print out that memo and keep it stored with the copy of my registration.

Sometimes it is wise to have stuff like this handy.

thanks for the prompt replies and the info.

Clear Creek is a general purpose area of BLM land located out in the middle of no where, outside of Hollister, close to the pinnacles.  Known mostly for off road vehicles, motocycles and atv's, you can hike around, hunt, etc. and basically be left alone.  

I had seen a similar memo that was from the USFS and national forest that spelled out the same thing.    Do you have the ability to scan it into .pdf format?  I'd love to have a real-deal copy for piece of mind sake.  I can IM you with my email if so.  Im printing the non-official version now

Sorry, I got it off Cal Guns when another person posted it there. I just printed it out and saved it.

I was out shooting in the desert the weekend before last, not sure which agency the guy was with but he didn't hassle us. He just wanted to let us know that Chucker hunters were out in the area and to keep an eye out for them. We had all our guns out in plain sight and he didn't say anything about them, .50's, .30's, AW's...

I found the link to the memo's for basically the entire west coast region.  You can go to this reading room:

http://www.blm.gov/nhp/efoia/

select the state of choice and you have access to all instruction memorandums and information bulletins for the last 5 fiscal years.  All of the info is in .pdf format.  Printed myself a hard copy of the memo for future use.  

enjoy and thanks for the heads up... E