I ran a CCW class today.  Qualification was held on public land in the Table Mesa area.  (I-17 northbound, go past Ben Avery, it's the second exit after Anthem.)

My class consisted of five students-- our own cat-mechanic and four of his coworkers.  We went to their usual sites-- taken.  We drove a bit further and thought we found a suitable place.  However, I wanted to know what was on the other side of that hill we would be using as a backstop.  Rounded the bend and found a completely burned out mini-Cooper.

Yeeeeah.  People spend $25k on a new vehicle, run it through the desert, and set it aflame.  This thing was burned nearly beyond recognition-- somehow, cat-mechanic figured out what it once was.  Found out that there was a quad trail too close for comfort, so we went deeper in.  We went through some high ground clearance required / 4x4 recommended areas.  Found a canyon.  Went inside and found a ((year and model removed at individual's recommendation)) pickup.

This one was once well taken care of; paint was great, the truck box was still there...  Hell, the Cox cable installer's papers were all still inside!  Yeeeah-- someone just drove this back here and pushed it off a cliff for no reason.....

License plates were attached.  One of cat-mechanic's coworkers guessed the plates were stolen.  A review of the vehicle's recent emissions proved him correct.  The VIN on the paper matched the door- we had a match.  Cell phones were no good out here; I pocketed the paper and was going to call it in once we had signal.

Loaded up my AR-15 at this point and kept it at the ready.  

Shooting started.  About 5 min later, a MCSO vehicle rounded the corner.  We stopped shooting-- I went up and gave him the papers.  Turned out this vehicle was stolen and only located in that wash last night.  They couldn't get a wrecker in overnight, so it had to wait until morning.  I told him about the mini-Cooper-- he responded with a passionate "fucking illegals!"

Will we have a problem shooting here?  "If you're going to shoot at me, I've got an M16 in the truck."

I knew this guy was all right.    He also wanted to know if everybody present was a registered Republican, told us about when he was 10 and shot live .22lr shells out of tree branches with a pellet gun, and asked if we'd please keep the officers in mind when voting time comes for Maricopa Sheriff.  I asked what he meant-- in his words "All I can say is that change is good."

We finished qualifying and cleaned up some of the mess.  When we were pulling out, the wrecker came and started the process of winching this poor thing back up the side of this canyon.  It was sad to see that truck all busted up.  Nothing appeared to be stolen, though the ignition was missing.  Had 160,000+ miles on it and you could tell that it was WELL kept up before being ripped off.  It definitely looked like some Cox cable installer was out a quality vehicle that once had a lot of life left.  Those damn thieves didn't just take a truck; they probably took a man's livelihood.  I hope they get fucked over somehow; hopefully worse than anything the law could throw at them...  Said goodbye to the officer and went for food and to continue class.

I swear that I'm learning more about this state and how things really work by being in the middle of nowhere than I am in any populated areas...

Anyhow, a special thanks to cat-mechanic for setting up a great west valley class and for finding such an interesting place to shoot.  

Mike

Thats a great story.

Too bad he wasn't kind enough to run a few rounds through his rifle to show off

Quoted: Too bad he wasn't kind enough to run a few rounds through his rifle to show off

We even offered our ammo. But he wouldn't go for that either.

Mike,
        Glad you liked the class. Thanks again for coming out west. Let me know when you want to come find more stolen vehicles shoot out here again. Hell, one of these days I might have to travel out to the east side to see what AZstan looks like.

  I've been shooting at Table Mesa Rd for eight years. This is old news. Cars being dumped out there has been going on for a long time.

  I've put a few rounds thru some of them.

  I laughed at my friend when he shot the engine block with .223. It didn't even penetrate. I showed him why I have an AR10. Damm engine started smoking after the .308 penetrated. It smoked for about 15 minutes.

Quoted: Quoted: Too bad he wasn't kind enough to run a few rounds through his rifle to show off We even offered our ammo. But he wouldn't go for that either. Mike,         Glad you liked the class. Thanks again for coming out west. Let me know when you want to come find more stolen vehicles shoot out here again. Hell, one of these days I might have to travel out to the east side to see what AZstan looks like.

(chuckles)  No problemo and thank you for setting up the first class I've had fun with for a good long time!

Mike

Mexico = why we pay so much for insurance (me especially, fucking scammers).