HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-8-16 Target Shooting: Existing FacilitiesBIG ISLAND TARGET SHOOTING
Existing Facilities, Recent Police Action, and Future Opportunities
Existing Facilities
There are an estimated quarter million firearms in the possession of Hawaii Island residents. That
number increases substantially every year as the Island's population expands. Ninety percent of those
guns are rifles and pistols. There is no publicly accessible outdoor target shooting facility anywhere on
the Island where they may be legally possessed and fired.
Absent such a facility, Island residents are drawn to use one of the several makeshift shooting areas that
have evolved over time on public lands. One well known and long used such "target range" is located
near the 16 -mile marker on Saddle Road. The shooting site lies within the Hilo Watershed Reserve,
where activities are governed under DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) Administrative
Rule, Chapter 13-104, Rules Regulating Activities within Forest Reserves.
Section 13-104-9 prohibits firearms in Forest Reserves except as permitted by Department Hunting
Rules. Section 13-104-20 provides for issuance of Special Use Permits for activities "which are considered
compatible with the functions and purposes of each individual area".
The Hilo Watershed Forest Reserve is also a designated Hunting Area. Licensed hunters in compliance
with other restrictions presented in DOFAW Administrative Rules, Chapter 13-122 or 13-123, Rules
Regulating Game Bird Hunting and Rules Regulating Game Mammal Hunting, respectively, may possess
and discharge firearms in the course of pursuing game animals. There is no provision under the existing
hunting rules for hunters to sight -in (target shoot) their firearms, nor is there a specific prohibition
against doing so.
There is ample evidence to indicate the 16 -mile site is an active shooting range. Land is cleared and
shooting backstops are provided. Fired brass and shell casings litter the area, along with other detritus,
including discarded targets, shot -up appliances, and other indicators of significant shooting activity.
There are no posted signs to indicate that shooting is prohibited at that location.
Recent Police Action
In recent times, certain DLNR Division of Conservation and Resource Enforcement (DOCARE) officers
issued citations and, in some cases, confiscated firearms from citizens engaged in target shooting at the
16 -mile location. It is not clear whether this action was initiated at Department direction, or whether it
was conducted on the officers' own authority.
Rather than addressing HAR 13-104, Rules Regulating Activities within Forest Reserves, individuals were
cited for violations of HAR 13-123, Rules Regulating Game Mammal Hunting, even though it was obvious
they were not "hunting" (pursuing wild animals for food or sport). Specifically addressed were Section
13-123-3(1) [hunting license], Section 13-123-22(2) [prohibited firearms], and Section 13-123-22(7)
[wearing apparel].
Hawaii Revised Statutes, Chapter 134, Firearms, Ammunition and Dangerous Weapons, Section 134-5,
Possession by licensed hunters and minors; target shooting; game hunting, explicitly states, "A hunting
license shall not be required for persons engaged in target shooting." There are no known apparel
requirements for target shooting.
Enforcement attention appears focused on the 5 pages of stifling overregulation relating to firearms and
ammunition prohibitions described in Section 13-123-22(2). In its exhausting narrative, many of the
most popular target shooting firearms are categorically prohibited for hunting in Hawaii. Firearms of
calibers .22, .30 Carbine, .38 Special, .44 Special, .45 ACP, and 9 mm, for example, are classified as
prohibited firearms.
Future Opportunities
It is recommended that both long term and short term approaches be taken simultaneously to establish
legal target shooting opportunities for Big Island citizens. For the long term, it is essential that everyone
support the now 12 year-long effort to develop the planned Hawaii Public Shooting Complex at
Pu'uanahulu. Progress is currently stalled with low DLNR priority, ineffective leadership, and lack of
funding. The project needs a massive display of public support to overwhelm its small, but vocal and
well -funded detractors.
Hawaii's hunting rules must be substantially overhauled. When compared to other jurisdictions with
similar or larger animal populations, Hawaii's rules are extraordinarily restrictive, with scant relationship
to either game management or resource sustainability. The extensive and irrational firearms
prohibitions are but one example. The ongoing effort for extensive revision must not only be continued,
but accelerated.
Pursuit of change in the rules governing activities in Forest Reserves is also recommended, specifically
addressing the blanket prohibition on firearms contained in Section 13-104-9. Virtually every state with
equal amounts of public land permits target shooting on at least some parts of it. There is no logical
basis for complete prohibition.
Until the described rule changes occur, the situation at 16 -mile and other Forest Reserve shooting range
sites might be best resolved by requesting a Special Use Permit (as provided in Section 13-104-20) to
engage in target shooting activities at specified locations therein. There is precedent for target shooting
under Special Use Permit within the Forest Reserves. Should such request be denied, it is suggested the
requester document the cause for rejection and pursue the request through the DLNR chain of
command. Hunters routinely shoot in Forest Reserves without adverse consequences. Why should not
other citizens be offered the same opportunity?
RPH 08-16-15