The U.S. Forest Service out of Boise, Idaho banned exploding targets (definition on its way) there, and in southwest Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, and a region in eastern California due to ongoing potential for wildfires, and out of public safety concerns. What, you may well ask, is an exploding target? These are used by shooting enthusiasts so that when a bullet penetrates the target a chemical reaction creates a loud report and smoke-burst. Nora Rasure, Intermountain Region Forester, declared the ban today, reported jrn.com, effective through July 22, 2015 on national forest lands. The Forest Service reports that exploding targets over the past two years have started at least 16 wildfires which required over $33 million to subdue.
In May the Forest Service issued a similar ban in northern Idaho, Montana, North and South Dakota; and in 2013 for Washington and Oregon. As someone who thought himself fairly savvy regarding firearms, I find the idea of exploding targets absurd—especially for target shooters in the West, where even one spark could ignite a wildfire. But that's just me.
