A bit of background: I have been skeptical of the allegation that shooters firing regular lead bullets have started fires. So, a few years ago, I challenged Tracy to take a crew of deputies up to the police range in Spanish Fork Canyon, set up ideal conditions with a target of dry grass and rocks, and then shoot at it and see if they could cause sparks and get it to burn. Tracy took me up on this and conducted the experiment. Guess what? No fire.

What the test tended to confirm was what I had argued earlier — that regular bullets made of non-ferrous lead don’t create sparks and are highly unlikely to ignite a blaze. And so it’s wrong to blame shooters every time you can’t identify the precise cause of a wildfire — which is what authorities often do, according to a BLM investigator.

Tracy admitted on Monday that lead bullets pose little, if any, risk. But this is not an argument to lay off the shooters. The Sheriff and I agreed that the use, especially in dry conditions, of ferrous steel or steel-core bullets, or tracer rounds (which are literally on fire so as to be visible to the naked eye), or exploding targets ought to be severely punished. Irresponsible shooters have caused untold risk to human life and property by failing to think about the consequences of their actions.

Full disclosure: I am an avid shooter. But I really hate the wildcat shooting ranges that crop up all over the desert. I hate the trash that the bozos always leave behind. I hate the bad name they give a terrific sport and the trouble they create for the rest of us. I’m all for gun rights, but not for gun garbage. And certainly not for wildfires. The Utah Legislature needs to draw a bead on these Neanderthals.