BLM land has no 150-yard no-shooting buffer around your campsite. The federal ban covers developed sites only.

No. On national forest land, nobody may fire a gun within 150 yards of your campsite. On BLM land, the agency’s nationwide rules set no distance at all. The federal shooting ban on BLM land covers developed recreation sites, and a dispersed camp usually isn’t one. We read the regulations on eCFR on November 1, 2026, current as of October 29.

It matters in hunting season, when a lot of dispersed camps sit on BLM ground.

What each agency’s rule says

The Forest Service rule, 36 CFR 261.10(d), prohibits discharging a firearm “in or within 150 yards of a residence, building, campsite, developed recreation site or occupied area.” We covered it in our Colorado rifle season piece.

The BLM equivalent is 43 CFR 8365.2-5. It says that “on developed recreation sites and areas, unless otherwise authorized, no person shall: (a) Discharge or use firearms, other weapons, or fireworks.” There’s no buffer distance in it.

43 CFR 8360.0-5(c) defines a developed site as one with “structures or capital improvements primarily used by the public for recreation,” such as delineated parking or camping spaces, toilets, potable water, fire rings, tables or controlled access. A BLM campground qualifies. A bare dispersed pullout usually has none of those.

What still protects you

Three things, none of them a number.

• 43 CFR 8365.1-4 bars anyone on public lands from creating “a risk to other persons,” including “creating a hazard or nuisance.” It applies everywhere on BLM land. It doesn’t say how close is too close.
• 43 CFR 8365.1-7 applies state and local laws on BLM land, naming “hunting and fishing” and “use of firearms or other weapons.” Whether your state sets a distance is a state-law question. We haven’t verified any state’s rule, so we’re not going to quote one.
• 43 CFR 8365.1-6 lets a BLM state director issue supplementary rules, which have to be posted on site and published in the Federal Register.

The catch

The supplementary rule we read closes places, not a circle around your tent. The 2024 rule for four western Colorado BLM units bans recreational target shooting in listed areas and requires a target backstop in each field office it covers. It says target shooting “is not considered hunting,” and hunting with a license is allowed in its no-target-shooting areas. We read it in full and found no shooting distance from campsites.

What to do

1. During rifle season on BLM land, wear orange or pink when you leave camp, and make the camp obvious: awning out, vehicle beside it.
2. If you want a no-shooting zone, a developed BLM campground gives you one under federal rule. A dispersed site doesn’t.
3. Read the posted signs and call the field office about local closures and state hunting rules. Signs and the field office beat this page. Our Colorado free camping page covers stay rules by land manager.