Brent,
I am not sure if this is the same in all counties, but up here if you are on Govt. land, you can carry a pistol in the open. I talked to our Sheriff about this and he said that the main reason they preferred that you keep it hidden even if you are out collecting rocks is so someone doesn't see you and come running in to report a person carrying a gun and then they have to go find out where.
As for target practicing, they have mostly closed down all the places on BLM land that we used to go to shoot because of the idiots that turned them into dump sites. They even started hauling old referigetators out and dumping them on the shooting areas. Anyway it is to hot now for outside practice. Lead bullets melt before they reach the target.
Ron
