Mr. Odette,
I wanted to take this opportunity to offer a response to your question about legal shooting areas in the county. In order to reduce the scope of the answer, I will specifically address the area that you reference west of Monument, specifically the Mt Herman area. Shooting is allowed in the Mt Herman area with the exception of the first 4 miles of Mt Herman road from where you leave the asphalt and the road turns into dirt. I cannot remember the name of the cross street there, but it is very close to the fire training center. Once you travel beyond the 4 mile mark, then recreational shooting is allowed in the national forest. You do still need to follow some common sense rules when shooting, such as...have a proper backstop, dont shoot across a canyon or road etc. If you need a more detailed answer or have a specific location off Mt Herman that you want to inquire about, feel free to touch base with Agent Tom Healy of the US Forest Service. I spoke with him before drafting this email as he is assigned to that area and is inimately familiar with the terrain. His email is
thealy@fs.fed.us
I hope this information is helpful.
Lieutenant Jeff Kramer
Patrol Division
El Paso County Sheriff's Office
101 West Costilla Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
(719) 520-7191