In December of 2023 I wrote an article about how a friend of mine had lost his right to own or posses firearms for one year, after pleading guilty to a non-violent misdemeanor infraction in North Dakota. Neither my friend nor I had any idea that misdemeanor probation comes standard with “…no possession or ownership of firearms…”

Since this happened, I have been re-evaluating many of the things that I do in North Dakota, considering I was so mistaken or ignorant about North Dakota law. When looking up laws and gun laws in North Dakota on the internet, the first websites that appear in a Google Search, are nation-wide websites that try to provide a chart or summary of laws for each state. These nation-wide summary websites are often wrong about North Dakota law. It’s as if whoever wrote these summaries didn’t want to spend too much time on the project, and no one double-checked or verified these answers before publication.

Another problem with every internet website that I used to learn about North Dakota law and guns laws, even websites that referenced North Dakota Century Code, was that the information was not up-to-date. During the past six years, there have been at least half a dozen updates to North Dakota law regarding firearms, especially related to “Constitutional Carry” laws.

Even the North Dakota Legislators themselves came to have some confusion on North Dakota gun laws because of “Constitutional Carry” changes to the law. In 2017 a group of several North Dakota Legislators sent a letter to then Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem asking his official interpretation of the law regarding whether it was lawful to have a loaded firearm inside a vehicle. Here is Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem’s official answer and interpretation of North Dakota law https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2017-L-07.pdf

I am not going into any further detail on this now beyond mentioning it, but there is quite a bit more confusion about gun laws in North Dakota when you add that it depends on the category of land or jurisdiction: Privately owned land, ND State owned land, Federal National Park, ND State Park, Federal Bureau Of Land Management, Federal Bureau Of Reclamation, Federal Army Corps Of Engineers, Native American Tribal Land, ND State Game & Fish Wildlife Management Area.

In 2011 I was invited to go target shooting at a small lake in the middle of nowhere North Dakota. Since then, in the past thirteen years I have been to this lake about twenty more times. I have only seen another person at this lake one time. I thought that this lake was a safe place to target shoot, I have never had any problem there whatsoever in any way, there was never anyone else there.

In the past four years, I have seen gradual improvements being made to the property surrounding this lake, including more and more signs that read “North Dakota Game & Fish Wildlife Management Area”. I had always thought that this lake was owned by the Federal Bureau Of Reclamation, just like Patterson Lake in Dickinson.

At this lake, now clearly identified as a ND Game & Fish Wildlife Management Area, there were signs showing rules about swimming and camping, but nothing about shooting. When I did a Google Search about shooting in ND Game & Fish Wildlife Management Areas, the first website that came up to answer my question stated, “Firearms are prohibited in ND Game & Fish Wildlife Management Areas.” I thought, “WTF! Holy Shit! I’ve been shooting there before! I didn’t know!”

At first, it made sense to me that firearms were prohibited at a “Wildlife Management Area”, and I felt pretty stupid for not automatically realizing this. However, I would later learn that this internet website that made this statement was completely incorrect, firearms are not prohibited at ND Game & Fish Wildlife Management Areas.

I had the phone number for the ND Game & Fish Officer for this region, so I called him to ask if target shooting was allowed at this lake, designated as a ND Game & Fish Wildlife Management Area. When I first spoke to this Game & Fish Officer, he said that hunting was allowed at this lake, but no one had ever asked him about target shooting at this lake, he would get back to me.

Meanwhile, I spent more time on the internet trying to look up answers to my questions. Eventually, I found the North Dakota Game & Fish Wildlife Management Area Official Regulations https://gf.nd.gov/wma

Regarding shooting at North Dakota Game & Fish Wildlife Management Areas, it states:

• • Firearms. Use of firearms on wildlife management areas is allowed, except in a reckless and indiscriminate manner, and as otherwise posted at public road entry points. A person discharging a firearm on a Department-designated target range shall not be considered to be engaging in indiscriminate shooting. The use of tracer rounds and/or exploding targets is prohibited on all wildlife management areas. Any individual in violation is guilty of a noncriminal offense.

Yay! Target shooting is allowed at North Dakota Game & Fish Wildlife Management Areas! It says so in their regulations!

! Except the North Dakota Game & Fish Officer for this region called me back and said NO ! When I read the North Dakota Game & Fish Wildlife Management Areas Official Regulations to this Game & Fish Officer, he said to me that shooting at a target is indiscriminate shooting. In my opinion, the purpose of the wording in the paragraph about firearms, was to allow shooting as long as it was neither reckless nor indiscriminate, and target shooting is neither reckless nor indiscriminate.