Hi Nathaniel,
As someone who has camped out quite a bit, I'd add this caveat: Be careful where you camp within an hour's drive of any large Western city. A few years ago, outside of Las Vegas (Nevada, not New Mexico), I was camped out, in bed, reading a book about to go to sleep, when I noticed odd lights without. I sat up to see what was happening, and suddenly the bullets started flying! I yelled something unrepeatable out the window, and they took off. Checking the scene, I found where these boneheads had set an old tire and a cardboard box right in the middle of the wash, about 50 meters from where I was parked (not visible to them), and they were using these for "target practice". No backstop, no idea where the bullets would land.

Another time, also outside of Las Vegas, I was camped and two guys drove up and parked right next to me and proceeded to empty an entire case of 7.62 x 39's with their asian-knockoff AK-47's, into the surrounding shrubbery. How rude! But at least they weren't shooting at me!

But, for the most part, you're pretty safe. I really think it's more to do with urban overcrowding and a skewed sense of newfound freedom in their new home (the majority of residents of Las Vegas are newly arrived from areas with highly restrictive gun laws, and some of them go a little nuts sometimes).  And note that there was no intentional violence directed at me, if that's a soothing thought!

Gary

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