My great uncle passed away a few months ago and so now his farm of about 120 acres belongs to my mother and aunts. What is the legality of shooting on this land? Is it possible that the town or city or whatever has specific private property shooting laws? What distances do I need to be away from roads, other houses and things of that nature. I searched but couldn't find specific regulations pretaining to things like this. I'm hoping to be able to use the farm as a bit of a private range. So if someone has a link or any info that would help I would appreciate it.
In Texas I think, could be wrong, that you can shoot on any plot of land that's 15 acres or more in size.
Each state has deferent laws regarding shooting on your land, you will need to check the ordinances in your local area. Most sheriffs’ offices are a good sources of information or can tell you whom to contact. I know in Kentucky I can shoot on any land I own as long as it is not in town
I know in New York State you can shoot on your own property,as long as your 500' from another dwelling.Yes out of Town limits!!!
Generally speaking that's true, but it depends on the town you live in. Some towns have "Discharge of firearms prohibited" policy (self-defense excepted). As you say, if you're on a farm somewhere or out in the middle of nowhere, knock yourself out.
Besides the legal considerations, even when shooting on your own land, you should take some basic safety measures. Make sure you have a safe backstop behind your target; a hill or an earth berm that is high and wide enough to prevent even a wild shot from traveling much beyond your target. Earth, not rocks, and away from water; both are conducive to ricochets. A stand of trees or an abandoned building is NOT a sufficient backstop. Remember, the range at which rifle or pistol bullets are deadly is measured in miles, not yards. You should never shoot in the direction of a roadway or a building, obviously (and it is also generally illegal to shoot FROM a public road). Other range rules and practices still apply: the area between you and your target must be clear and unobstructed, know the position of all people and animals in the vicinity, and so on. Use ear and eye protection, and no horsing around. Forgive me for spelling C-A-T here, but I've seen some otherwise smart people do some incredibly stupid things when firing on private land (my own). At one time I owned and lived on 50 acres in Coryell County, here in Texas, and would occasionally have friends over for some informal target practice. They had to be trained (sometimes at high volume) not to shoot at rocks and bottles and at prickly-pear leaves backed by nothing but the horizon--and to stop shooting when another person is walking downrange to change a target. Strange but true. If you're shooting on your own land, that makes you the rangemaster; be a strict, no-nonsense SOB, because any other kind of rangemaster isn't worth a spent shotgun wad.
Shooting There is no law in Texas about how much land is required to shoot. If a bullet leaves the land, you are responsible for what it does and where it goes.
I drove up there a few weeks ago. Took about 4 steps onto the land and got nailed with a hell of a thunderstorm. I couldn't see all but 6 feet in front of me driving home. It didn't look like an ideal shooting area though, flat with houses surrounding so I would've had to have built a backstop becuase there was no natural one.
Bad idea, then. Even if your relatives don't object to your having a bulldozer scrape you a nice 10' high berm, you'd surely get a host of complaints about the noise. The nearest neighbors to my place were a half-mile away, and too deaf to hear it thunder. Ideal, really. My ex-wife probably still has the place. I'd set you up, but trust me on this--after a few years with her, the only thing you'd feel like shooting is yourself.
Yep, looks like I will have to shoot elsewhere It's too bad though, shooting on your own land is so much more fun because you can use reactive targets.
I would love to have a place to shoot at tannerite targets. No land around for me though. There's one difference between tannerite targets and democrats: The tannerite leaves a white smoke cloud, the democrat, yella....
Well, Instead of Using a bulldozer, you could rent a smaller(such as A Kubota or Deer) skiploader, and do it all pretty well. Not perfect, but O.K. ... and it's fun
