shooting on private property

[draben]

Say you own a house on a piece of property that is outside any city or local limits that restrict discharging firearms. Can you set up a range in your backyard? Can you hunt off your back porch? How can you make sure that the property is not under any restrictions? What about neighbors?

I'm looking to purchase property in the near future, and this sure would be a nice option to have.

Thanks for the input.

 

[remymartin]

Talk with local LEO's. Get at least 3 answers (hopefully all the same), as they will be the ones you see if there is a complaint.

 

[42769vette]

ive shot deer and coyote from my front porch and my current 500 yd range uses a bench in my yd as a starting point. there are no restrictions and the neibors dont say a word and if they do it really doesn't matter since im on my property. im working on a 800-1000 yd range that the starting point will be right against a niebors back yard

 

[redneckmedic]

I shoot handguns and IGW has tested a shottie or two on my back forty.

 

[dhnorris]

not in town, my land, my firearms no danger to the neighbors no problem

 

[rocky]

no law against it. As long as you are not shooting over water or a road it is legal. land owners can hunt their property without a license and without a hand gun permit if they chose. I shoot 200 yards out of my back yard. I have shot deer from my attic window.

 

[triton54]

Last sunday we had round one of Turkey day, shot off over 700 rounds at little orange things flying through the sky... not one complaint.. I love Turkey day

 

[esrice]

Say you own a house on a piece of property that is outside any city or local limits that restrict discharging firearms.

I don't, but lovemywoods does.

Can you set up a range in your backyard?

Yep. We use the lake dam as our backstop.

Can you hunt off your back porch?

Absolutely, as long as you are following all the proper hunting laws. I shoot off the back porch when I'm too lazy to walk down to the range.

How can you make sure that the property is not under any restrictions?

Call the County Assessors office?

What about neighbors?

The neighbors are far enough away that they've never complained. Plus, its not uncommon to hear gunfire in Brown County. During NFA Day, however, we do send a letter to the surrounding neighbors, letting them know that they will be hearing more-than-normal gunfire.

I'm looking to purchase property in the near future, and this sure would be a nice option to have.

It's an EXTREMELY nice option to have. We are constantly reminded how blessed we are to have our own place to shoot, and I have been very thankful for it. It would be very frustrating for me to find a place to shoot my AR if I did not have this available to me.

Thanks for the input.

No problem!

 

[lovemywoods]

no law against it. As long as you are not shooting over water or a road it is legal. land owners can hunt their property without a license and without a hand gun permit if they chose. I shoot 200 yards out of my back yard. I have shot deer from my attic window.

Can you clarify the 'over water' part?
I understand the 'over a road' part since your bullet would be slicing through public space (assuming its a public thoroughfare). I'm inferring that you mean you can't shoot over public waters for reasons similar to the road scenario. Is that correct?

I shoot over my pond regularly...it's the only way I can make a clear 200 yard shot at my place.

 

[42769vette]

i shoot over our creek all the time and have never heard of the rule about water

 

[redneckmedic]

Can you clarify the 'over water' part?

I know this is a hunting law, and down South (Mississippi and surrounding) they have a ton of water and it is very well known not to shoot over water or water backgrounds for fear of ricochet. Not sure there is a law in Indiana about just shooting over water and not hunting.

 

[Buckhunter]

No shooting over public water or rivers. Small creeks or your own private pond on your property you can do whatever you want

 

[Aaronhome27]

I used to sight my guns in from a vise in my bedroom windows. My neighbors used to call to tell me that someone was shooting guns somewhere. After a while they quit calling me and always figured it was just me. I had a neighbor that knew I also hunted and would call to tell me that there were deer moving to my property. Now that wasnt fair to shoot deer like that (no sport in that ... LOL). I always thanked him. Over time the nieghbors all just seem to get used to me shooting. Before I was there no one shot firearms in the area.

 

[red_zr24x4]

The only thing I can add is- make sure you have a good backstop. We had DNR show up from complaints of shooting, He looked at our backstop said it was safe and would report the the county dispatch that he stopped ,we were safe, and noone would show up again if the neighbors called again

 

[boman]

No shooting over public water or rivers. Small creeks or your own private pond on your property you can do whatever you want

"It is illegal to shoot across a body of water, except in the legal pursuit of game" taken from the Ind. hunting and trapping guide.

grey area there I would think law enforcement could make an issue out of this if they received a complaint from a neighbor.

Call the County Assessors office

Don't know if the assessor is in charge of zoning but zoning or a county ordinance(highly unlikely) is what would restrict the land use.

make sure you have a good backstop.

The most important thing---you are liable for any bullet AND the damage it may due that gets off your property.

A good rapport with the neighbors is also a very good thing to have, not only for shooting but every thing else.

Steve

 

[Ter]

When we had our place in the country I built a range behind the barn. Everyone around was a hunter so there was never a complaint. Three or four times a year we would have an informal clay shoot and all of the neighbors would come over and join in...I miss those days.

 

[ihunt]

I have done most of my shooting on private property in the country. Safety is the big issue. You have to bee sure that nothing could possibly happen. I make sure if I am shooting high caliber that it is not traveling beyond the backstop.

 

[kcw12]

Ive shot on private property since i was 10 or 12, in fact ive only been to a "range" twice. As long as you have a good backstop and there is no noise laws, you can shoot all you want and your neighbors can't legally do anything, but you dont want to cause problems with your neighbors unless it just calls for it.

 

[eears]

Make your neighbors your friends and there shouldn't be a problem. Invite them over to shoot and show them that you are responsible and they will even stand up for you if someone else complains.

 

[zoglog]

We shoot on our land the same way everyone else has mentioned. As for the neighbors we rent the old farm house and have relatives across the street. No one else for miles. Needless to say never had a complaint.