Backyard shooting, legalities and pragmatics.

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Larcat

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May 23, 2021
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TX, United States
My intent in starting this thread is to get a pretty broad ranging conversation going about the topic.

Is it legal to backyard shoot where you live?

How do you know?

How did you find out?

Where does the line between being a good neighbor and being strictly legal get drawn?

Theres safe targets and then there's backstops. If you shoot in yoir bsckysrd what do you do for the latter?

Have you ever had a neighbor complain even where you are safe and legal?

Did you talk with your neighbors before setting up your backyard range?

If you limit yourself caliber/fps/fpe wise, how did you come up with those heuristics?


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I _believe_ I'm legal in my backyard, but I'm thinking through all these other questions before I start taking advantage of it, and would like other folks' thoughts/thought processes.
 
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It is a violation of city ordinance to shoot an air rifle where I live. I shoot almost every day. I spoke to my close neighbors about it before I started shooting, and before I knew it was illegal. They are fine with it, never had a problem. I mostly shoot a sub-12 fpe rifle, and it is almost silent. I'm very careful of my backstop, and take no chances with safety. Since my shooting is illegal, I would obviously be in no position to counter a complaint. As a practical matter, air rifles are routinely shot in my area, and obviously illegally. The police have more important things to do, and I'm sure a violation would be cited only in a case of complaint, and probably one involving some kind of damage. I'm not a role model here, and it's a personal decision. I think an important variable is the specific location, not only to determine the legality, but also the local attitude towards it. As with many things, common sense usually works.
 
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Larcat asked -

Is it legal to backyard shoot where you live? No

How do you know? I stopped by the local police station and asked

How did you find out? See the above question, they answered my questions

Where does the line between being a good neighbor and being strictly legal get drawn? ??? By not pissing people off!!

Theres safe targets and then there's backstops. If you shoot in yoir bsckysrd what do you do for the latter? See above, no shooting in the backyard

Have you ever had a neighbor complain even where you are safe and legal? I assume by "shooting" in the backyard...see above

Did you talk with your neighbors before setting up your backyard range? No,, see question #2

If you limit yourself caliber/fps/fpe wise, how did you come up with those heuristics? I shoot .177 and .22. Because that's what I want to shoot. I adjust my guns to shoot at about 800fps, because I see no need in pounding my guns when I shoot under 25 yards, and 800fps works fine at shorter distances. Plus the lower power is also quieter

Mike
 
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Against city ordinance where I live too. I shoot in my backyard. Target is a rubber mulch filled RubberMaid container. Behind that is a wall of 4x4's, about 8 feet wide and 7 feet tall. I built it as a backstop for my archery target. If I miss that wall with either it's time to quit the hobby. My neighbors could care less about it. They are used to my activities from the last 31 years of living here. Several ask me to come over to pest their gardens.
 
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i can legally shoot firearms in my yard, but its a fairly populated residential area .. i start with consideration for others with everything .. unfortunately most people take laws as their 'right' to be a complete inconsiderate as .. my rule is 'you want to make noise in front of my house, im gonna make some noise, and if you want to escalate it we can do that to, but i dont recommend it .. this block house has some pretty good combat ready firing positions lol ..
 
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markT said:
If you live in city limits probably NOT allowed.
Ask your self this question. Would you want YOUR neighbor shooting in his back yard? Specifically in your direction... Not the next door neighbor..
No way I would tell a neighbor that I'm shooting. Keep your muzzle quiet and concealed.. Keep your targets even quieter.
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The potential problem with this strategy, if a neighbor sees you, not knowing anything about your hobby, he is likely to call the police. At that point, depending on the specifics, you might have a problem. At the least, you have probably screwed the pooch for any more shooting. Every situation is different, and if it's against the law, you might not have any real good options.
 
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Sounds like a good way to get people to post on an open forum that they are willingly breaking the law. Seems like a bad idea to me ;)

Maybe you should check your local laws and then use your best judgement on if you want to shoot on your property or not. And then which ever you do, don't blast it on a public forum for anyone and everyone to see. Especially today when people are just looking for something to ban and get rid of.... lets not give them any ammunition to do just that.
 
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It is legal to shoot in the backyard where i live in CT. I also happen to have 4 acres of woods on my property and on one side is a large area (50+ acres) of Land Trust property, so no real close neighbors. Having said that, I am careful about what and where (and sometimes even when) I shoot.

I always try to shoot in such a direction that there is as close to zero as possible likelihood of a pellet leaving my property.

I never shoot unmoderated air rifles. Too loud

I have a Land Trust Trail along the back of the property where it runs parallel to a river. It is possible for people to see me if i am standing on my back deck shooting offhand at my spinners and 25 yard targets. As a result I tend not to shoot when there are people walking along the trail. Not because its illegal, but there’s no point in alarming anyone. In addition, some people let there dogs run on the trail without a leash (illegal) and the dogs will occasionally run unto my property. I really don’t want to accidentally shoot anyones dog, regardless of whether or not they should have been on a leash, so i just wait until they have moved on. N(Note that I shoot AWAY from the trail, not towards it and not even parallel to it).

In most of my shooting positions I am actually at a slight downhill angle, so my shots that might go beyond the target, if they miss the backstop, will tend to go into the dirt. I often place my targets and target stands (which have integrated backstops) in front of large trees, so as to create an additional backstop. I NEVER shoot up in the air, or at something on a branch for example, since I don’t want to risk the pellet flying off my property.

I limit my shooting to .30 caliber and below and also tend not to shoot slugs at home since they carry more energy farther away than pellets.

Basically, I try to follow my DBAD rule when it comes to neighbors and others around my home (DBAD = Don’t Be A Dick).

Chris
 
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Anything over 400fps is considered a firearm where I live. Fortunately I have a range 15 minutes from my house that removes my need to shoot in the backyard. That being said, I have had a load of rabbits and squirrels reeking havoc on my yard and outside wiring, so I have "thinned" the population. I set my .22 caliber to low power and with the silencer it is extremely quiet. I only shoot with ground as a backstop - I have an elevated covered porch and have told my surrounding neighbors that have the same varmint problem. Is it against the law? Yes Would I rather poison them which is not against the law? No It may be a different story if I had to go 30-60 minutes on way to a range, but I don't. As others have said, let common sense be your guide and don't piss off the neighbors!
 
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100% legal where I live, any caliber, any gun, any time day or night.

One prohibition is the 3 weeks of deer hunting, only .22lr and any air rifle, are allowed outdoors.

I can do up to 600 yards on my property but am only using the 50y range most of the time.

Backstop is timber forest for anything that could clear the berm but that would have to be a very purposeful or accidental shot.
 
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I live in a city and airguns but not firearms are legal in my backyard. I have talked to my neighbors but not to get their permission. They know what I am doing and some of them do it too. I still modify my guns as necessary to get their noise down around 85 db or less. I think that is just being a good neighbor. I use a pellet trap filled with rubber mulch but in the rare event I miss it the pellet goes into a large lake. I had fishermen on the lake complain to the fish and game guys and an officer came to the house. He confirmed what I was doing is legal (even if it goes in the lake) but said the fishermen said I was shooting at them. I was shooting at a swinging target and my scope had jumped and I was missing. I never shot within 100 yards of them. But now I just do not shoot if there are boats any where near my lot. I also have concrete pavers behind my swinging target. The boaters can hear it when I am shooting but nobody else has complained. They can see me too and can see I am not holding a rifle when they are nearby.

I'm not completely legal if I pest a squirrel, however. I'm supposed to be 350 yards from other properties or have their permission. But I've never had a complaint and when I cleaned a few of the squirrels I found 177 pellets under the hide. So others are less successfully shooting them too. I just watch where the pellet could land if I miss or have a pass through. I pass on shots where the pellet could go towards other peoples property unless it is so far off the pellet won't get there.
 
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Not legal where I live and for good reason. Houses are just too close.
Even if it were legal there is no way I would shoot in my backyard. The neighbors wouldn’t appreciate it and I know this will ruffle feathers but it just ain’t safe in a subdivision like I live in.
I am an avid archer and have shot in my backyard for years until 2 years ago. I was out back shooting into a target block that was in front of a 4’X8’ piece of 3/4” plywood that was up against a cedar fence that divides the yard. The cable that actuates the drop away rest had broken and I had not noticed it. Released an arrow that missed the back stop @ 20 yards, went through two sections of cedar fence, across the road and lodged in my neighbor’s fence. Luckily no one was walking down the street and the neighbor was not home so no one is the wiser.
Freak accident? Yes. Scare the hell out of me? Absolutely did. Crap happens and there is no sense in firing any weapon that may cause serious harm or death inside a residential area.
 
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I think lot size is a logical criteria to help decide the practicality of backyard airgun shooting. My lot is only 75 feet wide but both my neighbors have 150 foot wide lots. So our houses are about 100 feet part. My son and daughter-in-law live in a much newer development where houses are much closer together and lots are also not nearly so deep (ours are 150 feet). I wouldn't shoot in their yard and they don't.

I think the bigger the yard the more practical it is to shoot in your yard. I think something on the order of 50 feet between houses might be the practical minimum. More distance reduces the noise they experience and also helps to minimize the chance they get a projectile in their yard.
 
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Is it legal to backyard shoot where you live? Yes.

How do you know? I moved out of state last year so I looked into all these things.

How did you find out? Reading the law.

Where does the line between being a good neighbor and being strictly legal get drawn? Depends on the neighbor and how much you value a good relationship.

Theres safe targets and then there's backstops. If you shoot in your backysrd what do you do for the latter? A mountain is my backstop and it quickly gains elevation behind all my targets.

Have you ever had a neighbor complain even where you are safe and legal? Nope. But I didn't shoot in my yard when I used to live in a high visibility neighborhood in a not-so-friendly to shooting area.

Did you talk with your neighbors before setting up your backyard range? No, but after plenty of shooting I asked them if it was disturbing them. Turns out, not in the least!

If you limit yourself caliber/fps/fpe wise, how did you come up with those heuristics? I put DonnyFL devices on my 30 caliber rifles. I have no desire to shoot higher power than that for targets & plinking. I previously had an AEA Challenger 357 with no moderator installed and only shot it rarely. My neighbors didn't seem to mind anyway.
 
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Chukar60 said:
Not legal where I live and for good reason. Houses are just too close.
Even if it were legal there is no way I would shoot in my backyard. The neighbors wouldn’t appreciate it and I know this will ruffle feathers but it just ain’t safe in a subdivision like I live in.
I am an avid archer and have shot in my backyard for years until 2 years ago. I was out back shooting into a target block that was in front of a 4’X8’ piece of 3/4” plywood that was up against a cedar fence that divides the yard. The cable that actuates the drop away rest had broken and I had not noticed it. Released an arrow that missed the back stop @ 20 yards, went through two sections of cedar fence, across the road and lodged in my neighbor’s fence. Luckily no one was walking down the street and the neighbor was not home so no one is the wiser.
Freak accident? Yes. Scare the hell out of me? Absolutely did. Crap happens and there is no sense in firing any weapon that may cause serious harm or death inside a residential area.
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We all have a right to our opinion, and I respect yours. In comparison, my backyard air rifle target and backstop is considerably more foolproof than your archery target. Freak accidents happen, but it would take the mother of all freak accidents to allow a pellet to escape my property. That is assuming that I'm the shooter. Shooting in my yard will never be a game for the grandkids, or anyone else. It requires careful scrutiny, but IMO, it can be done within an acceptable level of risk.
 
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