Shooting in the back yaaaard ISSUES?

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FIDI_G said:
Yeah that's probably what I'll wind up doing but still I'm kind of irritated about the whole situation. I really dont want to have this situation sway me into buying a moderator as I wasnt planning on it. But if she heard it the gun is probably too loud and I'm sure others would also be concerned. We do have a bunch of kids in the neigborhood. Wondering if the HOA is gonna do something. She's fairly new to the neighborhood and I dont personally know her. She seemed ok where we left off but I still think she's really concerned so I dont think it's over. I wouldnt be surprised if she calls the police. I probably need to check and see what the decibal limit is for noise and figure out if Im violating some sort of noise law.
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I do a crap ton of airgun shooting in my yard and the neighbors know it. A moderator is a fairly inexpensive way to quiet your gun. This neighbors’ visit might not have happened if she hadn’t “heard” you shooting. Simple, “No Trespassing” signs all along the property line, etc.
 
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A nice moderator and a backstop probably would ease a neighbor who can't mind their own business. She can call ahead and ask nicely if her kids can cross if your not busy shooting...or tell him/her when they pay your house payment and property taxes then they can have say on what goes on..
This is why I live on a farm... apparently I can't play well with others..
 
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In my town, it's illegal to shoot air rifles within the city limits, same as a firearm. I shoot in the yard frequently, and have had no issues with the neighbors. I told them about my hobby (before I knew it was illegal), and explained my safety protocol. I believe, if you are going to shoot in the yard, you should do everything practical to make the rifle and target as quiet as possible. My rifles have suppressors, and the target box is soft material. I also watch for outside activities in the neighbors' yards, and don't shoot if they are outside. I probably take more precautions than necessary, but I don't have the law on my side, so I want to avoid any confrontation. I think most folks here assume that it is perfectly legal to shoot an air rifle in the yard, and it was only recently that I learned otherwise. Ultimately, you have to take your own counsel, but I would err on the side of caution.
 
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GA_LeadHead said:
Similar issue. I live on 2 acres with my neighbor's open field behind my back fence. Yet, I have another neighbor ( that shoots powder burners in their yard ) roll up on his golf cart and give me the spanish inquisition on what I'm shooting. I told him they were air rifles. He even took a metal detector and went all over behind my fence trying to find a "bullet". Then he constantly rides his golf cart over and just sits and stares into my backyard. Really creepy. I'm like OP, I don't want to inflame the situation, so I just ignore him. However I'm seriously considering the huge expense of putting up a wooden privacy fence no.
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Invite him over to try that new fangled pellet rifle…be sure to warn him it’s contagious and waaaay too much fun..
 
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I just don’t. Simple as that. I live in a tight packed subdivision, 1/4 acre lots. But, I have areas to shoot safely within 15 minutes of my house. Ten years ago I could have gotten away with it, but all of my old neighbors have moved out and new people from large metro areas have moved in. Needless to say sensitivities have changed a lot.
Just not worth the potential issues no matter how bad I want to shoot.
 
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I live in a rural area and have 5 acres of land here, cleared about 1 acre for my house and the rest woods. I checked with the county before buying my property to make sure there were no laws about shooting firearms. One year after living here the property across the road from me sold and a couple built a house, they came here from the northern VA. area. One day I was shooting on my backyard range and the new neighbors called and asked my wife what was going on over here, she told them I was target shooting, they told her to ask me to stop as they didn't like firearms, my wife came out and told me what they said....so, I had the urge to shoot more than I was planning on that day. A couple days later the husband meets me at the mailbox and proceeded to tell me that I couldn't shoot my guns anymore because they didn't like firearms and if I did he was going to call the police on me. I first politely told him there were no laws for shooting on your own property here and he then started spouting at me and I looked at him and asked him why he thought I moved out here in the middle of nowhere....??? he said I don't know...I looked him right in the eyes and said to get away from AZZHOLES LIKE YOU.....he turned around and took off back to his house and they haven't spoke to me or my wife for over 25 years now....and I still shoot my guns whenever I want...LOL
 
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If a kid gets hit from a ricochet, your life will turn sour. IMHO, you should only shoot into fenced-in property and there should be an absorbent backstop. Duct seal putty is cheap, reusable and will soak up anything and minimize noise. A bell is the worst thing to shoot because projectiles can make a glancing hit and be deflected in a wide range of directions.
 
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FIDI_G said:
Does anyone that shoot in the back yard have a neighbor come over and question what your doing as your PCP sounds like a gun going off?

How do you deal with that ? What do you say? I looked at the local laws here in GA and it's totally legal to shoot a PCP rifle on your property. I explained that this is a pellet rifle and shooting targets. She still seemed concerned as her kids on occasion may walk through my back yard as it's easy access to the woods and creek crossing as I have a small bridge and makes it easy access. Honestly I dont mind. I dont want to stir up anything nor do I want to create any tension in the neighborhood. I didnt say anything to inflame the situation like hey keep your kids off my property or there trespassing or nothing at all. I do not want to stir stuff up. Regardless If I hear kids in the back I stop shooting and just call it a day. In this particular instance the kids were no where near my property or the back yard the parent still felt compelled to ring my door bell and question me as she heard me shooting.

I understand thier concern as I have kids too. Just looking to hear about what if anyone else out there has said or done in a similar situation.

The setting: I live on a flood plane so there are no houses close to me. My back yard is HUGE since its a flood plane there are no homes directly behind me for at least 500yds if not more. I have a house on each side they sit about 30 yds on one side and I have a vacant lot on the other and the next house is like 100yds away. I shoot from a window that faces out to the back of the house. It's all woods with a creek in the back. Kids from the neighborhood like to go back into the woods and play in the creek which runs behind my house.
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Now that you’ve publicly acknowledged that children play behind your house the HOA and neighbor will be the least of your problems if one of those kids are shot. Gross negligence has serious consequences and liability that is not worth shooting your pellet gun in the backyard.

Add a minimum implement reasonable safety precautions and build a backstop in an area of your property that will minimize the possibility of a shot going in the direction of where those children play.

It may be legal to shoot but it will be worth your while to accommodate your neighbors if they complain about the noise. You don’t want an HOA to get involved especially if they’re organized. You can muzzle your Karen neighbor by buying a moderator for your gun.
 
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It's sometimes difficult to shoot airguns in a way that nobody knows what you are doing . Noise is coming from two sources : the gun : high power means more noise , and the impact of the pellet on the target.
About the gun , reducing power and a good moderator can reduce noise significaly.
Metal targets are louder on impact than paper targets . This is a wooden box I built some years ago ; just behind the paper target ( A4 size ) is a piece of 2" thick rubber foam , and the box is filled with rubber mulch as backstop .
I can shoot all day long with pellets .22 and .25 at 900Ft/s , donnyFl moderators, without alerting my neighbours. I also noticed that slugs hitting the target paper are quieter than pellets , probably due to their shape

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I am in an area where it is legal to shoot air guns on one's property, but we do have to make sure that the pellets do not leave it. To that end, and to comfort neighbors (several know I shoot and have no issue), I built two sturdy solid backstops out of 4x6 pressure treated lumber that I put target boxes in front off that act as shooting lanes. They basically are little permanent walls, one about 4 foot square, the other 4x6 wide. One has spinners and the like in front of it, but they are in sacrificial wood boxes built out of 2x12 that catch all misses, richochets, and splatter (as well as redirect most of the noise back to me). And if others are out doing things in their yards, I simply don't shoot out there.

The thing that would worry me in your situation is that you don't know where your pellets will finish up, and you don't know where the kids might be. With a similar approach to mine, there is no question about that. It might limit your range, but it is safer.
 
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For some additional context as to my back yard and shooting area. The house sits on stilts as its built on in the middle of a small hill so I'm sitting up about 25ft so lets say from a second story. This is my backyard. Whole acre behind the house is mine and as you can see nothing but woods.

So if there arr kids I can always spot them. The targets are min 50yds in the woods and most of the spoon spinners and bells are about 60yds away. I can barely here them ring from my window. The big white target is about 110yds from my window for perspective and the little two paper targets are my zero at 50yds.

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It's always better to be safe than sorry. Kids will be kids as we all have been through, how some of us made this far without missing limbs is a miracle! There is no pellet gun ordinance in my county or city but I certainly will not give them reasons to have one. All around me are neighbors and these days most are from Bay area so keeping everything low and safe. I DO NOT shoot anything higher than 12 FPE in my yard and even with that it's always into traps with solid backing like wood or rocks. After joining field target game I realize I can shoot pretty accurately out to 60 yards with 12 FPE and it's a fun challenge.


For safety and fun I would highly recommend trying 12 FPE 177 or 20 cal, it's more fun than 100 yards with 80 fpe. AND build target boxes/traps for all your targets/spinners.
 
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As stated,shoot quietly and respectful.children Always come first.I for one in 1000 million hate loud noise.
Get it quiet,One does not need laws when it is agreed to all what is acceptable and what is not...
Myself,I would also become friends with all around me...show trust and understanding.
Those that beat on their chests like cavemen usually end up in the cave.o_O
 
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boscoebrea said:
As stated,shoot quietly and respectful.children Always come first.I for one in 1000 million hate loud noise.
Get it quiet,One does not need laws when it is agreed to all what is acceptable and what is not...
Myself,I would also become friends with all around me...show trust and understanding.
Those that beat on their chests like cavemen usually end up in the cave.o_O
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I agree, get to know your neighbors, be neighborly. The dividends reaped can be outsize to the effort put in by you. It’s never good to be in opposition to neighbors, whether you’re right or not. Because you have to live next to each other. Put up “No Trepassing” signs. If those kids are hurt or injured, not by your shooting. But from just horsing around on your property, will you be liable? Lots of issues at play here. I would have a problem with kids accessing my land without my permission.
 
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I don't know if the HOA is going to cause you problems, as they can probably vote to ban you from shooting on your property at all if they wanted to, but my main concern would be keeping the kids off your property. For their safety, of course, but also for your own liability.

I find it interesting the Karen didn't bring up the possibility that she could simply teach her children not to trespass. You should tell the Karen that from now on kids aren't going to be allowed on your property, for simple liability reasons. Even if they drowned in the water on your property some azzhole could sue.

Then, on top of that, you need to put up No Tresspassing signs according to your local laws. And any time you see a kid down there by the creek, go tell the kid don't come back here anymore and make sure your friends don't either.

Additionally, I would consider "caution taping" off the general area where your targets are, and the area behind them.

It looks like that creek has plenty of areas beyond the border of your property the kids can play in. You should never let kids on your property especially these days where people will sue for anything that happens. Obviously you have some natural and man-made hazards there.

Believe me, there will be a time when you don't see a kid in all those trees and brush before you take a shot. Then the kid goes running home to mommy about how you shot at him down by the creek. Bad news.
 
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