Laws for shooting on my property.

[trapperj86]

One thing most are not aware of is you must have a appropriate backstop. If you do not and are using someone else's property ( hill, etc.) you could be charged for trespassing. Sounds crazy but I had a issue with a neighbor using my property as a backstop and spoke with an attorney about it.

Thanks, I was not aware of this. I am going to be building a backstop when it . There is know houses for at least a couple miles behind my house, but it still worries me. Any tips on a backstop? I was just going fasten ~10 ft logs between two trees. Not the best but i cant get a large quantity of dirt back in the woods.

[CHEMICAL]

Thanks, I was not aware of this. I am going to be building a backstop when it . There is know houses for at least a couple miles behind my house, but it still worries me. Any tips on a backstop? I was just going fasten ~10 ft logs between two trees. Not the best but i cant get a large quantity of dirt back in the woods.

Steel plate angled downward from front to back. That way the rounds follow the angle of the steel into the ground. Build walls out of railroad ties on each side to box it in.

[God's Country]

If the area you plan on utilizing is basically flat with no natural backstops to aide your physical constructed backstop, you could build a small riser to shoot from, thus forcing the bullet trajectory in a more advantageous direction.

[mrnyman]

I live on the western slope of a Hill , so all my rounds naturally go down into the ground and i shoot off of my Back deck that makes the angle of trajectory even much better, there are no houses for miles in the back of me.

See if you can build a riser of some sorts as some one else has suggested, also see if you can find someone with a Bulldozer to come in and dig out a burm for you.

GL you are right , the "state laws " i referred to are PGC "laws" but wouldnt he still get into trouble even if on his own land if he violates the 500 foot PGC rule?

Nyman

[GunLawyer001]

. . .

GL you are right , the "state laws " i referred to are PGC "laws" but wouldnt he still get into trouble even if on his own land if he violates the 500 foot PGC rule?

Nyman

The game laws are binding, you can be cited and fined for violating them; but most of them only apply if you're doing something under the game laws. Like hunting, or using the game lands rifle ranges. Shooting on your own property, or on a private range, is not something authorized under the game laws (unless you're shooting at animals, or something else that's always controlled by the game laws.)

So there's no mandatory safety zone around your own home for you if you're casually plinking, but there is for any hunters wandering by. That's why you have to look at local zoning and ordinances for any prohibition on discharges of firearms, and some of those may even be preempted by state law. Of course, if you're being reckless, then the Crimes Code has applicable statutes that may apply.

[Dredly]

there is no 500 foot rule dude,

its 150 yards from a structure that you don't have permission to hunt near w/ a rifle which is 450 feet :P

and its only law if you are hunting (shooting at game / pursuing game). if he is target shooting the PGC can't say shit

50 yards (150 feet) w/ a bow

[roberts257ai]

Thanks, I was not aware of this. I am going to be building a backstop when it . There is know houses for at least a couple miles behind my house, but it still worries me. Any tips on a backstop? I was just going fasten ~10 ft logs between two trees. Not the best but i cant get a large quantity of dirt back in the woods.

If you can get a machine back in the woods, just dig a hole and use the dirt to form a backstop. Worked for me.

[trapperj86]

Thanks, for all the advice. Now I just gotta wait for the rain to stop.

[mrnyman]

450 feet, hhmmm, so i'm off by 50 feet, sorry guys.

Yeah , the rain should make the ground nice and Soft for the Dozer.

Their is a lot of Dozers laying around now due to lack of Work, no logging and stuff going on yet, just drive around untill you spot one then find out who the owner is.

There is a lot of them up here where i live.

Good luck and good shooting.

[jimbo]

sorry for bumping an old thread, but no reason to start a new one if the info is already there.

I'm not aware of a state law that prohibits casual target shooting (non-hunting) within 500 feet of a dwelling. Safety zones apply to activities regulated by the Game Code. Target shooting in your own back yard isn't a Game Code matter.

this is exactly the info I was looking for. GL001 comes up big YET AGAIN!

We have land out in Huntingdon county. It's 35 acres and adjacent to approximately 5,000 acres of State game land. Our range is 62 yards and the backstop is a natural hill/mountain that is about 400ft high.

We had a minor issue back in May when we were shooting one Saturday afternoon. The neighbor across the street yelled over "why don't you do that sh#t at your own house". Well, unfortunately for her, we have owned this land for 44 years. She's the newcomer. We only shoot about 4 days a year up there, but I guess she wasn't happy about it. I checked into the township and there are no ordinances against discharging a firearm. We're perfectly legal. We attempted to discuss this with her and she wanted no parts of it. After speaking with a few of the locals, she's not well liked and is one of the typical city dwellers that moved out to the country, but wants likes like it was in the city.

I was the only camp member present at the time. While most of them were not against us shooting, they wanted to know that we were fully within the law. Of course, by the time it got passed around to all of the members, it went from 5 of us shooting handguns (one at a time) to us doing full mag dumps with AK's. Even with that, we were still within the law, but I could understand a neighbor getting upset with a bunch of guys doing mag dumps for 8 hours. (we were shooting for about 4)

We just had our pre-deer season camp meeting and it was decided that we just continue to be polite, but pretty much ignore her. Our main concern was what would happen if she decided to call the police.


Thanks guys!
Jim

ps I had to laugh when I googled this and the firs 10 results were from here. I tried to pick the most recent thread to bump. Should have just came straight here!