OT: Can you shoot on your Property

[Modoc ED]

So as not to step on the toes of another thread ("Does Your Mind Stay On Guns During The Summer?), I'm wondering how many of us can shoot our firearms on our property. I think the reason that my mind stays on shooting throughout the year is because I only have to step out on my porch and fire away.

Here is a picture of part of my property looking from near the rear of our property up to the house.

Let's see your property

[Terry Murbach]

YOU BET. FOR SOME REASON THOUGH ALL THE NEIGHBORS GET PO'D ABOUT AND THE RCSD COPS SHOW UP AND THROW A FIT. A FEW HOLES IN GARAGES AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND YOU'D THINK THE RUSSIANS HAD ARRIVED. YEEE GADS....

[kimwcook]

I can, there's no law against it, but I don't have that much acreage (six acres) and I have neighbors that I don't want to alienate. Just not worth the problems. I have a range I can go to that's not that far and it's set up to shoot from really up close, defensive drills, out to 300 yds.

[rangerider7]

I have a lease on The Bear Creek Ranch. It's about 854 acres and ten minutes away. I go there about 3 to 4 days a week and shoot almost every time.

[morgan in nm]

No pictures right now because of the wind and dirt blowing around but I can shoot till I get tired from my back door. Right now, I don't do a lot of rifle shooting because it is so dry. All the land around me is farm land and my nearest neibor is a couple of miles away.

[mescalero1]

Yes

[Andrew]

No.

If I could, I would probably spend alot more time shooting. Especially rimfire.

[Mokwaw]

Yes, I have a bullet stop made up of old railroad ties. If any bullets miss the back stop they have to travel 400 yards across an open field and then about 500 acres of mature government owned hardwoods to be dangerous. Although during deer season I don't shoot, due to that same woods being full of hunters. Can get about 100 yard range out of it which is enough for me. I have had no neighbor complaints in over 20 years of shooting, a couple of my neighbors use it to sight in their deer hunting guns.

[Cosmoline]

When I lived off grid north of here I had a nice little handgun range set up using fallen trees as a backstop. I was the only one who wintered there and had five acres surrounded by many undeveloped forest lots. It was neat.

[crs]

No for the city, but yes for the farm, except for these pasture ornaments.


This is just outside the city limits, but do not have an ideal shooting set up, so we go to a range or to Krodle Kountry. We also have a little hunting lease about 22 miles away on honey creek where we can shoot some if not too close to deer season.

[Old Time Hunter]

Yes, but this is just a few hundred yards from my home.



My hunting shack I just walk out of the door.

[cnjarvis]

Yes, but "the farm" is 1h45m from the house so when I need to shoot and don't have that kind of time I go to a local range.

[RKrodle]

Yes, I can go out to 200 yards.

[Rimfire McNutjob]

No. I'm in a part of the county that has been incorporated by the nearest city.

[azmark]

Yes, but I still have to follow the law. I'm not supposed to shoot over a road, and I have to be at least 1/4 mi from the nearest residence. Unfortunately, I'm getting a new neighbor. I'm going to have to make nice with him so he doesn't complain. His house will be closer than 1/4 mi., but I guess if he doesn't complain I'll be OK.

[marlinman93]

Sure, why not shoot? Who cares if the neighbors are a little edgy?

[2ndovc]

I can get away with rimfires.

I used to have a 900 yd range behind my last place.
Sure miss it.

Ain't staying here much longer. As soon as kid #2 is out of school I'm outta here.

jb

[mescalero1]

Sure am glad I never did the kid thing.

[Old Savage]

No, it is against the CC&Rs for the condo.

[BenT]

Yes ,that's where I do all my shooting.Step out the back door. I can shoot up to 500yds but not 100 yrds. I shoot out the back field road and there is a dip in the road at a 100 yds ,so you can't see a target . So I usually shoot at 50 yrds or 200yrds. This is the only picture I have of my shooting bench , which I can push out of the way with my lawnmower when mowing since it slides on two wooden post for rails .

[mescalero1]

It appears to be a fine young lass.

[rjohns94]

Nope, though I do shoot the pellet rifle, and my bow in the back yard. I have understanding neighbors.

[ceb]

Yes, but 50-60yds is about the limit. Fine for handgun and rimfire though, and of course my longbow. Do have a spot behind the pond that with a little work, I think I could get 200yds.

[Ysabel Kid]

No.

If I could, I would probably spend alot more time shooting. Especially rimfire.

+1

A dream of mine - to live someplace where I can shoot off my back porch...

[AJMD429]

Yes. 25, 50, 75, & 100 yard range about 200 yards from the back door. Lots of sacrifices in other areas of our lives to keep the homestead, but the range is part of the appeal. There is another area owned by family where we could shoot safely about 500 or so yards, but we've not gotten around to it. We may try this winter (have to do it when there's no crop out).

Living in THIS house, even long after I became a "real doctor", (...total cost at move-in = $14,700 including hookup to an already existing well!)



enabled us to afford THIS space for a shooting range,



build THIS cool range house,



and make THIS shooting bench,



so we have a place for our kids to do THIS!



You can see the range house from our deerstand,



and having land to make memories like THIS makes me not for one minute regret the sacrifice in 'lifestyle' or fancy home.



If you can, and if your wife will let you live in 'primitive' conditions in order to afford it, get some land and move out of the city! I have been blessed with a wife who doesn't care about superficial things, but wanted a good place to raise kids, which of course means a place to shoot and hunt (...and garden, and raise animals, and build treehouses, and so on ). We covered our patio and intended to make it into a 'dining' area or 'Florida room' but instead it has become the place we keep whatever wounded, ill, or newborn animal (usually goats) needs assistance. I guess we're just unrepentant hilljacks at heart...

The yard 'dip' at 100 yards in the prior post at least leaves you 50 and 200 yar ranges; those may really be the two most useful ones. The 200 yard one would allow you to verify long-range loads pretty well, and the 50 yard would be more convenient than 100 yards for faster target changes. Maybe you could put a "spotter shelter" on the far side of the hill in the 100 yard dip...

[Streetstar]

Very nice spread AJ !

I bought 10 acres 9 years ago with the hopes of building a berm and having a nice place to shoot (330' wide and 12 or 1300' feet deep), Alas, progress happens and there are now a cluster of McMansions directly behind me, and a sub -division full of nice little medium size homes to the north of me. As a result, my land was soon incorporated into city boundaries (wonder if i could un-incorporate )

People regularly say -- "Oh, this is so nice --- look what all this has done for your property value !" and "They're putting in a new Nordstroms and an Albertsons market 4 miles away !", or the worst -- "You know, in 5 years, this won't even be considered 'the country' anymore"

So much for progress. I dont really plan to sell, so increased property value only means an increase in taxes, plus i would gladly drive a spell for my supplies to get back some of my freedom. Alas, i have a small berm that i get to exercise my .22 rifles a little with, but for obvious liability reasons, i dont really want to risk striking some cigar chomping Mcmansion dweller or a middle class suburbanite.

I have looked for small acreages further from town so i could set up a shooting shack and some deer stands (in my case, i'd probably use them for photography)--- but i am afraid unless i went out 30 miles or so, the same thing would happen

My place



Believe it or not , this stand of trees is a makeshift wildlife habitat-- coyote, possum, skunk, and who knows what else file out every night

[rangerider7]

On the ranch I showed earlier I put up a wood rack over two T-post at 100 yards and a long rack at 25 yards for handguns. Both are at the barn. We tack targets on the 100 yard. and use clay targets on the handgun rack or variants of that.

[Old Time Hunter]

Ben T, by gosh that appears to be Octonto county type topography! Is she trying out the 200 yard range with that "Red Ryder"?

This is my 1000 yard shooting shack 'bout 50 miles north of you:

[Leverdude]

Not where I live.
I shoot my bow & other non firearm projectile projectors here though.
I'v got a place up in NH where I can shoot though.

[AJMD429]

We're lucky in that an ox-bow of river, flood plains, and so forth pretty much isolates us even though we don't have a huge place.

Here's an idea a friend did who lived in one of the large-tract (5 acre) suburban areas. It cost him a bunch of money I suspect, but he rented (maybe borrowed, I don't know) a backhoe, dug a trench 100 yards long from the side of his house straight back on his property, set in place some kind of pipe and A-frame, and covered it back up with earth. At the far end he had what looked like a large dog house or small minibarn. That was where he had rigged up a gizmo (he was an engineering type) to change targets (I think he used a roll of paper he just put aiming dots on), and a light. Later he had to put in an exhaust fan because he found that even 'smokeless' powder isn't when in a confined space. Anyway, the end at his house opened up about four feet above the basement floor, so he had his gun safe, reloading area, and shooting area in one place. This particular guy was a benchrest shooter and had guns too heavy to want to lug around anyway, and no doubt flat shooters.

It wouldn't do for 'action' shooting, and if you shot handguns or high-arc cartridges, you'd need a tall 'tube' or limit to shorter ranges, but the convenience factor would be great. I've heard of several others doing this type thing, and most were in a 'fringe' area where they used to be rural, but someone had begun developing nearby, or neighbors were moving in who didn't like the noise or idea of shooting.

If anyone has such an 'indoor' shooting setup, they should post pics; maybe it would be an alternative so some in the not-as-rural-as-they'd-like areas could get some ideas. I'd imagine a do-it-yourselfer like many on this forum would be able to scrounge materails, and do most of the work themselves.

Another option for some might be suppressors, although they seem more set up for guns without under-barrel magazines. A poster a couple years ago showed a 'baffle' he could stand and shoot through, but you'd still need the backstop matter addressed.

[BigSky56]

I dont have a range on my place but shoot predators on a regular basis. Iam surrounded by public land( N.F. )and 2 miles behind me is the Cabinet Mtn Wilderness area, the county is 2.6 million acres and 7% is private property and another 7% is private timber land companies. danny

[Thunder50]

I could, but would have to worry about where the bullet impacted, if they left the property. Use to be able to shoot South or North, but houses went in, so pellet rifle is about it. I am sure the neighbor lady (ex-californian with "horses") would have a fit if I shot much. Test rounds now and then, shooting into the ground, but put shed between us to muffle the noise and don't shoot over 5 rounds anyhow. Can get in truck and drive 2 miles and have public land I can shoot on out to 500yds and probably alot farther if I needed to. Our gun club range is 10 miles away (425yds) if I want to do a bunch of testing.

[Mike D.]

You bet! This weekend, the EBRs were dragged out and given some much needed exercise. These are "banned" guns, complete with detachable mags, flash hiders, and one with the revolting folding stock. 1200 rds milsurp .223s went down range, along with various other kinds of weaponry, some full auto, some lever action, a SA, or three, and some shotguns. No incriminating photos were allowed.

[Griff]

Shooting on yer own property? As in with GUNS??? Oh my!

[Jeff Quinn]

Gunblast World Headquarters, just outside my back door.

[the telegraphist]

Yes,
Feral pigs/dogs /cats and anything else that interferes with livestock. Humans, yes, but you will need a good lawyer to prove the ultimate was required. The law on that in Queensland is deliberately very very grey. You basically have to say that yes there was mortal threat, I went to my gunsafe and withdrew a rifle/handgun, I then went to my ammo lockup and withdrew cartridges for same, I loaded same. I applied the coup de gras. Obviously no intent to kill another human on the spur of the moment. Get lawyer attend court etc..... Police can shoot a person wielding a knife, they have a loaded gun on the hip a Glock in 40 S&W. Internal enquiry purely perfunctory end of story. Newspapers would grab me make huge headlines and I end up a guilty guntoting redneck. Lifes funny eh!!! The gun banners start all the stuff all over again. Bunch of poor sad dills.

[BenT]

AJ it looks like good living to me. Ysable now is the time to make the move , property is cheaper in rural areas. Cost of gas made people give up on the longer commutes. You just need an airport for work right.

Here is a couple of pics of my farm that I bought cheap and fixed up.



If look far enough back to the end of the field you can see the big tree house (deer stand ) that I made to deer hunt with the kids. I only use it by my self when the weather is foul.

Old time hunter , I live in Chippewa county.

[OJ]

No - but then, what is there to shoot at here ???

This -



Or this ??



No - this is more like it -



And - his harem, so to speak -



Well, in all fairness, I shot them all with my digital camera - all from within our house -