The neighbors backyard

[Sir Henry]

I live in a small development of 25 homes. Each home averages one acre (including streets) so we are close together but not like in the city.

My land is 7/8 of an acre and is a slight rectangle. One house has a long narrow lot that goes back about a 100 yards into a tight point. The owner complains it’s not very usable but it would make the perfect backyard range.

I live in the county and shooting is legal if done safely. My problem is my backyard joins the neighbors backyard and wouldn’t be safe without a berm which would take up too much room.

I hear gunfire from two other houses but their property is not so congested and they aren’t part of our development.

I would say the neighbors are 50/50 pro and anti-gun.

[BrokenolMarine]

We live way out away from the metro area, most lots out here are well over five acres. There are a few under three but not many. The minimum lot size was set at three about ten years ago. Most places around us are ten or more. Ninety percent of the County are pro-gun.
One of the first things I did when we bought the property was build a berm and range. I have a fifty yard range that can stretch to seventy five. Steel, frames for paper or cardboard, falling plates, and more. I even brought small groups of officers who needed focused training here to train at times. I practiced here for PPC matches around the state, so for years, there were removable barricades. Not once did a neighbor complain about the noise.

THEY were all hunters/shooters and did plenty of their own.


Every now and then you have an issue from one of the new folk that moved south. Doesn't go over well. They got quiet pretty quick. This is the south, y'all.

[dasmoeturhead]

We live 5 miles from town on the best road in the area. Most property's have acerage. It's mostly farm land. Almost all,of it is bordered by State Park, and national forest.
It's a very well armed community. Hearing gun fire to us is the sound of Freedom, and there is a considerable amount of it going on. Couldn't be happier.

[JEBar]

since 1975 we have lived in the county in a rural community where I've been able to go out in the back yard and shoot .... that ended last year when they built a school behind us .... with the bands of trees between our back property and the school, it would take a mortar round to hit it .... none of that matters because of a federal law that prohibits shooting within 1,000 feet of a school's property line .... the tree density makes it difficult to accurately measure the distance between us and without a firm number it isn't worth the risk

[Hatchdog]

I live in a rural development of 38 10 acre parcels, about half have homes and the rest are still undeveloped. However our CC&R’s specifically state no shooting or hunting in the development. I’m okay with that as there is a DNR parcel a few miles away where I can shoot. Interestingly several years ago a county in Western Washington was having a problem with too many wells being drilled leading to water shortages for existing wells. The fix was prior to drilling you were required do an engineering study to determine water consumption and the effect on neighbors wells, very expensive. So rural building took a nosedive but about a year ago the well rules were relaxed and combined with the favorable real estate market rural building exploded. Just in our little community we have one home completed, another in work and two more parcels in escrow.

There are a few retired law enforcement officers along with hunter type residents and I believe the community is pretty well armed.

[Vaquero]

Well we are out in the county, 10 miles from the city limit.
As most of y'all know I can and do shoot right here in the yard,
or next door at the barn.
There are several shooters around as you can hear the gun fire from time to time.
Like Moe said, "Hearing gun fire to us is the sound of Freedom."

RP

[Vaquero]

Heck, come to think about it, I'll probably be doing some after while.
Anyone in the area, stop by and we'll burn some powder.

RP

[markiver54]

I live in city limits, so discharging a firearm of any kind is illegal. If I did, half the local police force would be here shortly.
That is why I love our mountain cabin. 2 steep mountain acres full of trees, Mountain Laurel and Rhododendrons.
Closest neighbor is about 200 yards away and he shoots as well. We are the last two homes up our road. ( about 4500 elevation )

I shoot on the opposite side of the house, with an entire mountain as a berm. Or we take the 4-Wheelers on up the mountain, and shoot wherever we want. Life is better up there. Problem is, our 2 BR ' A ' frame is not winterized, so we have to close in the winter. Not bad though. We're only 1+1/2 hours away, door to door.


.

[RanchRoper]

This is what we have to work with here:
Illegal to:
discharge a weapon within 183 m (200 yards) or cause a projectile from a weapon to pass within 183 m (200 yards) of any occupied building. Owners, occupants, or persons authorized by the owner or occupant are excepted, subject to local bylaws.
discharge a firearm from or cause a projectile from a firearm to pass along or across:
a) a provincial highway (this designation applies to all former primary and secondary highways),
b) a road that is paved, oiled, graded or regularly maintained, unless
- the road is held under any active disposition under the Public Lands Act or under an order under the Surface Rights Act, or
- the person is hunting game birds with a shotgun under the authority of a licence.
Note: if there is no identifiable ditch or fence to mark the outside edge of the roadway, then the roadway extends 20 feet from the edge of the traveled portion.

[GunnyGene]

There's a lot of misconceptions about the GFSZA. I've been shooting and hunting on my property (which adjoins a school) for 20 years with no issues from either the school or the law.

Here's an article from a couple years ago, which explains it (Excerpt):

https://www.concealedcarry.com/law/defi ... zones-act/

The prohibition of firearms in school zones does not apply if any of the following provisions are met. Note that I've added my own commentary in brackets [].

(i) on private property not part of school grounds; [like a home or other private property that is within 1000 feet of a school but isn't public property.]

The relevant US Code - 18 US Code - 922

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/922

[RanchRoper]

There are a lot of grey areas in our laws and restrictions as well. I asked a local RCMP about the road distances and bylaws and she said she really wasn't clear on some of them either.

[Sir Henry]

We live way out away from the metro area, most lots out here are well over five acres. There are a few under three but not many. The minimum lot size was set at three about ten years ago. Most places around us are ten or more. Ninety percent of the County are pro-gun.
One of the first things I did when we bought the property was build a berm and range. I have a fifty yard range that can stretch to seventy five. Steel, frames for paper or cardboard, falling plates, and more. I even brought small groups of officers who needed focused training here to train at times. I practiced here for PPC matches around the state, so for years, there were removable barricades. Not once did a neighbor complain about the noise.

THEY were all hunters/shooters and did plenty of their own.


Every now and then you have an issue from one of the new folk that moved south. Doesn't go over well. They got quiet pretty quick. This is the south, y'all.

We are zoned semi-rural and one house per acre. One block away it’s zoned rural which means one house per 5 acres. But half the land is wetlands and can not be developed. In between the acre clusters of houses you will find 20 to 500 acre plots with nothing.

[Sir Henry]

since 1975 we have lived in the county in a rural community where I've been able to go out in the back yard and shoot .... that ended last year when they built a school behind us .... with the bands of trees between our back property and the school, it would take a mortar round to hit it .... none of that matters because of a federal law that prohibits shooting within 1,000 feet of a school's property line .... the tree density makes it difficult to accurately measure the distance between us and without a firm number it isn't worth the risk

When I lived part time in Ephrata the house was across from a grade school and I would openly shot in the backyard. Everyone could hear it but no one cared. Even the sheriff. The sheriff auto shop was down the street and the sheriff and deputies would drive by daily and wave at me.

I never shot at recess, lunch or the start or end of school when the kids were outside.

[dasmoeturhead]

We really are fortunate in that our road in front of our house is 1.5 acres away, as well as our neighbors, which are below us about 75 ft. Behind my house is 8.5 acres of mostly steep wooded terrain. No chance of of hitting anybody, and that's were my little range is located. No city, county or state ordenences up here either. In fact I can hunt up here during the season with no license required. Even my family can hunt here with no license.
No ordenences, also means people can be loud all day and night, and there's nothing you can do about it. The neighbors we had for 3 years next to us had 15 dogs. That's right, 15 dogs that barked from 0600 to 2300 every day. Thank the Lord they finally sold the house, and the new folks only have 3 dogs, and don't bark much. It was a long 3 years.

[BrokenolMarine]

We live way out away from the metro area, most lots out here are well over five acres. There are a few under three but not many. The minimum lot size was set at three about ten years ago. Most places around us are ten or more. Ninety percent of the County are pro-gun.
One of the first things I did when we bought the property was build a berm and range. I have a fifty yard range that can stretch to seventy five. Steel, frames for paper or cardboard, falling plates, and more. I even brought small groups of officers who needed focused training here to train at times. I practiced here for PPC matches around the state, so for years, there were removable barricades. Not once did a neighbor complain about the noise.

THEY were all hunters/shooters and did plenty of their own.


Every now and then you have an issue from one of the new folk that moved south. Doesn't go over well. They got quiet pretty quick. This is the south, y'all.

We are zoned semi-rural and one house per acre. One block away it’s zoned rural which means one house per 5 acres. But half the land is wetlands and can not be developed. In between the acre clusters of houses you will find 20 to 500 acre plots with nothing.

We are zoned AG, agricultural. In fact, for years, our small fifteen acre farm, was a small farm. We had horses for the kids, as many as 150 chickens at one point, lambs, a barn filled with hay. The properties around us raise cattle, pigs, horses... There are some large working farms. The state park behind us has a sporting clays range, opens various sections for hunting each year, (and just added a brand new archery range and field archery course.)

There is a hunt club a mile down the road, with a group of small cabins, and a sight in range for the hunting rifles and shotguns.

Yup, no problem with shooting here.

[Mags]

Similar rules here.
Cannot shoot within city limits, urban growth boundries and rural dense subdivisions and most parks.
On other rural private and public land, shooting is generally permitted.
Also, cannot shoot in the direction of a structure, across a trail, roadway, water body, river, creek that is within range of the bullet.

[fortyshooter]

I live in a small development of 25 homes. Each home averages one acre (including streets) so we are close together but not like in the city.

My land is 7/8 of an acre and is a slight rectangle. One house has a long narrow lot that goes back about a 100 yards into a tight point. The owner complains it’s not very usable but it would make the perfect backyard range.

I live in the county and shooting is legal if done safely. My problem is my backyard joins the neighbors backyard and wouldn’t be safe without a berm which would take up too much room.

I hear gunfire from two other houses but their property is not so congested and they aren’t part of our development.

I would say the neighbors are 50/50 pro and anti-gun.

Our first home in the city was like your neighbors...65 ft. wide and 415 ft. deep with house up towards the front.
Back then against the law to even shoot an air rifle but had a great garden!

Now I happily drive 25 miles out of town for my piece of woods with a range!

[BrokenolMarine]

When I moved to VA in the mid 70s as a sophomore in High School, my Stepfather's home was in a residential neighborhood that was very nice. 3/4 to 1 acre lots, high fenced back yards. Of course you couldn't shoot firearms, but he asked the immediate neighbors and none had a problem with my BB or Pellet guns if HE promised an adequate backstop would be used. He also told them I had come from ROTC where I had been on the rifle team, shooting in the expert class.

I was able to practice in the back yard, no issues. For the .22 and shotgun... I had to drive to a friend's farm. Now, I'm the friend with the farm.

[Grunt67]

\
When I first built the house where I now live , since '91, I could shoot pistol, rifle, no problem. Then the subdivision thing kicked in yrs later. Too close for safety & noise. It's out in the county & legal, but not a good idea. So, had to quit. Hard to miss a neighbor now with a fly swatter, LOL

[RanchRoper]

...and yet those who complain about the noise will be your best friend when the bad guys come...