how large does a parcel of land have to be for legal shooting

[rrooke]

Forgive me if this is no the proper place to ask this question, but I could find no other that looked more suitable. I am moving to the country (rural area), probably Parker County, and I have found two properties I am considering. One is 10 acres and the other is 22 acres. Is it legal to shoot firearms on properties of this size? I really want to be able to do some target shooting on my own property so if anyone knows the laws I would appreciate a reply. I had heard somewhere that a property needed to be at least 10 acres, but I don't even remember where I heard that. The 10 acre property I am looking at might only end up being 9.9 acres, so I might not consider it if I can't shoot on it. Thanks for any help.

 

[majormadmax]

I believe these restrictions differ from county to county, so contact the appropriate commissioner's office to find the info you are looking for!

Good luck! M2

 

[Medic218]

There may be a law about the size of the property but I've never heard of such a thing.
I think you should be able to shoot whenever your want(before dark) when on your own property as long as you know what lies beyond where you're shooting and you're responsible with your shooting.
The biggest concearn I think you would have would be a whiny neighbor....cause if the nighbors dont care how are the cops gonna find out in the first place?
I would just fire away and enjoy myself and see if anyone has an objections. Chances are that if they live in the boonies too they also have gun....thay may even want to join you if you have more land than they do.
On another note, the more land you have the better....22 vs 10??? I'll take the 22 acre lot everytime.

 

[Texan2]

different counties have different rules....10 acre requirements are fairly common. I agree with medicman, all things being equal, i would go for the 22

 

[Moss_Berg5150]

...I would just fire away and enjoy myself and see if anyone has an objections...

Now thats the kind of legal advice I like to hear!!! Just Let em' fly and if no one complains you ain't breakin the law! Seriously, it does vary from county to county and some counties in texas don't even regulate shooting on private property while others do. Best to just call the Sheriff and see how they feel about it. LOL I still think MedicMan218's advice was awesome!!!

 

[rrooke]

Thanks for the replies. I really like the 22 acres better of course, but the house is only 2000 sq. feet. The 10 acre house is double that size and I have 6 kids. So you can see my problem. But I am still looking around. Maybe that perfect mix of land / home size will be out there somewhere. I really want a place where my kids and I can shoot without fear of persecution. My youngest boy just won a shotgun competition at boy scout camp last week and he is itching to shoot some skeet! Even my 11 year old daughter beat all the boys at her summer camp last week in .22 rifle shooting...we love to shoot in our family...and there's not a bad shot in the bunch.

 

[txinvestigator]

County governments in Texas have no ordinance-making powers other than those explicitly and narrowly granted by state law. I don't think a county in Texas can regulate that.

 

[rrooke]

After the suggestion that I check with the county, I found an article on the internet that said that Parker County, TX passed a law in 2009 that limits the shooting of firearms to places 10 acres or larger in platted subdivisions. So in other words, it looks like as long as you are not in a platted subdivision you are ok and if you are in a platted subdivision you have to be on a minimum of 10 acres to shoot. Anyway, that is how I read the article. If anyone knows anything better I would appreciate hearing from you. Thanks

 

[Medic218]

After the suggestion that I check with the county, I found an article on the internet that said that Parker County, TX passed a law in 2009 that limits the shooting of firearms to places 10 acres or larger in platted subdivisions. So in other words, it looks like as long as you are not in a platted subdivision you are ok and if you are in a platted subdivision you have to be on a minimum of 10 acres to shoot. Anyway, that is how I read the article. If anyone knows anything better I would appreciate hearing from you. Thanks

sounds right

 

[txinvestigator]

After the suggestion that I check with the county, I found an article on the internet that said that Parker County, TX passed a law in 2009 that limits the shooting of firearms to places 10 acres or larger in platted subdivisions. So in other words, it looks like as long as you are not in a platted subdivision you are ok and if you are in a platted subdivision you have to be on a minimum of 10 acres to shoot. Anyway, that is how I read the article. If anyone knows anything better I would appreciate hearing from you. Thanks

That sounds in line with State law passed in 2005.

 

[Texan2]

County governments in Texas have no ordinance-making powers other than those explicitly and narrowly granted by state law. I don't think a county in Texas can regulate that.

Doesnt mean they dont do it anyway and wait to be challenged.

 

[Bullseye Shooter]

If you have less than 10 acres, you need to go through some sort of permit process to shoot on it. Once you do that, even if it is less than 10 acres, it's legal.

 

[txinvestigator]

Doesnt mean they dont do it anyway and wait to be challenged.

I can look up city ordinances online. I wonder where Parker County laws are?

 

[Bullseye Shooter]

The ten acre rule is in the fish and game regulations: under restrictions:
It is against the law to:

hunt in a subdivision with lots 10 acres or less in an unincorporated area of a county if the commissioners court, by order, prohibits the discharge of a firearm or the use of archery equipment in such subdivisions. (Contact local county clerk and ask about 235.022, Local Government Code.)

 

[Charlie]

Don't forget homeowner/subdivision restrictions. They may be civil actions but they can still have a lot of power!

 

[txinvestigator]

The ten acre rule is in the fish and game regulations: under restrictions:
It is against the law to:

Thanks

 

[West Texas]

The reason that the 10 acre rule even came to BE an issue is that there is a small town in West Texas that is pretty much two streets, and a family owned five lots totaling about 7 acres on the edge of this little dip-in-the-road town, and started leasing it for hunting to some friends from Dallas...and when these ya-hoos started shooting out windows because they didn't know where the five or so houses left in town were in relation to the deer they were trying to shoot, the neighbors complained. So the county and the state got involved, and now we are were we are.

The original spirit of the law is about HUNTING, not SHOOTING, on SUBDIVIEDED land, and is supposed to make people safer...as if any law can keep us safe from stupid people.

So, if the land is in an un-incorporated portion of the county, no issue as long as you are safe about what you are doing. If, on the other hand, you are living in one of these ranch developments where the city folk have their country home, you might have a problem. We have a 7 acre place on the river in a county east of Tom Green, and shooting and hunting has never been a problem.

 

[Wolfwood]

west texas -
i still havent gotten my written invitation!

 

[TxPhantom]

In addition to the size of your property, isn't there also some kind of stipulation regarding shooting across your property line?

 

[West Texas]

west texas -
i still havent gotten my written invitation!

GREETINGS! ~

You are hereby invited!​