Shooting on own property?
- Thread starter KMcC
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Not ''smart'' legal advise, but do you have neibors close by, if so talk to them and see how they would feel about you shooting, if you are farther out of town and your neibors aren't to close and don't mind it may never come up. I don't know of any state rules about backstops but your county might. I just built what I felt was safe.
Are you within any city limits?
Are you in a subdivision of 10 acres or less?
If the answer is no to both, you are GTG. Bullets may not leave your property, and you may be in a noise violation.
You can thank this jack-ass for restricting your rights:
In new law, country residents must hold their fire or face fine
Collin County: Officials ban shooting of weapons on most properties within subdivisions
08:36 PM CDT on Thursday, June 2, 2005
By ED HOUSEWRIGHT / The Dallas Morning News
A feud between two neighbors has prompted Collin County officials to restrict the shooting of firearms on small rural home sites.
[Click image for a larger version] JUAN GARCIA/DMN
JUAN GARCIA/DMN
Gene Bush of Collin County says her neighbor's target practice scared her and spooked her horse, Nifty.
Effective immediately, residents can be fined up to $500 for firing a weapon on their property if they live on less than 10 acres within a subdivision.
The impetus for the restriction, approved by county commissioners last week, was a complaint by an elderly woman in an unincorporated area near Wylie.
Gene Bush has called the Sheriff's Department several times to say that her next-door neighbor on County Road 434 had repeatedly been taking target practice in his yard, scaring her and spooking her horse.
"I sure didn't like it," said Mrs. Bush, who lives on two acres of land with a barn. "Nobody likes rapid, repeated gunfire when you don't know who's shooting or what direction they're shooting.
"There's the danger of a stray bullet, as well as of livestock jumping the fence and running onto the roadway or running over a small child playing in their yard."
She said that her neighbor, who also has two acres, began firing in his back yard in April and continued over the next few weeks, despite her complaints. Their homes straddle the eastern boundary of Wylie.
Her neighbor, Michael Christiana, said Mrs. Bush is exaggerating the number of times he fired and the disruption it caused. He said he shot at targets in front of an earthen berm 8 feet tall and 15 feet wide.
"It was really not a big issue at all," Mr. Christiana said.
He said he's angry that Mrs. Bush persuaded county commissioners to pass the gun restriction. He said he wasn't aware the item was on the commissioners' agenda for consideration.
"I think it's an infringement on my rights and something I will be looking into," Mr. Christiana said. "They passed it on the word of a lady with no corroborating evidence."
Maj. Charles Ruckel of the sheriff's department said that complaints about gunfire in rural areas are common.
"We probably get at least one complaint a day," he said. "This will help us. It'll give us something we can work with."
Gunfire is prohibited in cities, but no such restrictions have existed in unincorporated areas – until now.
It's about time, said Earl Newsom, deputy constable of Precinct 2, which includes the Wylie area. As the county grows, more people are living closer together in rural areas.
Platted subdivisions with small acreage are becoming more common, officials said. The new court order does not apply to people who live on less than 10 acres of land in isolated areas away from other homes.
"Collin County is not as rural as it used to be," said Mr. Newsom. "We simply can't do the things we did 20 years ago. It's just not a safe practice."
Some rural residents, however, may bristle at the shooting restriction, said Chief Deputy Rick Allen of the sheriff's department. Some move to the country so they can be free of city ordinances.
"I think there definitely could be a backlash from people not fully understanding the reason behind the [commissioners] court's passing of this particular law," Chief Allen said.
Officers, however, can decide on a case-by-case basis whether to cite a person for disobeying the order, he said. Violation is a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $500 fine.
"If we feel like a neighbor is threatened – if we witness the discharge – then we'll certainly take the appropriate action," Chief Allen said. "At the same time, it gives us the discretion to determine that it's not a threat to the public, and we would just basically ... go on to the next call."
Mrs. Bush said she's grateful to commissioners for heeding her complaints and passing the order.
"I am so thankful that there are laws to protect people and their property," she said. "In a platted neighborhood, no one should be firing like that."
E-mail ehousewright@dallasnews.com
A lot would depend on your neighbors. I live in a subdivision near Houston where most plots are 5 acre tracts and all my neighbors shoot on their own property during weekends and holidays. It appears to be a very gun friendly group and in the 40 years I have lived here no one has complained. All have appropriate backstops and no backstops face neighbors properties as we are surrounded by open cattle fields. We even have one neighbor who has a permit and owns a old WWII 50 caliber machine gun he brings out once a year and shoots a tiny bit for us other neighbors. He says it otherwise costs too much to shoot more often.
I shoot at will on a six acre rural plot in Bexar county.
About four years ago, a developer bought up all the surrounding land, and started building houses.
So far, I have never had a complaint, as the folks in the new development bicker over their neighbor's indiscretions.
Some day ... the Sheriff's Patrol might ask me to cease fire.
Be well.
About four years ago, a developer bought up all the surrounding land, and started building houses.
So far, I have never had a complaint, as the folks in the new development bicker over their neighbor's indiscretions.
Some day ... the Sheriff's Patrol might ask me to cease fire.
Be well.
RetArmySgt
Glad to be back.
I thought about one of these modular indoor ranges.
QuickRange live-fire modular shooting ranges | Nitor Projects (Asia)
QuickRange live-fire modular shooting ranges | Nitor Projects (Asia)
As long as it is unincorporated you can shoot a firearm.a long time ago we used to dove hunt in the middle of garland off of miller rd and the cops could not do anything because it was unincorporated so the city of garland went and incorporated the land to stop hunting. The land wasunincorporated because of taxes. Look at a mapsco and you will see there is still a dairy farm off of spring creek that is unincorporated and the owner let the employees dove hunt on it the last time I talked with them. Incorporatingland raises taxes and as long as it is classified farm land the taxes stay low
As I posted and Renegade posted (we both found the same article), the OP's county of residence has passed an ordinance against shooting. This can be lawfully enforced as long as he lives in a plated subdivision and his lot is 10 acres or less.
Texastransplant
Active Member
Agreed. That's why it's important to have more then 10 acres even if just a percentage more. According to Texas state law even if it gets attached to a city, air rifles and shotguns are allowed. If over 50 acres in the city limits then still a rifle can be used. The county can't over turn that law thankfully.
txinvestigator
TGT Addict
You should really stick with posting news articles. Again, your assumptions are wrong.
#1. The Garland police could not "do anything" because you were outside the city of Garland. If the county you were in had a law regulating the discharge of firearms, then the Sheriff's department would have been able to enforce it.
#2. An unincorporated area means it is not within the city limits.
#3. Read Renagade and Bithabus' posts.
Good Grief, please make it stop.
