Would you consider either of these houses backyard shooting appropriate?

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Doc7

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Let's say only air rifles and suppressed 22 LR rifle and/or suppressed 22LR pistol. I would ask the neighbors for sure on House #1, because they would see me. I do not believe noise would be a factor with these weapon types and am more concerned about safety. I have contacted the police department for the county, and they emailed me that there are no laws concerning firearms usage on one's property however it is a crime to be reckless/negligent (and of course I do not want to be either of those anyway).

For house #1 I would install a berm of some type along the wood line due east of the house and shoot either from the back porch or from behind the semi circle of trees adjacent to the house.

Here is house #1:

23225129153_d302182c90_c.jpg


For house #2 I would have to clear some brush. The small red rectangle is an open-front shed (approximately 50 feet wide) in which I could put a bench to be covered from the elements, if I cleared a 10-15 feet wide by 50-100 yards lane of brush south-west into the woods with a berm back in there, or off the back porch and aiming due south. I would never even mention this to the neighbors as it is very private.

23743569542_533fc23e69_c.jpg



It is entirely possible I am out of my mind and what I think would be safe may not be to people who are experts at this sort of thing.
 
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Of the two I would pick #1. There appears to be open country behind where you are shooting. If you invite friends to shoot sooner or later someone will shoot over the berm. It happens. Also there appears to be fewer houses around the property on #1.
 
I would never have anyone shoot there that didn't have permission from the neighbors. There is a shooting range 90 mins from the house and my hunt club has a sight in range 40 mins from the house.

This is , "get my fix with a magazine of 22 LR while dinner is on the grill once a week" purposes only.

If there is an air rifle that would shoot accurately enough (.75" at 50) to be interesting and safer at this property I would definitely use that also. I want to be able to teach my son how to shoot even if I am too busy to drive him to a range an hour away before sundown and we could go out in the backyard and work on some fundamentals there, if an air rifle matches a 22 in that capability.
 
I think you've got a good plan for either, although...I'd be concerned about a 22LR round ricochet over or way from your backstop. Other than that, either of those should work well. I might consider home #2 to have a slight edge because you have more trees to offer privacy and sound deadening.

For what it's worth, I grew up on a 1/8 acre parcel where the home and garage and outbuildings consumed all but a 60 x 15 ft strip of the land, and I shot air rifles and archery back there for 30 years. A neighbor tried the "call the police" routine for about a year but she eventually gave up. Later, my son learned to shoot a bow on that little postage stamp of a yard.
 
Doc7 said:
I would never have anyone shoot there that didn't have permission from the neighbors.
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That's awfully neighborly of you, but I wouldn't ask the question unless I knew the answer would be yes, or I just wouldn't ask permission of neighbors to use my land in a way I knew to be legal and safe. It's not like you're planning blast rap music from outdoor speakers at 3 am.
 
I don't consider either property as suitable.

House #1 has a road about 700' - 800' behind it.

House #2 has a neighbors housed directly behind it and highway 156 curving around.

22 L.R. has a range of over one mile. Yes I see lots of trees but one round over the trees and hitting a passing vehicle is going to cause you all sorts of legal problems.
 
Personally, based on your shooting "supressed" 22 or air rifle, I actually think either property would work.

Yes, a 22 lr -can- travel a mile, if shot at a 45 deg angle from the ground with a good tail wind. Both of your ranges head straight into several hundred feet of wood lot ... and I don't see a 22 making it out of there.

Of course .... there had better not be any one wandering around in the wood lot!

It shouldn't be too difficult to set up bullet traps that would stop a 22 before it even gets near the woods. There is a fellow close to hear that teaches the CWP course, and he has folks do the shooting portion in his back yard with a suppressed 22lr Walther. Been doing it for years and never had a problem.
 
BSA1 said:
I don't consider either property as suitable.

House #1 has a road about 700' - 800' behind it.

House #2 has a neighbors housed directly behind it and highway 156 curving around.

22 L.R. has a range of over one mile. Yes I see lots of trees but one round over the trees and hitting a passing vehicle is going to cause you all sorts of legal problems.
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Agreed I am seeing this as a can not win situation down the road. If you can afford a home like these then move farther out from where ever you are to more acreage & relieve yourself of asking permission of folks you dont know as to how they would react or deal with your shooting. What are you going to do if they say no?

FYI that is one of the reasons why I live where I live & I have no neighbors & no problems
 
What's the topography like for house number 1? If there was a big honking hill to the east before the road you might conceivably be OK with the possible trajectories.

Otherwise I wouldn't even consider it.
 
What about air rifle? One suitable for shooting an Appleseed course of fire (CO2, semiauto) at 25m?
 
YankeeFlyr said:
What's the topography like for house number 1? If there was a big honking hill to the east before the road you might conceivably be OK with the possible trajectories.



Otherwise I wouldn't even consider it.
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Both houses are essentially flat
 
Yes, there are air rifles which will do what you want them to do in this case.

Shooting a firearm towards a road or someone's house is asking for trouble in my mind. I think most of us would be very unhappy (putting it mildly in my case) if someone was shooting a .22 towards me within a few degrees of my house and family.

You didn't say, but how large are those lots?
 
I'd limit myself to BB or pellet guns only, on those lots. If I was so dead set on shooting actual firearms on my own land, I'd find a property that wasn't just 'arguably suitable.'
 
first, are there any local regulations in your area about discharging a firearm in a residential zone?

air gun seems like it would be okay

22LR, no, considering how populated and well-traveled that area appears.
 
I'd buy a Benjamin Marauder air rifle, put a 4-16 scope on it, and buy a bunch of pellets. Once you find the right pellet you'll be surprised at how accurate, and how much fun it is. It's super quiet, and that setup is far cheaper than ruined relations with neighbors, or a stray bullet hurting someone.
 
There are many people that shoot .22lr (and up) in their basements in cities/suburbs.
 
We have 20 acres but don't need twenty acres for a range. The farthest I shoot at home is 100 yards. My 100 yard shooting is contained in a couple of acres due to length. As far as a road running behind your shooting area that's not uncommon. Finding a place without a road running behind the berm for many miles would be a long way out in the middle of nowhere.
 
Air rifle yes, but not for .22lr without a real backstop instead of woods.

If you were to shoot the neighbor's kid by accident while he was exploring the wooded area you'd never be able to forgive yourself. ONLY shoot into a solid backstop.
 
I'm on 10 acres & shoot douw one line ,a100yrd range but it is 700 acres of woods behind my berm . I did find that lighter calibres would requochet up . I bought several plastic 55 gal drums & filled them with sand , bullets go in but they don't come out. Sand settles right back in after each shot
Great back stop but accidents can still happen .BE CAREFUL !
 
I'd say those locations are too populated.

Terrain is flat.
Skips & overshoots will happen sooner or later.
Trees are NOT a backstop, need the aforementioned big honkin' hill.
 
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