36 replies to this topic

[Bennie]

What is the Legal distance from a residence or building that you can shoot? The Lady across the street just decided to call the Sheriff on me for killing doves. I am about 250 yards from my house and about 550 yards from her house. My house and four vehicles are parked in the middle, believe me I am not shooting that way= to wards her house. It usually takes the sheriff about 45 min to get here. I know I read these rules in the regs. years ago, but do not remember the exact measurement. Been shooting for years here and today she decides she has a problem with it.

[jawbreaker]

Have you tryed talkin with her to see why she has changed her mind on weather or not it's ok to shoot there?

[Bennie]

Yes and she was mad. I told her I was not shooting to wards her house and I also told her it was me and the next door neighbor that was shooting doves. She told me she was calling the sheriff, and I told her I guess I will talk to him when he gets here. My house is in the middle of the place we are shooting from and her house. I told her that we are clear on the other side of the pond (I have a pretty big pond) and a shotgun will not even reach her house from where we are shooting. It did not go well. So here I sit waiting on the sheriff.

[scdave]

well I believe that it is 100 yards from any road. However I recall something about a minimum of 10 acres to legally shoot / hunt? Maybe that exdludes bows and shot guns? How many acres is your place on? Hopefully we'll get some more knowlageable anwers than myself. AND figure the Sherriff will inform you on the proper laws of this. Just be real nice and courtious to him and I'm sure it will come out fine.

[spectr17]

150 yards from occupied dwelling. Had a guy call Riverside SO on me last week. I was 150 yards away and shooting the opposite way so not sure the beef. The homeowner claimed I rained pellets on his house. We've been shooting there since the opener. I think someone else may have rained on his house the days before or he's just tired of all the dove hunters near his dairy. The deputy was cool, he was a deer hunter and we sat and jawed for a bit. He checked my DL and hunting license and left. The contact was better than last contact by Riverside SO, got proned out with M-16s on me while crow hunting last Feb. That sucked. Same thing, ahole Indian security claimed I was trespassing and illegal hunting. Quick check of my maps and game booklet and SO was happy and left. If the person keeps calling the cops on you and you ARE NOT doing anything illegal there is the hunter harassment law you could use. The indian security guy who keeps calling them on us is about to learn about that law.

[sum-rifle]

well I believe that it is 100 yards from any road. However I recall something about a minimum of 10 acres to legally shoot / hunt? Maybe that exdludes bows and shot guns? How many acres is your place on? Hopefully we'll get some more knowlageable anwers than myself. AND figure the Sherriff will inform you on the proper laws of this. Just be real nice and courtious to him and I'm sure it will come out fine.

This is all incorrect information.You do not have to be 100 yards from a road, just "off" the road that is it.There is no 10 acre minimum area to hunt.You have to be 150 yards from an occupied dwelling (unless you have complete control of the dwelling)If it is your house and otherwise legal to shoot where you are you can sit on your front porch and shoot.

[Shoot-it]

Your in the right bennie . I have read that law many times myself i hunt a place that has a house close by but i am at least 250 yards out.give that guy hell Spectr17.

[Bennie]

3004. (a) It is unlawful for any person, other than the owner,person in possession of the premises, or a person having the expresspermission of the owner or person in possession of the premises, tohunt or to discharge while hunting, any firearm or other deadlyweapon within 150 yards of any occupied dwelling house, residence, orother building or any barn or other outbuilding used in connectiontherewith. The 150-yard area is a "safety zone." ( It is unlawful for any person to intentionally discharge anyfirearm or release any arrow or crossbow bolt over or across anypublic road or way open to the public, in an unsafe manner.Thanks everyone. I just found it, in the regs. I knew I was OK, but it has been so long since I read that specific reg. and I did not want to be misinformed when the sheriff got here. The neighbors on both sides of me shoot, so we are all good. I will told to this lady's husband tomorrow after work. I thought we were friends and neighbors

[Shoot-it]

Next time you run over a skunk throw it in her yard.

[Pogo]

I'm not sure...it never mattered before I got married... but now my wife has told me if she finds 22-250 brass in the bed again I'll be the only one sleeping in it... granted, I haven't been shooting much stuff out of the windows since the little ones came along, lol. Keeping them asleep and calm is way more important than any crows, squirrels or other undesirables encroaching onto my pasture. Looks like you got your answer. Sounds like your problem isn't going to be with the Sheriff, but with the neighbor lady. Aren't neighbors wonderful? The only place next to me that isn't owned by family or at least a family controlled interest was for sale a couple of years ago... I should have bought it. Just didn't have the $$$ and the place wasn't fit to rent out. Would have been way to much work to make it livable, but then I wouldn't ever have to deal with what your dealing with right now. Good luck.

[Bennie]

It is just a bad deal to have problems like this. She told me that she has kids in her yard and she thinks it is dangerous for us to be shooting. I told her we were not shooting to wards her house, and a shot gun will not reach it from where we are shooting from anyways. They are not her children, but belong to someone else that has worse problems. That is the reason they are freaked out and having problems with gunfire. I will talk to her husband next time I see him. I do not want any problems with my neighbors or anyone as far as that is concerned. Life is too short to have headaches of any kind.PS. The kids are new over there and so is the shooting over here problem. We have been shooting here for years. I am right up by Camp Far West Lake. The ranch behind me is over 2000 acre's and I have permission to hunt all of it.

[donkey12]

So did the sheriff show up?

[ShooterJohn]

That's what I was wondering?

[Bennie]

Well it is 10:47 P.M. . No the sheriff has not showed up yet. Maybe tomorrow. I hope he does not. I hope she called her husband before she called the sheriff, and he told her to leave it alone. I will talk to him asap, there was no talking to her. I tried for a while, and finally told her to call him and I would talk to him when he got here.

[CoyoteHuntress]

Some neighbors are never happy no matter what you do.. Your legal so enjoy the hunting..

[Bennie]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I really do not want any problems with any one especially the law. I am 46 years old and my mother has worked for the county we are talking about for over 30 years. She will kick my butt if I embarrass her in any way. She is not in Law enforcement but trust me she knows every thing I do still. Dang I can't have any fun with out getting in trouble.

[ForesthillHunter]

I feel for you. My dads neighbor is like that. He called and complained about my dads car parts that were stored behind the garage and how the site of them made his property value go down. So my dad was force to have a fence put up to separate our properties. And the lady next do to himon the other side, the day we moved in I was 14, my brothers and I took a break from unloading the moving truck, got our pellet gun and were shooting down hill into some hay bails straight back behind our house her house was 90 degrees to our left. She called the sheriff and said we were shooting her house! The sheriff came out took one look at our set up laughed, apologized for the inconvience and left. I hate nosey a$$ neighbors, especially went there is 100 yards between houses, you live in the middle of a freaking forest. If you don't like what hunters, rednecks, hicks and oakeys do in the forest on their own property. GO BACK TO THE FREAKING CITY WHERE YOU BELONG!! I did not move away from the city just to have you move in next door and try to bring the city with you to the mountians where a city does not belong. I apologize for my rantings but this is a pet peev of my that erks the hell out of me. It happens way to much.On a good note. I love the Camp Far West area. The lake is awesome. Especially the modified jet boats that race all over the place out there, they are just wicked! I hear there are coyote, pigs and a lot of others animals to hunt out there. I want to know if there are pigs out there, that would be so worth traveling out there for. Anyways I hope all works out for you. I hope the sheriff is cool and the ladies husband is on your side as well and puts her in her place. Have a nice night! Happy Hunting and Shoot Straight! -Jeremy

[Bennie]

Thanks I have been hunting this area for over 30 years. There is coyotes on Spencville still, but they are educated and not like hunting easy ones most of the time. When I first started hunting this country there was not a house up there. There was a lot of pigs and the deer herd was huge in the winter. Then they started building houses up on Indian Springs Rd right in the migration trail. The people up there put up deer and pig proof fences to keep the deer out of thier flower beds and gardens. The deer stacked up on the roads next to the fences they could not get through or jump over and got ran over buy cars. Most of the pigs are on private property now. They do come off of it but it is nothing like it used to be.

[scdave]

This is all incorrect information.You do not have to be 100 yards from a road, just "off" the road that is it.There is no 10 acre minimum area to hunt.You have to be 150 yards from an occupied dwelling (unless you have complete control of the dwelling)If it is your house and otherwise legal to shoot where you are you can sit on your front porch and shoot.

Good to know. It's hard being new and hearing things. Never know how much to believe. So if I was in an area where hunting was allowed, and say 30 feet off the side of a road, I could legally shoot (of course not shooting over the road but the opposite direction)?

[4RHUNTS]

That is correct.Frank

[sum-rifle]

Good to know. It's hard being new and hearing things. Never know how much to believe. So if I was in an area where hunting was allowed, and say 30 feet off the side of a road, I could legally shoot (of course not shooting over the road but the opposite direction)?

Yes if you were 1 foot off the road you would be fine. Farther is better but "off the road" and you are legal.You can not shoot from, onto or over the road.

[jawbreaker]

It's good to know that you're legal to shoo there but there may be omething you don't know. If she says tha it scares the children maybe you should find out why. What if the kids had a tragic accident with firearms(one of the boys in my daughters class shot his dad to death by accident at the gun range). I would love to hunt near my house but even being legal I wouldn't want to cause someone to be uncomfortable in their own home. If the problem is just the kids maybe you can hunt there when they're not around.

[wanapasaki]

I just knew someone was going to play the devil's advocate lol

[Bennie]

Well the sheriff never came. I will talk to her and her husband before I shoot anymore. Hunters already have a bad enough name, I do not want to contribute to it. But I do not want to quite shooting here either. We will see what happens after the talk. I am trying to catch her husband comeing home from work. I am not the only one shooting here, my neighbors on both side shoot also.

[ShooterJohn]

Bennie print off the regulation above and have it ready to show it to them when you have your talk. You shouldn't have to give up something that is perfectly legal to do just because they don't like it. Especially since other neighbors are shooting also. You may also want to print this and carry a copy with you when you hunt. I have a small laminated copy in my wallet for persistent people.

Harassment of HuntersThe Fish and Game Code outlaws“hunter harassment” or interfering withanother person who is lawfully hunting,trapping, shooting, fishing or engagingin falconry. The first offense is aninfraction; the second offense withina two-year period is a misdemeanor.Interference means any action whichphysically impedes, hinders, or obstructsthe lawful pursuit of any of the above mentionedactivities, including, but notlimited to, actions taken for the purposeof frightening away animals from the locationwhere the lawful activity is takingplace. FGC 2009.

[.243Win]

those of you that seem to think 1 foot off the road is okay, better check the county regs for where you are shooting.Imperial County has a 50 yard away from the road rule. (yes, I've looked at it online.) now that seems strange to me because if you dove hunt, pheasant hunt etc, down there, you're pretty much always near a road, dirt or otherwise.I was asked to move by Warden Sassie one time, her explanation being that highway drivers can see me with a gun, and might call it in. ( so what, who cares, I'm legal was my response.)So be safe, and check those county ordinances.