Question about target shooting practice?

Question

A buddy of mine sometimes takes me to the firing range with him. I am planning on taking a course on gun safety and getting my foid card, I already have taken a class on pistol and rifle safety but it was years ago. Anyhow, my question is, if we wanted to find an outdoor spot to shoot as opposed to going and paying to rent a lane at the firing range what are the laws reguarding that? Must it be done on private land? Also, what are some safety tips, how much land should be free of people and buildings behind where your shooting? Would a mile be sufficient?

Answer 1

I don't like paying $15 per firearm at my local outdoor range but it is much cheaper then $15,000 (more or less) in law-suits. Take into consideration of the maintenance/up-keep, volunteer personal to work and insurance cost for a mishap. There are many benefits to becoming a member of a Gun Range like, free range time but, you maybe required to volunteer time to work at the range, so get a booklet and read it well from front to back. And don't be afraid to ask questions.

Good luck and safe shooting.

Answer 2

Just make sure you have a hard backdrop behind what your shooting at and it's your land. A bullet can go a few miles so you run the risk of hitting something if you shoot in the air. If you just shoot at a target and have something behind it to stop the bullet you'll be fine. Not sure where you live so i cant tell you laws about it but I can say that you cant go to your local park and shoot at a target. Best best is private land with a good backing.

Answer 3

It would be best to shoot against a known berm of some type.

If you own property setup your "range" against the back drop of a hill side. and shoot into the hill.

I owned a piece of property ideally suited for shooting. It was about 10 acres 1/4 mile deep with in the rolling hills. I set up targets at several different distances in the field, all against the backdrop of the field so there was no doubt where the trajectory was.

You can take precautions on level ground as well if you have a substantial backstop of some type.. Something more then a piece of plywood and the barrel.

We used to shoot in my grandmas trash pile on the farm. It was down hill and backed up several miles of nothing behind it.

Get a trajectory chart and do the math.. Bullets have a terminal trajectory and velocity based on distance. The physics requires certain things be taken into to consideration when shooting.

The key is to reduce the velocity and stop the bullet before it leaves YOUR property.. That is my rule.

Answer 4

Hmmmm..... Heres one thing I have done..... Make sure you have a good back stop if you do this..... I get 3 foot sticks and stick them in the ground pointing up....... Then put some balloons on 5 feet of string... Fill the balloons with helium so they float up...... Only do this on a breezy day.... Set them up at various distances like 80, 120, 150 yards and even more...... Now target shoot at those when there moving around in the wind....... All the supplies for this stuff will only cost a few dollars at walmart.... The helium is in the party section where they sell the balloons.....

Answer 5

Well, I live in Ohio and have shot at indoor ranges, private outdoor ranges, private property, and state ranges. The Dept. Of Wildlife in your state probably has state ranges for guns and archery. These gun ranges are usually in or around the state parks. They are the cheapest (with the lone exception of private land) as long as you don't mind shooting paper (on private property you can shoot tin cans, milk jugs, wood targets, etc.) To shoot on private property you must have consent from the owner and it must be out in the country in a less populated areas. You really need to look up the laws in your area and talk to local gun shops. Whatever you do-do it safe (10 rules of gun safety) and legal!

Answer 6

I'm from CT. I think it's legal to shoot on private land,but I'm not sure. There is a question as to whether it counts as prima facie evidence of hunting... I know it's definitely illegal to shoot on public land unless it's a designated shooting range... Trap or target shooting on any state property or public hunting area is prohibited unless the area is a designated shooting range.
There are four state owned public shooting ranges available for target shooting, patterning shotguns and sighting in rifles.

Definitely illegal to shoot within 500ft of any building which might harbor life. I found it...
500 Foot Zone - It is prohibited to hunt with, shoot, or carry a loaded firearm within 500 feet of any building occupied by people or domestic animals, or used for storage of flammable material, or within 250 feet of such buildings when waterfowl hunting in tidal areas from land shooting positions or from floating blinds anchored adjacent to land or from rock positions, unless written permission for lesser distances is obtained from the owner and carried. Landowners, their spouse, and lineal descendants are exempt from this restriction, providing any building involved is their own.

Also... Hunting or shooting from or across the travelled portion of any public
roadway is prohibited. Shooting toward any person, building, or domestic
animal when within range is prohibited.

Always shoot at a berm as mentioned above.

Answer 7

bullets can skip & ricochet off dirt at low angles, make sure you have a berm like the back side of a pond dam behind your targets.
22s have a range of 1 mile when fired up into the air, centerfires up to 3 miles so be carefull.

Answer 8

The course in gun safety will teach you about
ranges, backstops, and your local legal limitaions
on where to shoot.
The main thing to remember is that you are
responsible for where every round you send off
winds up. - No excuses!

Answer 9

Some towns don't even allow firing on land except for on a firing range. It all depends on where you live. Get information from your town on that.

Answer 10

as far as the legality issues go, you should call your local sheriff's dept to ask about the local laws.