Legality of firing a .22 in my back yard

[jlcnuke]

It is illegal to discharge a firearm withing 200 yards of another house or within 50 yards of a public road. I would check with your local PD to make sure before doing any shooting.

Source for your 200 yards assertion? 50 yards of a public road I've read in the OCGA, haven't seen anything that says 200 yards of another house is illegal though...

16-11-103. Discharge of gun or pistol near public highway or street

A person is guilty of a misdemeanor when, without legal justification, he discharges a gun or pistol on or within 50 yards of a public highway or street.

Sec. 86-5. - Weapons discharge.permanent link to this piece of content

(a)It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge a firearm, air rifle, pellet gun, slingshot, crossbow or other similar device into or over property belonging to another person or entity without first obtaining written permission from that person or entity.

(b)In addition to the penalty provided for in section 86-1, if the person charged with violating this ordinance is a minor, it will be within the discretion of the officer issuing the citation to issue a warning. If this is done, a duplicate of the warning will be sent to the minor's parents or legal guardian by certified mail.

(c)The provisions of this section shall not apply to:

(1)Persons who discharge one of these devices in defense of person or property;

(2)Law enforcement officers in the performance of official duties;

(3)Military forces of this state or the United States in the performance of official duties.

If the round doesn't leave the property you are on you seem to only need to be far enough from a public road and to have written permission from the person who owns the land.

 

[sovietak474u]

Thats the way I was told down here. That is why I told him to check with his LOCAL PD. The rules very county to county.

 

[jlcnuke]

Thats the way I was told down here. That is why I told him to check with his LOCAL PD. The rules very county to county.

I never go by "what I was told" personally. If there is no statute/ordinance, what you "were told" means nothing. I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but plenty of cops think that perfectly legal activities are illegal and just asking them doesn't necessarily mean you'll get the "truth," you may just get what they "were told." Anytime you try to figure out the laws, always get a statute/ordinance number to verify that the information given to you is actually correct. If it isn't, go back and get people trained on the actual law.

 

[sovietak474u]

I never go by "what I was told" personally. If there is no statute/ordinance, what you "were told" means nothing. I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but plenty of cops think that perfectly legal activities are illegal and just asking them doesn't necessarily mean you'll get the "truth," you may just get what they "were told." Anytime you try to figure out the laws, always get a statute/ordinance number to verify that the information given to you is actually correct. If it isn't, go back and get people trained on the actual law.

oh christ. Thats why I told him to go ask his local PD.

here is a link. Maybe the laws have changed.


http://www.seajayservices.com/gfodl/gunlaw.cfm

Here are some various other laws that pertain to firearms. It is unlawful to discharge a firearm within 50 yards of a public road, unless in defense of life, health, and property. It is unlawful to discharge a firearm within 200 yards of a building unless with the owner's written permission or in defense of life, health, and property. It is unlawful to discharge a firearm on some else's land without permission of the landowner. It is unlawful to point a firearm, loaded or not, at another person not necessary in defense of life, health, and property. It is unlawful to discharge a firearm in the direction of another person not necessary in defense of life, health, and property. It is unlawful to shoot a firearm on Sunday; this does not apply to anyone; that is engaged in legal target practice at an approved range or on one's own land, in defense of life, health, and property, any person who is engaged in lawful hunting, any law enforcement officer in performance of official duties. (16-11-102 - 16-11-106)

 

[jlcnuke]

The laws have changed. That website is at least 2 years out of date on Georgia gun laws (it still lists "public gatherings" as off-limits). Don't use "third party" unofficial sites to research laws. Official sites such as http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/gacode/Default.asp or http://www.municode.com/ are where you should look-up laws, though the local/state/federal websites can let you know if anything else has changed since the latest official update for lexisnexis etc.

I'm really not trying to be a jerk here. I'm just trying to make sure we don't propagate misinformation unintentionally.

 

[sovietak474u]

The laws have changed. That website is at least 2 years out of date on Georgia gun laws (it still lists "public gatherings" as off-limits). Don't use "third party" unofficial sites to research laws. Official sites such as http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/gacode/Default.asp or http://www.municode.com/ are where you should look-up laws, though the local/state/federal websites can let you know if anything else has changed since the latest official update for lexisnexis etc.

I'm really not trying to be a jerk here. I'm just trying to make sure we don't propagate misinformation unintentionally.

Again, that is why I told him to check with his local PD. The laws change all the time. Which is why I told him to check with his local PD. Im not reseaching anything. I was told that a while back which was the law at that time. Before you do something you should check with your local PD to make sure everything is up to date.........

 

[Lazarus]

It would be most awesome if I could shoot my .22 in the backyard. Although I shoot my air rifle in the backyard I think that might be illegal.

 

[sovietak474u]

It would be most awesome if I could shoot my .22 in the backyard. Although I shoot my air rifle in the backyard I think that might be illegal.

some places it actually is illegal to discharge an air rifle. I dont wanna "propagate misinformation unintentionally" so ill hold off on telling you where.

 

[Lazarus]

Right.

 

[sovietak474u]

Right.