Pistol practice in the country

[mulfjohn]

I don't know if this is the right forum for this,so I apologize now. Does anyone know if it is legal to do shooting practice with paper targets in the country. I live on a couple of acres north of the DFW metroplex with open acreage behind me. So no chance of stray bullet hitting someone or something. Unsure what rhe law is for county firearm use. Am getting tired of driving 30mins to a gun range.

[mcscanner]

My understanding is that if out side of the city limits as just about all have ordinances against and its your privately owned property you are good to go. Double check with your county sheriff as he would be the one knocking on your door if the neighbors complain. You just want to make sure you backstop will contain ALL stray bullets. They can travel a long way...
Mike

[C-dub]

mcscanner is close and may not be wrong. It all depend on your county laws. If you have more than 10 acres and are not within city limits then you're good to go. However, if you have less than 10 acres, the county can have regulations that would prohibit recreational shooting on private property.

[suthdj]

mcscanner is close and may not be wrong. It all depend on your county laws. If you have more than 10 acres and are not within city limits then you're good to go. However, if you have less than 10 acres, the county can have regulations that would prohibit recreational shooting on private property.

I believe the 10 acre rule only allows shotguns, would have look it up again to be sure.

found it

Code: Select all

Sec. 229.002.  REGULATION OF DISCHARGE OF WEAPON.  A municipality may not apply a regulation relating to the discharge of firearms or other weapons in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality or in an area annexed by the municipality after September 1, 1981, if the firearm or other weapon is:
(1)  a shotgun, air rifle or pistol, BB gun, or bow and arrow discharged:
(A)  on a tract of land of 10 acres or more and more than 150 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and
(B)  in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract; or
(2)  a center fire or rim fire rifle or pistol of any caliber discharged:
(A)  on a tract of land of 50 acres or more and more than 300 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and
(B)  in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 18 (S.B. 734), Sec. 4, eff. May 3, 2005.

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/D ... LG.229.htm

and

Code: Select all

Sec. 235.022.  AUTHORITY TO REGULATE.  To promote the public safety, the commissioners court of a county by order may prohibit or otherwise regulate the discharge of firearms and air guns on lots that are 10 acres or smaller and are located in the unincorporated area of the county in a subdivision.

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/D ... LG.235.htm

[mulfjohn]

Thanks all for the info. That gets me going in the right direction. Next stop is a call to sheriff.

[C-dub]

Doesn't a municipality refer to an incorporated area? Or does it also refer to county commissions for unincorporated areas?

[n5wd]

Yes, the first law quoted by suthdj applies only with the city limits of, or within the extra-territorial limits of an incorporated municipality, a town in other words. The ETJ is an area immediately adjacent to a town, in an area that the town has indicated that it intends to bring into the city limits.

For us folks living outside of any town limits or ETJ, the second law quoted, sec 235 of the Government Code, is the only one that applies. And, not all county commissioners courts have established those rules, so a call to the Sherrif's Office would be a good start.

That law, by the way, is the reason I told our realtor that one of the minimums that he had to work with was that we were only going to look at properties that had 11 or more acres of land - luckily we found a piece of land that worked out just fine, so shooting in our back yard can be an every day affair!

Mulfjohn, you didn't say in which county you live -if you're in Denton County, you should be good to go!

[suthdj]

Yes, the first law quoted by suthdj applies only with the city limits of, or within the extra-territorial limits of an incorporated municipality, a town in other words. The ETJ is an area immediately adjacent to a town, in an area that the town has indicated that it intends to bring into the city limits.

For us folks living outside of any town limits or ETJ, the second law quoted, sec 235 of the Government Code, is the only one that applies. And, not all county commissioners courts have established those rules, so a call to the Sherrif's Office would be a good start.

That law, by the way, is the reason I told our realtor that one of the minimums that he had to work with was that we were only going to look at properties that had 11 or more acres of land - luckily we found a piece of land that worked out just fine, so shooting in our back yard can be an every day affair!

Mulfjohn, you didn't say in which county you live -if you're in Denton County, you should be good to go!

Thank you for clearing that up I have been looking for 50 acres of land to get around all that if all I need is 10 out side a city or ETJ I may be able to save all kinds of money.

[jimlongley]

Keep in mind that "cities" are not necessarily nice neat geometric shapes. As cities choose to annex particular pieces of land they acquire patchwork shapes that go far beyond the description of Gerrymandering. That's how we lost our Collin County Gun Range in McKinney, they annexed the land and then zoned the range out of existence.

I don't know how it works in TX, but many years ago my co-worker was deer hunting in very rural upstate NY. He entered the woods on top of Slide Mountain near the old fire tower, outside of Kingston NY, and then proceeded to get lost. Being a little astute in such matters, he decided the best idea would be to walk downhill and find a creek and follow it. He eventually came to a road and was following it, with his rifle dutifully unloaded, and the bolt out of it carried in his knapsack. A police car with NY City markings pulled up and he was arrested and ticketed for carrying a firearm within the boundaries of the City of New York, to wit; the Ashokan Reservoir, which is NY City property. His rifle went with the officer and he was expected to appear in court, in NY City, to defend himself. I don't know what the final outcome was because I never saw him at work again after that, he transferred south.

ETA: Look at appraisal district maps online to see some of the crazy quilt borders.

[Piney]

I believe there is a part of the regulations related to this topic that the bullets cannot cross property lines. We own 25 acres in a county so that meets the 10 acre part. But , even though there are a few hundred acres of another's wooded, empty property on two sides, I cannot just "shoot into the woods" across the boundary line.