Is 500 Enough?

B

Bella

New member
I went on another quickie bird hunt this morning. This time I was on BLM land so there isn't any questions or concerns about the legality of it. There still is five hundred feet minimum distance from dwellings law.

I was on a rise. I was a good 700 feet from these homes on the edge of the public land. My dog flushed some birds, unfortunately they flew towards those houses. Even though I was a legal distance from them I decided not to shoot.

If someone was looking out their kitchen window and heard a shot and saw someone pointing a gun towards them, they might become unnerved. I wouldn't blame them.

Anyway, here is my question.

Our county mandates five hundred feet for shotgun shooting. Do you all thing that its enough distance for birdshot safety?
 
It is 50 yards here in GA to be legal. Common sense still applies as to which direction you shoot. I think you did the right thing. I doubt that birdshot at that range would cause any damage. But pellets raining down on homes and cars would be bad PR for hunters I'd think.
 
from rading a bunch of regurgitated internet stuff, I will regurgitate it some more, NSCA calls for 300 yards for range of shot. I hear of people getting rained on at the other side of 250 yards. the bigger the shot, the farther it goes.

There is a way to calculate this using journee’s formula Developed by French ballistician Journee, this formula approximates the maximum range of a shotgun shell (in yards) by multiplying the shot diameter (in inches) by 2200.
 
The funny thing about the law, it doesn't specify the projectiles. It states 500 feet for shotguns and 1500 for rifles and handguns. Five hundred for small birdshot seems reasonable, but slugs, or even buckshot seems a tad too short.

Washoe County, which includes the city of Reno, requires 5000 feet for firing any gun. Even shotguns firing small pellets.
 
I believe that most would have fallen short of 300 yards. but it's a question I have often wondered myself. I don't shot gun much, but I go to a place is prob a bit less than 300 yards from the road. better safe than sued
 
Don't just focus on if the shot can hit the dwelling, but if it will hit near one and if it does the likelihood that because you are near a dwelling other people may be even nearer than the structure.
 
Where I live it's 100 feet, and so far my neighbors and I haven't had any problem not shooting each other. And someone is shooting in their back yards all the time. Pistols, rifles, and shotguns. Safety isn't dependent on government imposed rules, and if they worked you wouldn't have all the horrendous wrecks all the time. God save us from more useless rules.
 
The distances I stated above are for shooting near homes without the owners permission. You could shoot closer with their blessing.
 
Hmm. . .These laws are not meant to say you can shoot at the house. They are simply for controlling how fire you can safely fire your gun from a house. The idea being mostly to prevent noise pollution.

In flat country, we have the challenge of how far from a house do we have to be to fire a gun pointed at the house?? Hmmm. . .I basically avoid pointing within 10 deg roughly of any dwelling at any distance I can see the dwelling.

Probably, there is a safe distance for every type of shooting. . . Looks like 300 yards is pretty safe for 7.5 or smaller light bird shot from my google results.
 
Lyman 5th Ed. Shotshell Reloading Handbook Pg. 107 has a chart telling us the Approximate Maximum Horizontal Distance in Yards for shot. Based on the highest velocity listed (1350 fps.) you get in yards:
#8: 240
#7 1/2: 247
#6: 274

I've been rained on by steel shot duck hunting more than once. Is 500 feet enough for safety? Generally yes as long as we are talking bird shot. Shot loses energy quickly; however catching one in the eye wouldn't be pleasant either.

As has been said earlier, you did the right thing by holding your shots. Raining shot down on someones home and / or car would not endear you with them, nor would law enforcement personnel look kindly upon the indifference shown by shooting towards a dwelling. Many states have statutes against shooting towards an occupied dwelling or vehicle in addition to minimum distances from said dwellings.
 
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Hmm. . .These laws are not meant to say you can shoot at the house. They are simply for controlling how fire you can safely fire your gun from a house. The idea being mostly to prevent noise pollution.
Click to expand...

That noise pollution must be bad in a lot of states, since some of the same laws ban the discharge of firearms, crossbows and long bows within respective distances of various structures.
 
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