Shooting on my land in Pa

R

RED_beard92

New member
My local gun range has just been closed permanently due to range abuse :mad:. I live in Fayette county Pennsylvania. It is a rural mountain community and I need to target shoot. I will be using a .22 caliber rifle and I have a good dirt hill to use as a back stop so no one will be hurt. I need to know how far I have to be from a public road and buildings such as homes, schools etc. My neighbors are kinda ignorant and I don't want them calling the police on me and me to be in the wrong. Please help.
 
Well for starters, there's this list of state run shooting ranges.

Beyond that, this was all I could find in a few minutes of searching. You are welcome to search here yourself, but you get what you pay for. If you really want to know, I suggest spending a few bucks on a local lawyer versant in firearms law to get his opinion. The upside also being, you know who to call if you ever need one, God forbid.

If you do search on your own, the laws could be in general firearms laws, hunting/DNR laws and regulations, neither, both, or even some other area. Another reason to acquaint yourself with a lawyer who specializes in this sort of thing. Most of those laws I've seen in other states are usually 100, 500, or 1000 feet. This does not mean Pennsylvania is 100, 500, or 1000 feet - or legal at all, or illegal at all.
 
The state run ranges in my area are few and far between. I don't know about this but I heard you can go on game lands and shoot (not in a hunting manner). Is this true?
 
In PA there are no state regulations for range requirements. However you will want to investigate your local and county regulations.

A good source for PA specific gun information is www. PAFOA. com.
 
RED beard92 said:
The state run ranges in my area are few and far between. I don't know about this but I heard you can go on game lands and shoot (not in a hunting manner). Is this true?
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I believe this is not true.

The state-run ranges are located on state game lands, so that may be where the confusion arises.
 
I am here in NC and I shoot on my property all the time. There is no noise ordinance so it is strictly legal for me to do so. I also have farm land not too far away so I could also shoot there if I wanted to. I believe most gun ranges are unsafe due to the fact that they attract all kinds of individuals and it is definitely hard for a range officer to watch everyone every single minute and all it takes is a fraction of a second of carelessness and there you go, somebody accidently shot or killed.
 
You could start with the obvious and start by asking local law enforcement. Don't take what they say as gospel, but check out what they tell you. I know one California county provides by ordnance the parts of the county on which one may shoot on their own property and, I believe, how far they have to be from roads and property boundaries.
 
Why checking with local LE is a good place to start, while meaning well officers too often are mistaken as to gun laws. Whatever they say, ask if they have a source like a particular statute, code, or ordinance. Then look it up.
 
You could start with the obvious and start by asking local law enforcement.
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IMHO this is a waste of time. If they should be anti gun then ,well we know the answer then and as I have found most LE are ill informed as to the law about such matters and misinterpret laws or just don't know and give false info because of not knowing.
 
I don't believe there is any PA state law that prevents a person from shooting on his/her own property, as long as it is done safely. I don't have a statutory reference, but I believe state law includes something about not shooting within 500 feet of an occupied dwelling. Whether this means your own dwelling or only other people's dwellings depends on how it's written and, as noted, I don't have the citation.

PA has firearms preemption, but I don't think that prevents municipalities from adopting zoing regulations that could affect having a shooting range on your own land. That's because zoning regulations control use of the land, not "guns." And zoning regulations generally are not enforced by the police, so asking the local police isn't likely to produce a definitive answer.

I would suggest the PAFOA forum as a reliable source.
 
Although PA has preemption, it doesn't cover the act of shooting. The law about shooting near buildings has an exception that you can do it with permission of the owner. Municipalities generally forbid shooting within their limits. Counties not so much. You really need to check with the locals.
 
There are "safety zones" established by the Game Commission regarding hunting. Firearms cannot be discharged within 150 yards of homes. Check with your local game commission office; there should be one in your county or in a county near you. Ask a gun dealer near you.
 
There are "safety zones" established by the Game Commission regarding hunting. Firearms cannot be discharged within 150 yards of homes. Check with your local game commission office; there should be one in your county or in a county near you. Ask a gun dealer near you.
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I'm sure that is cannot be discharged without permission of the owner/occupant

I have bagged quite a few chucks from the loft of the barn.
 
Getcha self down to your County Law Library. Ask a Librarian to assist you in researching county and state laws regarding shooting on private property, sound/noise disturbance issues, distances from buildings/roads, etc.

You might have Zoning restrictions depending on what the parcel is labeled and any conforming uses allowed or non-conforming issues that require special use permits. Then again you might not.

Same with City or Township codes. Not to mention State law.

A good Librarian is worth their weight in gold and most enjoy researching arcania.

http://www.dep.state.pa.us/hosting/growingsmarter/MPCode[1].pdf

The link above is PA Municipal Planning codes (but note it's over 10 years old so it might not be currently valid). Link below is how Washoe County in NV handles this issue (from Sheriffs Dept)

http://www.washoesheriff.com/sub.php?page=congested-areafirearms-discharge-maps

Hopefully your local Sheriff will have something similar. Most do. Your County's Sheriff's webpage does not. (See link below)

http://www.co.fayette.pa.us/sheriff/Pages/default.aspx
 
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