Minimum acreage to shoot on own property

[Justincase]

Wife and I are planning on moving within the next few years hoping to get a bigger place and some land. I know the rule that you can't shoot within 500ft of a neighboring dwelling, but I was wondering if any of you have experience with shooting on your own property or an acquaintances, so that I can get a feel for what I'd be looking at acreage/layout wise to be able to shoot on my own property. If money were no object I'd just buy scores of acres and be done with it, but unfortunately that's not in the cards.

 

[carpediem]

Depending on where you buy property if any houses are within the 500 feet. I have a little over two acres with a large hill in the back, and on top of the hill is a very old cemetery. Next door is a 100 acre hayfield for the most part, so I target shoot right in my back yard. I also have a 50 plus acre hayfield across the road, plus more land that is mine. I do have to watch where on my property I shoot though, too far one way and my liberal neighbor could be a problem.

 

[GOPerfect]

Depends on where you are going to be shooting. What type of shooting will be done and the layout of the land. My property has a natural backdrop behind where I built my range. I have less than 10 acres and it is plenty big enough for all that I want or need. I have water, trees and open fields. Biggest reason why I bought was to shoot with no rules or regulations. I can shoot whatever I want and how ever the hell I feel like shooting. I can drive around and shoot at targets while driving my ATV. I can draw from a holster and shoot. I can shoot from trees and from the prone. I can run around like an ass and shoot; my land, my rules!

 

[Deplorable Me]

Generally the local town has the jurisdiction . Some towns may have total bans no matter how large the acerage.

 

[Justincase]

Generally the local town has the jurisdiction . Some towns may have total bans no matter how large the acerage.

Really. Never knew that. Gotta make sure I do my homework

 

[4excal]

Think of an acre as pretty much a football field length,they're almost the same. Then knowing you need 500' ya go from there..so 2 football fields would suffice..of course this is if you're eyeballing it, a survey would tell you real numbers, this is just for not knowing the real yardage.

 

[dwa12479]

As far as I ever knew, the 500' rule was predicated on permission. You can shoot around a residence under 500' if it's your dwelling or you have permission from the owner.

 

[Acer-m14]

under 500 if you have permission .. and i would get that in writing and video these days .. if in a village its a 99.9% chance no shooting at all .. even bb guns in some villages. out of the village or city limits .. i'd say 90% ok shoot away ..

 

[Defilade]

A nice tool to use to determine your range is a distance calculator on Daft Logic. It uses Google maps which you plot points and it measures in feet, meters etc.. Just remember the need for a good backstop and the 500 ft rule.

Distance Calculator

 

[NYGuns]

Good topic, I think about this regularly.

 

[camper4lyfe]

Like others have said, a lot depends on the layout of the property, not just the size. What's past the range? Another house? Not a good idea.

 

[Phazer]

Depends on where you are going to be shooting. What type of shooting will be done and the layout of the land. My property has a natural backdrop behind where I built my range. I have less than 10 acres and it is plenty big enough for all that I want or need. I have water, trees and open fields. Biggest reason why I bought was to shoot with no rules or regulations. I can shoot whatever I want and how ever the hell I feel like shooting. I can drive around and shoot at targets while driving my ATV. I can draw from a holster and shoot. I can shoot from trees and from the prone. I can run around like an ass and shoot; my land, my rules!

Sounds like fun.

Do you sell weekend tickets?

 

[Blimey]

Generally the local town has the jurisdiction . Some towns may have total bans no matter how large the acerage.

Yep. In Penfield, NY, for example, I think you need a minimum of 5 acres regardless of distance and even then you can only shoot .22 or something unless hunting. They are strict beyond state law. I don't believe you could buy 100 acres and set up a personal range even if you are 1000' away from others. There is a very popular private range in the heart of the town but it is grandfathered.

 

[NirvanaFan]

Not all acres are the same dimensions. They don't have to be square. An acre is just 43,560 sq feet. It could be 1' wide and 43560' long, 208' square, or somewhere in the middle. You'd be better off with a longer, thinner piece of land (with no houses within 500') of your range than the same acreage in a square layout with neighbors close to the edges.

 

[nortatoga]

The rounds also need to impacted on your land not beyond. I know this is obvious!

 

[camper4lyfe]

Yep. In Penfield, NY, for example, I think you need a minimum of 5 acres regardless of distance and even then you can only shoot .22 or something unless hunting. They are strict beyond state law. I don't believe you could buy 100 acres and set up a personal range even if you are 1000' away from others. There is a very popular private range in the heart of the town but it is grandfathered.

And Perinton doesn't allow firearm discharge at all.

 

[dsdmmat]

So you would want a 5 acre wide parcel. A square acre is 209x209 feet. Five acres would give you a minimum of 500 feet in either direction from the center. Then you want to have enough average for your longest shot. I would like to find a rectangular property 5 acers X 20 acres in order to shoot 1000 yards so I need to find a 125 acre plot. To put my house with my shooting porch on.

 

[livingston]

This is a pretty good layout ... shooting into a hillside

 

[Justincase]

Just had this property emailed to me. I think the property would be perfect, but no basement and only three bedrooms is a deal breaker. Not a fan of baseboard heat either.

12507 Church Rd, Holland, NY 14080 | MLS #B498046 | Zillow

 

[Frankly]

Just use your Maglite Lead Dust Collector or a oil filter to shoot with, I saw that in the movies.

 

[Shadow2]

The local town "may" have jurisdiction, towns pass laws all the time it doesn't mean they actually have power too. There are laws that cover this.

New York Municipal Home Rule Law - MHR | FindLaw

Generally the local town has the jurisdiction . Some towns may have total bans no matter how large the acerage.

 

[SigLady]

And Perinton doesn't allow firearm discharge at all.

Ditto for Watertown. Not even fake shots! I used to work at the historical society there and one year we had revolutionary war reenactors come for an educational program. They were going to do a demonstration with their muskets (with blanks). We called the city PD to let them know (so they wouldn't freak out) but the did anyway and shut it down. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission i guess.

 

[camper4lyfe]

Ditto for Watertown. Not even fake shots! I used to work at the historical society there and one year we had revolutionary war reenactors come for an educational program. They were going to do a demonstration with their muskets (with blanks). We called the city PD to let them know (so they wouldn't freak out) but the did anyway and shut it down. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission i guess.

That surprises me in Watertown, with Ft. Drum right there and all.

 

[SigLady]

That surprises me in Watertown, with Ft. Drum right there and all.

Yup. But then again they're not allowed to carry on base either (being that it's a federal facility...)

 

[Prudii]

I'd figure out what your town/county laws are then make sure your outside the 500ft distance the state proscribes. After that beg, borrow, or steal a bulldozer to make your backdrops.