a firearms law Q

[MT606]

a young individual (landlords son) has just been right next to the house (well 15-20m away from the living room ) blatting away( at hopefully rabbits and not our cats)with a shotgun whilst on a quad.
Is there a minimum distance required for discharging a weapon next to a residential building (even if we are renting said property from them?)their land surrounds the house btw.

tar in advance.

sorry if this post's in the wrong section

m

 

[British Red]

Was he unsafe in some way? Do you have reason to believe he is shooting at your cat? Did shot land in your garden?

There is law about shooting within 50 feet of a right of way if it causes problems for a user of that right of way, but I'm not sure what problems he is causing you? Nothing wrong with controlling rabbit numbers in itself.

 

[ozzy1977]

Dont think there is, there is regarding shooting near roads, 5m from the middle i seem to recall.

 

[swotty]

As Red says, just 50' from a right of way although I don't think this includes public footpaths otherwise there's a lot of pheasant shoots breaking the law. That's rural living for you! I was stopped shooting on the farm I had permission on due to townsfolk moving into the village and not liking people controlling rabbits, pigeons etc......then again they also complained about the farmer muck spreading and church bells on a Sunday...hmmmmm!!

 

[British Red]

The fifty foot rule just means you must not inconvenience others it does not mean that you cannot shoot within 50 feet of a right of way . You may shoot standing on a right of way provided that you do not inconvenience others.

 

[swotty]

The fifty foot rule just means you must not inconvenience others it does not mean that you cannot shoot within 50 feet of a right of way . You may shoot standing on a right of way provided that you do not inconvenience others.

Ah, that'll explain it, thank you for clarifying!

 

[sunndog]

The fifty foot rule just means you must not inconvenience others it does not mean that you cannot shoot within 50 feet of a right of way . You may shoot standing on a right of way provided that you do not inconvenience others.

An important point often missed on these threads (even on shooting forums)


O.P, if he was just taking an odd shot at rabbits then that's just normal countryside stuff tbh. although personally I wouldnt use a shotgun that close to a house just out of courtesy

 

[MT606]

many thanks for the replies/info people,
I've lived in said place for just over 2 yrs now (am use to living amongst and like a bumpkin )and am use to him being somewhat trigger happy shall we say(other people nearby have also noticed this) but he was particularly close this evening (thought someone had thrown something big n heavy at the front door twas that loud n close) and as the wife was out checking on the cats outside she heard him have the nerve to complain about the outside spot light being as on NVGs aren't standard issue in our household ;-) (the wife was not in view of him when he was bitchin mind).
fan of ahkmed ;-) Courtesy would be a fine thing and save alot of agro, if he just gave us some warning, but alas, tis not his way.

I'm off to praise a :viking: or 2 and drink some mead even though it isn't thursday,

 

[sunndog]

Sounds like just a courtesy issue mate, perhaps just ask him to shoot you a txt or sommat when he plans on shooting nearby

wouldn't hurt him to eh

 

[Buckshot]

One more thing. The 50 foot rule is from the middle of the right of way rather than the edge. that means it's more like 40-45 feet from the edge if it's a farm tractor track. As BR says it's OK to stand on a foot path as long as no-one else is put out by it.
This only applies to rights of way. unless your garden has one through it this wont help you. if he's shooting away from the house within his land boundary he is within the law. sounds like a bit of common decency would be in order though. maybe ask if it's OK if they stay +100m away in future or let you know?

 

[njc110381]

I've shot several fields like this in the past and tend to use a moderated .22lr or Hushpower shotgun for the job. Even from the view of a keen shooter, I'd have at least given you a knock and talked the situation over in a case like yours. Letting a 12g off that close to someone's house without mentioning it to them first is just plain rude, although as far as I know not illegal. As far as the law is concerned there is only an issue if you shoot within 15m of the centre of a public highway and in doing so cause disruption to other users of that highway.

Could you not have a quiet word with your landlord and just ask him to give you some warning if he's going to shoot that close? I deal with moaners all the time when I'm shooting and they do my head in but in your case I feel a grumble is more than valid! A shotgun isn't a quiet tool and a bit of courtesy from this lad wouldn't cost anything.

 

[santaman2000]

I was going to ask if the noise itself might be considered a "disruption" but then I thought better of it because I realized that while loud, a shotgun blast is still quieter than the jackhammers used by road crews (also close to houses)

However, along the lines of noise, am I correct in gathering that some of the shooting is occurring at night or other unsocial hours?

 

[Samon]

I was going to ask if the noise itself might be considered a "disruption" but then I thought better of it because I realized that while loud, a shotgun blast is still quieter than the jackhammers used by road crews (also close to houses)

Some electrics/road workers decided it a good hour at the very modest 2am to start rapeing the concrete only 20 feet from my bedroom window the other night! The bodge job christmas lights in town was causing electrical failure in my 'hood and the firestation also went black.

I would rather they were shooting shotguns to be honest! lol


On the op's subject though, although I don't have anything to say about the legal ramifications, I would feel uncomfortable with a man/boy shooting so close to my home with such disregard. How hard would a quick phone call or text to let you know firearms are gona be discharged just shy of your back door? And if it were me, and it was causing a bother I'd mention it to the land owner/s.

 

[British Red]

Most property tenancies include a "quiet enjoyment" clause meaning that your landlord may not regularly disturb you. If this happened very often, it may be possible to invoke it. However I doubt you will get your tenancy renewed. Have a polite word, if it continues, move.

 

[dwardo]

Polite word with Landlord and if no joy then time to move on as BR says.
Known people make them selves sick with anger over Landlords and neighbors. Much easier and better for your health to move on. Also to let new tenants know what they are in for.

 

[MT606]

aye, I'm gona let his parents know next time I see them, it's usually at night when he's out n about. We are looking to move again (sick of renting,waiting for things to get done etc) we want our own place again so we can do what we want or when it needs doing.

 

[lannyman8]

have a quiet word with them and if it is at night noise regulations apply at night which a shotgun is in breach of....

just be nice have a quiet word and ask them to inform you at the very least next time they are shooting close to the house.... and as other posts say, i would use a .22 rim fire with suppressor they are better anyway, more range less noise better outcome, why the shotey????

best of luck..

chris

 

[Robson Valley]

Don't you people have written, accessible set of regulations that you can refer to?
Hocus-pocus opinions don't fly very far here. What a hoppy/sloppy environment.

Prince George, BC is known as the Nairobi of North America for big game.
At the same time, us locals expect to be treated with absolute deference.
Moose, elk, white-tail, mule deer, grizzly, black bears, wolves, coyotes, lynx,
cougar, bobcat, mountain sheep, goats, bison, local and migratory game birds.
Everything is within 20 minutes of my house.
Except for the damn deer that stand on my front door step, less that 2 feet from the key hole.

 

[Goatboy]

We do indeed have laws that are accessible to all in the UK regarding firearms and they're usage, though like all laws they are open to interpretation. (hence why the US leads the way in the world with one lawyer per two hundred and sixty five people). Also as the statute & law books have been open a little longer different laws bleed into each other.
The problem here sounds more of a courtesy and moral issue than a legal one though the Scottish bobbies could always use their catchall law for this one and do him for breech of the peace.
Usually the long established etiquette of gun use in the UK would preclude any such behaviour, though there can sometimes be friction between people not used to rural living and those steeped in it.

 

[Monikieman]

Laws aside you may need to tread carefully with farmers/landlords on a farm.

Next thing is a dung midden outside the house.