SHOOTING ON PRIVATE PROPERTY

[Dosproduction]

Was wondering if people knew some of the laws regarding shooting on there own property. How far from a dwelling how far from a neighbor. Shooting near roads and water (saw something about not shooting across water). Do you need a target permit to target shoot on your own property? Any laws about such things would be helpful thanks. I posted something previoulsy along the same lines and was no conclusive laws/ordances stated. Thanks

 

[SumtnFancy]

Wait a minute... You aren't mom45's neighbor are you!?!

 

[Pinchaser]

There's nothing anyone here can offer that would be of any real help to you. Your local laws can be, and likely are, quite different than our local laws. Educate yourself.

 

[Dosproduction]

Yeah i have tried to do that and the internet is not being helpful in finding the laws. I live in morgan township. porter county. valparaiso IN. unincorporated Valpo. The local police said ask the sherif. The sherif did not give me any exact ordances but refrenced me to DNR. And they where more worried about hunting. It seemed like everyone i talked to just wanted to make sure they did not say it was ok and to check with the next person in line. TOL (transfer of liability).

 

[Dosproduction]

So here i am again trying to find people that live in the area that do target shoot on there own property and what they know.

 

[lonehoosier]

Checkout his thread.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...county-morgan-township-shooting-property.html

Nevermind. I see that you are asking the question again.

 

[Dosproduction]

YEAH LOL

 

[rockhopper46038]

Just gotta do the research, man. It took about an hour to read the Code of Ordinances for Hamilton County (no restrictions on discharging a firearm), the Code of Ordinances for the Town (soon to be City) of Fishers (no discharge of a projectile weapon within Town/City limits - thank God I don't live within incorporated Fishers ), and for good measure I looked for anything pertaining to Fall Creek Township, which has no restrictions. Either that or pay a lawyer to read them for you.

 

[mom45]

Morgan township near Malden? How close are your neighbors and what do you have for a backstop? I'm dealing with a neighbor in Starke County who feels a backstop is not necessary so I guess the responses you are getting might be based on the fact that the DNR and sheriff may not be aware of your set up and don't want to say go ahead and do it and then find out you live in a subdivision or where you have multiple neighbors and are not exercising good safety precautions. Does Morgan Twshp have their own police? Is that considered a town?

 

[Dosproduction]

Valparaiso is the town. its Porter county and then morgan township. I have neighbors about 150 feet or so in a north and south direction. Then a neighbor about 400 feet east. To the west the neighbor is about 600 feet plus not sure excatly on that one. but none of that is relevent to where im shooting. im shooting into a ditch about 40 feet down on my side and 30 feet up the other side. it is about 200 feet across and 300 feet wide. Imposible to miss lol. but because im not super far from neighbors im wondering about that aspect. Also on the other side of the ditch is a road and there is a small creek type water running through the ditch. the ditch is part of my property. The creek is why im asking about shooting over water. it is pretty swappy down there.

 

[lonehoosier]

Here's some old threads that mite help.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...894-plinking-allowed-priv-prop-northwest.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...212347-1-porter-county-sheriffs-deputies.html

 

[turnandshoot4]

Porter County has a website. All the info is there for you.

http://www.porterco.org/DocumentCenter/View/1815

 

[turnandshoot4]

IF you are outside the zones mentioned in the laws (thereby legal to shoot) it is your DUTY to shoot into a properly constructed berm.

 

[mom45]

Is there water in the ditch you are shooting into/over? The neighbors sound awfully close and if there is no solid backstop, I would be very concerned about bullets traveling. I used to live in Wheatfield and traveled 49 to Chesterton to work daily for quite a while so am I thinking incorrectly of the area by the tractor dealer and Jake's feed store? I thought that was Morgan Township, certainly not part of the town of Valparaiso. When you referenced the local police department, I was trying to figure out which police that would be. If you are in the unincorporated part of the county, it would be DNR and sheriff that should be able to help you.

It doesn't sound like the ideal set up for shooting to me.

 

[therewolf]

There's nothing anyone here can offer that would be of any real help to you. Your local laws can be, and likely are, quite different than our local laws. Educate yourself.

Usually the gun laws are posted clearly at the State Police website.

 

[LANShark42]

I've heard that target permits are going the way of the Indiana ccw and the lifetime LTCH. Better hurry.

 

[SERparacord]

Water can cause bullets to skip like rocks across a pond and go airborne again. Use common sense when shooting.

 

[HoughMade]

All I can say is this- if you live outside of Valparaiso city limits (as I do), don't bother looking at city ordinances. They do not apply. The fact that you have a Valpo mailing address is meaningless. The county ordinances are the key and it sounds as if there are no ordinances against it. I have not looked at the ordinances, but I trust that you have and if it is not there, it is not there.

They key, then, becomes common sense and neighbor relations. What may not be "illegal" per se, can be enjoined if a neighbor decides to make trouble and the shooting becomes a "nuisance" which is a techincal legal term meaning:

Nuisance described and considered subject to an action
Whatever is:
(1) injurious to health;
(2) indecent;
(3) offensive to the senses; or
(4) an obstruction to the free use of property;
so as essentially to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property, is a nuisance, and the subject of an action.

So, as you can see, nearly anything can be a "nuisance" in the right, or rather, wrong circumstances. How to help avoid this? A backstop adequate beyond question, avoiding shooting very early or late. You know, common sense. In the end, you may not make everyone happy, but you can do what you can.

It may not hurt to follow the DNR regulations for hunting as to proximity to a structure, but for strict target shooting, that's not required. It may avoid questions, however, and in determining whether shooting is "dangerous" a judge may well look to those regulations for guidance.

 

[Bigtanker]

Wait a minute... You aren't mom45's neighbor are you!?!

 

[JettaKnight]

Wait a minute... You aren't mom45's neighbor are you!?!

I thought this was a spoof thread. But, it's a little wierder - 20 out of 21 of the OP's post have are in three threads he started about shooting on his property.