Shooting on own property and proper backstop

[gregkl]

Are there any laws that require a proper back stop of some sort if you are shooting on your property which is located in a county?

Also, is there a law that you must be a certain distance from a dwelling to discharge a firearm?

 

[Gabriel]

It depends on the county.

 

[T.Lex]

To elaborate on the above, it depends on the county zoning and other ordinances.

Also, it may depend on how close you live to city limits, since some places thought of as "county" can be regulated by a nearby city.

It gets confusing.

ETA
There are also potential criminal issues with criminal recklessness, not to mention civil issues if someone gets hurt by such shooting.

This is not legal advice to you or anyone else, just observations.

 

[eldirector]

Maybe? What county? Are you in Monroe (based on your Bloomington location)?

All of your county zoning ordinances are online:
Documents

I don't THINK there are any ordinances specifically to backtops, but I haven't read everything. I believe there is a noise ordinance.

 

[gregkl]

Interesting. It's Monroe county but it's close Bloomington city line. One of my co-workers bought a place with a couple acres and his next door neighbor sits in his barn shooting rifles out and downrange into some area woods.

When I lived in Virginia, you had to have a proper backstop to target practice on your own property and you had to be at least 100 yards away from a dwelling(defined as where people live or gather). You also had to be at least 100 yards away from the road.

But these too depended on the county. Some counties were different.

 

[mom45]

I don't know if you remember my entrance to INGO, but this was the question that brought me here. If your county has no ordinances regarding shooting in that area, the state does not specifically require a safe backstop. However, the person shooting is responsible for every bullet that leaves their property and any damage caused by those bullets.

In our case, our neighbor was convicted of criminal recklessness. A stipulation the judge made is that he is banned from shooting or allowing anyone else to shoot any firearms on his property for as long as he lives there. He also lost his LTCH due to the conviction resulting from improper use of a firearm. His friend that was shooting with him the day we called the DNR out because they were shooting and had my husband and another neighbor both trapped behind trees in our woods with bullets whizzing past their heads also was convicted of the same charge. They both had a year's probation.

We could have pursued a civil suit over the damages he did to our property, but chose not to because our main goal was to eliminate the unsafe shooting that was taking place.

 

[Mark 1911]

I don't know if you remember my entrance to INGO, but this was the question that brought me here. If your county has no ordinances regarding shooting in that area, the state does not specifically require a safe backstop. However, the person shooting is responsible for every bullet that leaves their property and any damage caused by those bullets.

In our case, our neighbor was convicted of criminal recklessness. A stipulation the judge made is that he is banned from shooting or allowing anyone else to shoot any firearms on his property for as long as he lives there. He also lost his LTCH due to the conviction resulting from improper use of a firearm. His friend that was shooting with him the day we called the DNR out because they were shooting and had my husband and another neighbor both trapped behind trees in our woods with bullets whizzing past their heads also was convicted of the same charge. They both had a year's probation.

We could have pursued a civil suit over the damages he did to our property, but chose not to because our main goal was to eliminate the unsafe shooting that was taking place.

Wow! I admire your soft-spoken-ness on an experience like that one. Can't imagine being trapped behind trees with bullets whizzing by. Scary stuff, but would be infuriating as well. Some people deserve what they get, as in your neighbor's case.

 

[mom45]

Wow! I admire your soft-spoken-ness on an experience like that one. Can't imagine being trapped behind trees with bullets whizzing by. Scary stuff, but would be infuriating as well. Some people deserve what they get, as in your neighbor's case.

I am pretty sure I was not exactly soft spoken at the time! LOL! I was polite in court but made sure the judge knew how ridiculous the whole situation had been considering the number of times we had visited that house prior to that date to complain about the situation...including having the LEO and DNR both out previously so we could show them the bullets lodged all over our woods in the trees and the targets they had hanging on their trees at head height with the holes in the trees behind the targets where the bullets had blown completely through the trunks. They were definitely shooting large caliber firearms with no backstops. They were so lucky they never ended up shooting one of us or the other neighbor's horses...or his daughter and her friends when they were out riding their horses. It could have been sooooo much worse!

 

[Cameramonkey]

Yes. You need a backstop.

One summer day when I was a young teen, I was outside playing by my Grandma's detatched garage out in extreme NE Hendricks county. (2+ acre lots surrounded by huge farm fields) I would periodically hear a whizzing sound over my head. I would also hear gunshots from about a half mile away. Along with those sounds I would occasionally hear something rip through the bountiful old growth black walnut tree behind that garage.

Long story short, the guy on the next road was shooting behind his house toward our property. He was "being safe and shooting downward into the ground so that the bullets wouldnt leave his property." Nope. Many of them were skipping and sailing over my head about 30' up. (luckily) DUMBA**!

So yes, you MUST have a backstop of some kind, whether it is specified in ordinances or not.

 

[mom45]

Yes. You need a backstop.

One summer day when I was a young teen, I was outside playing by my Grandma's detatched garage out in extreme NE Hendricks county. (2+ acre lots surrounded by huge farm fields) I would periodically hear a whizzing sound over my head. I would also hear gunshots from about a half mile away. Along with those sounds I would occasionally hear something rip through the bountiful old growth black walnut tree behind that garage.

Long story short, the guy on the next road was shooting behind his house toward our property. He was "being safe and shooting downward into the ground so that the bullets wouldnt leave his property." Nope. Many of them were skipping and sailing over my head about 30' up. (luckily) DUMBA**!

So yes, you MUST have a backstop of some kind, whether it is specified in ordinances or not.

While it I agree it is responsible to have a backstop and idiotic not to have one, it is NOT the law that you must. He asked if there was a law requiring one.

There ought to be a law, but unless the city or county has something in writing, it is not law. There are laws that define what happens if bullets enter someone else's property and cause damage or harm though.

 

[Restroyer]

In most places in Indiana you are not required to have a backstop, but common sense says you should have a backstop. I know where I live a lot of people have a lot of land and shoot with no backstop, but that is leaving yourself open to a mistake or trouble. I have two ranges on my property. The smaller one uses a hill (mini-mountain) as my backstop. The other one uses several large cut up hickory trees that are about 3 times the width of a fat man's waist that are stacked 14 feet wide x 8 feet tall x 6 feet deep. I know people say don't use wood as your backstop but in my case there are no houses in any direction that I shoot and I only use the wood backstop to protect the healthy trees in the acres behind it. Common sense and safety should always prevail.

 

[Cameramonkey]

While it I agree it is responsible to have a backstop and idiotic not to have one, it is NOT the law that you must. He asked if there was a law requiring one.

There ought to be a law, but unless the city or county has something in writing, it is not law. There are laws that define what happens if bullets enter someone else's property and cause damage or harm though.

I never said there was a law. Just that you NEED one. Law or not. SOMETHING needs to stop the bullets.

EDIT: Not everything that should be done to be responsible is dictated by law. Just sayin.

 

[mom45]

I never said there was a law. Just that you NEED one. Law or not. SOMETHING needs to stop the bullets.

EDIT: Not everything that should be done to be responsible is dictated by law. Just sayin.

I agree! I just wanted to clarify that it wasn't the law since that was how the OP worded the question. I didn't know if he was seeking legal advice due to an issue.

 

[HoughMade]

Regardless of any statute or ordinances there may or may not be, you always have a legal duty to exercise reasonable care in any endeavor, shooting included. In addition to avoiding negligence, I would argue that you have a nearly absolute legal duty to keep the bullets on your own property unless you have express permission for them to be on someone else’s property.

Legal duties come from a few different places including the common law.

...though I am just furthering the discussion, not rendering legal advice.

 

[bloodandgutsmurphy]

...though I am just furthering the discussion, not rendering legal advice.[/QUOTE]
IANAL does not apply here :-)

 

[gregkl]

I agree! I just wanted to clarify that it wasn't the law since that was how the OP worded the question. I didn't know if he was seeking legal advice due to an issue.

You are correct. My co-worker and especially his wife are not used to gun fire next to their house. He wanted to call the sheriff to see if there is anything illegal going on that would make it possible for the "shooter" to cease fire.

Regardless of any statute or ordinances there may or may not be, you always have a legal duty to exercise reasonable care in any endeavor, shooting included. In addition to avoiding negligence, I would argue that you have a nearly absolute legal duty to keep the bullets on your own property unless you have express permission for them to be on someone else’s property.

Legal duties come from a few different places including the common law.

...though I am just furthering the discussion, not rendering legal advice.

Thanks! I was hoping you would weigh in. He talked to the Sheriff who said that the guy wasn't breaking any laws but if they felt unsafe, he would go out and see what was going on. I suspect my co-worker will call the sheriff to come take a look the next time the shooters are out.

I haven't been there when they were shooting and it probably wouldn't be a big deal to me if they were safe, but just shooting "down the hill and into the woods" is not good enough for me. I have been to too many Revere's Riders, NRA classes, events at ranges, etc to be okay with that. I'm kinda glad it's not me living out there.

I appreciate everyone's input! Thanks!

 

[T.Lex]

Thanks! I was hoping you would weigh in.

 

[1mil-high]

A proper backstop is not a requirement of the law in its terminology, but it is a requirement to shoot safely. Safe shooting is required in order to prevent investigation or conviction of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon (level 6 felony at its base without injury). There are no direct parameters about distances, but rather the law just requires that it be done in a safe manner rather than negligent or reckless.

If it was me I wouldn't shoot without a proper backstop.

 

[SteelDude91]

It's frustrating because it is so easy to construct a simple backstop...
I put together a simple rimfire range with a load of dirt backed by sturdy wood in a few hours. I'm sure it could withstand more than .22 but I'm cleaning out brush to build one farther away from the house.mm

 

[dung]

I have been shooting into a very large hill behind my house. I could build build a back stop for it, but I dont know that it would stop the bullets any better. I certainly wouldn't just shoot out into the woods on a flat though.