Hunting and firearm discharges near houses and roads.

[Spear Dane]

Hi all,
Other than what it says in the hunting regs about shooting across/from roads and water I can't find any regs on how close you can be to a house or a road and still discharge your deer rifle. I'm scouting a possible deer spot in the county with a house on one side and a road maybe 75 yards through dense woods the other way with the planned lane being parallel to both.

 

[MRP2003]

Found this old thread from years ago and the answer was not given

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/general-firearms-discussion/43783-laws-target-shooting-near-house-property.html

I do not think there is a law that specifies how far off the road you have to be. Other forums mention 20 feet is the rule of thumb as that is the distance for right of way.

I do not think you will get a copy of the law that talks about it and if you contact your local CO, they will likely give you what they think is acceptable.

I have seen videos of guys shooting deer from a hot tub which was on their back deck of their house.

I am pretty sure that Maine has a law about it as I have seen on a show on one of the cable channels where the COs set up on the side of a road to see if people try to shoot turkeys or grouse and one person was ok because they walked whatever the legal distance was to shoot a grouse and she did not get in trouble.

If it is a heavily traveled road, it could be a dangerous situation and even may get local police called out if people driving by can see you in your blaze orange during the season.

Good luck

 

[bocefus78]

I 2nd the above. I don't think there is a law. One of my stands is close enough to the neighbors house that I can get their WiFi on my phone. They want the deer off their property, so they don't mind me there one bit.

 

[AGarbers]

Years ago I read somewhere that under 100 yards from an occupied dwelling you had to have permission from the homeowner, but I can't find anything to back that up.

 

[Leadeye]

Posts like these make me feel thankful that I can shoot deer from my windows.

 

[eldirector]

No State law that I am aware of. Different counties may have different ordinances. Though, they may have largely been invalidated a few years ago w/ the preemption IC.

Noise ordinances will still apply.

 

[Chase515]

County officer showed up this afternoon while I was shooting with my sons t ball coach. He stated someone called in about gun shots! I was standing next to my jeep with the hatch open and it was full of fun. Two ar-15s, a 243, a 300 win mag, a bag full of ar mags, a couple of muzzle loaders. He asked if we had permission to be on the property, yep! Asked if we had a safe back stop? Targets were in front of a giant berm 100 yards out. I asked the officer if he had any fun toys we could shoot? Any thing full auto and he said no. I was disappointed as all internet cops carry full auto m16's. Oh well, we were 30 feet off the road shootin when the cop showed up. The high school resource officer did a good job today following up on a man with a gun call out side of city limits on a weekend!!

 

[Mgderf]

I have had permission, and have hunted the same SMALL property for the past 10+ years.
My stand is situated near the top of a hill, and I'm close enough that I can hear alarm clocks going off inside the house behind me.
The hill in front of my stand is about a 60 degree angle downhill, and the entire hillside is less than 75 yards from top to bottom. At the bottom of the hill is a busy, 2-lane county road.
I routinely see joggers, bike-riders, dog-walkers... while in my stand. I'm close enough to the road that I can almost always hear the joggers footsteps before I see them.

I've taken as many as 4 deer in one season on this same property year after year. I was only shut-out (no deer) one season, but my brother took 2 on the same property that year.

No-one has ever complained, that I know of.

Just be safe.