Shooting and property lines

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   / Shooting and property lines #1  

OkeeDon

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Since I have established myself as a non-gun person, I now need to turn to the gun experts for advice. The family who bought the property next to my future home in Okeechobee have been shooting, and I think they're doing it wrong.

I know there was at least one extensive thread on this subject a few months ago, but I couldn't think of the right search words to find it. If anyone remembers, I'd like a pointer to that thread.

Here's the situation. My property is 5 acres, long (780') and narrow (280'). The property next door is 2.5 acres, long (we share the 780' property line), and half as wide (140'). They are to my South; to my North is a state highway. The property to my West is my daughter and son-in-law with two dogs and two small children (1 and 3 years old).

In this satellite photo, taken in 1999, my property and my neighhbor's property have been extensively cleared since the photo was taken (my neighbor's property was clear cut). When they were shooting, they were standing at the base of the red arrow, shooting in the indicted direction. They set up a 5 gallon pail and placed bottles, etc. on it, at the head of the red arrow. There is nothing between their property and mine except field fence, and all of the land is flat. They were shooting rifles, pistols, and bow & arrows.

aerial3.jpg


On my daughter's property, the building closest to my property is their garage and the house is to the West. The garage is about 20' from the property line; the house is about 100', perhaps 140' from the "target" they set up.

The state highway is a major East-West route (State Road 70) with a good deal of traffic.

The owners recently purchased the property and live out of town. I don't know their names as the sale hasn't been posted to the public records, yet. I have not seen them; the reports of the shooting (two different days) were from my daughter, who was fearful of confronting them. She hustled the kids inside and stayed there while they were active.

I am willing to speak to them in a neighborly manner before taking any other action, if I see them on the property. I'm not there all the time. But, I want to be sure of my facts before I speak to them. I'd appreciate any advice, comments, rules, laws, etc., or references to look them up.
 
   / Shooting and property lines #2  
Maybee you should consider selling and moveing into a sub division of Like minded folks. Special interest Sub divisions seem like the new thing at the moment. The only laws regarding this other than your local ordinances will be how far they can shoot from a building. Typically 50'. This is from where they are standing not where you think the bullets might travel. This is still a bit nuts.
 
   / Shooting and property lines #3  
In Maryland.. the DNR website states the following..

IT IS UNLAWFUL TO:
Hunt or shoot at wildlife within 150 yards of an occupied structure or camp without permission of the owner or occupant.

Though it doesn't mention target shooting.. the rules should be similiar.. though I've heard that you need a permit in some places to target shoot.

Check out Florida's DNR website.. might give you info on who you could call.
 
   / Shooting and property lines #4  
<font color="blue"> Maybee you should consider selling and moveing into a sub division of other anti gun owners. Special interest Sub divisions seem like the new thing at the moment. </font>
Dave, hopefully you didn't mean this as harsh as it sounds.

I am more than willing to be corrected, but these people are apparently shooting a rifle towards a major highway that they are only 420 feet (their 140 feet and Okeedon's 280 feet) from. No embankment, no backstop, nothing between the muzzle of their rifle and a car on the highway except the bottle they are shooting at. Help me understand why this is OK.
 
   / Shooting and property lines #5  
around here we would call them snipers!!!!!!!
 
   / Shooting and property lines #6  
In NY they can't discharge a firearm within 500 feet of a building. I did a quick search and didn't find anything restricting their use of firearms on their property in Florida.

Common sense should prevail here.....what they are doing is just STUPID!

You could get a gun and start shooting back /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Kevin

This looks like a good reason to buy that property.
 
   / Shooting and property lines #8  
<font color="blue"> around here we would call them snipers!!!!!!! </font>
That's probably what they'd call them around Columbus, OH, too! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
   / Shooting and property lines #9  
I had missed this new regulation taxing gun sales ......... read about it here.
 
   / Shooting and property lines #10  
Don

In Massachusetts you cannot shoot within 500 feet of a dwelling, which seems sensible to me. I will say that I don't know what the law is in Florida, but there is probably a web site. My personal feelings is that activity is unsafe and unreasonable. I would never target shoot unless there was a safe backstop.

RonL
 
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