Shooting on ones property

[Bizkitjmd1]

So I have a friend who has a piece of property that he wants to shoot on. One is 10 acres in Redding and the other is 15 acres in Danbury. Does anyone out there know or point me in the right direction of what is required to shoot on private property.

The last time a talked to a cop about it he said that the State requires minimum of 5 acres and you need to be at least 500 feet from the property line and any dwelling.

The last Google search I did resulted in not much help, I am computer retarted. Links would be great.

Thanks

 

[ACB84]

Go to the local police station for that town and ask. They might have specific ordinances for discharging a firearm on ones property

 

[tmitney]

Conn. Statute:

Sec. 53-203. Unlawful discharge of firearms. Any person who intentionally, negligently or carelessly discharges any firearm in such a manner as to be likely to cause bodily injury or death to persons or domestic animals, or the wanton destruction of property shall be fined not more than two hundred fifty dollars or imprisoned not more than three months or both.

Maybe the DEP can help further, but I suspect many of the regulations about acreage ( if any) MAY pertain to "shooting ranges", not recreational shooting on private property.

 

[dcmdon]

Bizkit,

I'll get you a citation later, but in addition to tmnittty's citation there is a requrement that you be

500 ft from any dwelling containing people, livestock, or hazardous matereals.

What does this mean? It means that if you have a 1/4 acre lot, but are surrounded by farmland you can shoot legally.

There is no land requirement to shoot. It is all about safety (as cited in tmnitty's post) and distance to structures.

It doesn't matter if the majority of the distance is achieved by your land or the other person's land.

Conversely, even if you are shooting more than 500 ft from a structure containing people or livestock, but you are directing the fire in a dangerous way (like towards the structure) you are breaking the law.

So it comes down to a simple rule. Use a backstop and know what lies beyond it, and be 500 ft or more from any building. (because you really don't know if its inhabited at that moment, treat every building as being inhabited)

Don

 

[dcmdon]

Also, be aware of the difference between hunting and shooting. If you want to hunt on private property with a rifle, you need 10 acres. For shooting, the above statutes apply.

Don