M ROBSON Posted August 26, 2011 Report Share Posted August 26, 2011 (edited) Here in Scotland the law is a bit different, there is no 50 foot rule, you can shoot right at the side of a road or footpath. In any case the public can walk where they want in Scotland, not just on footpaths, so you have to be careful even if in the middle of nowhere!! You can be charged with "reckless discharge" and in the case of these two idiots "reckless endangerment". If one of these pigeons had fallen on a passing cars windscreen and cause an accident then these guys would have had the book thrown at them!! Mark. Edited August 26, 2011 by M ROBSON Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrispti Posted August 26, 2011 Report Share Posted August 26, 2011 For what it's worth I don't think what the law says about the exact distance from the centre of the highway is of any great relevance to this issue. Anyone setting up to shoot within 30ft of a bus shelter and the other side of a 3ft wide hedge from a payment is not only as thick as **** but risks a visit from, in no particular order, an armed response team, the environmental health department and/or the HSE regarding exposure to noise, a flurry of lawyers as sooner or later one of those shot birds will cause a road traffic accident and as the shooter has a duty of care not to drop shot birds where they may cause harm or distress he/she/they will find they are deeply in debt. I doubt that even if they were insured that the insurer would pay up citing "Gross Stupidity" as the reason for rejecting the claim If this account is true I really can't believe that anyone would be so inconsiderately stupid. To be honest if I walked past that set-up and someone fired a shot I would phone the Police, what they were doing may or may not be strictly legal but it's about time gross stupidity became a crime. As for the poster who said They were within the law by the sound of it and were probably experienced. I bet you haven't always lived up to your ideals. I find there are a lot of people on this forum who just want to let us know how perfect they are and how reckless others are. Just enjoy your sport and stop busybodying about others. That act of stupidity could cost you your permission, the negative publicity that this would create will lead to Farmers thinking that why have the hassle of allowing pigeon shooting on their land, I'll buy a couple of gas guns instead. Unbelievable Mr Potter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROWBLIND Posted August 26, 2011 Report Share Posted August 26, 2011 Personally i think its a bit thoughtless to set up so close to footpath,road and bus stop given that its a busy area with regular traffic and pedestrians. Also does the shooting community no favours really. Just asking for trouble even though maybe not breaking the law they were being very inconsiderate for people in close proximity who probably didnt even know they were their until the bang of the gun.A bit of common sense should have been applied here me thinks CB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jez28 Posted August 28, 2011 Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 Interesting...... Just for info, It IS an offence to discharge a firearm within 50ft of a highway. The highway includes the footpath and the grass verge to the edge of the hedge. There is also an offence of causing a danger to roadusers, this can be a number of different things, but getting things (birds) to drop onto the road would fall into this. Anyone who shoots like the two people mentioned risk losing there licence and having shotguns confiscated. Bad advert to decent people doing there bit for the farmers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody swacker Posted August 28, 2011 Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 The first paragraph is a little loose in it's explanation, but I wouldn't want to risk the local police tapping me on the shoulder. you are right mpk,you would think nobody in there right mind would be happy to shoot that close to a road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitch66 Posted August 28, 2011 Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 50 FEET or not common sense should prevail & this is clearly inconsiderate & just asking for complaints, why make life difficult for yourself !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenBhoy Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 as has been said, the law is immaterial. imagine driving along and a bird drops right in front. the majority of us would brake or even swerve, simply from the shock of it all, with the potential for awful consequence all in the interest of 'crop protection'!? the actions of those two are completely reckless and ignorant of anyone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason airarms tx Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 as has been said, the law is immaterial. imagine driving along and a bird drops right in front. the majority of us would brake or even swerve, simply from the shock of it all, with the potential for awful consequence all in the interest of 'crop protection'!? the actions of those two are completely reckless and ignorant of anyone else. so very true mate,people like them should have certs removed,complete morons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kes Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 I'm interested in the 50ft rule and have heard many different interpretations but one here I think is incorrect. In absolute terms, you CANNOT shoot on or from a highway, as, by definition, a highway is a public place and to have a loaded gun/firearm in a public place is an offence and quite serious. So, maybe custom and practice has changed perceptions, you can shoot within 50ft of the centre of a highway if you do not cause annoyance/disturbance etc but you may NOT have a loaded gun within the curtiledge of a highway without police permission and potentially their supervision. Otherwise why do we slip our guns/rifles when crossing a road? A quiet road is still a highway and a public place, so dont treat custom and practice as though it were the letter of the law. We all need to be aware of this but if I am wrong then please someone, post the correct interpretation of the Law, if it differs from the above otherwise we risk both our reputation and our tickets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M ROBSON Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 Kes, Our law is different in Scotland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted August 31, 2011 Report Share Posted August 31, 2011 Personally I`m not happy unless the hide is at least 100 yards away from any footpath etc, even then I make sure the set up stops me from shooting anywhere near/towards paths or houses etc. Having said that there are times when you`ve no choice other than not shooting the field in question. Whenever this happens I make a point of knocking on doors and telling people what`s happening or leaving a note if they`re not in. I picked up a new permission this way not that long ago . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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