Guest Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 One of my permissions is essentially a large valley, with a country road going along the bottom of it. Shooting across the valley isn't an option for me anyway, but it got me wondering as I looked across the valley one day. Clearly shooting across a road on flat ground is pretty daft, but what's the thinking if shooting from the top of one side to the other and the bullet is flying significantly high (about 100ft) over the road? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbiep Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 For an airgun, I believe it would be armed trespass, as you must not let the pellet leave the boundaries of the land where you have permission to shoot. I've often wondered about the law on this in regards to rifles too, but haven't seen anything definitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 It's a legal quandary. I know the obvious answer. But I wouldn't be surprised if there is some provision for this as there is nothing unsafe. It's just a road in the bottom of a valley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbiep Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 As you say. I also shoot on a piece of similar land, where a direct line of sight across from one side of the hill to the other is 150-200 metres. It's in the middle of nowhere. It's clear open hillsides, so no issues over spotting a car / horse / cyclist / walker, etc. Down in the (very steep) valley between is a road, (still entirely within eyesight) and the road is 60-100 feet below the line of a theoretical bullet path. So is this one of those cases where an 'open' ticket and consent to shoot on both sides would suffice (judgement as to a safe shot) or is it an absolute offence, as it would be with an airgun pellet ? The only thing I've ever seen on the matter concluded that allowing a bullet to leave your property MIGHT be 'constructive trepass'. However, if the bullet zipped 50 feet over the top of said road, and then fragmented inside a fox on the far side, there might not be anything to actually prove an offence took place. The phrase "can of worms" comes to mind ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjimmer Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 If the land that the road is on was not bought recently to build the road, ownership of the adjoining land is the centre of the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 From my understanding of the law, any projectile regardless of calibre or firearm Air rifle rim fire, or centre fire, if the bullet pellet goes out of your boundary then its classed as on offence. Your boundary goes up into the stratosphere (kind of, obviously within reason) not over someone else's boundary and back into yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 The only thing I've ever seen on the matter concluded that allowing a bullet to leave your property MIGHT be 'constructive trepass'. However, if the bullet zipped 50 feet over the top of said road, and then fragmented inside a fox on the far side, there might not be anything to actually prove an offence took place. Good point. The police round here unfortunately seem more interested in easy collars like catching people on their phones while driving to bother with things in the rural community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 From my understanding of the law, any projectile regardless of calibre or firearm Air rifle rim fire, or centre fire, if the bullet pellet goes out of your boundary then its classed as on offence. Your boundary goes up into the stratosphere (kind of, obviously within reason) not over someone else's boundary and back into yours. Landowners, be they farmers. council or the highways agency do not own the higher stratum air space above their propery and therefore there would be no trespass if one was to fire across a road when one has the right to shoot on both sides of it. The higher stratum is considered to be above 500 feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wymondley Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 On just about every rural road the highway authority only own the top two "spits" of land on which to place the road, the subsoil is still owned by whoever owns the land either side. Whoever owns the subsoil also owns the space above. If you have permission for both sides of the road and common sense tells you it's a safe shot, crack on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
14Supersport04 Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 I don't know the exact laws but i have seen people firing shotguns over roads many times both when clay and game shooting, on all of these occasions 5s have been the largest shot size used so they die out after a hundred metres or so. I know its different with rifles but if it is legal and there is nobody on the road i would take the shot. Atb, supersport Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 If there is no one on the road, no one is going to complain. Who is going to know that it occurred or prove that the odd shot happened ? It would be a bit different if you were out there every weekend blasting away at targets across the valley and shooting over the heads of road users. no one is going to know that you are even there unless you start waving a flag about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.