Air Pistol Garden use

[amg_1969]

Hi, just a quick query, I have a SGC and would like to use low powered air pistol for target use in our garden. Garden is 300ft long and would be used at the very end which must be 200ft from the nearest house. Garedn is about 20ft wide but very long, would you ask neighbours for any objections before using it? My head says yes, but both neighbours are very friendly with us.

 

Regards

 

Andrew

[Erik Hamburger]

You are perfectly within your right to do some target sooting in your own garden, providing the pellets never leave your boundary, which you can ensure by having a suitable backstop and by safe gun handling.

 

However, instead of asking your neigbours for "permission" to shoot in your own garden, I would TELL them that you do some target shooting in your garden, that it is safe and legal, that you make sure there is a proper backstop, and that they shouldn't be unduely worried if they happen to spot you with a pistol!

You will find most guys (and girls!) quite like a bit of plinking, or if they have teenage kids you could invite them with their dad for an hour shooting in your garden, most kids love that! Nothing works as well as a bit of diplomacy and tact. (*)

 

Have fun.

 

** PS Unless it involves your wife of course

[Millsy]

You are perfectly within your right to do some target sooting in your own garden, providing the pellets never leave your boundary, which you can ensure by having a suitable backstop and by safe gun handling.

 

However, instead of asking your neigbours for "permission" to shoot in your own garden, I would TELL them that you do some target shooting in your garden, that it is safe and legal, that you make sure there is a proper backstop, and that they shouldn't be unduely worried if they happen to spot you with a pistol!

You will find most guys (and girls!) quite like a bit of plinking, or if they have teenage kids you could invite them with their dad for an hour shooting in your garden, most kids love that! Nothing works as well as a bit of diplomacy and tact. (*)

 

Have fun.

 

** PS Unless it involves your wife of course

 

Couldn`t have been put better, (including the wife bit)

[Biffo1262]

A 300 ft garden!!!! You lucky beggar Seriously as said above just tell them that you WILL be shooting and assure them that you have taken all the safety precautions but as token of goodwill should your shooting cause any minor annoyance whilst they are sat out enjoying their garden you would desist till another time. I wish MY neighbours would do the same with their ghetto blasters though - very frustrating .

[Axe]

From a legal point of view, you will be outside of the 50ft rule and entitled to do so as long as the pellets don't leave your boundary. From an etiquette point of view, I would ask them if the have any reservations about this before committing.

[Biffo1262]

Just to elabrate on the 50ft rule. This doesn't PREVENT you from shooting within 50ft of the centreline of the highway - It is also against the law, in England and Wales, to fire an air rifle within 50 feet of the centre of a highway if this results in someone being injured, interrupted or endangered. These offences could be committed, for example, when someone is shooting in their garden close to a road and the pellets ricochet onto the highway.

 

You would be well adivised to visit the BASC website for wealth of advice and information -

 

BASC Air Rifle Practice & Guidance

 

Safe shooting mate and have fun.

[Evilv]

Just to elabrate on the 50ft rule. This doesn't PREVENT you from shooting within 50ft of the centreline of the highway - It is also against the law, in England and Wales, to fire an air rifle within 50 feet of the centre of a highway if this results in someone being injured, interrupted or endangered. These offences could be committed, for example, when someone is shooting in their garden close to a road and the pellets ricochet onto the highway.

 

You would be well adivised to visit the BASC website for wealth of advice and information -

 

BASC Air Rifle Practice & Guidance

 

Safe shooting mate and have fun.

 

Absolutely right, and well said.

 

The fifty foot rule only applies to causing danger, interruption, or injury.

 

 

There is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON WHY YOU SHOULD ASK FOR OBJECTIONS OR PERMISSION.

 

YOU ARE ENTITLED to do this. You don't need to ask their permission to have sex either, so why this?

 

In my opinion it is a big mistake to imply that they can object or interfere in any way with your lawful pursuits.

 

Clearly, you will take responsible precautions to avoid missiles straying over the boundary. I used to and still occasionally shoot an air rifle in my much smaller garden. I set up screens so that I could not inadvertently discharge a pellet in an unwanted direction, and I shoot into a place where there can be no ricochets or penetration outside my garden.

 

Asking for permission or comment invites them to say no and it also implies that if they do object, you will reconsider your exercise of your right to enjoy your property in any lawful way you like.

Edited July 15, 2008 by Evilv

[bob300w]

Just to elabrate on the 50ft rule. This doesn't PREVENT you from shooting within 50ft of the centreline of the highway - It is also against the law, in England and Wales, to fire an air rifle within 50 feet of the centre of a highway if this results in someone being injured, interrupted or endangered. These offences could be committed, for example, when someone is shooting in their garden close to a road and the pellets ricochet onto the highway.

 

You would be well adivised to visit the BASC website for wealth of advice and information -

 

BASC Air Rifle Practice & Guidance

 

Safe shooting mate and have fun.

 

Absolutely right, and well said.

 

The fifty foot rule only applies to causing danger, interruption, or injury.

 

 

There is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON WHY YOU SHOULD ASK FOR OBJECTIONS OR PERMISSION.

 

YOU ARE ENTITLED to do this. You don't need to ask their permission to have sex either, so why this?

 

In my opinion it is a big mistake to imply that they can object or interfere in any way with your lawful pursuits.

 

Clearly, you will take responsible precautions to avoid missiles straying over the boundary. I used to and still occasionally shoot an air rifle in my much smaller garden. I set up screens so that I could not inadvertently discharge a pellet in an unwanted direction, and I shoot into a place where there can be no ricochets or penetration outside my garden.

 

Asking for permission or comment invites them to say no and it also implies that if they do object, you will reconsider your exercise of your right to enjoy your property in any lawful way you like.

Not the most tactful way to get on with your neighbours, and interruption can be perceived it does not have to be actual interruption, I suggest that you do a search, this subject was done to death with BASC acouple of weeks ago.

Edited July 15, 2008 by bob300w

[Evilv]

I don't envisage any lack of tact at all. Nobody is advocating brandishing a gun in a careless or menacing manner, just a guy quietly enjoying his garden in a lawful fashion without having to doff his cap at the locals or invite them to object to his safe, quiet and proper enjoyment of his property. Soon we will be asking if its ok to smoke in our gardens - not that I smoke, or approve of it, but my neighbour does and that's his business.

 

It would be wise to use a soft backstop like a bin full of old newspapers and card board. Then there won't be a lot of racket. Carpet is also quiet.

 

Andrew, the thread starter has a massive garden and can surely get on with his careful shooting in a way that his neighbours won't even know. Thinking about it, he might even be able to set up a hundred yard range and shoot out from inside his house - wouldn't that be a fine thing? Shooting from inside the house or from a shed is also a possibility as far as keeping the noise down is concerned, as long as you take precautions to avoid some poor family member coming into the wrong place while you are at it.

 

NB - I wouldn't recommend shooting at all unless I had at least a six foot high fence of solid construction to screen both noise, and oversight. It might also be of great assistance in the unfortunate event of a ricochet which above all else he would need to think about and design ways to prevent from happening. My target area is twelve feet inside a three sided brick box whose lowest side is ten feet high

 

Also - no shooting after beer.

 

 

 

 

On the fifty foot thing and 'interruption'.

 

I never shoot within fifty feet of a highway or a footpath, but I'm normally shooting high velocity .22 rimfire or a shotgun. I don't even like shooting in the same field as a footpath which goes along the banks of the River Tyne on one of my shoots. I always wait in that field if there is anybody within four hundred yards, until they are out of the way. However, in the context of the discussion here, Andrew has no need to worry at all. But take the example of a guy with a backyard and ten foot high brick walls. If there is a lane passing within twenty five feet of his firing position is he prevented from firing off his air pistol? Certainly not. No sane person could be distressed by it or interrupted, endangered or injured. As in all offenses, the individual's state of mind who claims he is a victim must be reasonable. Firing a shotgun in a backyard would not be a reasonable thing to do, even if the owner discharged it into a barrel of wet sand. That could easily and quite properly cause an interruption and a good degree of fright in any individual who was passing down the lane; an air pistol or air rifle could not. The clause we are debating here was really framed with proper firearms in mind - ones that make a lot of noise, like shot guns.

 

If we keep pussyfooting around like some of us do with a lot of hand wringing and bowing and scraping, soon the game of darts will be called into question as an unpleasant, dangerous, war-like and wholly unnecessary pursuit that should be banned from any place the public has access to. The logic of British law on these matters since the nineteen thirties leads there, be sure of it.

Edited July 15, 2008 by Evilv

[Biffo1262]

It may well be legal, it may well be his right, BUT the laws regarding nuisance apply to airguns as well as everything else. If a neighbour can demonstrate that another neighbour is affecting the pursuance of his enjoying his amenity then that is nuisance. I state this merely to demonstrate that it ISN'T all about the gun laws. If the neighbour has been approached and has shown tolerance or agreement at that time he can hardly claim nuisance at any further time unless there has been a radical change in the pattern of his shooting i.e. he invites his mates round and they shoot all day Sunday from 9am till 9pm with all the attendant noise that goes with it. It is all about what is being reasonable in the circumstances and not forcing confrontation because he perceives it is his RIGHT.

[Evilv]

I didn't advocate creating a nuisance. Nobody has the right to do that in any case. I did however advocate not inviting someone to deny you the right to pursue a lawful activity in a reasonable manner by as good as asking their permission. Being reasonable doesn't require you to ask the permission of the neighbours before you do something you are entitled to do and can accomplish without inconvenience or nuisance to them.

 

Of course any claim of nuisance would be subject to the test of reasonableness. It would certainly be reasonable to object to the carrying on of shooting for a period of twelve hours at a stretch in a suburban garden. It would also be incredibly tedious for the shooters and is therefore very unlikely to be going on so it isn't a great example. I expect that Andrew may envisage the odd half hour of shooting in his very large garden. For myself, I occasionally discharge ten or twenty .22 pellets from a springer air rifle into a brick cul-de-sac in a twenty metre garden.

[bob300w]

I didn't advocate creating a nuisance. Nobody has the right to do that in any case. I did however advocate not inviting someone to deny you the right to pursue a lawful activity in a reasonable manner by as good as asking their permission. Being reasonable doesn't require you to ask the permission of the neighbours before you do something you are entitled to do and can accomplish without inconvenience or nuisance to them.

 

Of course any claim of nuisance would be subject to the test of reasonableness. It would certainly be reasonable to object to the carrying on of shooting for a period of twelve hours at a stretch in a suburban garden. It would also be incredibly tedious for the shooters and is therefore very unlikely to be going on so it isn't a great example. I expect that Andrew may envisage the odd half hour of shooting in his very large garden. For myself, I occasionally discharge ten or twenty .22 pellets from a springer air rifle into a brick cul-de-sac in a twenty metre garden.

I agree with you on many points, but the issue here is whether or not he should inform his neighbours, as he gets on with them it should be no problem, and surely it is better to just tell your neighbour, rather than have a armed response team turn up on your doorstep? Also you refer to 'reasonable' do you believe that an anti seeing you shooting in your garden would be 'reasonable' when he called the police? Surely it is not such an infringement of your civil liberties, as you appear to see it, to tell your neighbour that you will be using an air pistol in your garden on the odd occasion?

[Evilv]

...

Edited July 15, 2008 by Evilv

[staglioni]

My garden is about 15 foot square its on a private road and 75 foot away from the main road wich is like a lane.

I am pestered with ferals crapping outside my front door and i have a 5 year old boy that like any other child likes to play in his garden.I am bored of shooting these things now but law or not they have ro go

[amg_1969]

I don't envisage any lack of tact at all. Nobody is advocating brandishing a gun in a careless or menacing manner, just a guy quietly enjoying his garden in a lawful fashion without having to doff his cap at the locals or invite them to object to his safe, quiet and proper enjoyment of his property. Soon we will be asking if its ok to smoke in our gardens - not that I smoke, or approve of it, but my neighbour does and that's his business.

 

It would be wise to use a soft backstop like a bin full of old newspapers and card board. Then there won't be a lot of racket. Carpet is also quiet.

 

Andrew, the thread starter has a massive garden and can surely get on with his careful shooting in a way that his neighbours won't even know. Thinking about it, he might even be able to set up a hundred yard range and shoot out from inside his house - wouldn't that be a fine thing? Shooting from inside the house or from a shed is also a possibility as far as keeping the noise down is concerned, as long as you take precautions to avoid some poor family member coming into the wrong place while you are at it.

 

NB - I wouldn't recommend shooting at all unless I had at least a six foot high fence of solid construction to screen both noise, and oversight. It might also be of great assistance in the unfortunate event of a ricochet which above all else he would need to think about and design ways to prevent from happening. My target area is twelve feet inside a three sided brick box whose lowest side is ten feet high

 

Also - no shooting after beer.

 

 

 

 

On the fifty foot thing and 'interruption'.

 

I never shoot within fifty feet of a highway or a footpath, but I'm normally shooting high velocity .22 rimfire or a shotgun. I don't even like shooting in the same field as a footpath which goes along the banks of the River Tyne on one of my shoots. I always wait in that field if there is anybody within four hundred yards, until they are out of the way. However, in the context of the discussion here, Andrew has no need to worry at all. But take the example of a guy with a backyard and ten foot high brick walls. If there is a lane passing within twenty five feet of his firing position is he prevented from firing off his air pistol? Certainly not. No sane person could be distressed by it or interrupted, endangered or injured. As in all offenses, the individual's state of mind who claims he is a victim must be reasonable. Firing a shotgun in a backyard would not be a reasonable thing to do, even if the owner discharged it into a barrel of wet sand. That could easily and quite properly cause an interruption and a good degree of fright in any individual who was passing down the lane; an air pistol or air rifle could not. The clause we are debating here was really framed with proper firearms in mind - ones that make a lot of noise, like shot guns.

 

If we keep pussyfooting around like some of us do with a lot of hand wringing and bowing and scraping, soon the game of darts will be called into question as an unpleasant, dangerous, war-like and wholly unnecessary pursuit that should be banned from any place the public has access to. The logic of British law on these matters since the nineteen thirties leads there, be sure of it.

 

Just to be safe I did ask both neighbours and neither had any fears or objections, so my 6 year old daughter and I had some great fun shooting crow and rabbit targets. The 100 yd range sounds interesting may have to give that a go lol

 

Thanks for all your replys

 

Andrew

 

 

Image of garden it goes back past the big tall trees