Psyxologos Posted December 26, 2008 Report Share Posted December 26, 2008 Hallo everyone and season's greetings. My wife and I are looking to buy a home soon and I just wanted to ask a couple of questions my fellow pigeon watchers We are thinking of buying a home that comes with a bit of land. Now, is there a minimum area I need to own before I can shoot pigeons/crown/rabbits in it? I have tried a search here and in BASC but was unable to find anything relevant. I just need to know what is the minimum legal requirement. Anyone has an idea? Much appreciated. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted December 26, 2008 Report Share Posted December 26, 2008 I think that would all depend on what type of firearms your thinking of using and the lay of the land If the land was like a ski slope hill then most firearms would be safe alsong as it was big enough because it has a safe backstop lol, Although your FEO may be very skeptical if its your back yard hahaha. If your talking air rifle I often used my air rifle in my back yard. Just be aware that if any pellets leave your land then that is illegal. If they dont leave (Backstop of some sort) then your fine!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psyxologos Posted December 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2008 Sorry, I should have made this more clear. At the moment I own a shotgun, that is it. If I get enough funds for a property that includes land big enough for a firearm then I can have a rethink. But at the moment I just need to know what would be an approximate land size so I can shoot my shotgun in. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted December 26, 2008 Report Share Posted December 26, 2008 There would be an obvious noise/nuisance issue with any neighbours, but it depends how remote you will be living. You are also not permitted to discharge a shotgun within 50ft of a public right of way, if doing so could cause distress. The issue of the shot leaving your boundary could arise and I think the average distance on a standard 12 bore load is about 200 yards. I live a bit out of the way and have discharged my shotgun in my garden a few times. There are no neighbours close enough to complain and as I have permission to shoot over all adjoining land, the "shot leaving my boundary" issue doesn't arise. This sounds like a question that is best answered using a lot of commonsense. Find the largest remote plot of land as you can and buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psyxologos Posted December 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2008 Thanks very much for that Cranfield. That sounds like a very decent advice! Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
POW! Posted December 27, 2008 Report Share Posted December 27, 2008 Good luck with your search , Even if you dont shoot on it , its nice to have a bit of space , A small "plinking range" is a pleasant start ! . POW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted December 27, 2008 Report Share Posted December 27, 2008 If you had a nice ISOLATED house maybe backing onto some farmers fields then you could prob being the new neighbour who brings round a nice bottle of spirits get permission to shoot off your house / onto the fields lol. Good luck with the house hunt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psyxologos Posted December 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2008 Thanks a lot for your input guys. From what I have read I realize why I could not find any information in my search: There seems to be little 'concrete' information on the issue. Rather, a healthy amount of common sense will suffice. thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayman Posted December 27, 2008 Report Share Posted December 27, 2008 (edited) You will need an absolute minimum of 5 acres just to contain the clay fallout, and really need 10-15 acres of you want complete control over the shot fallout plus be able to use a reasonable variety of target angles. One of the questions will be your planning status. If the area on which you want to stand to shoot is agricultural, and its clays not game you are shooting, this is not itself an agricultural use and you are limited to the deemed planning under the General Development Order 1964. This says agricultural land may be used for other purposes 28 days in the year - this is the reason many Hay Bale shoots operate every second week. If your combined use for non-agricultural usage adds up to more than 28 days in an annual period, you need separate planning. If the land is NOT agricultural - you don't have ANY default planning for clay shooting. You might try arguing its personal recreational to shoot on your domestic land, but the planning officer will just refer the matter to the Environmental Health Office, and they will drop the noise brick on you. The noise limitation is controlled by general nuisance laws, but EHO guidelines are that you need to be under 60dB fast A weighted at the nearest places of public access or habitation. In real terms this means you need at least 1/2 mile in front of shooting, and 1/4 mile behind unless you use low noise cartridges or put in sound barriers, ie strawbale hides etc. Topography and bunding can help control noise. Shot fall out rights are needed over 250m in the arc of fire for a std 28g no 8 clay load. ( 275m if you use 7s or heavier shot). Still wind send no 8 clay shot just short of 200m, but with wind it can drift up to another 40m or so. To control the safety zone you need to either own the land, or have the written consent to both fall out there AND exclude other users. Don't forget to get insured before you shoot, for you and guests. Don't forget to understand the section 11(5) and section 11(6) exemptions to licensing so you dont fall foul of the law if the shooters are not all SGC holders. As noted by Cranfield, its illegal to discharge a fire-arm within 50 ft of the center of a public highway in such a way as to cause alarm or distress. Designed to stop you shying horses and alarming doggy walkers etc. The CPSA Safety booklet downloadable for free from their website covers all this in detail. www.cpsa.co.uk Edited December 27, 2008 by clayman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newsportshooter Posted December 27, 2008 Report Share Posted December 27, 2008 I thought he was talking about shooting live quarry on his land not clays.... I would say - you can ask as many people on here for their opinion but the only person that really (in this senario) matters is the local firearms licencing officer for the area you are looking to purchase in. Phone them and have a chat, get whatever they suggest in writing (email or letter) and go from there. Obviously there are regulations on shooting quarry and you may wish to look at them before commiting - howver I doubt that your land purchase will be sole based on the ability to shoot quarry (purely based on the fact that you have stated My wife and I.....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psyxologos Posted December 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2008 Thanks again. Newsportshooter had it right. Live quarry (pigeons etc) is my main interest. That means that there will not be a sustained barrage of shots every day, maybe shoot once or twice a month when I get the time to set my hide up etc. Maybe shoot a couple of plastic bottles once in a while, but that is it. I undestand the shot fall out rights etc, so obviously I need to make sure that the land is large enough to guarantee the space needed. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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