Shooting Airgun in residential neighbourhood

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In reading most of this thread i get the idea that most do not care about the laws and try to sneak around them .
I also did the same thing when i lived in that situation , but if an officer sees you or hears you you could be in a hassle at the least or big $$ trouble
It is up to you to decide .
 
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Obeying the law is what I hope we all do. We risk harsher regulation if we do not.

Sound decreases by 3db every time the distance from the source doubles. Moderators on my guns keep them below 90db with at least one below 80 db. That is at 1 meter. So if we start out at 90 db, at 2 meters it's 87, at 4: 84db, 8:81, 16:78: 32:75: 64:72db: 128: 69. Normal conversation is about 60db. I can hear my neighbors two houses away or around 75 meters away. In that distance the 60db conversation to a bit over 40 but it's so quiet around here I can still hear them. The neighbor that asked if I was using a nailgun or something was 3 houses away. I think she was over 100 meters away. But my airgun may have still been nearly 70 db. So our neighbors know we are shooting if they go outside.
 
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Like everyone else has said, check your local regulations. I would not recommend shooting in your backyard in the conditions you mentioned.

If you really want to shoot at home, I suggest a different platform. Have you considered a low powered pistol for shooting inside?

I suggest getting a P17 and some 7 grain wadcutters to dip your toes in the pistol waters. The P17 has a damn good trigger for the cost and only takes a little practice to get proficient with it.

I started with the P17 and have several more pistols now. They are fun to shoot indoors and out and can be effective out to 20 yards.

A box full of old clothes and a few clips will get you a ricochet free shooting setup.
 
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elh0102 said:
My guess is no, not legal, but check the local regs. My situation is similar, and air rifles are now considered same as firearms. I think this will be universal soon. And from a practical, public safety perspective, given the increasing demand for air power, it probably makes sense. That said, I shoot routinely in the yard and have had no issues. The important factor is your neighbors. It is unlikely that law enforcement will ever be involved, unless a complaint is lodged. I talked to my neighbors, not knowing it was illegal at the time, and they are fine with it.
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Same situation here in St Tamanny Parish Louisiana. They put pellet and BB guns under firearm regulation. You have to be 1000 feet from a state road, and 200 feet i think it was from the nearest residence.
 
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ocdairgunner said:
So if one were to pick a place with the most relaxed laws, where would one purchase such land/property?
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The place with the most relaxed laws means the place with the least amount of vanity driven egos which means Love County Texas with a permanent population of only 64 Americans.
 
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elh0102 said:
Are you really willing to rely on an internet forum for this advice? I assume that your prospective locations for purchase are not unlimited. Check the local regs.
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Why not ask on a forum where people shoot AGs on their property most likely. Not asking for legal advice but wondering what people’s experience is shooting where they shoot.
 
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ocdairgunner said:
Why not ask on a forum where people shoot AGs on their property most likely. Not asking for legal advice but wondering what people’s experience is shooting where they shoot.
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Actually he did specify ask for legal advice.

parksrw44 said:
Is it legal to shoot at .25 grain PCP air rifle in my neighbourhood?
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Sleestak said:
I think it's more a matter of arrangement. I mean if you have a 5 acre wooded lot in town or have an 8 foot privacy fence it's a totally different situation than what I have going on.

I simply don't have the space to shoot beyond 25 yards, so it's pointless to shoot anything other than 177. It is handy to just walk out the door for sighting in tho.
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.177 airguns are just a dangerous as anything. When I was a kid 11 or 12 maybe a man was mad at his paper boy for throwing the paper against the metal screen door every morning and waking him up. So he left his main door open one morning and after the boy threw paper on porch into door and was walking away he shot at the boy with a .177 pellet rifle hitting him in the kidney. The boy died by the time he made it to hospital. That was 52 yrs ago and I still remember it because it made me realize how dangerous my Benjamin .177 air rifle could be.
 
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Here in rural lower Alabama if folks within earshot don't hear gunfire of one kind or another within a few days they come to see if everything is ok. The one red light in the center of our town is less than 3 miles from our home. Our property is adjacent to a small municipal airport that Fort Rucker uses for helicopter training. To say our laws are relaxed in a huge under statement.
It's hot, humid.. we have occasional tornados and hurricanes... and there are several critters here that will harm/kill you but I wouldn't live anywhere else. That ain't a brag, It's just the way it is.
Once again... if you don't possess common sense you shouldn't posses a gun.
 
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In New York, anything shooting 600 fps or faster is generally prohibited in residential areas—but that's far from universal.

Laws around airgun use vary state to state, and even town to town. Some places treat them like firearms, others barely regulate them. But legal or not, there’s still the question of common sense: high-speed projectiles in tight suburban spaces aren’t just risky—they're a fast track to trouble, whether it's a ricochet, a neighbor complaint, or a visit from local law enforcement.

If you're lucky enough to have a rural setup, solid backstop, and no ordinances breathing down your neck, it's a different story. Just don’t assume what's okay in one backyard flies everywhere else.

Stay safe, shoot smart, and know your local regs.
 
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357cal said:
In New York, anything shooting 600 fps or faster is generally prohibited in residential areas—but that's far from universal.

Laws around airgun use vary state to state, and even town to town. Some places treat them like firearms, others barely regulate them. But legal or not, there’s still the question of common sense: high-speed projectiles in tight suburban spaces aren’t just risky—they're a fast track to trouble, whether it's a ricochet, a neighbor complaint, or a visit from local law enforcement.

If you're lucky enough to have a rural setup, solid backstop, and no ordinances breathing down your neck, it's a different story. Just don’t assume what's okay in one backyard flies everywhere else.

Stay safe, shoot smart, and know your local regs.
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I think you’re confusing the DEC 600fps rule… My understanding is that an Airgun needs to make at least 600fps to be included in the definition of firearm for purposes of hunt and fishing laws. This is technically what makes them legal for small game. This definition only applies to hunt and fishing laws though, not in general. AFAIK airguns are not firearms for NYS laws so in NY it all rides on County/Town/Village laws. Some time back I checked with a sheriff of a town and was told “nothing in NYS laws preventing you, but stay current on county and town ordinances”. Was a few years back though… Obviously no legal advice, just some guy’s understanding, which may very well be wrong and/or outdated…
 
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