Shooting Airgun in residential neighbourhood

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em91 said:
I live in a residential area with houses stacked on top of each other and i can tell you that even the craziest neighbors don't care what you do as long as those pellets don't go over to their property. Most of them have had kids or know that boys play with bb guns and airsoft guns, get a good mod and don't have any pellets leave your property and its most likely fine, its also better if they don't really see you shooting so if you shoot from a garage or shed or open window/door from the house then its totally fine... but of course check the laws just in case.... *the most important part is to make sure that your pellets never leave your property*
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The problem with this advice is how new shooters will interpret it. i.e. someone that doesn't know much about guns and the severity of accidents, buys a 25cal or 30cal because it's the hot trendy thing and starts shooting it at 1000fps in a tiny back yard, because he knows there's experts on-line that can do it safely. . . so clearly he'll figure it out right away. It's a bit like the 16 year old kid buying the hayabusa.
 
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delooper said:
The problem with this advice is how new shooters will interpret it. i.e. someone that doesn't know much about guns and the severity of accidents, buys a 25cal or 30cal because it's the hot trendy thing and starts shooting it at 1000fps in a tiny back yard, because he knows there's experts on-line that can do it safely. . . so clearly he'll figure it out right away. It's a bit like the 16 year old kid buying the hayabusa.
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depending on law but laws in my area say its illegal for the projectile to be shot across a street so obviously check the law and don't do what is unlawful. obviously wouldn't want the pellet to go to anyone else's property too. If its lawful for him to discharge a airgun then its really simple. Just keep it quiet and don't give anyone a reason to complain.
 
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I am legal to shoot in my yard where I live. But in the county next to me I would be totally illegal anywhere in the county to shoot in my back yard. Caliber might make a difference but it doesn't in the county next to me. Any pellet gun is illegal.

Neighbors make a difference in terms of how likely the police are to show up but if it's illegal where you are I would not take the risk. If it's legal for you then I recommend shooting into a trap where you can recycle the projectiles and use a moderator so people do not hear you shooting from inside their houses. They will hear you if they are outside unless a lawn mower is running or something. My neighbors asked what I was doing and I told them. Turns out they shoot a little too. But the whole key is whether it's legal. If it is, then you can withstand a complaining neighbor but it would still be good to see if there is some way to stop their complaints (times you shoot, design of backstop, direction you shoot, how effective a moderator, that kind of stuff). Shooting in my yard is a key reason I like airguns but it would not be nearly as enjoyable if I had to worry about an officer showing up.

Asking an officer is a reasonable thing to do but it seems safer for them to say it's illegal if they are not sure. If you know the officer and you are confident they will say they don't know if they don't know then I would do it. But it's pretty easy to search things on line. I found out the legal situation in my area with a few google searches. It was later confirmed by a fish and game officer.
 
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flagger said:
Always watch out for the lady next door that loves to feed the squirrels and chipmunks because she thinks they are cute. This is the lady that will give you the most hassle and call the cops.
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Theyre adorable until they get into the walls. Wait until landscapers are in the neigborhood making noise and then let loose.
 
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bubbahotep said:
Kyricion moderator and a lighter hammer spring on a Notos and nobody will hear it.

Most airguns Ive used are too loud even with aftermarket moderators.
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To confuse anyone that may be listening I occasionally I get my air tool compressor and brad nailer out to assemble something. My attempt at social conditioning to have think that I'm just up to some average DIY

People generally spend almost all their time indoors these days anyway, so it's not like they're actively listening.
 
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delooper said:
I don't know about the laws in your town, you'd have to tell us where you live or figure that out for yourself.

But .22" is about as large a round I'd shoot unless you have 4-acre lots in your town. If you have a huge yard where you can shoot with at least 200 yards to any property line, maybe then I'd consider .25".
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I’m sitting on 2.5 in a neighborhood with similarly sized lots. I shoot mostly .22 but also .25. One of the .25 and a .22 are currently sitting at over 70fpe. HOWEVER, I have neighbors on two side only and the direction I shoot is into the woods with a natural berm as ultimate backstop. Plus I only shoot into rubber mulch traps, no steel whatsoever and all guns have “their” mod that works best and makes them most quiet. If I gotta take critters there’s a dedicated kill zone for squirrels and such, meaning there are areas I shoot them because I know the angle and shots are 100% safe. If they’re somewhere else right now I’ll simply wait 10 minutes. Perfectly legal since we’re outside of town/city limits (and the town doesn’t have an ordinance for airguns anyway, neither does the county).

I guess I’m trying to say (like others have said already), you want to be legal of course but you also want to be safe. If you can manage both no reason to not go for it and have fun. I wouldn’t do anything that doesn’t meet both criteria though.
 
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My dad lives in a neighborhood. It’s a .177. Always was a .177 and always will be a .177. Not even debatable because of the consequences. Been shooting and knocking off pests there for 45 years. Never an issue ever. No need for Space X to design him a quiet target or buy ten mods trying to make the gun the quietest it can be. No need to dumb a .177 down. They are silent shooting 880fps.
 
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I grew up shooting Pb’s and the rules were drilled into my head. One rule was if you have any questions about the safety fo the shot you want to take, don’t take it.
Prior to this hobby I shot archery. A lot. Several years ago I had bac surgery and had to start all over again with rebuilding the muscles to shoot again. I backed my bow off as far as it would go and took to the back yard shooting into what I believed was an appropriate backstop and target butt. All was going well until I triggered my release and the arrow hit way low and left of the but and backstop. Behind the backstop was a 6’ cedar fence the arrow even made it past the fence presumably through the space between pickets. Never found that arrow and have never shot my bow in the backyard again. The cause of the mishap was the string that pulled my mechanical arrow rest into position had broken and I didn’t notice it when I drew the bow. So all the careful tuning was out the window and the arrow was off to parts unknown.
The point is you have no idea when something is going to go hay wire and launching any projectile in tight quarters and proximity to human activity is playing with fire.
I have never and will never shoot in my backyard.
 
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Chukar60 said:
I grew up shooting Pb’s and the rules were drilled into my head. One rule was if you have any questions about the safety fo the shot you want to take, don’t take it.
Prior to this hobby I shot archery. A lot. Several years ago I had bac surgery and had to start all over again with rebuilding the muscles to shoot again. I backed my bow off as far as it would go and took to the back yard shooting into what I believed was an appropriate backstop and target butt. All was going well until I triggered my release and the arrow hit way low and left of the but and backstop. Behind the backstop was a 6’ cedar fence the arrow even made it past the fence presumably through the space between pickets. Never found that arrow and have never shot my bow in the backyard again. The cause of the mishap was the string that pulled my mechanical arrow rest into position had broken and I didn’t notice it when I drew the bow. So all the careful tuning was out the window and the arrow was off to parts unknown.
The point is you have no idea when something is going to go hay wire and launching any projectile in tight quarters and proximity to human activity is playing with fire.
I have never and will never shoot in my backyard.
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I had a similar experience shooting a sling-bow in my back yard. It shoots more like a traditional bow, less like a compound bow. First shot almost nailed one of my chickens. Haven't shot that bow in my yard since.
 
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bubbahotep said:
Theyre adorable until they get into the walls. Wait until landscapers are in the neigborhood making noise and then let loose.
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I blame chipmunks or squirrels for doing about $2K worth of damage to our cars. Ate the wiring to the injectors in my daughter's car, ate the wiring to the transmission in my car (a lot of them are drive by wire now), and ate the wiring to the electric fans in my wife's car. Wife and daughter would be seriously pissed off at me if I shot a chipmunk though. The dog takes care of all the small animals it can catch anyway.
 
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The best thing to do is have someone else shoot and go stand some distance away to get a feel for what others might hear. Then switch places and have the other person judge. It’s surprising how fast the sound drops off with distance but imo if you’re shooting a lot the constant noise aspect from that might be the thing that raises eyebrows.
 
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