Alsone 789 Posted June 24, 2013 Report Share Posted June 24, 2013 (edited) Hi quick question guys as this has got me thinking because I have just been granted my sgc, I preliminarily shoot air rifles now, but am moving on to shotguns for a change every now and then, my new permission has two fields with a public road(green road) between the two, am I allowed to shoot pigeon flying at me with the road in between me and the next field, I would be say , 100 yards away from the road but aiming above it so the pigeon land in the field I'm in or if they were flying at quite some speed the field over the road, the roads width is a normal green country road in the middle of nowhere, you don't see a lot except the very occasional horse every now and then. Although I dont intend to blat shotgun rounds off when a know there is a horse nearby, not so bad with an air rifle . Spent shot are harmless ie those that come down having lost all velocity having been shot high into the air, instead of direct line of sight. That said, if anything falls on the road you are guilty of armed trespass amongst other offences. As a rule of thumb, always shoot away from roads, paths, houses etc. Technically if you had a shot, you could shoot a high pigeon in the direction of the road ie one where the shot would go above the road ie something 30 feet or higher, and thus all users, so you weren't endangering or inconveniencing them, however be aware of the fact that if anything falls onto the road be it shot or pigeon, you could be in serious trouble. Equally if the shot falls on land other than that you have permission for. I'd personally say its not worth it especially as some anti people or the ignorant will report you for shooting at the road if they see you shoointg in the general direction even if no-one was endangered. Remember you will end up having to defend yourself rather than them having to prove it as the police will use the reporter as a witness so it becomes your word against theres that shot fell on the road or that they were endangered. If a pigeon is flying in from across the road, I'd personally advise you to wait until its flown into a safe direction even if its a more difficult shot. Better to miss or not even take a shot than end up accused of an offence even if wrongly. Edited June 24, 2013 by Alsone 1 Quote Link to post
Hawkeye. 26 Posted June 24, 2013 Report Share Posted June 24, 2013 you must be more than 300 yards in the direction of firing from a public place. Where did that come from? Cheers! rules about shot fallout mate. Fact. Ask your firearms dep't . Quote Link to post
Deker 3,478 Posted June 24, 2013 Report Share Posted June 24, 2013 you must be more than 300 yards in the direction of firing from a public place. Where did that come from? Cheers! rules about shot fallout mate. Fact. Ask your firearms dep't . Rules...... FACT, what fact? I take it you mean rules like a .22lr not being a fox gun! Quote Link to post
beast 1,884 Posted June 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2013 weel folks i knocked on the owner's door 9atually a tenant afrmer) and had a chat, i wasnt aggressive or acusatory, simply said "i just thought you ought to know...." . landowner was apologetic and said he would speak to the shooter straight away. he was very discreet, saying he wouldnt tell me the chap's name etc but said "you wont have to worry again". thanks to everybody for your input and advice Quote Link to post
Hawkeye. 26 Posted June 24, 2013 Report Share Posted June 24, 2013 (edited) you must be more than 300 yards in the direction of firing from a public place. Where did that come from? Cheers! rules about shot fallout mate. Fact. Ask your firearms dep't . Rules...... FACT, what fact? I take it you mean rules like a .22lr not being a fox gun! I don't make the rules , i'm only telling you what they are. The fact is , the 300 yard rule exists. Don't question me , ask the firearms dept like I said earlier. As for a .22lr , I wouldn't know anything about that. Why do you ask ? Edited June 24, 2013 by Hawkeye. Quote Link to post
SportingShooter 0 Posted June 25, 2013 Report Share Posted June 25, 2013 If I was 300 yards away from anywhere the public has access to every time I fired my shotgun, rifle, air rifle or water pistol then I would be committing an offence, as would my Firearms Department for permitting me to do so considering they have assessed the land on more than one occasion, not just for my licenses but the others who shoot there. Licensing departments will tell you all sorts of rules exist but until they are entered on the statute book, they have no legal bearing and merely serve to disinform the public. Quote Link to post
Deker 3,478 Posted June 25, 2013 Report Share Posted June 25, 2013 you must be more than 300 yards in the direction of firing from a public place. Where did that come from? Cheers! rules about shot fallout mate. Fact. Ask your firearms dep't . Rules...... FACT, what fact? I take it you mean rules like a .22lr not being a fox gun! I don't make the rules , i'm only telling you what they are. The fact is , the 300 yard rule exists. Don't question me , ask the firearms dept like I said earlier. As for a .22lr , I wouldn't know anything about that. Why do you ask ? Chap, I'm not looking for an argument, I hear all sorts of baloney on forums and it is best to prove or disprove asap or rumour gets out of hand. I know the Law well, I have to when I am walking around with a gun etc., but I do not pretend to know it all. You made a statement, you tell us the "rules" ...and just whose rules are these? Which Firearms Act, Bye Laws, Club rule book or whim of a FEO, etc does this come from! Quote Link to post
paulus 26 Posted June 25, 2013 Report Share Posted June 25, 2013 never herd of this 300 yrd rule, the actual law pertaining to shooting on or near public footpath,roads ect have already been posted earlier on this thread. links are available to all laws, acts and statutes relating to firearms, unfortunately some departments think its ok to interpret or invent new laws to suit themselves, however these will not stand when/if challenged Quote Link to post
walshie 2,804 Posted June 25, 2013 Report Share Posted June 25, 2013 One of the questions I was asked on my SGC interview is what is the "safe" fallout distance from a shotgun assuming it was using birdshot and the answer apparently is 300yards. The FEO didn't tell me it was a law. I think it was just to see if I had a grasp of stuff like that. My local clay ground has a car park well within 300 yards and you can hear shot landing on cars if the wind is right. I'd imagine the "safe" distance would be a lot more with bigger cartridges. Quote Link to post
Craig Fosse 286 Posted June 25, 2013 Report Share Posted June 25, 2013 Cheers for the heads up guys much appreciated, main thing I'm wanting to know is if I shoot a pigeon that's above a 45degree angle from barrel to bird, how far away will the excess shot land? That's what I'm wanting to know, unfortunately the rough shooting I did before was all over an abandoned airfield so there was no need to worry about your shot landing, however with borders and houses in the distance on my permission im a lot more worried and want to know how far away i have to be for the shot to fall in my boundary, Cheers in advance Quote Link to post
Deker 3,478 Posted June 25, 2013 Report Share Posted June 25, 2013 Cheers for the heads up guys much appreciated, main thing I'm wanting to know is if I shoot a pigeon that's above a 45degree angle from barrel to bird, how far away will the excess shot land? That's what I'm wanting to know, unfortunately the rough shooting I did before was all over an abandoned airfield so there was no need to worry about your shot landing, however with borders and houses in the distance on my permission im a lot more worried and want to know how far away i have to be for the shot to fall in my boundary, Cheers in advance There is all sorts of information all over the web about this, and from memory about 34 degrees gives you the longest range, there is no definitive list as there are so many types of cart and gun............. and wind, altitude, atmospheric conditions, etc., need to be factored in. 300 yards as mentioned in this thread is a GUIDE figure that I have known about for as long as I can remember, but it is just that, a guide, there are no Laws about this to the best of my knowledge! Quote Link to post
Alsone 789 Posted June 25, 2013 Report Share Posted June 25, 2013 (edited) Yeah the only law I know of, relates to firing within 50 feet of the highwy and even then its not an offence if certain criteria are met or certain events avoided. It's pretty much impossible to say with any certainty how far shot will travel as like Dekka says it all depends on the cartridge, shot size, load etc. However, as I said above on a smaller permission always shoot towards the centre of the field and away from houses, roads and paths, nd you'll have no problems. Edited June 25, 2013 by Alsone Quote Link to post
Craig Fosse 286 Posted June 25, 2013 Report Share Posted June 25, 2013 That's cleared a lot up, cheers guys Quote Link to post
Hawkeye. 26 Posted June 25, 2013 Report Share Posted June 25, 2013 you must be more than 300 yards in the direction of firing from a public place. Where did that come from? Cheers! rules about shot fallout mate. Fact. Ask your firearms dep't . Rules...... FACT, what fact? I take it you mean rules like a .22lr not being a fox gun! I don't make the rules , i'm only telling you what they are. The fact is , the 300 yard rule exists. Don't question me , ask the firearms dept like I said earlier. As for a .22lr , I wouldn't know anything about that. Why do you ask ? Chap, I'm not looking for an argument, I hear all sorts of baloney on forums and it is best to prove or disprove asap or rumour gets out of hand. I know the Law well, I have to when I am walking around with a gun etc., but I do not pretend to know it all. You made a statement, you tell us the "rules" ...and just whose rules are these? Which Firearms Act, Bye Laws, Club rule book or whim of a FEO, etc does this come from! How many times do I have to tell you ? If you want to know the details ask you feckin firearms department Quote Link to post
geordieh 74 Posted June 25, 2013 Report Share Posted June 25, 2013 you must be more than 300 yards in the direction of firing from a public place. Where did that come from? Cheers! rules about shot fallout mate. Fact. Ask your firearms dep't . Rules...... FACT, what fact? I take it you mean rules like a .22lr not being a fox gun! I don't make the rules , i'm only telling you what they are. The fact is , the 300 yard rule exists. Don't question me , ask the firearms dept like I said earlier. As for a .22lr , I wouldn't know anything about that. Why do you ask ? Chap, I'm not looking for an argument, I hear all sorts of baloney on forums and it is best to prove or disprove asap or rumour gets out of hand. I know the Law well, I have to when I am walking around with a gun etc., but I do not pretend to know it all. You made a statement, you tell us the "rules" ...and just whose rules are these? Which Firearms Act, Bye Laws, Club rule book or whim of a FEO, etc does this come from! How many times do I have to tell you ? If you want to know the details ask you feckin firearms department I asked mine today and his reply was "what fu**ing half wit is spreading all these daft rumours and saying it is the law" Geordie Quote Link to post
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