Homemade gun range on owner’s residential yard is legal, according to Florida statute

Yahoo! News ^ | 1/27/14 | Charlene Sakoda

[Joe Brower]

Homemade gun range on owner’s residential yard is legal, according to Florida statute
By Charlene Sakoda
January 27, 2014 6:00 PM

The gun control debate is always a hotly contested one pitting the sides against each other. So, it’s attention grabbing when a state law giving gun owners more freedom causes Second Amendment advocates to demand more regulations. The Miami Herald recently spoke to Doug Varrieur, a gun owner and homeowner in Big Pine Key, Florida. For the past month, Varrieur has exercised his Florida state right to shoot guns on his residential property every Wednesday from 3-4 p.m. in his homemade gun range.

Neighbors were concerned for the safety of citizens and pets, but were surprised when they found out that Florida statute 790.15 makes discharging a firearm on a residential property legal. It’s a law that not only surprised Varrieur’s neighbors, but also Varrieur himself.

[Eska]

I had a 500 yard range when I lived in Pennsylvania, off the porch.

Here in Alaska, along the Yukon; I have a 200 yard range. Nice to reload, set up chrono, and shoot off my back porch T bench.

I have one neighbor,(200 yards away), viet vet, shooting really gets him upset, bothers him; so to get along I usually only shoot when he's gone, and he travels often so it isn't such a big deal. For several years, we went around about my range. When I started shooting, every couple days for an hour or two; he'd start blowing off this air horn. I guess he was ready to call the cops which are 200 miles away and no restrictions where I call home. So When another friend told me it was all about Vietnam, I stopped shooting and approached the neighbor to see how we could settle this. I got a good neighbor now, not one that is ready to shoot me. Best thing I ever did actually. I reload, then when neighbor goes on one of his trips, I shoot for a few hours for several days in a row.

Funny, my neighbor told me that when I shot the 30-378, it shook his windows. I think the biggest problem with neighbors is the noise.

[dangerdoc]

Lucky for me, all my neighbors shoot and the guy closest to me is my brother and we frequently shoot together.

The only person I was afraid would give me trouble lives on the other side of a hill and I put my range directly across from the hill minimizing the noise.

One of my neighbors has a full auto I hear ripping off rounds from time to time, I need to get to know him.

[Bottom_Gun]

nice thing about here in Maine. It’s legal here in the town I live in. They even have a code page on how to build it. Basically your backstop has to be up to NRA range code, and be Oked by the town code officer!

[bgill]

No matter how good a shot you are, you are being reckless and negligent shooting that close to other homes.

[Pentagon Leatherneck]

Exactly what Sooth2222 said: it might be legal but it sure doesn’t appear safe. I would not shoot under the conditions shown.

TC

[MHGinTN]

I fashioned a bullet trap/backstop for a range in my garage. It is a box 4 ft by 5 ft and 18 inches front to back, on heavy duty casters, filled with shredded rubber mulch. I use a bullet trap (steel) for .22 up to 32acp, with the constructed mulch holder as a backstop. If I want 15yards range, I just shoot from the kitchen, through the laundry opened door, into the garage.

A wheel carriage under the box raised the backstop 16 inches off the floor of the garage so I can roll it around out of the way when not shooting. I can test fire anything short of fifty cal by shooting into the end of the box of mulch. Traps the lead, also. I have made bullet traps for 9mm, 7.62x25, 9x18, and 45 acp using a tall cat litter bucket filled with rubber mulch and the top snapped on to place targets there. Shredded rubber mulch makes an excellent energy absorber. So far neighbors have not mentioned the muffled sounds from my garage.

[William Tell]

From the linked article: "This isn’t about the right to own and bear arms. "

In the minds of the anti-gunners, nothing ever is.

[woollyone]

solution...cut 1/4” hardware cloth to the size of your soffet vents and use this as backing behind the screen. they won’t chew through that. I paint it black first to if isn’t even visible. Keeps the fruit rats out of the attic here in Florida.

[Eska]

Actually, it's kinda funny. When Big Ears got elected first time, I started reloading; and of course a T bench & range were part of the whole game. The local Indians have a range but for the life of me, I wasn't going to use their range once I built my own; especially if a neighbor started telling me I was. So even though we live quite rural in Alaska, I had a neighbor upset. Once my buddy said it was Vietnam that haunted the neighbor and convinced me it was for real; I felt bad and wanted to settle this. My neighbor was with the riverines, in Mekong Delta. He showed me picts from on those boats, had a bunch of friends killed on river ambushes and such. But the good thing was once I looked for a solution, we became friends. Now the neighbor has key to my place and checks on my dog a few times a day when we go to town. I learned not to jump in a guys face until I got the entire picture, good lesson for me too.

Funny that I live further out in the wilderness than anywhere in lower 48; and had a complaint about gun noise, ha ha.

[S.O.S121.500]

I probably have the fattest squirrels in the county.

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A fat squirrel is a mighty tasty squirrel. Enjoy.

[S.O.S121.500]

No matter how good a shot you are, you are being reckless and negligent shooting that close to other homes.

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Speak for yourself.....none other.

[ExSES]

Reminds me of what I told an urban visitor to my place... He heard some shots and asked if we should call the Sheriff?

I replied that, here in the country we shoot and let shoot!!!

Same answer I gave to new residents in the area belonging to our "Loose" HOA who called me up in a panic about hearing gunshots!!!