Shooting on private land

[792mauser]

Amen to that.

[YNOTAZ]

Bigger is better, in my opinion
Rj

Always.

[Azbuilder]

Very interesting discussion. Thank you to all !
I have always followed the 1/4 and 1 mile understanding. If there is confusion on this subject I think AZCL and a couple of Legislative reps need to make it crystal clear to all so as new arrivals will not have arguments. As a side note, I have run into a number of various law enforcement personnel confused on the subject.

[ducatilover]

Def sounds like 20 acres wont be enough. I guess I got to find a bigger lot. The info is interesting and good to know.

[guy_7]

Great discussion, I have also been researching remote property for the primary purpose of shooting and I haven't found a lot of info.

After reading the thread I think that answers my distance vs. privacy of land selection.

Perhaps a multi-parcel group buy is in order.

[Harrier]

It could still work if you get situated next to natl forest or state land, in a county or remote town that has a 1/4 mile rule on the books

[TheRifleman]

It could still work if you get situated next to natl forest or state land, in a county or remote town that has a 1/4 mile rule on the books

No. State law says you can't shoot within a mile of an occupied structure in or into a municipality (i.e. town). Even if a town ordinance said 1/4 mile, you would still run afoul of the state law.

Your other two options would work, although shooting into state/Fed land would subject you to the same fire restrictions or whatever other restrictions they want to impose. Depending how far out you are, you never know how long it'll be before you unwillingly end up a part of a town or city.

[Steve_In_29]

I am in Yavapai and over the years ownership has changed to a different younger/crowd. One of my my neighbors is a buddy who is retired MCSO. We have had several conversations regarding our shooting spots with local LE over the years and he generally uses the 1/4 mile rule if he is ever called....now things can change if damage or a clear safety issue(like with flying rounds). Thankfully all my neighbors are low key and we leave each other alone and respect/enjoy the freedoms we have on the ranch. Two areas on the ranch have ongoing land owner disagreements wanting/asking for more controls. My understanding is LE has asked that they resolve or file complaints with the courts...no one to my knowledge has been cited. Who knows where goes as more people populate the ranch. Things change and if they ever add attorneys into the mix I am sure we will all hate the results. At the moment its still good for me.

I live in one of those Ranches as well, in Apache County. The HOA (supposed to just be for road maint) tried calling the Sheriff to enforce a no shooting provision and Sheriff told them to pound sand. That it was legal according to the law for the person to be shooting on their property and it wan't his job to enforce some HOA rule.

[Steve_In_29]

It could still work if you get situated next to natl forest or state land, in a county or remote town that has a 1/4 mile rule on the books

I was told that on most State Land (at least around my area) hunting was allowed but NOT target shooting. Wouldn't shooting into such land put a person in violation of that?

[Harrier]

Yes, I forgot the point of discharge is the determining factor so my previous post could be in error.... The law wherever you are shooting FROM takes precedence. So if your property backs up to Natl Forest land, stand on that side of the fence.
My understanding is if it is Natl.Forest you can shoot, they use the 1/4 mile rule (at least around here), BLM and Park service have their own rules which are more restrictive. BLM seems to designate by area and not blanket as they have told me they allow target shooting here and there but not these areas... AZ state land doesn't allow target shooting... or even walking across it unless you have a hunting license... so stay clear of that (one of the local 'boys' has been writing ticket to people using a dirt trail road because it goes through the ASL and they are then "trespassing")
Under pressure from Tucson tree huggers and the trash left by local A**holes, the Forest Service has shut down the whole east side of a mountain range that used to allow target shooting, around here. AFAIK the park service doesn't allow any target shooting or hunting but you can at least you can carry your gun in the park now.

I think item C.3 does allow a municipality to pre-empt state law and create a 1/4 mile restriction instead of 1 mile.
Does anyone know what counties do/don't have distance restrictions.

One time after hunting Havalina with a pistol, a homeowner called the sheriff while I was out there. He arrived as i was finished and getting into my car. He was more annoyed at being called out for this than anything but in our conversation I mentioned I was careful about being more than 440 yds from a dwelling. However I forgot to also mention I had not fired the gun, so it didn't matter. If I were to be 440 yds I would have had to be standing in the center of the 1/4 section I was hunting in....

[DmN]

Off topic... If anyone is looking for cheap acreage which some 'pretty' to it, there is a lot of nice areas north of Heber-Overgaard that are perfect for shooting.

[Ballistic Therapy]

Under pressure from Tucson tree huggers and the trash left by local A**holes, the Forest Service has shut down the whole east side of a mountain range that used to allow target shooting, around here. AFAIK the park service doesn't allow any target shooting or hunting but you can at least you can carry your gun in the park now.

Let me guess. You are talking about the Redington Pass area ?
For the first couple miles it is closed to target shooting , not hunting.
After that you can shoot anywhere you like as long as it is safe.
They also reopened the shooting area they originally shut down after they did their study and clean up.
I shoot out there all the time.

[Jack Dupp]

Off topic... If anyone is looking for cheap acreage which some 'pretty' to it, there is a lot of nice areas north of Heber-Overgaard that are perfect for shooting.

Where? Got any links? What's your definition of 'cheap'?

I've looked for land from Chevelon to Snowflake, Concho to Witch Well in the past and couldn't quite find something that I could either afford or that appealed to me.

[deanq]

I'm not sure what the confusion is with the reading of the law. Hunting = 1/4 mile; Target shooting = 1 mile. Cities or towns can't make ordinances that supersede state law as was suggested earlier.

This is still only applies to "within or into the limits of any municipality"; Every Municipality in AZ already has a law about discharging firearms within it's jurisdiction.

[Harrier]

Under pressure from Tucson tree huggers and the trash left by local A**holes, the Forest Service has shut down the whole east side of a mountain range that used to allow target shooting, around here. AFAIK the park service doesn't allow any target shooting or hunting but you can at least you can carry your gun in the park now.

Let me guess. You are talking about the Redington Pass area ?
For the first couple miles it is closed to target shooting , not hunting.
After that you can shoot anywhere you like as long as it is safe.
They also reopened the shooting area they originally shut down after they did their study and clean up.
I shoot out there all the time.

No, I was talking about Coronado Forest next to Sierra Vista. There were 4 separate spots I knew of that you could go shoot just about anytime. One of them was well known and people shot up the nearby trees and left orange clay targets and steel casings laying around so it became an issue for local liberals and they brought in reinforcements from Tucson to "clean up" the site (I think it was Sierra Club or someone like that) and then they got the Forest service to close the whole east side for a year for a study which became permanent.

Then there was the county gravel pit out Hereford road. Someone a mile or more away complained about the noise then it was bullets wizzing by their house (right- not even close most shot in a 50' deep excavated area) but in the end it was all the trash and TV's etc left behind that caused the county to put a locked gate into the pit.

Then there was a spot out a dirt road by an old lead mine... That was shut down cuz the dirt road went across AZ state land and some bright smokey started writing trespassing tickets...

There was a spot out in the hills south of Bisbee near the airport. It was pretty well trashed too - I don't know if it is still there or not, pretty bad road to get in/out but enough room to shoot a 50. Too close to the border for my taste.

I know a few washes people frequent but IMO they are easily within 1 mile from houses... most everyone I know cites the 1/4 mile rule so I hadn't heard of the 1 mile state requirement.