Practicing in your back yard

[Winchester _Chick]

What if any laws are there for setting up a bunch of hay bales in your back yard to do some target shooting with a compound bow????

We have a a$$hole neighbor, I am sure he will report us if we are not legal. We have just over 6 acres so it is not that we are in a little subdivision. I have no idea where to look to find out this info? I was going to just give the police a call to find out, but thought I would ask here first :-D

[swamper]

It all depends on where you live. If we knew that we could give you an answer.

[carnivore]

It all depends on where you live. You should check with your local or municipal government to see if there are any bylaws refering to the use of bow or the discharge of firearms ( if you are within the municipal or city limits). I live within the city limits of Vernon and there is a bylaw against the discharge of firearms but you can hunt per the wildlife act regulations.

[Kody94]

Its not legal within Cranbrook City Limits...

http://cranbrook.ihostez.com/Documents/DocumentList.aspx?ID=734


Technically, you can't even use pellet guns, or BB guns. I bet a guy could make a case that nail guns were illegal to use in town if you really wanted to. ;)

I know its not legal to use a bow within Sparwood District limits either.

[358win]

Check city bylaws (if your within limits) as well.
Nanaimo bylaw states "a device that propells a projectile by means of gas, spring, exposion or any other means is concidered a firearm"

[Kody94]

Check city bylaws (if your within limits) as well.


Here's a link where you can find many City Bylaws in BC....
http://www.legaltree.ca/node/97

Look for Firearms Bylaws....they usually lump bows in with firearms from what I've seen.

Cheers
K94

[Bow Walker]

If you've got 6 acres you should be able to set up a practice area that is usable but still safe.

Make damn sure about what's behind the target and the direction that you're going to be shooting in. I don't mean 10 or 15 yards behind the target - I mean as much as 100 yards behind the target.

A missed shot can and will travel a long ways - and you will miss on occasion. If you aren't the one that misses your buddies or someone else will. It'll happen eventually.

That missed shot will be the one that travels the farthest and does the most harm - just guard against the worst-case-scenario and you should be fine.

As an example, I was showing a guy a bow at the shooting range at Eagle Eye Outfitters one time. He wanted to shoot it so I said "Sure". I had him stand only about 20 yards away from the target. The problem started when he was pointing at the sky to draw the bow.

You guessed it. He miss-fired right at the worst possible moment and the arrow went over the top of the target and the target backing/safety material. The arrow went 300 yards downrange. Eagle Eye is (of course) in town. The arrow landed just outside the door of a pizza shop, narrowly missing a couple of parked cars.

Shit happens. Guard against it.

[Winchester _Chick]

Sorry I did not think where I was would matter I am in Duncan on the Island :) I will check out the link! Thanks

[Ron.C]

Sorry I did not think where I was would matter I am in Duncan on the Island :) I will check out the link! Thanks

If North Cowichan, check out their bylaw page.

http://northcowichan.fileprosite.com/Documents/DocumentList.aspx?ID=184

There are very limited areas you can shoot with maps to illustrate.


from the link above


Despite any provision of this bylaw, no person may discharge a firearm or a bow:
(1) within 25 metres of the boundary of a highway;
(2) such that a projectile travels across a highway;
(3) within 100 metres of any school building, school yard, public park, playground, church,
workshop, place of business, dwelling house, farm building, or other place where persons
may be assembled or engaged in work of any kind; and
(4) on a parcel less than five acres in size.

[bigshooter]

It's only about $40 for a half year membership at the duncan bowmen club, about the same amount that you would pay for a target.

[Winchester _Chick]

We have a barn over flowing with hay, we were planning on making a huge hay stack to shoot towards, with big round bales as well as the smaller square bales. So will have a huge back drop.

I think we have a good place for it and we will be "legal"

We have 3 young kids (oldest being 4) so heading out to a range is not very easy.

[Bow Walker]

I missed my backstop on one particular occasion and the arrow went through the 15 fooot high x 6 foot deep Yew hedge and landed in the neighbor's backyard. :oops:

He presented the arrow to the local police saying he was concerned that "someone was trying to intimidate him". :eek:

The police (being very bright) figured out that the arrow could only have come from one direction and knocked on my door the next day. :wink:

After a quiet chat with the officer I was given the arrow with the suggestion that I be "more careful" and that I might want to "shoot at the local school yard on the weekends when school was out - there's lots of room there". :confused:

Point being that if you are being very careful I seriously doubt that anyone will have a problem. Just don't shoot anywhere near the direction that your neighbor is in. :mrgreen:

[mikeinajeep]

It's legal in Delta but not Surrey. I don't know where you live but even at my buddies place in delta with lots of room and a BIG dirt cliff behind the target the rcmp still show up once and awhile to make sure everything is safe. (I think someone complains!!)

[Winchester _Chick]

We have a HUGE pile of round bales (for feeding our cows and horses) so we are going to stack them up and make a back drop, then use a few of the little square bales of hay for putting targets on. But before we take the first shot, I am going to be giving the police a call just to make sure we are good to go!

We are in Duncan, on Vancouver Island :)

[oopswasthatyourdog?]

I hope you can shoot at home, kids love it. Though I would recommend getting the kids some professional lessons as well. A good teacher will know how to explain proper stance and help to avoid mistakes we all make. Most archery clubs have good programs for kids and at reasonable prices (at least I know they do here in Quebec).

This is my youngest with his Browning re-curve in our yard. I buy him cheap fiberglass arrows for practice as they tend to disappear in the hay fields once in a while. For the moment he's shooting instictively and by next year I will be adding sights into the equation.
He loves to just walk into the yard to shoot.

http://i43.tinypic.com/144412q.jpg
http://i42.tinypic.com/mj6csx.jpg

[Bow Walker]

Welcome to the site, OOPS.

Looks like you've got lottsa of room ofr practice. I bet those two trees are taking a lickin'!

[oopswasthatyourdog?]

Welcome to the site, OOPS.

Looks like you've got lottsa of room ofr practice. I bet those two trees are taking a lickin'!


Thanks for the welcome! Yes I do have plenty of yard to play in. The trees are faring well......I started him with a big pouch made from jute (about 4' x 4') stuffed with all the plastic wrap I could find. I even had a blue winterizing tarp for a boat in that thing. Now I just use two feed bags stuffed with plastic garbage bags to stop the arrows. Cheap and effictive!

[killman]

I just assumed I was allowed to shoot in my yard. The neighbors didn't phone the cops when I was shooting off the roof of my shed to practice at different angles and 40 yards.:-D

[Bow Walker]

That type of target bag is what I've been using for years. Mine are made using coffee sacks that a guy can get from any coffee roaster. The sacks aren't re-usable to them and they are usually glad to get rid of them.

Those targets will stop arrows (with field tips - not broadheads) that are going in excess of 300 f.p.s. Really good targets and cheap too. A good way to recycle all those plastic grocery store bags.

On another note - I can relate to your user name. We just got a puppy (5 months old) and she has THE worst farts that I've had the misfortune to be in the same room with. Our other dog doesn't seem to have gas, but this latest one actually farts like a man! Whewwee, they smell. I'm going to change her feed a.s.a.p.