What Is Backyard Friendly To You?

[f4milytime]

well I just had a experience with a neighbor 200+yards away who's property is behind mine. being noisey to see my solar panels he saw me out with my pcp. anyway, we ran into each other and expressed he has a issue with me shooting because he has kids.
I said I understand his concern and I'm installing a 6 to 8ft wooden fence 20 yards beyond my clearing which gives an additional 47 yards to the end of my property line which is slightly uphill and putting a 4 -5ft burm in front of the fence . I also stated I do not shoot when I do hear kids about and it's not often that I do. none of that seemed to matter. he then stated that there's a discharge law 1000ft and someone in his family is a trooper. so I'm listening and being polite and I then stated that there is no ordinance in this borough I spoke with the mayor personally, I have verified with the troopers (gave names) that as long as I have a proper backstop that it is not a legal issue and had that confirmed by two different lawfirms one which specialize in gun laws.
I also mentioned that I have been shooting for the past two years and it has not been a issue nor has there been any problems so why now is there?
with no answer he retorted well these .22 airguns can be lethal and assumed I was shooting .22's, I replied I'm mainly shooting .177 20 yards from my home out to 50 yards which leaves 97yards with at least 40yards heavily wooded and I'm aiming outside the vicinity of your property clearing, and actually for anything to land on your property it would have to pass through my solar panels, or 5ft high mound of tree trunks up to 8 ft deep.
in the end I told him to check with his relative and let me know as I have conflicting info on paper then got in my truck and drove away. my employee who was with me said what a ^#(*% that guy is.*L*
so in the end, I'll install my fence the width of my property, build a burm and as long as there's no ordinance and it's legal and I'm not violating any noise ordinances then he has to deal with his fears. there are many more risk to his kids than me practicing a few weekends a month.

funny thing is my neighbor to the left of me (retired leo and ffl dealer) is shooting loud springers but no issue with him.
people have become so fearful it's insane.

I know the feeling... Some people are just uneducated to our sport period.

[DavidS]

I am glad that my nearest neighbor is 300+ yards away through very very thick woods (sound does not carry well in the woods).   They could not hear me discharge a .36 cal black powder revolver let alone an AirRifle.    I feel sorry for those that have to deal with issues from there neighbors just because they have an AirRifle.

[Phire Phite]

My Trail np is what I might consider the borderline for me.  My side neighbors are about 15 and 30 yards away.  I'm in a neighborhood.  They know I shoot as they've seen me carry out my range bags to the car before.  Never been approached though.

[EMrider]

There are at least two aspects of "backyard friendly".

The most obvious is audible sound. IMHO, anything more than 90db, about the sound level of an R7 in .177, is too much for stealth shooting with ears within 25 yards.

The less obvious, but no less important IMHO, is visual.  Being seen shooting or handling a gun of any sort is probably more likely to invite scrutiny than any sound.

My policy is no be neither heard nor seen.  I target shoot from an enclosed area and do not walk around within eyeshot of anyone.

R

[f4milytime]

There are at least two aspects of "backyard friendly".

The most obvious is audible sound. IMHO, anything more than 90db, about the sound level of an R7 in .177, is too much for stealth shooting with ears within 25 yards.

The less obvious, but no less important IMHO, is visual.  Being seen shooting or handling a gun of any sort is probably more likely to invite scrutiny than any sound.

My policy is no be neither heard nor seen.  I target shoot from an enclosed area and do not walk around within eyeshot of anyone.

R

Yep, Some people get all bent out of shape when they see a gun.... "Oh my god it's a pellet gunnnn" Helpppp....

[mudduck48]

It's not "gracious he's got a pellet gun", it's "gracious!! he's got a gun!", Hello, 911, I just saw a guy with a gun. And 911 says, hello, SWAT TEAM, man with a gun sighted, etc, etc,

[MackofallTrades]

well, after that encounter, it now makes sense why our homebuilder had issues with him. I realized when talking to him he was not seeing anything clearly and my explanations were falling on deaf ears. both neighbors to the right and left have no problems and they don't even hear me unless they are out and then they aren't sure what that sound is. should he call the cops, it won't be because he hears me but he has come onto my property to see me and at that point I will have a issue and I turn my issues over to my attorney. and should the borough set a ordinance, I'll just shoot over at my other house 10 minutes away and a different borough.
it's sad that people cannot or will not see facts over fears and try to make everything their way even if it infringes on someone elses rights.
I do now have to voluntary register my airguns as even on my property I can be arrested and the graves law requires mandatory jail time on the charge of illegal weapon.
I also had to doublecheck the state discharge laws and it's 150ft from a dwelling with bow, 450ft with firearm with exceptions. being my right and left neighbors are okay it leaves one which is 501ft away. I'm covered.

FYI - the discharge distances you are quoting are for hunting purposes only.  They are not related to general shooting.  Also, the 150 for archery is only if you are in an elevated position (which the state does not define) in an attempt to use the ground as a backstop.  I.E. tree stand hunting.  Many towns have no discharge laws for firearms and in NJ a firearm can be an air rifle or even a slingshot (yes, we not so good).  Being that you are in south Jersey, you might not have a no discharge law, but check you local town ordinances.  You can usually find them online. 

All that being said, you sound like you are doing a lot to be safe.  I wouldn't worry about it.  Shame we can't get a "silenced" AG in this state...

[SagaciousKJB]

I went over to my buddy's house early one morning and he wasn't awake yet, so I just sat on the porch and shot.  Turns out he was actually asleep on the couch, and still didn't hear me the whole time I was shooting when he was basically 6' away on the other side of a door.

I figure the only people the noise is going to bother are the people that the mere fact you're shooting an airgun is going to bother.  Nice thing about my friend's property is that his brother runs a nailgun and compressor so often no one can tell the difference between my pellet gun and the nail gun.

Also people generally don't have a good perspective of decibels.  To say that 50 dB is half as loud as 100 dB is entirely wrong, so if you're taking a 90 dB gun down to 60-70 dB you've basically made it as quiet as a radio or living room TV set.  Down to 50 dB and it's more like a desktop fan or computer.

[grobe1458]

FYI - the discharge distances you are quoting are for hunting purposes only.  They are not related to general shooting.  Also, the 150 for archery is only if you are in an elevated position (which the state does not define) in an attempt to use the ground as a backstop.  I.E. tree stand hunting.  Many towns have no discharge laws for firearms and in NJ a firearm can be an air rifle or even a slingshot (yes, we not so good).  Being that you are in south Jersey, you might not have a no discharge law, but check you local town ordinances.  You can usually find them online. 

All that being said, you sound like you are doing a lot to be safe.  I wouldn't worry about it.  Shame we can't get a "silenced" AG in this state...
[/quote]
you are correct, that is for hunting shot my attorney a email just to make sure that if there is no local ordinance that there is no defacto state guideline. no discharge law here, the mayor lives down the street and verified plus everyone around here are shooting real guns, I can hear them on occaisions )
this state firearm laws are so convoluted and the graves act will make a unknowing or innocent person a convict.
anyways I'm shooting behind my solar panels as the straight path back does not intersect with any of their open space but should I miss (which is hardly ever) it's not going to pass through 4ft high 8ft deep pile of tree trucks.not to mention I'm shooting down.
now you know I'm going to be careful.*LOL*

[grobe1458]

out of curiosity, I did a decible test with all my airguns.
now the air ranger and d48 are among the loudest but my neighbor to the left (retired leo and ffl dealer) says these are quiet compared to his gamo
FX T12 whisper 46db,47db,46db
theoben           53db,44db,50db
air ranger        72db,72db,77db
rainstorm 3d   72db,71db,72db
bsa r10           66db,66db,67db
hw100           72db,67db,74db
s510              68db,67db,68db
mrod              75db,74db,62db
d48                74db,73db,75db
rx                  68db,74db,66db
hw77             66db.75db,66db
rs3                74db,66db,73db
mendoza      66db,67db,73db

[Ramble]

 I wish I had a decibel meter. What I do have is a nosy neighbor with a temper! He came over today, walking through the bushes while I was sighting in my new HW50s. He was shouting, "Do you have a Rifle! Are you shooting that rifle towards my yard! I have kids over here!" I tried to explain that it was a pellet gun and I wasn't shooting towards his house anyway. No go. I finally said, " If you don't like it, I will just pack it up". Picked up everything and went inside. I will try to find a decent place to shoot on the far side of the house. That puts me in the front yard but it's pretty big, 100 X200. Still, it is in view of the road and anyone passing by. Lots of people walking around this neighborhood too. I guess I will just have to invite them to try their hand at shooting if they say anything.

[grobe1458]

ya got a iphone or android phone, there's a app. I used 3 different apps as one could be off or just a crappy app. they were somewhat consistant.
now I can understand a parent being concerned about their kids and their safety, but there's a way to go about dealing with this with a neighbor.
like what I did was offer the guy to stop by so he can see there's no danger in it's current state and will be even less of a issue when I install a fence and berm. now after that whatever the issue he may still have, he'll need to get help because I'm done placating ignorant and uncompromising people.

[Booger]

You people are nicer than me. I tell them 'you are trespassing' & 'Do you know what that means'? Then I tell them to get off my property.

[RHytonen]

A working backstop.

(Serially folks, IME no one cares about noise here in WV - even in the town limits.
 For me an LDC would be a waste of money. It's even an advantage for them to think I have firearms.)

Rod

[mista meener]

In my neck of the woods, I'd say anything less than this.

      Reminds me in 1968 the New Jersey was coming into Long Beach for trials before going to Viet Nam are we were leaving for Viet Nam. OH how I wanted to see her unleash those 16inchers.      our paths never crossed while in the Tonkin Gulf    but I heard when she unleashed her 16inchers on San Clemente Island 25mi from LA (not Louisiana  ) the people were complaining about the booms. I would have liked to have seen that just once.  being a Gunners Mate.

If I am not mistaken that is the German rail gun used in WW1 where they bombed paris from an incredible distance. the shell went out of the atmosphere and they had calculated it all for the range and it was bigger then a 16 inch gun. could only fire like 30 shells before barrel worn out. their uniforms were late WW1 I think because they did not start out with those helmets

[only1harry]

Backyard friendly to me means the impact of the pellet on the target is louder than the muzzle report.

Harry

[Phire Phite]

Backyard friendly to me means the impact of the pellet on the target is louder than the muzzle report.

Harry

I like that...

[DOKF]

Backyard friendly to me means the impact of the pellet on the target is louder than the muzzle report.

Harry

I have a nosy neighbour who reacts to the impact noise with; "what are you shooting at!?"

[Gertrude]

I think Harry basically put it it a nutshell.

What it comes down to really is who's "Backyard" are we talking about,... and who the neighbors are.

We've got to remember that here on the GTA, we have folks from all walks of life, in everything from compacted city dwellers (like you and me Baxter),... to guys who have 10+ acres and more to shoot on.

 "Backyard friendly" depends on what one person may call his "backyard",... (and how close to you,... and WHO his neighbors are).
 but in reality, as far as the term "Backyard Friendly" goes,... the quieter, the better.

 in my case, being in the city, with the neighbors house only 50' away,...
 ... anything louder than my 850-900 FPS fully shrouded Mrod, will bring the authorities knocking.
 hence, why I even have a Mac1 gen 2 LDC on my 14" 2289/1322.
 And another one, just  installed on my .22 FDPCP, (which I haven't even picked up yet from the shop) & ( I can't wait to go pick it up and try it out ! ).

just my rambling thoughts

[josixpack]

A 16 to 20 ounce hammer pounding on 2 x 4's is backyard friendly all day long.  If you could measure the db of that, you might have a starting point.

I try to be as stealth as possible and generally don't shoot outside but if I do, I have a hammer, nails and some 2x4's close by.