How Much Buffer Required To Shoot Clays

[chp5]

My friend has bought a cabin in the north Georgia mountains. He has 4 acres total.

He would like to throw and shoot clay piegons off his back deck. How much down range buffer (in yards) do you need to shoot clays?

Thanks.

[homeinvader]

There's no magical number. What's the surrounding property like? 4 acres, assuming it's 4 acres square, is not enough though. That's only 2 acres distance from any point and I'm sure his cabin is somewhere in the center. While shot doesn't travel very far, even elevated to 45 degrees, it will travel passed his property line. He cannot control who is beyond the property line and while it may be a desolate area, there's always the chance someone might be legally walking back there. Is it hunting land beyond? That would help as there is a legal assumption of risk when traveling through known hunting areas, but if it is not, then throwing rounds "over the fence" into an area where people might be present and where there is no "reasonable expectation" of being shot would be legally risky. If the land beyond is private property, the consequences would be much worse and I would drop the idea completely.

He could do it for a lifetime and never have a problem, but as long as rounds are traveling beyond his property line and as long as people have a right to be back there (beyond the 2 acre length), there is a safety risk. While there is always a saftey risk with shooting, yes, here it would be accompanied by a substantial legal risk.

[LPatterson]

At our skeet range we only have 500 yards to a dike that belongs to the Corps of Engineers and we limit shot size to #6 so that is our shot fall area. The fence is posted as being a shooting range which is all that is needed to be legal in Montana. YMMV

The range has been there for 50 years without a complaint.

[EricW]

Max Distance Chart:

From: http://www.horusvision.com/hv.cfm?pg=exite...vis_art-22.html

Which is from: http://www.horusvision.com/hv.cfm?pg=exdavis#qa

The easy formula (Journee's) for safe distance is:

2200 * (shot dia. in inches) = Max. Range

[EricW]

BTW, if we are talking square plotted acres, that's about 200x200. So, the only way it would be safe is if it was a 1x4 linear strip of land, which would give about 266 yards of buffer if one shot over the house from the road. Some negotiating with the adjoining property owners is probably needed. They may well be shooters and have no problem with it at all, provided you call them before shooting.

[chp5]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I guess we'll just has to find some other form of plinking fun at my friend's cabin.

Shooting at a downward angle to the ground off the deck, we could shoot stationary clays(far less fun) or use a rifle will an appropriate backstop.