Guidelines for finding land with personal range?

So, we've been thinking about buying some acreage as a getaway, and one of the things we'd like is the space for a personal range. What's the proper courtesy in distance away from neighbors to put one up? I'd say acreage too, but sometimes the lot is a long thin stick.

Probably looking in one of the Virginias.

Also, any sites people used to find land is good info too.

Not withstanding local laws , the primary factor is not distances , as it is the attitudes of the neighbors .

twybyll said:

So, we've been thinking about buying some acreage as a getaway, and one of the things we'd like is the space for a personal range. What's the proper courtesy in distance away from neighbors to put one up? I'd say acreage too, but sometimes the lot is a long thin stick.

Probably looking in one of the Virginias.

Also, any sites people used to find land is good info too.

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Not trying to deter you but I spent 5 years doing the same thing. Mostly in WVA and even worked with a few brokers. Acreage, surrounding topography, local laws and how deep your pockets are all come into play. It was a needle in the haystack for me. Good luck!

I have 4 acres, 35 yards is all I have for a safe range. I shoot into a bank/gully towards the center of my property. My closest neighbor is 60 yds from the range, I have 6 other houses with 150 yds of the range. No complaints yet. I mostly shoot rimfire and centerfire handguns. If I got out and hear the guy 60yds away grilling on his back porch or kids playing in the backyard I don't shoot. I shoot alot in the summer rain, and after dark in the winter because everyone else is inside then. The only requirements I'm aware of here are noise after a set time 10 pm? and a safe backstop. There are at least a dozen other backyard ranges with in a mile or so.

Speedfreak said:

Not trying to deter you but I spent 5 years doing the same thing. Mostly in WVA and even worked with a few brokers. Acreage, surrounding topography, local laws and how deep your pockets are all come into play. It was a needle in the haystack for me. Good luck!

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Yeah. Just going to depend heavily. Is there a hill or berm between your property and theirs? Thick woods? Just open fields? Would your range be pointed in the general direction of any structures? Other people's property? Etc.

As a vague rule of thumb, I'd go with 150yds from other people's house's or structures from any part of where the range is (shooting location or targets). That's as much common sense and curtsey as any real laws. You'd need to check the local county and possibly town ordinances. For example in some Maryland counties there are no setbacks for recreational shooting, but you want to hunt it is 150yds from you, your target or the direction you are shooting from anything occupied.

For me it would be a combination of safety and courtesy. Maybe your neighbor(s) might love shooting themselves. Maybe they work night shifts so you shooting the day is going to wake them up if they are close.

Distance from your back stop and what is behind it is absolutely THE most important thing. You could be on 30 acres, but if there is a townhouse development a quarter mile straight line behind your back stop, abort. Do not proceed. You skip a round or launch one over the berm, its coming down in the houses. If you've got a tall hill as your backstop, someone's house could be 100yds on the other side of the hill and possibly just fine and safe (might still be a nuisance to the neighbor though).

In general, hilly is going to require probably the smallest property. Wooded, especially dense wooded would be next smallest. Open or mostly open fields is going to require the largest property for a personal range. Neighbors is probably almost tied for how important it is. If they are cool with it, heck you could be 50ft from their house and be fine, but that's probably not as likely as you shooting is possibly going to be at least a mild annoyance and they might just end up being extremely anti-gun, even in a conservative area. Or they might not be, but will be fast if you are out shooting on your range an hour or two every weekend a couple hundred feet from their house.

Want a ball park? I'd go with a minimum of 10 acres in a really hilly wooded area. 15 in thick woods. 30+ for open fields. That's assuming most of the properties are roughly that size also. If it is all much smaller properties around yours, you'll probably want double the size of your property.

It also depends on what you shoot. If it is silenced 22s on paper targets, tin cans, etc. (and not steel) then yeah, you could get away with significantly smaller properties so long as you aren't violating any laws and are still sure you've got that really good backstop and no houses for a long distance behind. You want to shoot 50BMG, well probably figure 2-4x larger properties than what I mentioned.

I know guys Eastern shore on just 2-3 acres who shoot in their backyard with no problems with 22s (not silenced) fairly regular and none of the neighbors mind. They've got several neighbors to either side and a farm behind them with a rammed earth back stop about 5' high and 20' long with some targets setup. They shoot at 10-20yds with 22 pistols and rifles. No one bats an eye. I also know guys on 30 acres surrounded by farms and (wait for it) horse farms and neighbors complain to the police on the regular about them shooting on the property (but nothing the police will do about it except pass along the occasional complaint).

Unfortunately there is no good way to know until you own the property and start shooting on it. But again, rules of thumb. Make sure you could build a HIGH backstop. Ideally you really want a natural hill. No hill and you are going to want a couple of hundred yards of thick woods before anyone's houses or structures (any kind of structures) behind your shooting range back stop. If you can see it through trees with the leaves off, its too close to be safe. Distance to the sided or in front of your shooting range is as much about not pissing off neighbors and that could be no real distance up to half a mile if you've got some dick neighbor. But I'd say 150yds and up (at least to neighboring structures, ideally to the property line) and at that point, probably even local noise ordinances wouldn't hold you to anything so long as you aren't shooting really heavy artillery (I don't mean that literally, I mean in terms of like shooting 300WM, 50BMG, etc.).

Johnconlee said:

I have 4 acres, 35 yards is all I have for a safe range.

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IANAL and can't vouch for the varying state laws but even in the free state of Texas you are required 5 acres minimum to shoot shotguns/rimfire and 10 acres for centerfire rifles. Check the local regs!

And of course, doesn't matter where you are, if your projectile crosses a property line you are in violation. And if your neighbor plucks a frag out of their dog's shoulder you are in for a world of hurt. You would be surprised what a .22 will ricochet off of.

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In THIS part of Texas, the only restriction is that bullets CANNOT LEAVE your property.

Tons of wisdom in that post, lazarus. Much appreciated.

twybyll said:

Tons of wisdom in that post, lazarus. Much appreciated.

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One thing you could always do is write/type up a slip and leave it in all of the possible neighbors' mailboxes introducing yourself. Mention you are looking to purchase X property so you'd be their new neighbor. Mention what you are thinking of using the property for (2nd home. Living there as a primary home. Hunting, camping, fishing getaway. Etc.)

Not sure I'd straight up SAY you plan to shoot on it recreationally, but if you get anyone contacting you back once you've said you'll be hunting there (even if you don't hunt, but you plan to shoot on the property) with a "F OFF, we don't want your kind here" that would be a fairly good way to get a temperature check of what the neighbors are like. Get a neighbor who does reach back out to you saying "welcome to the neighborhood. I am a hunter too." or "we need someone to help take care of the deer" or whatever. You can ask some follow up questions and then mentioned you'd probably setup a little (or big) private shooting range and you'd love for them to come over some time to shoot on it some if they shoot. Or something like that. Ask if any of the other neighbors are hunters or shooters. Etc.

If you plan to buy X property no matter what, I wouldn't do that and tip the locals off. But if you are on the fence and want the temperature check, well the one(s) that are going to be the A-holes might tip their hand ahead of time and probably wouldn't stay quite about things once you already own it and are trying to use YOUR property how you'd like to.

I ride the fence of "so long as I am being safe, F off, I'll use my property how I want". But with a mix of "well I also have to live with these people right next to me, shouldn't piss them off too much". Plenty of ways neighbors can make your life miserable legally and some don't mind doing it illegally too (clandestinely or brazenly).

PS and if I am going to be honest, unless it was quite a distance away, I'd be pretty annoyed with a neighbor recreationally shooting on their property without at least some mild courtesy coordination/heads with me. I mean, I could care less if they are a quarter mile away unless they are doing night shooting well past dark or before dawn. Daytime I mostly wouldn't care unless it is significant and often (like if it was a neighbor who had the time and money to go out shooting a couple of hours every day on their property, that would get old really fast, again unless they were fairly far away).

But I am human and it wouldn't take many ruined "well I was just laying down for a nap when BOOM. BOOM. BOOM" from my neighbor's back yard 100 yards away to really make me mad at my neighbor. The opportunity to at least express "hey I am work, go to town" or "thanks for the heads up, open fire buddy" or the worst case of "hey, mind waiting a couple of hours? I had a long night and a stomach bug. I am trying to take a nap and rest up"

But everything is relative. All the properties around might just be hunting properties where that's just not much of a concern (well, unless you are blazing away on your range opening morning). Or they are all people who could care less. Or it might be a ton of big properties where you are hundreds of yards away and it just won't be that loud even with windows open.

OneGunTex said:

IANAL and can't vouch for the varying state laws but even in the free state of Texas you are required 5 acres minimum to shoot shotguns/rimfire and 10 acres for centerfire rifles. Check the local regs!

And of course, doesn't matter where you are, if your projectile crosses a property line you are in violation. And if your neighbor plucks a frag out of their dog's shoulder you are in for a world of hurt. You would be surprised what a .22 will ricochet off of.

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No acerage requirements in st marys. I shoot in to a u shaped wash out in a 20' bank with logs and lumber above the target area. I'm not going to say ricochet is impossible but due to the lay of the land it's near impossible for a fragment or ricochet to leave my property.

Johnconlee said:

No acerage requirements in st marys. I shoot in to a u shaped wash out in a 20' bank with logs and lumber above the target area. I'm not going to say ricochet is impossible but due to the lay of the land it's near impossible for a fragment or ricochet to leave my property.

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That's what the St Marys Sheriffs office thought too. Until they had to collect one of their projectiles out of someones bedroom wall 1/2 a mile from the gravel pit they were using as a training range.

traveller said:

That's what the St Marys Sheriffs office thought too. Until they had to collect one of their projectiles out of someones bedroom wall 1/2 a mile from the gravel pit they were using as a training range.

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Pretty sure that was a centerfire rifle round, and highly doubt there was anything directly above or beside the target area. Imagine shooting into a tunnel, earth on three sides and a roof of wood and logs. Then figure how a pistol or rimfire projectile makes a u turn out of that tunnel. Then in that direction is a hillside taller than the backstop. Beyond that hill is 1.5 miles of hills, swamp and woods. Not saying impossible but the chances of hitting a house or person are lower than the chances of a ricochet hitting the shooter on my range.

How big is your wallet? I posted 2 perfect properties next to me. One 70 acres the other 140 something. A LOT cheaper than you're going to find within 300 miles of Baltimore.

Shooting Range

I would say to be safe you need atleast 10 acres and a direction to shoot with a nice dirt berm to shoot into. Set your range to be at the furthest point from your property line to be safe.

As others have mentioned, it’s really a topography issue more than an acreage issue. Unless you get into really big, heavily wooden acreage, noise will be an issue and bullets are going to be at risk of leaving your land if it’s flat.

Our land has deep draws on both sides, and shooting up the draw is a pretty safe. I’d look for something that has a hill or berm.

Just to elaborate on the topography- I’m very fortunate to have purchased a home on 5 acres that works for shooting. My house is on high ground with a 60’ or so drop down to a stream bed. I set up my range using that 60’ drop as my backdrop and shooting towards my house (as opposed to someone else’s). Mostly shoot suppressed 9mm but anything goes. It’s Carroll County so I hear the sound of freedom all around me.

Also you will need to, once your land & range is procured, notify all your new friends here on MDS as to the address of said property. Then an MDS range breakin party will be organized. One caveat, you will find you have lots more friends than you realized.

Besides what is legal or illegal,, what is ethical?
People buy 5-10 acres and think they are "Livin in the country"
Hearing a neighbor shooting 600 yards away on his 200 acres is one thing,, you start shooting centerfire 100 yards from my house and we have problems.

Mr.Culper said:

Besides what is legal or illegal,, what is ethical?
People buy 5-10 acres and think they are "Livin in the country"
Hearing a neighbor shooting 600 yards away on his 200 acres is one thing,, you start shooting centerfire 100 yards from my house and we have problems.

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Is it ethical for you tell someone they can shoot on their property just cause you don't like the sound of it?

Park ranger said:

Is it ethical for you tell someone they can shoot on their property just cause you don't like the sound of it?

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Exactly. It’s a good thing he doesn’t live in my area. Almost everyone on my road has a backyard range. Never had an issue.