I have searched but cant seem to find something previously posted.  Can anyone direct me to the correct topic post that deals with discharging a firearm within the city limits as it relates it amount of land needed. Thanks in advance.

Local Government Code Sec. 229.002

You need at least 10 acres for a shotgun, air rifle or pistol, BB gun, or bow and arrow, and 50 acres for a center fire or rim fire rifle or pistol.

There are additional distance requirements as well.


ETA:  I have no search skills.  

Problem solved

If nobody hears, nobody cares !

Exactly!

Why didn't you just toss it in the trash? You turned a dead raccoon into a tax expenditure

 

If you're around Dallas and put the slightest doubt in the cops mind that it's fireworks and not gunfire, they will blow it off. Especially if only one person calls it in.

That said, we are entering a new era of shrouded PCP airguns.

The county sheriff on my one side and neighbors on the other, and 4 or five houses either way had a running thing that if one heard a gunshot just revel in that the diller tearing up the yards has ended his reign.

'Course the back fence is the city limits here and we have to try to avoid the cattle if aiming that way.

I've heard rumours of people firing .22's inside Dallas city limits with no police called.

'course those are just rumours.

I figure the odd pop of a .22 dispatching a possum is fair trade for all the damn fireworks my neighbors set off on the 4th, New Years, ....and Christmas (that one I just don't get).

My RWS .177 air gun has more than enough to deal with the normal pests. I have dispatched about 6 skunks and several raccoons. I double bag them in plastic bags and dispose of them in a local dumpster. There is a elementary school behind my house so firearm discharge is out of the question. I have heard dove hunters in a local field be hind our house when dove season is open.

V

I can appreciate everyone's advice and I have a few cans myself but I'm kinda on the other side of the situation. I'll give ya a little background info... Our house is very well within the city limits being about a block from downtown (tiny town). Adjacent to the house is a somewhat open field with tree lines, let's call it two or three acres. I'm normally one to mind my own business, but I couldn't let this one go. I believe the field is city owned because there is a water substation on it; though I'm not sure at this point. The only truck that I've seen around there are city trucks. While walking the dog on Sat, I noticed a hunting blind someone set up. The land is absolutely saturated with nice bucks. I see them literally every day. What I'm not ok with is someone shooting towards the house. I have dogs and  kids out pretty regularly. Shooting there safely isn't feasable, even if it was legal. I originally though I'd  take the dog back home then throw the blind in the damn dumpster. Before I got home I though better of that idea because I wasn't 150% sure who owned the property. This is where my question over the land size came in. Only being a few acres, it should fall below the 10 acres for shotgun / 50 for rifle law. I ended up just deciding to call an officer who could take it from there. He told me he knew someone with permission to hunt there but this wasn't the same guy; more on that shortly. He was also mistaken about the 10/50 acre requirement, but i wasn't gonna bring this to his attention. He said he'd check into it and kind of blew me off. Well the person he said had permission is one of the officers there. How does that work? If it's city land, who grants that damn permission; To that end, it should still be regulated by the 10/50 (which I could completely misunderstand). I suppose from here I'll try to find out who owns the land. Who do I talk to at the city/county level for that? Then I guess go from there.

Add: I saw the guy leave who set up the blind. He lives down the road and is aware of the deer.  I say this to explain that I knew it wasn't the officer with "permission".

Game warden might be more interested in it, especially if a local cop is the guilty party.

1-800-792-4263

operation game thief

Then if it's some sort of "buddy" thing that's not legit, it's gonna get more scrutiny.

Pretty sure game wardens care.

OK, I will play the stupid city boy here.    Are the acreage guidelines listed at the beginning of this thread the same for all land?    

I am contemplating buying a house sitting on 25 acres in Van Zandt county and was hoping to set up a simple range on it but if the 50 acres rule applies then I am SOL.

Thanks for your help.

Are you inside the city limits of a town?

If you are in an unincorporated part of the county and will not be shooting across public roads or property lines then you need to look at Van Zandt's specific county laws. Every county is different.

Not inside the city limits.   I will dig into the county laws.

Thanks.

I mentored with Game Warden's during an selective internship program.
We had a few calls from inside the city limits. One was two minors shooting
squirrels with BB guns. They were not at all interested in the discharging of a firearm at all.
That county considered ANYTHING that fired a projectile a firearm discharge. So.. BB gun,
air gun, bow/crossbow etc
(This was in a metro area, or well within the city limits) As they shouldn't be. It's not
their job to enforce a city ordinance. They were issued tickets for taking game without
a hunting license. They COULD call the local PD,but that's a stretch.

I could be mistaken but I don't think these stands were set up to hunt squirrels with BB guns but to each their own.  I would hope setting up deer stands within close distance of a public road/houses would get their attention if complaints were filed.  

Curious, what was the most common call the GW's got?

The property rule states what cities cannot regulate. It does not mean they must regulate what they can regulate. If Dallas wants to allow rifle shooting on trailer lots, they can do that.

Game Warden would probably like to check out a blind like that on municipal property. Especially if it's a nice one and well built. Probably someone's weekend morning blind when they figure everyone is gone.

City of Dallas had hijinx going on at their big landfill at McCommas Bluff with this kind of thing in years past. I always figured it was city employees. Police said it was verboten and had no knowledge of it. Same with the dump supervisor.

Ok! spit up on that one. But I needed the laugh.

In the city, it was mainly dispatching animals. Lot of wilderness gets caught up on fences and other man made obstacles. I worked in more rural counties and that is a totally different ball game. As you could imagine.

I should have read a little bit better, but there were no blinds there. Just kids running up and down a neighborhood. I can't imagine a hunting blind in the city limits. That's just silly.

What is scary is the 10 acres for a BB gun.

For a BB gun

Exactly

Quackenbush    

Thought Id give an update:  I contacted the Tax Assessors office here in the county.  After looking on a map I was able to determine platt numbers for which they gave me contact information.  The land is split between the city and another individual.  The acreage totaled about 6 acres.  Following advice, I contacted the GW.  A couple of them took the time to come out and actually speak with me personally and gather information.  They went out and found the blind and said he had talked with the local PO.  Apparently there wasn't a clear understanding from the original officer where the land was.  (He would have know this if he actually took the time to come out or do anything really) The officer with permission hunts land on down the road. That's great and I'm all for him hunting; I just thought there was a good ole boy issue with city land.  Long story short he was going to talk to the guy and hopefully all is taken care of.  The local officer could have saved everyone trouble and did his job from the beginning.

That sounds too much like work, and then what's the point in getting a government job if you have to actually do something?



 

You are nicer than I. I would have definitely found a way to playfully sabotage the stand. Glitter bomb, contact cement, thumb tack, etc.

Crap; spray adhesive and glitter, why didn't I think of that.

If it is small enough of a town, there's a pretty good chance to get pushback from this "hunter" since I'm sure he'll find out who ratted him out.  If you haven't already, you might want to put up some security cameras.

1. I'm not a rat for attempting to protect my family / property.
2. For that reason, if there's any pushback it will be handled accordingly.