Is this a safe distance from a road?

[GrizzlyGuy]

Thank you sir. BTW, your posts have been an inspiration to me to drill down to get the "FAQs". Nonetheless, where might I look to prove your declaration?

Thanks, it's good to know that my sig line is working.

The answer to your question isn't in the FAQ as far as I know, but here it is in 16 USC 480:

The jurisdiction, both civil and criminal, over persons within national forests shall not be affected or changed by reason of their existence, except so far as the punishment of offenses against the United States therein is concerned; the intent and meaning of this provision being that the State wherein any such national forest is situated shall not, by reason of the establishment thereof, lose its jurisdiction, nor the inhabitants thereof their rights and privileges as citizens, or be absolved from their duties as citizens of the State.

Here is an example from my photo album:



1) All of that land is in Tahoe National Forest.

2) My Grizzly is parked at the boundary of a state wildlife refuge and state laws and regulations regarding those apply if I drive across the boundary.

3) The boundaries of that wildlife refuge are defined in Placer County Code 9.20.010, and that code also states that it is a no-carry and no-discharge zone:

Prohibited. Except as hereinafter provided, it is unlawful for any person to carry or discharge any firearms, explosives, bows or arrows or other similar missile within the unincorporated areas of the county as set forth and described in subsection B of this section, or to discharge any of the aforesaid into such areas.

B. Applicable Area. This area to which subsection A of this section applies is described as follows: {very long and confusing description of the area's boundary in surveyor lingo}

If I were to cross into that area and discharge my usually-disassembled-cased-and-locked survival rifle, I'd be violating both the county code and various state laws (including 12031 even before I discharged). All of that... out in the national forest.

[Decoligny]

When hunting you can shoot from the side of a road.

Don't let the Fish and Game folks catch you.

The F&G code states that you cannot shoot from within 150 yards of any road or building WHILE HUNTING.

This is one of the issues that confuses people when dealing with LOC.

If there were a prohibition from discharging a firearm from within a certain distance, then you could not LOC.

Here in Kern County, there is no prohibition except the F&G rule, and that only applies when hunting.

[Homebrew2]

Re: 16 USC 480: Most excellent!!! Thank you sir. It leaves little room for argument IMO. I look forward to digesting the rest of your post tomorrow. Cheers

[Decoligny]

FYI, From the Los Angeles County Code:

13.66.040 Discharging firearms--Restrictions generally.

A person shall not shoot, fire or discharge, and a person, firm or corporation shall not cause or permit to be shot, fired or discharged, any rifle, shotgun, pistol, revolver or firearm in the general direction of any house, camp or place of human habitation,

So basically the code says if you are standing next to a house, and you are shooting in a direction where there isn't another house, or a road, or a camp site for more than 1/2 mile, you are good to go.

It helps if you read the code a few times to get what it is really saying.

[Homebrew2]

... The F&G code states that you cannot shoot from within 150 yards of any road or building WHILE HUNTING. ...

Could you help me find the citation for that please. I checked my 10-11 Mammal pamphlet and searched the F&G code on Justia and the only reg I can find is sec. 3004:

[freespool]

So basically the code says if you are standing next to a house, and you are shooting in a direction where there isn't another house, or a road, or a camp site for more than 1/2 mile, you are good to go.

It helps if you read the code a few times to get what it is really saying.

Yes, it seems to only say you can't shoot towards any of those things if they're less than 1/2 mile along the line of fire - no mention of proximity being an issue for any other reason, such as minimum stand-off distance from a house or road, aside from direction of fire.

[GrizzlyGuy]

Could you help me find the citation for that please. I checked my 10-11 Mammal pamphlet and searched the F&G code on Justia and the only reg I can find is sec. 3004:

You have it right, F&G 3004 is the one. There is no distance-from-road provision in 3004 (or any of the Fish & Game code AFAIK) but 3004(b) says you can't fire across a road in an unsafe and reckless manner:

(b) It is unlawful for any person to intentionally discharge any
firearm or release any arrow or crossbow bolt over or across any
public road or other established way open to the public in an unsafe
and reckless manner.

If you are in a national forest, this becomes moot since their regulations prohibit discharge across a road in any manner.

[taperxz]

You need to read 3004 again!! F&G rules are for hunting and not always shooting!! 3004 says you may not hunt or shoot 150 yards from a dwelling. That would include airguns, slingshots, bows or any type of taking of any animal. F&G laws are not always about shooting laws in this state. We have a combination of LEA's that have different laws for different reasons. It's tough but you need to put them all together wherever you are.

[taperxz]

You have it right, F&G 3004 is the one. There is no distance-from-road provision in 3004 (or any of the Fish & Game code AFAIK) but 3004(b) says you can't fire across a road in an unsafe and reckless manner:



If you are in a national forest, this becomes moot since their regulations prohibit discharge across a road in any manner.

Some national forests say you can't shoot from within 150 feet of a road also. Like i said it all depends on the local rules in each area.