Shooting Over a River... Legal or Not?

[osokne]

After much digging, the only law I could find regarding shooting over a river (or other body of water) had to do with being on National Forest land. The river in question, is fairly small as rivers go (~30ft wide avg) and runs through a valley, which is fairly steep, on both sides. One side of the valley, is privately owned and the other side is BLM land. The property line is the river, itself... or the historic high water mark thereof, or some such.

The owner of the (private) property asked me if I knew whether or not it was okay to shoot a target, on the other side of the valley. So, he'd be shooting a level/horizontal shot, at a target on the other side, at roughly the same elevation. (Not downward or upward). The other side is completely uninhabited and has no roads. In fact, it's so steep, it's basically inaccessible. Both the proposed shooting & target positions, are roughly 120ft above the river. On the target side it's over 2000ft to the top of the ridge, which is 2500 yards distant. Which pretty much makes it a "BFB" or "Big Friggin' Backstop". The terrain is sand/soil, with scattered bushes and trees.

Any ideas?

[phrogg111]

Shooting over a body of water, or shooting over or down a road, is illegal. If part of the land is BLM land, I wouldn't risk it. I wish I could quote the laws on this.

Is the BLM land all considered national forest?

[NorCalDustin]

Over or down a road... Illegal, yes.

Over a body of water... I dont know.

[MudCamper]

It's an interesting question. I don't know of any federal codes that prohibit shooting across rivers on BLM lands. They can however post closures and restrictions per 43 CFR 8364.

Known state and federal codes

BLM public statement on shooting

You could call the local BLM office and ask their opinion. While it may not be correct, it would tell you whether or not they'd come after you for it.

[IrishJoe3]

Shooting over a body of water, or shooting over or down a road, is illegal.

The road, yes. Over water? I'm not so sure.

[crackerman]

Why does everyone thing shooting over a road is illegal?

[NorCalDustin]

Why does everyone thing shooting over a road is illegal?

Please go read the BLM website and lookup prohibited shooting locations.

[fullrearview]

Over water? As far as I know, it is illegal. I will look for the fish and game code. It's one of those lost in the back of the book codes that I have only seen brought up a few times while backing DFG Wardens.

[Ron-Solo]

Is the BLM land all considered national forest?

BLM land is different than National Forest, but both are Federal. They are manage by different areas of the Federal government.

[fullrearview]

Yeah, can't find it right now... Too tired. I'll look tomorrow.

[Curley Red]

Is the river considered a navigable water way?

[mud99]

I doubt you will find much federal law concerning shooting over a river - Otherwise all those gator hunters on TV would be in jail right now.

[osokne]

Is the river considered a navigable water way?

Hmmm... It's not listed on any of the kayak enthusiast websites. Kayaks might get through, part of the the year, yes. Rafts, probably not. Motorized boats would be an "Oh hell no".

[JackRydden224]

When in doubt in California don't do it. You just never know what kind of laws or ban are in place that could get you in trouble. It's not worth it.

I say consult with local authorities first and get it in writing or hard copy of some sort. If they are attempt to arrest or tell you that you can't later then you can present proof you have gotten the okay from the same agency. I'm not a lawyer, but we are talking about guns in an anti-gun state so I can only advise you to CYA all the time.

[DuknBucks]

Over water? As far as I know, it is illegal. I will look for the fish and game code. It's one of those lost in the back of the book codes that I have only seen brought up a few times while backing DFG Wardens.

OK....how about waterfowl hunting? that is legal on many rivers.......

Shooting into water is discussed in hunter safety as a safety issue but not as a general regulation...... bullets can skip!