Maine and firearms, Ok - or not? (Hiram, Sangerville: crime rates, new home)

[ClownShoes]

Ok, here's a question that I'm sure will get many replies.

I've been out at some friends property in Pennsylvania ( 50 acres ) and we can hunt ( during the season )and target shoot on their property with no problems or concerns.

Is this ok in Maine?

I'm looking to buy 50 or more acres and I'd like to target shoot, and perhaps hunt on it. Are there any concerns with residents / neighbors that I should be aware of?

Naturally safety first, but I'm wondering if lots of shooting is an annoyance to the locals or are they use to hearing gunshots off season?

The last thing I want to do as someone new to the area is to be a pain.

Thanks is anvance~!

[Bydand]

Depends on the area really. The closer you get to the populated areas, the less tolerant some people will be. Where I live, nobody bothers you at all. I can sit out behind my parents house and day and target shoot, they have 20 acres just outside the townline and neighbors on either side. I take my boys out there during the winter because Dad keeps a path cleared out to the back shed and we set targets out there for the boys to shoot. During the Summer we go out to an old gravel pit and shoot. Nobody says anything. Been doing it for 20 years and never once had a complaint.

[Acadianlion]

In Maine it is against the law to fire a weapon within 300 feet of a dwelling. We own three Maine Coon Cats and occasionally we have foxes and other large animals in the area. The foxes bother me mostly because they are often really scraggily looking, and we have had a rapid fox population problem in the past. Normally they stay away, but I can and will defend my property and animals if necessary. The police told me that I could shoot preditors that were a danger to my property within 300 feet of a dwelling, provided I notified the neighbor and informed tham of the problem before doing the shooting.

We have purchased 18 acres of land some distance from here, and I wanted to go walking ont he property looking a the land for citing our house. The former owner suggested that I carry some sort of firearms because there are at least two or three coyote dens in the immediate area, and he has seen coyotes running in packs.

The police told me that I could carry a hand gun so long as it wasn't concealed. In fact, I was told that there was nothing to prevent me legally from wearing a handgun down Main Street so long as it wasn't concealed, and the only public establishment that I could NOT wear a hand gun into was a bar. I was told that carrying the handgun in the car was legal so long as it was not concealed.

I have no issue with true sportsmen who love to go hunting. Our acreage backs up onto a very large area of wilderness and there has been hunting in those woods for generations. I do not intend to post my property once we live there, and doubt that I will need to. Once we build on that property and live there, I expect that all of the locals will know that there are new neighbors there and won't shoot toward the house, and I doubt that anyone will be hunting on our land anyway, not with really deep woods in back stretching for a couple of miles.

I am personally not a hunter. The only thing that I might like to shoot wildlife with is a camera, and I have long held the belief that I will not go wild animal hunting until they issue semi-automatic weapons to the animals.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

I would add a few things to Acadianlion's post.

If you carry a handgun in your vehicle it must be unloaded unless you have a concealed weapons permit. You cannot carry a handgun into a post office or federal building.

All coyotes travel in packs. They do not den up near each other. They are very competitive. A pack is usually two parents and the pups for that year and a couple of stragglers from the previous year. The males get kicked out first.

I believe that Maine is among the top firearm friendly states. I posted a while back about the Connecticut lady who bought a home in Sangerville. One Saturday morning at 10 AM, life as she expected it to be was changed forever. Several M-60 machine guns opened up simultaneously, followed by a .50 cal Browning, numerous Uzis and all manner of automatic weapons continued the barrage. It was the annual Hiram Maxim Memorial Machine Gun Shoot.

When she called 911 in an absolute babbling panic, the deputy said, "Oh, You must be new in town. That is perfectly legal in Maine. They do it every year. About half the deputies in Maine are there enjoying the fun."

[Coaster]

Yeah, the Hiram Maxim Shoot was great. I attended two of them before the sponsors ended it a few years back. The after-dark tracer show was outstanding. One year a guy from New Hampshire drove up towing an antitank gun behind his truck. Said he absolutely no trouble with tailgaters. That gun did a heckuva job on the target vehicles at the far end of the gravel pit.

[starwalker]

Oh, that is funny... and a good reason to do research and learn as much as you can about your new home town early on. I admit that, were that to happen to me, I'd likely be calling 911 from flat on the floor somewhere. But after learning what the goings-on were all about, I'd likely head out to watch. I gather from a related post that this event is no longer happening, though.

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

One Saturday morning at 10 AM, life as she expected it to be was changed forever. Several M-60 machine guns opened up simultaneously, followed by a .50 cal Browning, numerous Uzis and all manner of automatic weapons continued the barrage. It was the annual Hiram Maxim Memorial Machine Gun Shoot.

When she called 911 in an absolute babbling panic, the deputy said, "Oh, You must be new in town. That is perfectly legal in Maine. They do it every year. About half the deputies in Maine are there enjoying the fun."

[AustinB]

I've been out in those woods with the coyotes. they won't bother you. We camped out back there one night. They circled our tent all night... yipping and yapping. I'd turn on the flashlight and they would go quiet. They didn't stop until 3 in the morning. We don't camp out back any more.
The coyotes used to come in so close to the house that they were within 200 feet.

By the way, I like to target practice out back there, so be warned. There's quite a stretch of woods between us, so we're probably safe. Mostly shotguns but occasionally handguns and rifles.
Concealed weapons permits are easy to get in town. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

[mainebrokerman]

i read somewhere ,,maine has one of the highest gun rates per capita, yet lowest crime rates...... what a coincidence!!!

[island mermaid]

Originally Posted by AustinB

I've been out in those woods with the coyotes. they won't bother you. We camped out back there one night. They circled our tent all night... yipping and yapping. I'd turn on the flashlight and they would go quiet. They didn't stop until 3 in the morning. We don't camp out back any more.
The coyotes used to come in so close to the house that they were within 200 feet.

By the way, I like to target practice out back there, so be warned. There's quite a stretch of woods between us, so we're probably safe. Mostly shotguns but occasionally handguns and rifles.
Concealed weapons permits are easy to get in town. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

The Coyotes have become a huge problem on IAH over the last couple years.
They've taken a toll on our deer population, we no longer have any wild turkeys and some residents have lost small pets as well. The guys on the island have been out hunting these things almost every night for the last couple weeks. A couple days ago my DS walks down the cliffs to her compost pile and sees a somewhat unexpected visitor. The next morning she makes her way down again, this time bringing along her shotgun. Sure enough, the same coyote is back. She takes the shot and of course bags it. She calls the guys on the island to come over to "help her with an errand" and brings them down to the compost pile.... they were so pissed because she got the first one! She emailed me pics of her and her trophy. Good looking animal, nice coat and definitely well fed!
Sorry in advance to those of you that might be offended by this story.

[BacktoNE]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

I would add a few things to Acadianlion's post.

I believe that Maine is among the top firearm friendly states. I posted a while back about the Connecticut lady who bought a home in Sangerville. One Saturday morning at 10 AM, life as she expected it to be was changed forever. Several M-60 machine guns opened up simultaneously, followed by a .50 cal Browning, numerous Uzis and all manner of automatic weapons continued the barrage. It was the annual Hiram Maxim Memorial Machine Gun Shoot.

When she called 911 in an absolute babbling panic, the deputy said, "Oh, You must be new in town. That is perfectly legal in Maine. They do it every year. About half the deputies in Maine are there enjoying the fun."

OMGosh, that is hysterical!

Okay, I really and truly did live in Maine my entire life (until May of 06) and I have never heard of the Hiram Maxim Memorial Machine Gun Shoot! Had I heard all that, I too would have been flat on the floor, probably under the bed, calling 911!!!

I'm one of those anti-hunting people who will only shoot animals with a camera. If I owned acreage, it would be very well posted.

Just thoroughly check the area you are interested in before you purchase to see what the mind set is among the land owners. I'm sure you will be able to find a location where you will be very content.