Discharging a firearm - how much land must you have?

[majormadmax]

The aforementioned law (Section 229.002 of the Local Government Code) is pretty clear...but don't trust me, contact a lawyer and see what he/she says!

I would recommend getting their response in writing.

[easttx699]

Can anyone please help my wife and I on how to approach a non-cooperative neighbor who lives next to our house in the country that we just purchased last fall? He continually discharges handguns of various sizes and decibel levels with no warning at all times of day within 100-150 ft of our home. He is concealed behind a 6' fence so we never know when or where he's shooting. When asked to be more considerate (we have never questioned his right to own his guns) and to possibly go to a firing range he laughs at us and says he is training his wife to shoot snakes (a blatant lie). We are outside the city limits but he does not own more than 2 acres of land. My reading of TX gun laws on this site and elsewhere leads me to believe that he is violating them but when I've called the local authorities they claim that he is within his rights to shoot anytime he wants.

[Me007gold]

Originally Posted by easttx699

Can anyone please help my wife and I on how to approach a non-cooperative neighbor who lives next to our house in the country that we just purchased last fall? He continually discharges handguns of various sizes and decibel levels with no warning at all times of day within 100-150 ft of our home. He is concealed behind a 6' fence so we never know when or where he's shooting. When asked to be more considerate (we have never questioned his right to own his guns) and to possibly go to a firing range he laughs at us and says he is training his wife to shoot snakes (a blatant lie). We are outside the city limits but he does not own more than 2 acres of land. My reading of TX gun laws on this site and elsewhere leads me to believe that he is violating them but when I've called the local authorities they claim that he is within his rights to shoot anytime he wants.

Your two choices are either deal with it, or move. You called the authorities, and they say its perfectly legal.

[TrapperL]

Call down to the Bexar County Courthouse on Tuesday and ask what the exact law states. In 1990, Bexar County passed an ordinance that you cannot discharge weapon on any property of less than 10 acres. The responding sheriff was an idiot if he told you it was okay for the neighbor to shoot. The ordinance also stated the bullet cannot leave the 10 acres. So if he doesn't have a berm or backstop, he's in violation there as well. Once armed with the ordinance, I'd push it hard to keep stray bullets from hurting someone. Even a 22 has a range of 1 mile.

[TexasRedneck]

Originally Posted by easttx699

Can anyone please help my wife and I on how to approach a non-cooperative neighbor who lives next to our house in the country that we just purchased last fall? He continually discharges handguns of various sizes and decibel levels with no warning at all times of day within 100-150 ft of our home. He is concealed behind a 6' fence so we never know when or where he's shooting. When asked to be more considerate (we have never questioned his right to own his guns) and to possibly go to a firing range he laughs at us and says he is training his wife to shoot snakes (a blatant lie). We are outside the city limits but he does not own more than 2 acres of land. My reading of TX gun laws on this site and elsewhere leads me to believe that he is violating them but when I've called the local authorities they claim that he is within his rights to shoot anytime he wants.

You need to check the law in your local county. You're east of Dallas - but you need to check what the law is in YOUR specific county. In many counties, there are no property size restrictions, but there IS a responsibility to ensure that he's "trapping" any projectiles before they leave his property.