Discharging a firearm - how much land must you have? (San Antonio: lawyer, codes)

[sandrads]

In unincorporated Bexar county how much land must you have in order to legally discharge a firearm? Not hunt, but just shoot. I can't find anything looking through the Bexar county website. The sheriff's office tells me one thing & a deputy sheriff told me another.

[jameshardin]

I think that it is 40 acres, but I could be incorrect.

[bigtexan99]

Last I heard it was 7 acres, outside the city limits.

[majormadmax]

Per Section 229.002 of the Local Government Code...

Sec. 229.002. REGULATION OF DISCHARGE OF WEAPON. A municipality may not apply a regulation relating to the discharge of firearms or other weapons in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality or in an area annexed by the municipality after September 1, 1981, if the firearm or other weapon is:

(1) a shotgun, air rifle or pistol, BB gun, or bow and arrow discharged:

(A) on a tract of land of 10 acres or more and more than 150 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and

(B) in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract; or

(2) a center fire or rim fire rifle or pistol of any caliber discharged:

(A) on a tract of land of 50 acres or more and more than 300 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and

(B) in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 18, Sec. 4, eff. May 3, 2005.

But be smart, and still consult a lawyer before shooting anything!

Cheers! M2

[jameshardin]

I love how Max always comes through with the actual code.

[sandrads]

Thanks Max. I have a trigger happy neighbor on the 3 acres next to us. So now I know he doesn't have enough land, he' too close to the neighbor on the other side and he shoots across boundaries. Honestly, I wouldn't have a problem with it, we shoot on our 40 acres, except he only does it when I'm riding my horses or teaching little kids to ride. When asked not to, he made a point to ONLY do it when someone was riding. Just 'cause.

[bigtexan99]

Videotape him doing it then call the Sheriff.

[srteblue]

Growing up in a rural area I was unaware of this law. It was very common to hear guns. It wasn't until one of my coworkers told me of when they had the sheriff called on them here for shooting. The sheriff told them of the rules max cited above, but also told them they only really enforce them in rural areas if they get complaints. I think the coworker was only like 5 acres or so,he only got a warning btw.

[smitty12]

Originally Posted by srteblue

Growing up in a rural area I was unaware of this law. It was very common to hear guns. It wasn't until one of my coworkers told me of when they had the sheriff called on them here for shooting. The sheriff told them of the rules max cited above, but also told them they only really enforce them in rural areas if they get complaints. I think the coworker was only like 5 acres or so,he only got a warning btw.

I don't think the regulation quoted is the whole story it says that a Municipality "may not" regulate in those specific situations. It does not say that a Municipality has to regulate any other situations, has the City of San Antonio put any law on the books to regulate firearms in the XTJ not exempted by that state law?

Also I would imagine that if the City is attempting to regulate in the XTJ that they would also be responsible for enforcement, so the Sheriff's office may not be into enforcement unless people are just being very stupid.

[avball]

I've been trying to find the same information (and also for archery on smaller properties). I have found some municipal codes which are pretty explicit (and within the framework cited above), but not much about in the county. Is it safe to assume that places like Timberwood Park are considered in the county if you aren't paying San Antonio property tax? If that's the case, and I find a property that has a good backstop on the edge of the development and shore up the backstop a bit on my own, would it be kosher to shoot suppressed in my back yard after consulting with the neighbors and local PD (maybe throw up a range flag as a safety/courtesy practice)?

As an aside, if anyone else is wondering about archer, from what little I have found so far, New Braunfels, Cibolo, and Converse have specific exceptions for archery in their weapons discharge ordinances (Converse even allows air rifles--both archery tackle and air rifles must be under adult supervision if used by a minor, projectile cannot be reasonably expected to cross property line, etc), and I didn't see mention of "bow" or "arrow" in the Universal City ordinances. Incorporated San Antonio and Schertz explicitly forbid archery within the city limits. Also sling shots are apparently very naughty.