Tx law on minimum acreage for discharge of firearms?

[Hos]

Yep, them's the laws for inside city limits.

Out in the country, as long as your bullets do not cross property lines without permission, you're gold.

I did a forum search and found this thread. Please help me clarify this...

I'm building a home on a 4 acre site outside of city limits in Johnson Co. (Just south of Tarrant Co.) It's only 4 acres but it's surrounded by 12 to 140 acre lots so it's quite rural. I just bought a Ruger .22 rifle and shot it on my neighbor's property which is 12 acres. Am I legal to shoot?? It's less then 50 acres but it's out in the country.

Also, if I see a wolf gnawing on my goat's leg at 2 in the morning and I have a clear shot, can I not shoot him on my 4 acre lot with my .22 rifle?

[TheArmedFarmer]

I'm building a home on a 4 acre site outside of city limits in Johnson Co. (Just south of Tarrant Co.) It's only 4 acres but it's surrounded by 12 to 140 acre lots so it's quite rural. I just bought a Ruger .22 rifle and shot it on my neighbor's property which is 12 acres. Am I legal to shoot?? It's less then 50 acres but it's out in the country.

On your 4 acres, probably not unless your county specifically allows it. Call your county commissioner and they will tell you.

The 12 acre property is fine for shooting.

Also, if I see a wolf gnawing on my goat's leg at 2 in the morning and I have a clear shot, can I not shoot him on my 4 acre lot with my .22 rifle?

Again, talk to your county commissioner.

In the city limits of Jacksonville, you can shoot to protect property from animals no matter what size lot you have.

[Jeremae]

I must be missing something here. The way I read the state law, the county can regulate shooting on parcels of land less than 10 acres that are in a sub division. If the land is NOT in a subdivision, it doesn't matter how small it is. The only constraint is that your bullets don't cross your property line.

[CodeJockey]

This is a great topic. My brother-in-law has a lease of land inside Midlothian city limits. It is approximately 100 acres (or more). There are no residences within at least 1/4 mile of the land where we would shoot. Does this mean that we are free to shoot handguns / shotguns without worrying about the local police? Obviously we would ensure a proper backstop and use safety measures. We have been hesitant to do this since it resides within city limits.

[Hos]

I just called the commissioner's court who referred me to the county attorney's office. Left a msg...

I'm building a home on a 4 acre site outside of city limits in Johnson Co. (Just south of Tarrant Co.) It's only 4 acres but it's surrounded by 12 to 140 acre lots so it's quite rural. I just bought a Ruger .22 rifle and shot it on my neighbor's property which is 12 acres. Am I legal to shoot?? It's less then 50 acres but it's out in the country.

On your 4 acres, probably not unless your county specifically allows it. Call your county commissioner and they will tell you.

The 12 acre property is fine for shooting.

Also, if I see a wolf gnawing on my goat's leg at 2 in the morning and I have a clear shot, can I not shoot him on my 4 acre lot with my .22 rifle?

Again, talk to your county commissioner.

In the city limits of Jacksonville, you can shoot to protect property from animals no matter what size lot you have.

[Pinkycatcher]

This is a great topic. My brother-in-law has a lease of land inside Midlothian city limits. It is approximately 100 acres (or more). There are no residences within at least 1/4 mile of the land where we would shoot. Does this mean that we are free to shoot handguns / shotguns without worrying about the local police? Obviously we would ensure a proper backstop and use safety measures. We have been hesitant to do this since it resides within city limits.

That's odd, you have to check with the City Code, I know Fort Worth has a grandfather clause for that if the land was annexed after sept. 1, 1981 or some odd date (that's probably not the right date) Most cities should have a website with that info on it. As far as safety goes, that's more than enough land to safely shoot on. Is it a hunting lease or any other shooting related lease? Because if it is, I would expect you to be able to.

[flb_78]

I'm building a home on a 4 acre site outside of city limits in Johnson Co. (Just south of Tarrant Co.) It's only 4 acres but it's surrounded by 12 to 140 acre lots so it's quite rural. I just bought a Ruger .22 rifle and shot it on my neighbor's property which is 12 acres. Am I legal to shoot?? It's less then 50 acres but it's out in the country.

On your 4 acres, probably not unless your county specifically allows it. Call your county commissioner and they will tell you.

The 12 acre property is fine for shooting.

Also, if I see a wolf gnawing on my goat's leg at 2 in the morning and I have a clear shot, can I not shoot him on my 4 acre lot with my .22 rifle?

Again, talk to your county commissioner.

In the city limits of Jacksonville, you can shoot to protect property from animals no matter what size lot you have.

Once again, in Texas, if your property is outside of city limits, then you are free to shoot on it, no matter the size, as long as your bullets do not cross property lines (unless permission is given by the other property owner).

Some counties do have regulations for minimum acreage, but it's not state wide.

Here in Potter County, we have no acreage restrictions.

[TheArmedFarmer]

Once again, in Texas, if your property is outside of city limits, then you are free to shoot on it, no matter the size, as long as your bullets do not cross property lines (unless permission is given by the other property owner).

No, it's not as cut and dry as you make it out to be. State law gives the authority to the county commissioner to prohibit the discharge of firearms on lots in a subdivision that are under 10 acres. My advice to him was to contact the county commission to find out if there are regulations in his county, and that's the correct advice. As mentioned earlier in this thread (perhaps you overlooked it) here again is the code you are wanting:

Sec. 235.022. AUTHORITY TO REGULATE. To promote the public safety, the commissioners court of a county by order may prohibit or otherwise regulate the discharge of firearms on lots that are 10 acres or smaller and are located in the unincorporated area of the county in a subdivision.

If the OP followed your advice and went shooting on his 4 acre tract, and IF his commissioner has outlawed such activity, your advice might have landed this gentleman into some trouble.

Now, if the 4 acre tract isn't part of a "subdivision" then he's probably fine, but I wouldn't say he's "gold".

[flb_78]

Once again, in Texas, if your property is outside of city limits, then you are free to shoot on it, no matter the size, as long as your bullets do not cross property lines (unless permission is given by the other property owner).

No, it's not as cut and dry as you make it out to be. State law gives the authority to the county commissioner to prohibit the discharge of firearms on lots in a subdivision that are under 10 acres. My advice to him was to contact the county commission to find out if there are regulations in his county, and that's the correct advice. As mentioned earlier in this thread (perhaps you overlooked it) here again is the code you are wanting:

Sec. 235.022. AUTHORITY TO REGULATE. To promote the public safety, the commissioners court of a county by order may prohibit or otherwise regulate the discharge of firearms on lots that are 10 acres or smaller and are located in the unincorporated area of the county in a subdivision.

If the OP followed your advice and went shooting on his 4 acre tract, and IF his commissioner has outlawed such activity, your advice might have landed this gentleman into some trouble.

Now, if the 4 acre tract isn't part of a "subdivision" then he's probably fine, but I wouldn't say he's "gold".

That's why I posted this as well.

Some counties do have regulations for minimum acreage, but it's not state wide.

[TheArmedFarmer]

The clarification helps. Let's be clear that it's not as cut and dry as your first paragraph made it out to be.

I'm driving this point home here for the benefit of those who aren't clear on it, and those who may arrive here from a web search some day in the future.

[Hos]

Too bad it's so hard to find out what each county's wishes are!

I've called the commissioner's court who referred me to the attorney's office and have left 2 msg. in the last week. Seems to me that if a county has that responsibility and the ball's in their court then they'd post it somewhere for the public to know if they're breaking the law or not. There's lots of "less then 10 acre lots" out there that are not part of the city.

[Mike1951]

Too bad it's so hard to find out what each county's wishes are!

I've called the commissioner's court who referred me to the attorney's office and have left 2 msg. in the last week. Seems to me that if a county has that responsibility and the ball's in their court then they'd post it somewhere for the public to know if they're breaking the law or not. There's lots of "less then 10 acre lots" out there that are not part of the city.

I seem to recall this being listed in the TPWD Hunting Regs in the county listings.

[Hos]

Yeah, I checked that from a previous post but all I could find were counties and what hunting game was legal and when to hunt. Nothing pertaining to this topic, unless I missed it.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/hu ... y_listing/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MBGuy]

A while back I called my county's court to ask about 235.022. The person said she didn't know what I was talking about, to call the county judge's office. I called them, and they didn't know what I was talking about and to call the court's office. After telling her I had already been that route, they contacted the Sheriff's. The Sheriff's office apparently knew what I was talking about but told them there was no 235.022 in the county's code and that I was free to shoot, and they even had my address to make sure. They did ask if there was a homeowner's association as they are the only way it would be prohibited. Luckily for me, I have no HOA .

So you can get an answer, but it may take a while. Now time to find fill dirt to get delivered to go into. For now I've been shooting clays, no problemo. .

FYI, I have 2.5 acres in a widely spaced subdivision in the middle of nowhere. To be safe not to ruffle any feathers, I did talk to the one neighbor I have, and he has no issue with it. I didn't think he would as I've seen him teaching his daughter with a .22 shooting into a pile of dirt left over from his swimming pool install. The next closest neighbor is a friend of mine, and I know he has no problems with it.

[TheArmedFarmer]

The Sheriff's office apparently knew what I was talking about but told them there was no 235.022 in the county's code and that I was free to shoot, and they even had my address to make sure.

Great job tracking that down. It feels good to know you're operating within the law. You're gold, as they say.