Lower the legal shooting distance for bow????

[SteveB]

You can hunt closer now - just need to get permission 1st.

150 ft is well within the range a hit deer can travel. Means that even if they lowered the distance you would still need permission eventually to recover a deer. So to hunt that close, you would need prior permission. If a landowner is willing to grant it, then most likely they would grant permission to hunt closer then the current 500 ft.

Anyone thinking that lower it to 150 ft to hunt a suburban area the 500 ft keeps them out of, had better be ready to knock on lot's of doors prior to hunting to get recovery rights or prep for the confrontations that will occur.

[Doc]

Doc, I think it would depend where you hunt. In my area the homes are far apart and only have human activity in the summer months and after that you don't see anyone till next summer. So I would say that they are seasonal and there is no encroaching on any ones privacy.

Dave

The proposal that we are talking about pertains to statewide situations and so my comment was aimed at the situations of the overwhelming majority of properties and their use.

[YoungBucksTasteBetter]

150 ft is well within the range a hit deer can travel. Means that even if they lowered the distance you would still need permission eventually to recover a deer. So to hunt that close, you would need prior permission. If a landowner is willing to grant it, then most likely they would grant permission to hunt closer then the current 500 ft.

Good point..any shots you take would have to be at a deer that is truly close, and you have to hit them right.

[DIAMOND D]

which some would argue are the only humane and or ethical shots to take with the bow 

[Doc]

And we all know that even with the best intentions and flawless execution, stuff happens, doesn't it? Not nice, but still is a fact of life.

[DIAMOND D]

True, I suppose I would just rather I be able to make the judgement call. Not legislation. Then again I'd imagine I do show much more restraint and tact than others out there so perhaps your correct. Lord knows we don't need any more bad press for hunting/hunters.

Still, if someone tells me "no" I can't go recover a deer off their property thats well within their right, even now with the current distances, so I don't see that as a big point. We all know some deer can get the wind behind them and go till the last breath.

[Doc]

This whole part of the discussion about hunting in suburbia is a subject that really poses some potential sticky situations. To me it transcends the distance issue and the permission stuff and gets involved with whether I would ever want to to do it in the first place for all kinds of reasons. I can picture situations where some bloody old deer drops dead in some kid's sand-box, or a school yard, or creates some kind of spectacle on the streets or sidewalks. What the heck.....how do you even handle the gutting situation without looking like some kind of crazed slasher to the housewives and kids and for that matter, the new breed of neutered suburban male. The whole thing just sounds like an activity that has a high probability of placing the hunter in a very public and unpopular situation. It sure wouldn't be for me no matter how the law was changed.

[wztirem]

This whole part of the discussion about hunting in suburbia is a subject that really poses some potential sticky situations. To me it transcends the distance issue and the permission stuff and gets involved with whether I would ever want to to do it in the first place for all kinds of reasons. I can picture situations where some bloody old deer drops dead in some kid's sand-box, or a school yard, or creates some kind of spectacle on the streets or sidewalks. What the heck.....how do you even handle the gutting situation without looking like some kind of crazed slasher to the housewives and kids and for that matter, the new breed of neutered suburban male. The whole thing just sounds like an activity that has a high probability of placing the hunter in a very public and unpopular situation. It sure wouldn't be for me no matter how the law was changed.

Good Post Doc,

The whole idea for lowering the shooting distance for bow is a recipe for disaster especially when it comes to bow hunting in suburban areas,Suffolk County in particular.

Many of us Long Island bow hunters relish the thought of having the opportunity to kill one of those magnificent suburban bucks which inhabit the county. However, the thought of a wounded deer running through someones property or one with an arrow protruding from its body or someone finding an unrecovered deer on their manicured lawn is a problem.

Even if the state lowered the legal shooting distance, the local villages within the County of Suffolk would never permit it. To date, these local  municipilities employ professional hunters to help control deer populations.

I think that the 500' distance is more than adequate. Lowering the distance will create a plethora of controversay which we as hunters do not need.

[ELMER J. FUDD]

Does anyone know if an indoor range for BOW must adhere to the 500 foot rule? I know many people shoot their bows in the basement, garage, etc.

[Doc]

Does anyone know if an indoor range for BOW must adhere to the 500 foot rule? I know many people shoot their bows in the basement, garage, etc.

Good question ..... lol. You can't get much closer to an occupied building than right inside of it.

[fasteddie]

Sheesh ...... I just might have to move my basement !

[WNYBuckHunter]

The 500 foot rule does not apply to a building if you own or rent it.

I would shoot an email to DEC asking that question, but I would have to say that it probably wouldnt apply to an indoor range.

[shawnhu]

What do you guys think about airguns being less than 500 feet? Same as bows?

[G-Man]

500' is a long way for a bow, most people i know that parctice in their backyards or garages are illegal with this rule. say you have a lot 4 acres in size. or 440x440' you cannot discharge your bow on it with out permission, so a new city neighbor complains due the the fact they love all life.. your spot you have practiced in for years is now illegal!! most everyone parctices in their yard/garage.. the house across the street yep your probably illegal. A lot of camps that border stateland are on 5 acre lots you shoot next to your cabin your illegal!! 500' is not far!! it is a common sense change to lower it. it removes the being illegal with out knowing it factor that many of us don't even know we are/were!

[growalot]

you shoot next to your cabin your illegal!!

NO...it's next to...with in 500' of occupied buildings... animal housing.... schools...ect not owned by you....but you can shoot with promission from the property owner of said buildings...I imagine not schools but that should go with out saying...

[WNYBuckHunter]

Grow, I think he meant if the 5 acre lots were right next to each other, so if you were in between 2 cabins, you wouldn't be able to get 500 feet away.

[G-Man]

And the definition of occupied counts as storage sheds/barns even if owner in floridia or not. if on tax roll property description they are occupied buildings.. ive lost a 475' x 100' ft (thats almost an acre) swath of my property that i cannot hunt because a neighbor who doesn't let us hunt put a barn 25' off the property line. and yes its a great travel corridor for game following the old propertty line and the best tree for a stand is within that area...

[SteveB]

If a neighbor won't give you permission to shoot, then they probably won't allow recovery when you need it.

The only backstop that should be allowed in any neighborhood is tight to the shooters own house. If you don't trust yourself to not hit your own house, you shouldn't be shooting there.

[growalot]

OOppps...I see now WNYBH....also the need for spell check...lol

[88GW]

Well I guess I will be practicing just for muscle memory purposes in the garage. From now on and will have to trek out to my gun club for long range archery practice. Kinda sucks but I understand the safety behind it if I were to have an arrow go skyward for some fluke chance.

[fasteddie]

I have shot the bow in my yard . Proper draw is to hold the bow straight out from you and draw back . I hold the bow down at about 45 degrees downward and draw as I start to raise the bow . That way I don't launch an arrow . It's not the proper way to draw a bow but it's the safest .

[Doc]

Ok ...... let's try these out just to be a wise-guy .....lol.

Scenario #1: I am standing in my garage shooting my bow at a butt that is less than 500 feet (perhaps even within a few feet) from a neighbors house. Am I legal? I fired from inside my own building (which I guess we have determined is legal), but the arrow winds up within the illegal zone around my neighbors house.

Scenario #2: How about if my garage is within 500 feet of the neighbors house and I am practicing inside my garage. I have just shot my bow within 500' of the neighbors house but everything was contained within my own building. Did I break the law?

[fasteddie]

Scenario #1: I am standing in my garage shooting my bow at a butt that is less than 500 feet (perhaps even within a few feet) from a neighbors house. Am I legal? I fired from inside my own building (which I guess we have determined is legal), but the arrow winds up within the illegal zone around my neighbors house.

Doc ----- I don't think anyone said the above was legal . I believe it was just admitted that it was done .

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Ok ...... let's try these out just to be a wise-guy .....lol.

Scenario #1: I am standing in my garage shooting my bow at a butt that is less than 500 feet (perhaps even within a few feet) from a neighbors house. Am I legal? I fired from inside my own building (which I guess we have determined is legal), but the arrow winds up within the illegal zone around my neighbors house.

Scenario #2: How about if my garage is within 500 feet of the neighbors house and I am practicing inside my garage. I have just shot my bow within 500' of the neighbors house but everything was contained within my own building. Did I break the law?

Scenario #1. If you are further than the 500' at the point of discharge you are not breaking the law. I know it makes little or no sense. We can be over 500' away and shoot to a point closer but can't be 450' away from teh house and shooting away from it. I have no confirmed this with a bow but I have with a gun. I had an issue with a neighbor lady (I use that term loosly). DEC and sherrif was called on me on 3 occassions. My one stand is 700' from the house (and not even her house. She is an anti-hunter). They came out. I was actually hiunting brush that is in the opposite direction to the house. There is a field to my back, towards the house but very little activity takes place there during the day light. The Officers came to my stand location on all occassions and used a range finder to the structure. All 3 told me I was legal. and while it isn't a good idea to shoot in that direction of the house I could shoot to inside the 500' mark and be legal. Tha was gun but I don't think they view the bow any differently than a gun for the current law.

Scenario #2---Good luck I have no idea. I know gys that do shoot in their basements and are not 500'. I guess it would be one of those you are fine unless something happens. Heck someone could have a heart attack or something and authorities get called in response. That could be all it takes to draw attention to the range.

[growalot]

I would think it was legal to shoot within the confines of an enclosed building....if not Gander Mnt and Traditions archery in Rochester would have to close down their ranges...I can't imagine that... one the DEC doesn't know of the ranges and two.... they got the near bye nieghbors(business) permission...unless there is some special permit they have to payfor...but if that were the case wouldn't every one be able to apply for such a permit?