Lower the legal shooting distance for bow????

[fasteddie]

in pa. it's 50yds thats 150 feet

50 yards is way too close !  ??? ... ??? ... ???

[Doc]

Actually, from an archery standpoint it's nice to be able to shoot right next to houses. It comes in real handy when that deer refuses to move out from behind that big rose-of-sharon bush.You can bank the shot off the house and get him that way. ;D

[JGaruti3]

I think the archery can and should be lowered.  In Pennsylvania where I have a house and hunt they have separate rules for guns and archery.  With firearm you have to be 150 yards from the house whereas archery only 50 yards.  I think it can be beneficial based on your case and where you hunt.  Where my house is in PA the deer cling to my community because all these nature lovers who have summer homes up there feed all the wildlife.  So it is kind of reverse of what it should be...the closer you are to the houses the better chance you have.  Going deep in the woods there does not help cause there are no animals out there.

Its not like an arrow is going to travel 2 miles like a bullet can.  So I think it should be changed.  Plus you guys are right..all these suburban hunters out on Long Island and in Westchester are hunting right in their backyards as it is.

[Doc]

For gosh sakes, don't homeowners have any rights to an expectation of privacy? What do you all want to do set up a stand where you can look into their living room 9or worse). Good grief. maybe you want to sit on their porch and wait for the deer to come out in their yard.

Doc

[SteveB]

If an owner doesn't want you shooting within 500 ft, there is also a very good chance he will deny you recovery rights as well. I assume everyone gets recovery permission from their neighbors before needing to insure they will be able to legally recover a deer after killing it?

[Big John]

Quite frankly I don't see a need for 500ft from anyway, if one is in the city you can't legally discharge a weapon "without just cause" anyway and if you are in the country and you don't want hunters there you simply post your land.

[Doc]

Actually, I am very happy there is a limit as to how close hunting activities can encroach on the privacy of residents. I think it helps avoid a whole lot of problems between hunters and people trying to carry on the normal business of living and being allowed the expectation of not having people wandering past their windows or touching off a shotgun next to their bedroom.

From a safety standpoint, 500 feet is no where far enough, and if the law does not specify, it should state that shooting in the direction of a house or building is illegal. I'm not sure how the law is worded, but the direction of the shot is more crucial than the distance. If that's not part of the law, it should be.

Doc

[fasteddie]

Quite frankly I don't see a need for 500ft from anyway, if one is in the city you can't legally discharge a weapon "without just cause" anyway and if you are in the country and you don't want hunters there you simply post your land.

Posting your property doesn't mean anything to a lot of people . If you don't hang the posted signs high enough , some violaters will tear them down . As a hunter and someone who supports hunting I wouldn't want someone hunting in my back yard .

[SteveB]

A lot of people in the country have dwelling that are less then 500 ft from their property line also.

[bpb]

Yes it should be reduced to at least 250 feet. That is what the NYS Muzzleloaders association proposed to the NYSCC & the legislature this year.

I don't understand. Are you saying that the Muzzleloaders Association wanted a distance rule shortened for bow hunters, or they wanted it shortened to 250 feet for all weapons, or for muzzleloaders, or what?

Reduced for bow hunting only. The NYSMLA proposed the regulation change.

[Doc]

Yes it should be reduced to at least 250 feet. That is what the NYS Muzzleloaders association proposed to the NYSCC & the legislature this year.

I don't understand. Are you saying that the Muzzleloaders Association wanted a distance rule shortened for bow hunters, or they wanted it shortened to 250 feet for all weapons, or for muzzleloaders, or what?

Reduced for bow hunting only. The NYSMLA proposed the regulation change.

Why on earth is the muzzleloading association concerned about liberalizing a bowhunting restriction?

[bpb]

Yes it should be reduced to at least 250 feet. That is what the NYS Muzzleloaders association proposed to the NYSCC & the legislature this year.

I don't understand. Are you saying that the Muzzleloaders Association wanted a distance rule shortened for bow hunters, or they wanted it shortened to 250 feet for all weapons, or for muzzleloaders, or what?

Reduced for bow hunting only. The NYSMLA proposed the regulation change.

Why on earth is the muzzleloading association concerned about liberalizing a bowhunting restriction?

Because we also hunt with bows & it was an important topic in the NYSCC big game committee meetings. Associations are not restricted to making proposals just for there group. I also asked legislators to support the trapping tag ID and turtle trapping bills.

  One of the big problems sportsmen face it they're polarized view and support of only their sport. That's one reason why we see hundreds of  different associations splintered off each looking for that special deal.

[gundeck]

I know this won't be popular, but I think the 500 ft rule is good.  The way I see it, if you can't get permission from the neighbor and you hunt that close, you are only asking for trouble.

[ELMER J. FUDD]

Looks like this may happen...

[wztirem]

I know this won't be popular, but I think the 500 ft rule is good.  The way I see it, if you can't get permission from the neighbor and you hunt that close, you are only asking for trouble.

For "God Sakes", 500 feet is a  more than a reasonable threshold.We are splitting hairs with this!

[G-Man]

What if you own your property first and the new neighbor built his house and barn set back off the road almost 400' and 25'(min allowed by zoning law)from the property line(wanted it back in the woods for privacy). so i lose a 425' by 100 ' area of my land to hunt(and more if you figure you don't want to be shooting around the driveway) which happens to include the main deer crossing at the top of a ravine,and a good portion of an existing food plot. thats almost an acre land lost for hunting ! the owner is seasonal(late spring,summer till early fall) and woodchucks abound in the edge of the food  plot behind his barn. i can't get permission because he is an animal lover doesn't care that i hunt but no where near his property... so my food plot location is now unhuntable and unplantable do to the chucks.. 150' for a bow no problem!

[growalot]

For one thing...you said the guy is seasonal...so it doesn't stop you from hunting deer...for the law reads occupied...and you do know there are such things as live traps  right? Heres an idea....real ? here...are sling shots considered a weapon in NYS?...Because I've killed rabbits by just hand shooting a stone at their heads....I would think a sling shot would dispatch a wood chuck...to safe a hunting plot

[Doc]

This is just the kind of safety relaxation that will result in even more property being posted. When landowners find out that the only legal recourse to keeping people from shooting next to their house is to post the entire property, that's exactly what they will do.

[WNYBuckHunter]

This is just the kind of safety relaxation that will result in even more property being posted. When landowners find out that the only legal recourse to keeping people from shooting next to their house is to post the entire property, that's exactly what they will do.

How so? If they havent given permission to anyone to hunt their property, then nothing changes for them unless their house is less than 500 feet from the property line, in which case, posting their land would make no difference anyway. The change in distances doesnt allow trespassing. Now, if the landowner allows hunting, they just tell people not to hunt within x number of feet from the house, if the people dont follow the rules, the landowner is free to give them the boot.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

For one thing...you said the guy is seasonal...so it doesn't stop you from hunting deer...for the law reads occupied...and you do know there are such things as live traps  right? Heres an idea....real ? here...are sling shots considered a weapon in NYS?...Because I've killed rabbits by just hand shooting a stone at their heads....I would think a sling shot would dispatch a wood chuck...to safe a hunting plot

FYI...stones and sling shots are not legal hunting implements. The way the law reads it does not distinguish between an inhabited structure or not. So in this example the seasonal user has stopped the hunting activity there for the entire year even when he isn't there.....assuming the 500' stays the law.

[growalot]

Well this is from the DEC site....sling shots and stones ...didn't seem to make the list and ...Well read for your self

It is illegal to take or hunt wildlife:

• while in or on a motor vehicle (except by the holder of a Non Ambulatory Hunter Permit).
  
• with the aid of a vehicle's lights.
  
• on or from any public road.
  
• with any firearm equipped with a silencer.
  
• with any firearm which continues to fire as long as the trigger is held back (an automatic firearm).
  
• with a spear.
  
• with a bow equipped with any mechanical device which is attached to  the bow (other than the bowstring) for drawing, holding or releasing the  bowstring, except for a hunter with a disability who is in possession  of a Modified Longbow Authorizationt (compound bows are legal).
  
• with a spear gun or crossbow except for a hunter with a disability who is in possession of a Modified Crossbow Permit.
  
• with an arrow with an explosive head or shaft.
  
• with any device designed or intended to deliver drugs to an animal.
  
• with any semi-automatic firearm with a capacity to hold more than 6 rounds, EXCEPT the following semi-automatic firearms: 

1. 
   
2. firearms using .22 or .17 caliber rimfire ammunition, or
   
3. firearms altered to reduce their capacity to no more than 6 shells at one time in the magazine and chamber combined, or
   
4. autoloading pistols with a barrel length of less than eight inches.
   

[growalot]

Hhhmmm It wouldn't let me paste the next regulation in last post...so another try.....

It is illegal to discharge a firearm or bow:

• so that the load or arrow passes over any part of a public highway,
  
• within 500 feet of any school, playground, or an occupied factory or church,
  
• within 500 feet of a dwelling, farm building or structure in  occupation or use unless you own it, lease it, are an immediate member  of the family, an employee, or have the owner's consent.
  
• You may hunt waterfowl, over water, within 500 feet of a dwelling or  public structure as long as neither are within 500 feet in the  direction you are shooting.
  

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I was told by  a DEC officer years ago that they were not a legal implement .....just like BB guns....and air guns until recently. They are not included on the illegal list but I doubt they view that list as lal inclusve. Aure would be nice if they did what they do in the Big game and list what you CAN use. One side note....while you may get a pass on a sling shot....a wrist braced one is illegal to even own in New York.

As far as the 500'. My cousin got a ticket for just such a thing. The leagal view as conveyed to him was that if the structure was considered in use if it was being used (like a chicken coop or shed) and it was considered in use (even if unoccupied) if the structure was identified by the tax rolls and was a valued structure. This took old caved in  barns and such out of the classification. But a seasonal use residence would be considered in use all year because the possibility is there and it is on the tax rolls. ANd I guess that makes sense given all the recreational property in NY.

[G-Man]

Well by your own post "occupation or use"..used is storage so illegal..... And how about people who own property 500" wide? put a camp on either side with a cabins set back in a bit and that property is unhuntalble under todays law. Yes i see a lot of 5 acre camps with people hunting there and if you measured off 500" they all are hunting illegal unless they have permission of course. 500 ft is a long way 160 or so yards.. some of my best hunting is 50 yards from my house and i'm sure it is for a lot of others near camps.. heck go 50 yards in to my woods and you cant even see the house! so how is an arrow a danger...yes i know they can deflect but i can put my back against the house structure and shoot away from it. 160yards away a herd of elephants can go thru and never be seen especially if your back is toward the structure!. Anyone with any kind of common sence knows 500' shooting towards any structure is not far enough with any implement...

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Are they startig an early archery season on those elephants down by  you? Lucky SOB.