Legal to shoot BB/Pellet guns in bakyard here in MD?

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  • Sirex

    Powered by natural gas
    Oct 30, 2010
    10,380
    Westminster, MD
    I assume yes, but I searched and found in some states they are treated like firearms (NJ I think) and have to be fired on a range. I ask because my Dad wanted a pistol for Christmas, but you can't buy a pistol for someone, so I bought him a CO2 powered Crossman 357 revolver because he likes revolvers. He'll be out in his backyard shooting into a dirt/grass hill. Just wanted to make sure it was okay and legal since it "looks" like a real gun incase anyone ever shows up to investigate. Thanks
     

    Sirex

    Powered by natural gas
    Oct 30, 2010
    10,380
    Westminster, MD
    I already bought him one though. When I was a kid, I shot the BB gun in his back yard, but that was a different time, different neighbors.
     

    Boom Boom

    Hold my beer. Watch this.
    Jul 16, 2010
    16,834
    Carroll
    Call your local PD/sheriff's office and ask. Depends on where you are, by city/town and county. Even assuming it's legal, a lot depends on how responsible he is and how private the backyard is. He will be responsible for whatever he shoots at and what's behind what he shoots at. If a neighbor does call LE, it can get touchy extremely fast if his BB gun looks exactly like a real revolver. Tragedies happen when an LEO shoots somebody because an air/BB gun is indistinguishable from the real deal. Probably the most important thing is education on proper handling and safety, even though it's "only" a BB gun, and to immediately put it on the ground if an LEO ever shows up.

    I realize this sounds like it's being written for a kid getting a BB gun, but even adults need reminders. Just because your dad knows it's a BB gun doesn't mean everybody else will.
     

    Boom Boom

    Hold my beer. Watch this.
    Jul 16, 2010
    16,834
    Carroll
    I assume yes, but I searched and found in some states they are treated like firearms (NJ I think) and have to be fired on a range.

    At least some air guns are treated as firearms because they easily hold enough pressure to fire lethal shots. Even pump BB guns have proven lethal at close range, usually because kids were left unsupervised with one.
     

    WeaponsCollector

    EXTREME GUN OWNER
    Mar 30, 2009
    12,120
    Southern MD
    I heard it's illegal to shoot bb guns in PG county(your local laws could be different), yet I grew up doing it and fired tens of thousands of bb's in my yard without any trouble from any police or neighbors. Same goes for fireworks. As long as you aren't bothering people they shouldn't bother you. I am not a lawyer.
     

    GRClark

    Member
    Feb 16, 2008
    8
    Of course its illegal in Howard, unless you are a minimum distance from other residences. Pretty much rules out any suburban neighborhood.
     

    The Shooter

    Active Member
    Nov 28, 2010
    451
    A.A. Co
    You have to be like a 1000 yards from a residential area in Davisonville. A friend was shooting a bb gun in her backyard neighbor didn't like it called the cops and she was charged with reckless endangerment and a few other charges.
     

    yellowsled

    Retired C&R Addict
    Jun 22, 2009
    9,348
    Palm Beach, Fl
    every area is different. Westminster city, you cant shoot anything that fires a projectile, including air guns. Outside that in Carroll, its totally legit.

    Where is ur father?
     

    ericoak

    don't drop Aboma on me
    Feb 20, 2010
    6,806
    Howard County
    Whatttt. I lived in Thunder Hill in Howard County in the 90s and when I was 10 my dad bought me a pellet gun. I used to set up a couple of big boards of wood in front of the garage and then stand in the cul da sack 30 yards away and shoot balloons hanging on the boards. Neighbors didn't care, no one ever called the cops. Probably the reason I like guns to this day.
     

    Sirex

    Powered by natural gas
    Oct 30, 2010
    10,380
    Westminster, MD
    My Dad lives in Gamber, outside Westminster city limits. Since I'm in the will, I'm going to tell him if the cops show up, just wave it around at them and yell "it's only a BB gun! See?" J/K by the way, for those who may take me seriously. He has a hill behind the house to shoot into, another hill/flower bed to the right, and a row of bullet proof pines trees on the left.
     

    BigSteve57

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 14, 2011
    3,245
    I assume yes, but I searched and found in some states they are treated like firearms (NJ I think) and have to be fired on a range. I ask because my Dad wanted a pistol for Christmas, but you can't buy a pistol for someone, so I bought him a CO2 powered Crossman 357 revolver because he likes revolvers. He'll be out in his backyard shooting into a dirt/grass hill. Just wanted to make sure it was okay and legal since it "looks" like a real gun incase anyone ever shows up to investigate. Thanks

    It varies by locale as to whether you can discharge a BB gun. You list your location as Westminster which is Carroll county. Some areas like Howard county are set up into zones (Howard defines a "metropolitan district") within the county so you can't just assume all areas even within a county are "legal".

    See also this thread: http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=67276
     

    Swagtimecharles

    I'm all out of gum.
    Sep 30, 2011
    25
    Upper Marlboro
    I heard it's illegal to shoot bb guns in PG county(your local laws could be different), yet I grew up doing it and fired tens of thousands of bb's in my yard without any trouble from any police or neighbors. Same goes for fireworks. As long as you aren't bothering people they shouldn't bother you. I am not a lawyer.

    I'm under the same impression here on this one. As long as your immediate neighbors have no issue with the air gun being discharged on YOUR property their should be no interference from local law enforcement. But, I would definitely give my local jurisdiction a call before you end up in a bad legal snaffu.
     

    chris12138

    Kitchen Table Machinist
    Jul 12, 2011
    3,068
    St Marys
    I heard it's illegal to shoot bb guns in PG county(your local laws could be different), yet I grew up doing it and fired tens of thousands of bb's in my yard without any trouble from any police or neighbors. Same goes for fireworks. As long as you aren't bothering people they shouldn't bother you. I am not a lawyer.

    Sure is, gotta be 1000yrds or so just as if it was a firearm..Got in a dispute with my neighbor over this stupid crap once. Luckily across the street I have a large field where I go for archery/pellet guns now....
     

    WeaponsCollector

    EXTREME GUN OWNER
    Mar 30, 2009
    12,120
    Southern MD
    Sure is, gotta be 1000yrds or so just as if it was a firearm..Got in a dispute with my neighbor over this stupid crap once. Luckily across the street I have a large field where I go for archery/pellet guns now....

    WOW! I sure was an outlaw as a child shooting at that dirt pile in the backyard from my bedroom window:innocent0
    No to mention all the fireworks and firecrackers I'd set off :D
     

    XxNitr0xX

    Tacticool
    Apr 11, 2011
    480
    My computer
    :o Serious question since they aren't considered "firearms." What's the legality of taking a pellet rifle with me on a trail in the woods? My back yard isn't bad but I would love to take it way out into the woods and set stuff up. Obviously not a trail that's trafficked by many people, and I wouldn't stay "on-trail" I would be way out of the range on anyone else. It just doesn't look good carrying a rifle into the woods. Maybe with a nice case and a piece of orange tape around the tip of the barrel?
     

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