Shooting game in back garden - legal?

If you have an open ticket, the shot is safe and the bullet isnt going to exit your land then you can legally do it, but do bear in mind neighbours, noise and causing potential alarm from the sound of gun fire.

Even if you werent in breach of your licence conditions and the shot was safe as houses I doubt your FEO would be happy about it should someone call up to complain or dial 999 at the sound of the shot going off!

I did get asked a few years ago to go shoot some muntjac in the (11 acre) garden of a house near Farnham. The garden sloped downhill steeply with a good amount of flat land at the bottom to act as backstop, and it had big old scots pines along both sides of the garden to block the sound of the shot and any potential of someone seeing me. You could have sat up the top in amongst the bushes and shot downwards towards the flat bit which theoretically would have been safe.

That said having gone to look at the land I still declined - if there was a ricochet it could have gone back towards houses or out into the public land behind (which you could see was full of walkers etc.), if I'd wounded the animal and it had run it would have gone into someone elses garden or out into the public land... I just said sorry, a bit of damage to your roses is not worth me losing my FAC or going to prison on a manslaughter charge, you'll have to call the BDS as I'm not prepared to shoot in here, and recommended they get their deer fencing repaired as there were holes in it.

Others may have taken the chance but frankly it wasnt worth it in my view.
I always find it amusing when people worry about the noise of a one off bang.. They never seem to worry about the blddy racket from fireworks. Even where we are v rural you can still here the damn things. Often thought it would be a great cover for poachers.
 
I always find it amusing when people worry about the noise of a one off bang.. They never seem to worry about the blddy racket from fireworks. Even where we are v rural you can still here the damn things. Often thought it would be a great cover for poachers.
They sound different. You'd be surprised at the number of people who can tell the difference too.
 
I always find it amusing when people worry about the noise of a one off bang.. They never seem to worry about the blddy racket from fireworks. Even where we are v rural you can still here the damn things. Often thought it would be a great cover for poachers.

One moderated bang out where I live would probably not get a blink of an eye (though I did see a post on a local FB group a while back where someone was asking about noise from pigeon shooting..), but in Farnham?

Sure they might all wear Hunter wellies and Barbour jackets, and drive Range Rovers, but its faux rural and only goes as far as buying venison from Waitrose rather than shooting it themselves! :D
 
Good job I've got a long front driveway from the road then..I've offed tons of foxes with the cz .22 over the years. My overgrown neighbours jungle has become the proverbial elephants graveyard
 
Similar scenario, however, in my title deads I do not hold shooting rights on my " land " hence I could not do this, so please check your title deeds first.

We are in an ordinary neighbourhood in suburban Sheffield, but the former big landowner precludes shooting in my deeds !

BASC advised me to check this and I reccomend you do the same.
 
This is more of a theoretical question - as i'm married, and very fond of my testicles 😅

As it happens I saw a pheasant hen in my back garden yesterday. Saw a muntjac the week before. I would never think of shooting either even if I had an open ticket. It is just an unwise thing to do and unnecessary and I actually like having them there. But I did wonder what the legalities of either would be. I live in a residential neighbourhood backing onto woodland.

For the muntjac, my back garden isn't cleared land - but if one had an open ticket - I'm guessing if you could do it safely - it would be "legal" but a stupid thing to do.

As for the pheasant - i'm not sure what laws this falls under. Certainly not general license as they are a game bird rather than a pest.

Shotgun would do it for sure (it was on the ground - not 25 yards away), but i doubt not much would be left of it and the neighbours would not like it either. Airgun? Can you shoot game birds with a moderated air rifle? I'm not 100% sure you could get an ethical kill with a sub 12 - but i'm open to correction.
Why on earth would you even contemplate this idiotic action, theoretical.....or not!!!. I just wonder what some people think at times!!!

Patrick
 
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This was taken in my sister's back garden. It's like a game park. There's red, roe, muntjac, badgers, foxes and even otters. It is 23 acres, but it is still her back garden ... Shame she's a veggie. Wait til their munching her roses. I bet my phone rings then.

View attachment 188560
Is she married, have you got a picture of your sister?😉
 
She is. But I'll ask anyway. Seriously you should see the whole video. It's crazy. Hinds, foxes, rabbits, squirrels, Munties with young, roe with young, a cracking buck... Mad.
Please dont post a vid of this ! it would't be very nice of us without the same outlook ? you would force us to start sending you hate mail 😉 :rofl::tiphat:
 
Always one isn't there.... 🤔

Because sometimes it is good to know what the law is.
You are indeed entitled to hold a view, and I respect your view, I however spent the last almost 30 years of my working life arguing for an individuals rights, but my view conflicts with your view, fiction of not, but it makes one wonder why a senario as described appears on a public forum. If you are interested in the Firearms Law a good starting point is the current Firearms Guidelines, of which is available online

Patrick
 
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