To not want to see somebody shooting a gun from my kitchen window?

[Staffielove23]

We back onto a field and the farmer is literally going round with his gun shooting at ‘I’ve no idea what’. Is this legal to do this so close to somebody’s house? We can see him so we are in the firing line. I mean, I know he wouldn’t intentionally shoot as us but what if he gets us while aiming for something else, I know the farm was here before us, etc but I feel slightly unnerved as my children play out in the garden in the evening times with the lighter night, and there’s loads of other fields behind this one that don’t directly back onto people’s houses.

👆👆👆 this 🤣🤣

Yep. It's not a pleasant sight to behold.

Entitled not to get shot at.

He isn't shooting at you, is he? Total hyperbole.

I thought you meant someone was coming into your kitchen and shooting from the window.
Find out the name and number of the farmer and ring them, have a chat about your concerns - which to me are totally valid, but maybe you just need some reassurance.

I’d be a bit more inclined to understand your point of view if you weren’t being so alarmist and dramatic OP. Crossfire, shooting AT you, in his sights… take it easy, I highly doubt he’s out there taking pot shots at the local housing estate and is infinitely more likely to be doing his job as he sees fit in controlling pests on his own land.
Call 101 for advice, if you think it best, but maybe don’t exaggerate and take liberties with what’s actually happening, chances are he’s a perfectly reasonable chap just getting on with his job and life and it seems somewhat unreasonable to stir up shit for him on the basis that you got a bit scared.

I have really gone off crows.

They are proper arseholes.

We can see him so we are in the firing line. I mean, I know he wouldn’t intentionally shoot as[sic] us

But he's not shooting "AT" you - guns fire in the direction they're pointed at, they don't do a 90/180 degree turn like a missile can! Shotguns are also very close range so unless he's literally just over the fence from your garden, even if he shot directly towards your house from say, the middle of his field, the pellets probably wouldn't reach your garden. It's not as if he's a sniper with a long range rifle who could hit you in your garden from a mile away!

Yet another poster who hasn't a clue, esp in regard to shooting a domestic dog, in which several charges can and will be laid against the person shooting a dog, unless all measures followed and the killing of the dog was 100% unavoidable.

Shooting foxes with a shot gun... what do you think happens when a shot gun is fired? do all the foxes rabbits etc hang around?

You need dogs, a rifle c/w moderator, a hide, for rabbits nets, ferrets and several people with guns or hunting under a lamp.

Once again, apply for your licence and when the FAO comes round to interview you, tell him you intend shooting right next to domestic properties, with children and see how your grant goes?

There is no "crossfire", which is two parties shooting at each other.

I once lived next to a small farmer and went to help him get his wheat in (in the days before big bales, these I could lift, just) and was horrified to see that a third of his field was rabbit eaten. The warren was on a neighbour's land, right up to the hedge, and he couldn't control it.
I don't think it helps using the "v " word as it sounds too redneck, nor wildlife, as these are parasitic. Pests lumps them with insects and things you don't want in your garden. People understand pests.

@user12345678213

Once again, apply for your licence and when the FAO comes round to interview you, tell him you intend shooting right next to domestic properties, with children and see how your grant goes?

The OP doesn't say he's shooting "right next to domestic properties". She says she can see him in a field, so he is probably out of range of her garden, even if he fired directly at the garden, which is highly unlikely.

I moved from a city to a rural county. The first time I saw two men with shotguns walk out of a copse onto the footpath where I was walking my dog and walk towards me, I nearly shat myself, so I have a little sympathy with the OP for being alarmed.

Then I quickly reminded myself that I was no longer in Croydon and in rural areas guns are owned and used perfectly legally and responsibly by many, and it's never bothered me since.

I very much doubt a farmer is using his gun irresponsibly. He needs to keep his gun licence for pest and predator control.

Entitled not to get shot at.

Why would you be shot at? Presumably your garden is enclosed by a fence? The farmer would have no reason to point his gun in your direction.

You don’t even no what his shooting as in gun. His in his land and I’m going to presume not aiming at you.

You do realise your neighbours could go online tomorrow and buy an air rifle or cross bows etc no checks and fire it in their own garden too right.

It's perfectly okay and legal to shoot on your own land in a safe manner. We have a farm with land and a footpath that runs through it and at least one other house nearby. We can and do shoot on this land.

But anyone who is legally able to shoot in the UK should know how to do it safely (i.e. making sure all is clear before taking a shot, not shooting in the direction of a house or footpath with people walking on it, making sure to know the range of the gun used, for example, that it's not going to fire beyond the space you can clearly see is safe). If you have concerns that this person isn't doing that (not just that they have a gun and are shooting on their own land), then you can report your concerns to your local firearms officer, who can do a check and have a chat with them.

Thanks. I love the countryside. I just don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect the shooter to take reasonable precautions to prevent families and their animals from getting caught in the crossfire

Who is shooting back at him?

Ops shooting dirty looks 😂

If you are not used to it, it's not unreasonable to be unnerved by someone using a gun in close proximity to your house. I mean, thankfully in the UK it's a rare sight so if you've moved from the city to the country where many farmers do have shotguns then it can be unsettling to see.

Presumably you know where this farmer lives, so if you don't want to go up to him while he is shooting then just pop around to his house, introduce yourself as so and so from number 26 and just ask him. Any responsible gun owner will be more than happy to set your mind at rest.

I’d be a bit more inclined to understand your point of view if you weren’t being so alarmist
Precisely. I've been wanting to say this but couldn't think of the right word.
No, it isn't unreasonable to be a bit taken aback by looking out of your window and seeing a man with a gun OP, if it is something outside your experience but it's a bit of a leap to go from that to all this talk of being caught in the (non existent) crossfire, being threatened and bullied etc.
Of course none of us can say for absolute certain, but in all likelihood he is just a normal bloke protecting his livestock, not a gun toting maniac who is unsafe to approach. He wasn't shooting at you or your property and there isn't actually a gun battle going on at the end of your garden. If you have lived there for a while and are shocked by this it's presumably not a regular occurrence and you haven't given any other examples of behaviour from this man that might reasonably lead you to think he is a threat to you. Surely the first step would be just to talk to him, or even to chat with others in the village to establish what's going on? If he is anything like most of the farmers I know he might be a bit bemused but not angry and certainly not inclined to start a vendetta against you. First contact being via the police might not get you off on the best footing though.
From your user name I assume you have a Staffordshire bull terrier? That's a breed that quite a lot of people are afraid of isn't it? Suppose one of your neighbours phoned the police complaining that there was an out of control dog scaring them when you'd just let your pet out in your garden? You'd most likely have nothing to worry about - it's your dog on your property and in all likelihood no threat to anyone - but wouldn't you wonder why your neighbour hadn't just had a chat and explained their anxieties and maybe tried to get to know you and your pet a bit before assuming that it was unsafe to talk to someone with one of those dogs and calling the police? I bet someone jumping to conclusions about you like that would colour your view of that person - it would me I think.
Nobody is saying the farmer is going to start persecuting you if you call the police, but it is without doubt easier living in a small community if you at least have civil relationships with others in the area. You don't need to be busom buddies but you don't want a reputation as a troublemaker either. For what it's worth, I have lived for nearly 25 years separated only by a wire fence from a field in which my neighbour occasionally shoots things and no harm has ever come of it. I don't like it, much as I don't particularly like seeing dead moles or rats on fences after the catcher has done his job, but I recognise it as a necessity of farming. Country life isn't all sweetness and light and nor is the natural world. Poultry ripped to shreds by a fox isn't very nice either, but it happens. There is quite a lot that's a bit inconvenient about living next to a farm, much as there would be living next to a school, church or pub, but you need to accept those things if you choose to live there.
My neighbour doesn't warn me if he's going to shoot something, but then he also doesn't call to let me know that he's going to cut my hedge whilst he is doing all his, or that he's going to plough and grit my drive whilst he is clearing the farm tracks in the snow either. We will go months without exchanging more than a "hello" in the lane, but we communicate when we need to and peacefully coexist - its much nicer that way.

Where have you gone OP? I’d love to know what the police said when you rang them, especially if you lied about “crossfire’” (was the farmer a champion sprinter 🤣) and your family being at risk of “being shot at”. Were you all wearing Easter bunny outfits?

As an aside, do you drive a car? If you drive sedately down a road when there are pedestrians on the pavement, how would you feel if they called the police because you might be going to mount the pavement and run them over?

Nobody is saying the farmer is going to start persecuting you if you call the police

... but they might take the piss out of you when they hear about it in the village pub/shop/post office!

Good shout. I'd be careful. What did thr police say?

I think the op panicked as let's face it most of us don't see people walking around with guns and all worst case scenario are flooding her mind.
I know I would be thinking the worst at first. When I first read the thread I was in the "not a chance I would go knock on the farmers front door knowing he had a firearm" camp.
However having time to read replies and think it through I would do knock the door apologise if you sound silly but seeing a gun has shocked you and made you wary and could they just put your mind at rest.

Typically the OP hasn't returned!

I'd love to know what the police said!