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.

A lot of you have probably knocked on the door of someone with a gun without realising. I don't think a lot of people know FIL has one, both ex's parents and grandparents did too (all livestock owners, for pest control). They have to be kept locked up in the house, and everyone I know who's had one has kept the key in a safe place, not easy to find if someone were to break in looking for it, for example.
They won't answer the door, gun in hand.

A while back I was cycling down a country lane and there were men both sides of the lane in fields with guns. They were on the edge of the field so only a couple of feet from the public highway and shooting shot guns. They all had their backs to the road and were firing away from the highway so perfectly safe even though they were right next to it. Never crossed my mind to ring the police!

I'd 100% take a farmer shooting up close so away from my house than shooting out of sight potentially back towards me.

Said as a farmer with a gun license.

Be very cautious about asking them to move as to me it sounds like they are protecting residential areas with their position.

A quick google suggests a bullet could travel up to 2.5 miles

What tyoe of bullet, what type of gun?

A sniper shooting a sniper rifle will have a very different range to a farm shooting a shotgun

Could being the operative word and as several people have pointed out, it depends on the type of gun - most commonly used on a farm is a shotgun which doesn't fire bullets. People aren't criticising ignorance for fun - it's important to get the facts straight. It's extremely unlikely the farmer is using the type of rifle capable of a 2+ mile range.

I really think you are overreacting. He's a farmer using his gun, on his land. You are not at risk of harm, he's not shooting at you.

Your neighbours might want to keep their dog under control though, because he can shoot it legally if it's on his land worrying livestock.

Maybe from a sniper but probably not from your average shotgun

A: Shotgun pellet travel can be calculated using Journee’s Formula, which says that if pellet diameter in inches is multiplied by 2,200 then the sum is the theoretical distance of shot travel in yards. For example:

• UK No6 shot: 0.10in diameter x 2,200 = 220 yards.
• UK No5 shot: 0.11in diameter x 2,200 = 242 yards.

I would suggest a quick google is insufficient...

I'd also suggest that it's not a rifle but a shotgun.

Apologies I was just pointing out anyone with a gun is better up close to property shooting away than out of sight with an unknown firearm.

We would always shoot away from property rather than towards and guess the distances.

Mine certainly wouldn’t fire that far.

A lot of you have probably knocked on the door of someone with a gun without realising
Indeed. I wouldn't be suprised to discover that we are in the minority on our lane in not having a firearm in the house, given the number of farmers and gamekeepers I live near. Oh, and the fact that there's both a pheasant farm and an outdoor pursuits place that does clay pigeon shooting within a few miles. Of course nothing is 100% foolproof and people with legally held guns do occasionally commit crimes with them, or have accidents, but it is very rare and gun ownership is pretty strictly controlled these days. It sounds like the OP is imagining going up to the farm in the evening and being greeted by a shotgun barrel poking through the letter box, whereas in reality the gun will be locked in a gun cabinet, the ammunition will be locked up separately somewhere else and the farmer will probably be having his tea or watching the telly just like anybody else.
It's not unreasonable to have concerns if it is something you are unfamiliar with, but some of the assumptions on this thread are just wild imaginings.

Too much US TV has given people who are unfamiliar some odd ideas about guns that they've extrapolated to the UK.

OP In the nicest possible way, i think you have lost the plot. The farmer will not shoot your children. If you have a dog that is a different matter if the farmer has livestock in the field, if your dog gets into the field and worries his livestock he is within his rights to shoot it and in fact will shoot it.

If he's not acting aggressively or threaten you and if the range is of no actual danger to you then it is your own problem if you feel scared. People are not required to protect you from your own fears.

Nope. Our neighbour lures foxes with a little speaker that emits a sound like a rabbit in distress. It’s quite miraculous, turn it on and a fox will appear almost out of thin air. Blam with the shotgun. He’ll get two a day minimum.

Our farmer has one of these as well.

I also ask a guy in the village to shoot as many rabbits as he can for a couple of pints in the pub and he can keep the rabbits. They are a menace, there's too many of them and they burrow in my horses field

2 a day? all from the same place? yeah right! Does he live in Fox Central? density of foxes in UK would not support 2 a night.

Our friend uses a .223 centre fire and can call a fox without a speaker, a shotgun is useless, you need a heavy load, the range is v short & its too loud for use in a domestic setting (at night) a .22 style gun with moderator is perfect.

This guy is a licenced game and pest controller.

And no where does the OP say its a shotgun, plenty of farmers have rifles & the user must consider backstop and ricochet angles, the OP also said her garden backs onto the field the farmer is shooting in.

I ve just sat in on a shotgun licence grant interview and saying you intend to use the shotgun next to a domestic garden will not impress.

Since the shootings in Plymouth, the emphasis is on the applicant to prove they have have just cause, somewhere to use it (either sufficient ground or a shooting range for clays) and have an appreciation of safety and how a gun can intimidate the non shooting public, for rifle, even tougher.
This incident has proven to be a huge issue for Police forces who are completely re evaluating both new and existing licence holders, backlog for a new grant in some forces is 2 to 3 years.

Some people shouldn’t be allowed the WiFi code 🙄

Not every day of the year obviously, but when they’re doing fox control they’ll shoot multiple foxes every day until they stop coming.

Country Australia.. we have foxes in plague proportions.

Taken from my ensuite window. Cheeky fucker.

If the field had lambs in it then he is probably protecting them. You do realise that corvids land when a eve is giving birth and try to peck the eyes out of lambs as they are being born don't you?

As to shooting near your house, a) there is a limit how close he can shoot near your house and b) he is very very very unlikely to be shooting towards your house. he will shooting parallel to it or away from it.

If you have children why don't you ask him if he can show them the gun and how it works and what he is doing. It might be one of the best chances they get to see one and have a little education. Never know they might want to take it up themselves later on.

Maybe from a high powered miltary sniper rifle, where the guy shotting it is aiming 3-4 m high.

Most likely your chap in the field is shooting a shotgun, which means in general a range of 40m or less to their target and a safety range of ~200m.

I ve just sat in on a shotgun licence grant interview and saying you intend to use the shotgun next to a domestic garden will not impress

Are you suggesting this farmer doesn't have a licence? I'm sure he does.