The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Do free or public areas exist in the U.S where one can fire a weapon?

pgdion · September 27, 2012, 12:51 PM

Lots of places. Typically if you get outside of major cities, there are no restrictions on shooting in many states as long as you have a safe area to shoot in. If you have enough land and a safe backdrop, you can even shoot on your own land (I'm working on setting up my own range). Also, there is a lot of county land that is available for shooting on for free. My father-in-law lives in rural Minnesota. There is a rarely used county sand/gravel pit. It's fair game for shooting in when not in use (I've never seen the county use it but there are signs they've been their occasionally, probably getting a truck of dirt and then their gone). You can get about 50yds there with a good 30' high back drop. We wave to the sheriff as he goes by too, keep thinking he might stop and chat some day ... hasn't happened yet. Rarely used sand pits that are open for shooting are pretty common in many places. A call to the county should confirm if you can shoot in it.

On the flip side, in the area around the Twin Cities (Minneapolis, St Paul, and suburbs), there's pretty much no shooting except at official ranges. I keep a membership at one of those too so I can go shoot when I want just 2 miles up the road. Not as much fun as the sand pit but close and good for practice and fun leagues.

You should be able to check your states laws on line to get the specifics.

September 27, 2012, 12:51 PM	#22
pgdion Senior Member Join Date: April 22, 2010 Location: MPLS, MN Posts: 1,214	Lots of places. Typically if you get outside of major cities, there are no restrictions on shooting in many states as long as you have a safe area to shoot in. If you have enough land and a safe backdrop, you can even shoot on your own land (I'm working on setting up my own range). Also, there is a lot of county land that is available for shooting on for free. My father-in-law lives in rural Minnesota. There is a rarely used county sand/gravel pit. It's fair game for shooting in when not in use (I've never seen the county use it but there are signs they've been their occasionally, probably getting a truck of dirt and then their gone). You can get about 50yds there with a good 30' high back drop. We wave to the sheriff as he goes by too, keep thinking he might stop and chat some day ... hasn't happened yet. Rarely used sand pits that are open for shooting are pretty common in many places. A call to the county should confirm if you can shoot in it. On the flip side, in the area around the Twin Cities (Minneapolis, St Paul, and suburbs), there's pretty much no shooting except at official ranges. I keep a membership at one of those too so I can go shoot when I want just 2 miles up the road. Not as much fun as the sand pit but close and good for practice and fun leagues. You should be able to check your states laws on line to get the specifics. __________________ 597 VTR, because there's so many cans and so little time! Last edited by pgdion; September 27, 2012 at 01:07 PM.