Do you shoot in your Backyard???

[kiko]

Hi all.
I shot in my garage, don't have a full 33ft but I compromise at 26ft.

I don't shot in the backyard of my residential area house, eventhough its fully fenced, I found the clinking noise can be somehow anoying for my neighbors, also
I wouldn't like the idea of my neighbor shooting at his backyard, even with a good backstop pellets can fly away if anyone miss the target, and offcourse pellets can go throgh the fence in between planks gap.
besides in many areas it's illegal to discharge an airgun inside city limits.
Do you??
k.

[scragglepoint]

I shoot (airguns and .22) in my backyard all the time.
of course I have 5 1/2 acres and if I happen to miss the backstop, and it gets past my property line I have a little thing called the Atlantic for it to sink in.
we have a salt marsh on both sides of the property.
my wife and I spent some time looking for a place to build on where we'd never have neighbors.

in the winter months I have a 10M range setup on the 2nd floor of the house.

[sparky]

I used to shoot in my apartment. If I stood in one corner of the living room, I could get a full 10 meters with my trap in another room. My neighbors played music and talked loudly till 3am...as far as the noise goes, screw 'em. However, if you like your neighbors and have thin walls, you might want to be a bit more considerate (i.e., don't shoot a full match at midnight).

[jlochey]

I have found the neighbors to be very understanding, specifically if you let them see and touch the gun and maybe even shoot it! This lets them know that it isn't a cannon that's going to put them in some kind of danger.

I shoot in my basement almost exclusively though, mostly because of WIND!


Shooting outside is however, a nice diversion....


John

[Bob Pickup]

Hi all
Hope this picture comes through I've never sent one to the forum b4.
I am always careful I don't make to much noise at home but especially when shooting, I don't think most neighbours would be too happy at the possability of being shot through the bushes. Most peoples view of a grown man firing a pistol in the garden I fear is to send for armed police. I don't think that the air gun mags have done much for the acceptability of air guns at home when the front covers show shooters dressed as would be Rambo's, painted faces and all, proud of how many doves they've shot in one night. I am ashamed to pick up an air gun mag in the newsagent in case I am put into the varmint shooting/ camo jacket brigade. Anyway I diversify as I'm only showing you my 46M with Parker Hale alloy silencer which I attatch at home(is this even legal over in the USA). Then again I only shoot at home because although I've visited several shooting clubs in a 25 mile radius they all resemble a smelly run down bunker/ash tray complete with rapid firing rambos all blasting away, in fact not one of the gun clubs could remember anyone shooting 10mtr pistols, but I was told I could come and shoot in between the big boys with their rimfire rifles. Sounds like real fun, I've just taken up fly fishing, much more socially acceptable.
Bob "totally dissolusioned with air pistol shooting in the North of England"

[airgunfun]

I can't believe it....an IZH-46m with a moderator!!!! I think this is already the quietest air pistol around....what do you hear when the moderator is in place?

[Bob Pickup]

With the moderator/silencer on, not a great deal with or without a pellet. If you give me some time I'll see if my noise meter works (havn't used it in 8 years) and although it won't mean much it will give a comparison before and after, watch this space.
Bob

[AJ008]

Shoot in my livingroom/kitchen, great range!

[Bob Pickup]

I wonder how many shoot pistol in the house/loft just for the hell of it as against those that travel to events and take it very seriously. Anyway I took the noise readings of the 46M albeit without firing a pellet, I'm no noise meter expert so for those of you that subscribe to "noise meter monthly" take my info as being purely for fun.
Readings were taken in DbA with a Tandy/Radio Shack meter placed about 8 inches to the side of the barrel set on A weighted fast response as the noise is so quick.
Without silencer 89DbA
With silencer 80 DbA
TAook the reading several times with the same result.
To my reckoning thats 8 x less noisy with the silencer on.
See link http://www.jetnoise.org/09_NoiseExplain ... d_main.htm which gives an example of every 3 Dba being double the noise level.
Bob

[Bill Poole]

its dB not Db... and it really confuses spell checkers on the computer

deci-Bell

the "unit" Bell signifies an increase in power by a factor of 10, named after Alexander Graham ..... so it is capitalized,

lower case d is deci, or one tenth of the unit, as opposed to upper case D deka, 10 times the unit.

I think the A is ambient, and it should be lower case, but I'm not certain, so I'll leave that to the accoustical engineer's to explain.

just my -17dB$

Poole
http://arizona.rifleshooting.com/

[Bob Pickup]

Thanks Bill, told you I was no expert, anyway I re read the link and maybe every 10dB increase is double the perceived sound to the individual not every 3dB which is double the sound energy, dont't know what the difference is but anyway it was quieter with the silencer.
Bob

[Mark Briggs]

Bob - more clarification, if you wish... Your assumption about a 3dB increase in sound level representing doubling of loudness is indeed correct (since sound pressure is a measure of power, somewhat equivalent to watts per square meter). The long and the short of it is that by reducing perceived noise by 9dB you've cut it down quite considerably (1/8th of the original power). And to anybody who didn't notice it in Bob's note, the un-muffled sound level is 89dB - sufficient to cause permanent hearing loss. The wearing of hearing protection should be considered mandatory when using an airgun. I put this in bold because too many people think "it's only an airgun", then 20 years later they can't figure out why they can't hear so well...

[Bob Pickup]

Thank Mark for the feedback, 8x quieter that's some difference, its almost silent when I listen to it being fired outside from 10mtrs away.
Bob

[Benjamin]

Thanks Bill, told you I was no expert, anyway I re read the link and maybe every 10dB increase is double the perceived sound to the individual not every 3dB which is double the sound energy, dont't know what the difference is but anyway it was quieter with the silencer.
Bob

No problem, these are the same number. One Bell, 10 dB, is a factor of 10 increase in power. Three dB is a factor of 2 increase in power. As it turns out, the 3/10 root of 10 is 2; or if you multiply 2 by itself 10/3 times, you get 10. Not exactly, but close enough.

The ear is not very sensitive to changes in volume. If you are listening to a dynamic sound like music or shooting, 3 dB is the smallest change that is easy to detect. Your 9 dB change in measured volume, being three times that much and nearly a factor of 10 change in the power level of the noise, is significant.

Silencers are almost completely banned on firearms in the USA. However, I never thought about putting one on an air pistol, which is legally not considered a firearm in the USA; I guess it would be the same as a muffler on a lawn mower but have not looked into it. I have always thought silencers should be encouraged rather than restricted, what with the anti-gunners complaining about noise as a reason to shut down every shooting range possible.

[Bob Pickup]

Benjamin
Thanks for input, not of much concern to us me personally, but can anyone clarify what the position is in The States re airguns being firearms, I thought I had seen a few other posts saying they were firearms in the States, or maybe its just in some counties. Over here silencers on field shooters air rifles seems to be the norm, whether its to keep the noise of the sport down or just so they can sneak up on some unsuspecting poor bunny I don't know, probably it just looks cool.
Bob

[Pradeep5]

US Federal law (US Code) doesn't include air pistols/rifles in a definition of a firearm. So you don't need any kind of license to own or buy one.

States/cities however are free to make up their own crazy laws.

There are certain areas (New York City for one) that prohibit air pistols. I guess they had problems with those replicas that look just like a real .45 etc.

[visitor]

I just love amateur legal opinions. A silencer, moderator, suppressor or whatever you want to call it is a Class 3 device in the US - just like a machine gun or a sawed-off shotgun - if it CAN be fitted to a firearm. The intent of the maker or the user don't matter; and it's your responsiblity, Mr. Defendant, to prove otherwise.

[Bill177]

I see mention of silencers, lead dust collectors, or whatever you wish to call them, on other airgun forums constantly. The articles vary from legal discussion (by non-legally trained individuals) to outright instructional missives.

In the eyes of law enforcement the mere possession by an individual of such a device is illegal without the proper licensing (federal and/or state). In many states their possession by individuals is prohibited - completely. Airgun or powder burner application does not enter into the matter. The device is prohibited.

The history of the specific law prohibiting the possession/manufacture of these devices is very interesting and makes for good reading. Its current application is quite specific and not in a grey area at all. The Second Amendment is not applicable.

Believe me when I say that you do not want to become involved in this matter as a defendent. You will not be a test case - rather, just another defendent headed for a felony conviction. Your life, as you know it, will change forever.

[Nicole Hamilton]

I'm with those who would not shoot outdoors at home, for all the reasons cited, namely, neighbors who might be upset, plus weather. I use a metal pellet trap and, just my opinion, but the pop of even an air gun plus the bang as the pellet hits the trap seems certain to attract attention. And even though I haven't missed the paper in years, it seems like most folks I've ever let try shooting miss the whole trap as often as they hit it, so if it was outside, I'd either have to flat-out refuse to let anyone else shoot or set up a serious berm. Who needs all that? If I'm going to shoot at home, I want something I can use safely and privately no matter what the weather, any time of day or night, and with good lighting.

For me, that meant a basement AP range. And that, in turn, meant that when I looked around to buy a house, it had to have a basement that was big enough. Considering I'm now living near Seattle, where most houses don't have basements unless they're built on the side of hill (where the basement serves the purpose of raising the whole house so the first floor isn't embedded into the dirt), that kind of limited my choice, but to me, that was worth it.

[Mike McDaniel]

I don't have a backyard to shoot in. However, I am buying a new townhouse - and one thing that I looked for (and got) was enough room for a 10m range. I'll be standing in the kitchen, and shooting into the living room.