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MartyZ

Can I bring my guns to my cousins farm

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So my cousin just bought 50 acres of farm land in southern jersey. Assuming there are no "no discharge" ordinance and I have his full permission to shoot on his land. Can I transport my firearms to his house, and can I shoot on his land? Or does it have to be a designated shooting range? 

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I always thought you could because  it's a " place of practice". But this place of practice doesn't not meet the legal definition of a "place of practice". So, no you can't transport your guns to your cousin's property.

Instead, shoot his guns, replenish his ammo stash and give him some beer.

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this is nj. chances are good that you're probably gonna still have to stick to within the other (illegal) laws........as in you can't take your pistols there, but rifles are fine.

 in all honesty though, who the hell really knows?

 

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18 hours ago, MartyZ said:

So my cousin just bought 50 acres of farm land in southern jersey. Assuming there are no "no discharge" ordinance and I have his full permission to shoot on his land. Can I transport my firearms to his house, and can I shoot on his land? Or does it have to be a designated shooting range? 

Does he live somewhere on those 50 acres?  Did he build a berm or designate a patch of land as his range?

Don't be scared of your own shadow.  You wanna chat on the phone to go over this, just hit me with a PM with your phone number & best time to call.  There are ways to do this...

Rosey

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I can relate some personal experience I had, but can't guarantee yours would be the same.

I had a friend who was the caretaker of a private facility on private land in NJ.  The facility was in a municipality that did NOT have a no-discharge ordinance.  This municipality is also extremely wealthy, not what I'd expect to be a "firearm friendly" town.

He secured permission from the owners to shoot there, in the form of a letter.

A couple of times a year he'd host "group shoots" at the facility.  I went to a couple.  There was one portion of the property that had a large hill that was used as berm/backstop for an impromptu range.

The first time I went the local police rolled up in 3 cars about half an hour after we started shooting.  Multiple neighboring homes on the borders of the property called in about all the gunfire.

Friend identified himself as the caretaker of the property, explained that he had permission from the owners to shoot there (showed the letter) and that there were no laws/ordinances prohibiting shooting there.

Police left without any further action.  Pistols and long guns were out and visibly obvious on our "range" tables.

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Some time ago I used to go shooting in some gravel pits.  I believe it was public land.  You would pick out an embankment to use as a backstop and shoot handguns and/or long guns.  The local police would drive by, check everyone was being safe and leave.  Never saw them bother anyone.

While this was years ago the same laws were in effect in NJ.  Reasonable deviation included stopping at a diner for lunch on the way home.

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He does live on the land, it's his primary residence, but no berm yet. He just bought it a month ago. I was planning on going down there ahead of time to help him put up a berm.

Rosey, I will pm you later with my contact info. I'm a little inundated with meetings today. Thanks.

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2 hours ago, GRIZ said:

IANAL but unless there is a specific legal definition in NJ statutes or admin code the common definition would be used.  One of which is, "a place for firearms practice".

What constitutes a legal range is in the books right next to what constitutes a residence for firearms ownership & storage.  Don't bother lookin' for it, you'll get a headache cause it's NOT there, lol!

Well done @GRIZ

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1 hour ago, MartyZ said:

He does live on the land, it's his primary residence, but no berm yet. He just bought it a month ago. I was planning on going down there ahead of time to help him put up a berm.

Rosey, I will pm you later with my contact info. I'm a little inundated with meetings today. Thanks.

@MartyZ Hit me up when it's good for you.

~R

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8 hours ago, Smokin .50 said:

What constitutes a legal range is in the books right next to what constitutes a residence for firearms ownership & storage.  Don't bother lookin' for it, you'll get a headache cause it's NOT there, lol!

Well done @GRIZ

I know there isn't a statutory definition.  That's why I brought it up!!!

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Too many overthink things.

I've never heard of anyone arrested going to or from their friends farm to shoot for illegal possession of a handgun or hollowpoints.

99.9% of cops (probably less)  are not "out to get you". Everything in life is a gamble and I have a bit of experience in that.  When you look at the odds you are more likely to be involved in a fiery car crash than arrested transporting guns to their friend's farm or property to shoot.

I've said this before in relation to other things but if someone can find an instance of someone arrested for doing what I said in the previous paragraph please educate me.

 

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1 hour ago, MartyZ said:

Ok, thanks everyone, I won't overthink it.

Now, how high and how thick should the berm be? will be shooting 9mm, .45, .357 mag, .44 mag, .223, and .308 at it.

How high they need to be is directly dependent upon not only the rounds it needs to stop and where you post your targets (height of posted target), but also the shooting position of engagement (prone, sitting/kneeling, offhand) and DISTANCE from the target stand to the Shooter AND the distance from the target stand to the Berm.  Best thing to do would be to have me guest you into Old Bridge to show you what "Cone of Fire" is all about and what our berms look like and why.

Controlling "Cone of Fire" is easy once you grasp the concept.  It's one of the many things I've learned as a Chief Range Safety Officer.  A hands-on lesson in what to do and what not to do would lead you down a path of enlightenment :)  Besides, I can guest non-members into the range now that the CovidCaper is over, and my little Weber grill can make us some cheeseburgers...

First pic is USPSA Grand Master Emily Cutts, age 16, at her own private range in a friend's cranberry bog.  Pic #2 is my son & I at OBR&PC's 100 yard range.  Pic #3 is marinated pork chops on the Little Weber charcoal grill.  I've replaced the grill grate since this pic was taken, lol.  Thing gets a lot of use :)  Sent you a PM answer too!

Rosey

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49 minutes ago, GRIZ said:

The height depends on the height of your targets then add a few feet.  For thickness refer to FM 5-15, US Army Engineer Field Fortification manual.  

I can't find my copy right now.   :)  But if you are building a dirt berm, I'd imagine that by the time it is high enough, it is also thick enough.

Although, being able to point to the manual and say your berm meets US Army specs might be a useful thing if you start getting questions from the town.

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