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Firing Gun Withen Town Limits

madfrenchie

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
10
Location
Madawaska
I have a strange question, and I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of flack for asking this, but let me go into grave detail to hopefully answer questions about my post before they are asked.

I currently live in town (not on the outskirts but in town) in a 2 story house, with an unfinished basement.

The basement is a full size basement that goes the entire length of the house. (over 100 feet long about 25 feet wide) the entire basement is cement,(and underground) except for one section at the far end, which has a large mound of dirt (no cement under the dirt) and then a cement wall behind the mound of dirt) basically they stopped digging because of hard rocks and left the mound of dirt there.

Is it legal (not asking if its safe) but is it legal for me to target practice inside my basement with a pistol? I own the house, and the land, I'm not renting, and the closest neighbor's house is about 100 feet away from my house.

P.S. I believe my town has an ordnance about shooting guns within town limits, I'm looking into this now, so whats the answer if there is / isn't an ordnance.


Second question, is a much simpler one, When traveling with my guy (in plain sight on the passenger seat) is it legal to have bullets loaded in the mag, and the mag safely in the pass anger glove box? Or must I fully unload my mags after removing them from the gun and storing the bullets separate from the mag as well?

Thank you ahead of time for taking the time to respond.
 

boyscout399

Regular Member
Joined
May 23, 2008
Messages
905
Location
Lyman, Maine
I have a strange question, and I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of flack for asking this, but let me go into grave detail to hopefully answer questions about my post before they are asked.

I currently live in town (not on the outskirts but in town) in a 2 story house, with an unfinished basement.

The basement is a full size basement that goes the entire length of the house. (over 100 feet long about 25 feet wide) the entire basement is cement,(and underground) except for one section at the far end, which has a large mound of dirt (no cement under the dirt) and then a cement wall behind the mound of dirt) basically they stopped digging because of hard rocks and left the mound of dirt there.

Is it legal (not asking if its safe) but is it legal for me to target practice inside my basement with a pistol? I own the house, and the land, I'm not renting, and the closest neighbor's house is about 100 feet away from my house.

P.S. I believe my town has an ordnance about shooting guns within town limits, I'm looking into this now, so whats the answer if there is / isn't an ordnance.


Second question, is a much simpler one, When traveling with my guy (in plain sight on the passenger seat) is it legal to have bullets loaded in the mag, and the mag safely in the pass anger glove box? Or must I fully unload my mags after removing them from the gun and storing the bullets separate from the mag as well?

Thank you ahead of time for taking the time to respond.

If your city has an ordinance preventing the discharge of firearms, then it would be illegal to shoot in your basement. If there ISN'T an ordinance preventing it, then you must be 100 YARDS from your neighbors house unless you have permission. http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/12/title12sec11209.html Make sure you consider ventilation if you're going to shoot in a basement. There is a very real risk of lead poisoning from inhaling the fumes in a confined space.

As to your second question. If you do not have a Concealed Handgun Permit, then the magazine cannot be inserted or attached to the firearm. Having the mag loaded is fine. I used to put the mag next to the gun on the passenger seat. It doesn't even have to be in the glove box. You do not need to unload the rounds from the magazine.
 

madfrenchie

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
10
Location
Madawaska
If your city has an ordinance preventing the discharge of firearms, then it would be illegal to shoot in your basement. If there ISN'T an ordinance preventing it, then you must be 100 YARDS from your neighbors house unless you have permission. http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/12/title12sec11209.html Make sure you consider ventilation if you're going to shoot in a basement. There is a very real risk of lead poisoning from inhaling the fumes in a confined space.

As to your second question. If you do not have a Concealed Handgun Permit, then the magazine cannot be inserted or attached to the firearm. Having the mag loaded is fine. I used to put the mag next to the gun on the passenger seat. It doesn't even have to be in the glove box. You do not need to unload the rounds from the magazine.

Thank you very much for your answer. Yes there are windows in the area where I would be shooting from, none at the actual location the target would be placed.

I'm working on getting my permit now, I just wasn't sure if by "Loaded" they also meant the mag.

Thank You.
 

boyscout399

Regular Member
Joined
May 23, 2008
Messages
905
Location
Lyman, Maine
Thank you very much for your answer. Yes there are windows in the area where I would be shooting from, none at the actual location the target would be placed.

I'm working on getting my permit now, I just wasn't sure if by "Loaded" they also meant the mag.

Thank You.

you also need to consider fans, not just open windows. You want to vent those gases away from you. And get permission from neighbors if within 100 yards
 

madfrenchie

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
10
Location
Madawaska
you also need to consider fans, not just open windows. You want to vent those gases away from you. And get permission from neighbors if within 100 yards

Yeah, I'm not too worried about the "Safety" aspect of it, I'm extremely careful when it comes to safety, since my basement has water coming in, I already have air exchangers recirculating the air to keep the moisture out of the house, i've already done a bunch of checks to make sure where the targets are will be safe, and made sure i could minimize any chance of ricksha, made sure no one could just walk into the basement in front of the firing line.. and a few other items I would need to fix / change to be as safe as possible, so as far as safety goes, Ive got that mostly covered, but thanks for the safety tips anyway, sometimes there's minor details missed that others catch. ;)

once i find out what the ordnance is I'll have a little talk with the neighbors.
 

MainelyGlock

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2012
Messages
615
Location
Portland, ME
I wish I had your basement!

I know a few people from Madawaska. From what I've heard, getting permission from your neighbors wouldn't be a problem ha.

Stay safe.
 

madfrenchie

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
10
Location
Madawaska
I wish I had your basement!

I know a few people from Madawaska. From what I've heard, getting permission from your neighbors wouldn't be a problem ha.

Stay safe.


Ha yeah people up here are usually very passive when it comes to stuff like this. The only problem I ran into is trying to get correct info. I called the police department tonight, after I wrote my first message, and asked about discharging a firearm whiten town limits. He told me he didn't think there was such an ordinance, but he did state he believes there is an ordinance about shooting a cretin distance away from a dwelling, which i believe would include the inside of your own dwelling..

I'm waiting for more info, but if that's the case, I'm SOL.
 

boyscout399

Regular Member
Joined
May 23, 2008
Messages
905
Location
Lyman, Maine
Ha yeah people up here are usually very passive when it comes to stuff like this. The only problem I ran into is trying to get correct info. I called the police department tonight, after I wrote my first message, and asked about discharging a firearm whiten town limits. He told me he didn't think there was such an ordinance, but he did state he believes there is an ordinance about shooting a cretin distance away from a dwelling, which i believe would include the inside of your own dwelling..

I'm waiting for more info, but if that's the case, I'm SOL.

He is most likely thinking of the statute I posted before 100yds
 

boyscout399

Regular Member
Joined
May 23, 2008
Messages
905
Location
Lyman, Maine
Yeah most probably, He is supposed to check and see if 100 yards from a dwelling included inside the dwelling on your personal property.

There is an exception if you have permission from the owner of the dwelling. I'd assume you'd give yourself permission... It's your neighbors that are a concern.
 

madfrenchie

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
10
Location
Madawaska
There is an exception if you have permission from the owner of the dwelling. I'd assume you'd give yourself permission... It's your neighbors that are a concern.

I tend to argue with myself a lot but I decided to give myself permission anyway :) , haha Neighbors are fine with it. so I should be good to go :)
 

SPOProds

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2012
Messages
464
Location
Orono, ME
Yep, if you use HPs then no lead as the jacket is pulled from the back end of the bullet. Same thing with moly coated rounds ;) just gotta get that pesky gun smoke out


Eta: there's more to if than that but it's a start to highly reduced risk
 
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MainelyGlock

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2012
Messages
615
Location
Portland, ME
Also, I'd use frangible ammo if you're gonna be shooting indoors and relatively close to ANYTHING a round could ricochet off of.
 

madfrenchie

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
10
Location
Madawaska
Looks like everything worked out in my favor, Set up the basement, Advised Neighbors, Advised Police Department, and everything is A OK...

Been shooting in the basement the past few days with no issues at all.

Thank you Everyone for your information, and advice..
 

madfrenchie

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
10
Location
Madawaska
It's in your house. You want gun powder floating around your house? Not all of its going to go out the Windows. That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

Its an unfinished basement, and there is no access to the house from the basement. So the Gun Powder won't reach the upstairs. Plus I'm not talking about unloading 200 rounds a day down there... Its more of a 5 to 10 rounds a week at most, when I'm bored and can't get to an outside range since its the middle of winter.
 
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