# Can I hunt in my backyard?



## Aidan Kirkpatrick (Nov 8, 2021)

i live in a columbus suburb and was wondering if i had a permit i could use air guns to hunt squirrel and rabbit in my backyard. from what i’ve been able to research so far it seems legal as long as you don’t shoot across a road.


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## Specktur (Jun 10, 2009)

Most likely you would not be permitted to discharge an airgun, but you need to check the codified ordinances of the suburb in which you live. For example in Westerville the following ordinance applies:
523.09 DISCHARGING WEAPONS.

(a) No person shall discharge, or cause to be discharged, any firearm or airgun or other instrument used to explode any cartridge or thing filled with any explosive substance or material.

(b) No person shall discharge, or cause to be discharged, any arrow or other projectile capable of inflicting death or serious physical harm to persons or property, from any device or instrument including, but not limited to, a zip-gun, slingshot, crossbow, compound bow or any type of bow commonly used for hunting purposes. This subsection shall not apply to supervised commercial archery ranges or State accredited schools offering instruction in the use of such weapons.

(c) This section shall not be construed to include toy bow and arrow sets, toy pistols, toy canes, toy guns or other devices in which paper caps containing twenty-five hundredths grains or less of explosive compound are used, providing they are so constructed that the hand cannot come in contact with the cap when in place for the explosion, and toy pistol paper caps which contain less than twenty hundredths grains of explosive mixture, the sale and use of which shall be permitted at all times.


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## Morrowtucky Mike (May 2, 2018)

Sure am glad I stayed in a little hick town. Nobody says anything when I shoot a 22 to kill groundhogs.


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

Read the local zoning resolution. That will outline what you can and can not do. It’s probably not legal in suburbs around Columbus.


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## Ron Y (Dec 2, 2020)

Go ahead until somebody stops you or the neighbors complain.


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## Shad Rap (Nov 10, 2010)

Short answer...No.


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## privateer (Apr 26, 2012)

consider liability should a shot stray...
otherwise it is likely a case of "anything is legal until you are told otherwise by authorities"... 

also, as i found out recently "laws are only for law abiding citizens, all the others can do as they wish and for the most part will get away with it"


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## Upland (Nov 3, 2016)




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## baitguy (Dec 17, 2013)

Ron Y said:


> Go ahead until somebody stops you or the neighbors complain.


if your local Gendarmes don't have a sense of humor it could be an issue ... if the neighbors don't care no big deal, but our local ordinance reads something to the effect of "no mechanical discharge of projectiles" which I'm told is all BB / pellet guns and up and includes bow and arrow ... it could include air soft and nerf guns if they got anal about it ... so best to be sure rather than pay a fine for ignorance


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

Live by the 3 s rule


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## loves2fishinohio (Apr 14, 2011)

Considering this day and age, local police seem to respond to very few complaints, and unless this involved a stray shot, I don't think they'd entertain chasing down someone shooting squirrels in their backyard with a BB gun. Be mindful of what's behind your target. Heck, my roommate use to shoot squirrels, raccoons, and skunks in his backyard in Upper Arlington with is .22. The neighbors bitched up a storm about it but not one cop ever showed up at the door.


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## Specktur (Jun 10, 2009)

Morrowtucky Mike said:


> Sure am glad I stayed in a little hick town. Nobody says anything when I shoot a 22 to kill groundhogs.


I grew up in Cardington. Just looked up the Village Ordinances.
549.08 DISCHARGING FIREARMS.
(a) No person shall discharge any air gun, rifle, shotgun, revolver, pistol or other firearm within the corporate limits of the Municipality. 

I can remember when my uncle was a teenager, he would shoot sparrows in the vines growing on the brick building across the alley. He would also practice archery in the back yard. 

I have a couple friends in Richland County villages. One shoots squirrels and chipmunks with an air rifle. Another has a number of air rifles with which he occasionally shoots at targets on his property. Both properties are a little larger than a typical city lot and have a bank or unoccupied property in the back.


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## Morrowtucky Mike (May 2, 2018)

Yep here it ultimately depends on who your neighbor is. The police aren’t coming unless their is a complaint, I personally know most of them as well as most of the Morrow county sheriff deputies. My neighbors are pretty cool and know I’m not just out shooting off randomly. Even had an older neighbor lady this spring ask if I would come over and kill the ground hog living under her porch. Which I absolutely did within minutes knowing how good her cinnamon rolls are. Lol


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## privateer (Apr 26, 2012)

Morrowtucky Mike said:


> Yep here it ultimately depends on who your neighbor is. The police aren’t coming unless their is a complaint, I personally know most of them as well as most of the Morrow county sheriff deputies. My neighbors are pretty cool and know I’m not just out shooting off randomly. Even had an older neighbor lady this spring ask if I would come over and kill the ground hog living under her porch. Which I absolutely did within minutes knowing how good her cinnamon rolls are. Lol


some cities do have listening devices that "hear" shots and triangulate to pinpoint location. most of us do not live in such locations - esp if thinking of shooting something in the "backyard"... just be aware as they get less expensive and smaller in size, they will be coming to a neighborhood near you and perhaps even yours. big brother!


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

privateer said:


> some cities do have listening devices that "hear" shots and triangulate to pinpoint location. most of us do not live in such locations - esp if thinking of shooting something in the "backyard"... just be aware as they get less expensive and smaller in size, they will be coming to a neighborhood near you and perhaps even yours. big brother!


Canton has one. I believe they're called shot tracker or something like that. I have a buddy that works for a neighboring PD and he said they are actually very effective. Now I would put money on it they can sense a pellet gun


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## privateer (Apr 26, 2012)

DHower08 said:


> Canton has one. I believe they're called shot tracker or something like that. I have a buddy that works for a neighboring PD and he said they are actually very effective. Now I would put money on it they can sense a pellet gun


i don't know what exactly they are picking up on to track. i was at the range shooting .22 long rifle recently and had some shorts that i tried to see how loud as they are subsonic rounds. i could shoot without hearing protection with no issue - just the initial crack of the shot ignition. however, no way i will use any of my pneumatic nail guns without hearing protection.

makes me think of the time our home security system was deactivated but the glass break detector was still chirping quite a bit. then realized it chirped every time my kids poked a hole in the skin of a refrigerator box with a ballpoint pen. that poke had a sufficient pop that the glass break was detecting it. likely similar to walking through dry cornstalks with the shooting-noise canceling headsets. the crack of the cornstalk would turn off the hearing momentarily. i believe those two devices were detecting an "edge" condition in the sound wave.

as for directionality. if multiple sensors could collaborate on a single sound. a comparison of the sound waves would help pinpoint the location.


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## Ron Y (Dec 2, 2020)

If in doubt get a slingshot.


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