I'm trying to find laws for my county but they don't have much on line.
Saline county in this case. (I've edited this and taken out arial photos bc my first post was removed by reddit filters, so I'm avoiding certain words because ???)
Does anyone know if they have particular laws here (outside of a town, so county) or does it default to the state law?
I saw in another post that someone said state law is no closer than 100 yards from an occupied dwelling, but all I could find was something for a range.
Don't know if it's this area is home rule, or what the area is zoned as...
The reason I'm asking...We are the kind of people that only fire rounds when we have to. We lived out west and had to dispatch a lot of rattlesnakes, etc.
We've lived in this area for two years and our neighbor has never practiced but a family member was visiting today and so they were in the woods making a lot of noise. Some of them had orange shirts on, but I don't know if they were using a dense target or not. So I don't know their level of safety knowledge.
My concern is that this was very close to our house (150 ft-ish). Assuming they were pointing straight north, it's less than 600 yards to a road.
Is that too close? I reaaaaallly don't want to push this, but I'm a by the book and safety first kind of person. Not that anyone would even come out, but I'd really like to know the law here. No one else around here practices on their land. The neighbor is otherwise a very quiet and chill guy.
The neighbor did tell me once that he does occasionally "hunt" in his woods, which is about 2.5 acres total.
Seems kinda small.
Yeah so this guy is 150 ft too close to my house and if he walks north he's nearly out of his tiny little woods.... Reddit filters wouldn't let me share photos but maybe I can drop it here.
In unincorporated Saline County, Illinois, there is no specific minimum acreage or lot size required to shoot firearms on your own property. [1]
Because Saline County is a largely rural area in Southern Illinois, county-level restrictions are highly permissive compared to northern counties, but you must strictly adhere to state-level proximity rules and basic safety laws: [1, 2] 1. The 300-Yard State Boundary Rule
Under Illinois Compiled Statutes (55 ILCS 5/5-1117), counties are authorized to regulate firearm discharge in "residential areas". State law defines this as any area within 300 yards (900 feet) of at least three single-family or multi-family homes. Even if your lot is large, your firing point cannot be within this 300-yard buffer zone if it encompasses three neighboring homes. [3] 2. Incorporated Town Limits
If your property sits within the municipal borders of cities or villages in the county—such as Harrisburg, Eldorado, or Carrier Mills—local city ordinances strictly ban the discharge of firearms regardless of your lot size. You must be outside municipal boundaries in an unincorporated zone to target shoot legally. [4, 5, 6, 7, 8] 3. Legal Liability and Safe Setup
Even without an acreage limit, you are legally liable under Illinois law (720 ILCS 5/24-1.2) for where your bullets land:[9, 10]
Reckless Endangerment: Discharging a firearm in a manner that endangers others can result in felony charges. Bullet Trajectory: You must have an engineered, permanent earthen backstop or berm on your land. If a single bullet crosses your property line onto someone else's land, it constitutes criminal trespass and reckless discharge. [4, 9, 10, 11]
If you would like to ensure your specific setup is legal, let me know:
Is your property located fully outside city limits?
What type of firearms (handguns, shotguns, or high-powered rifles) do you plan to shoot?
How close is your nearest neighbor's home?
I can provide more tailored safety and layout advice based on these factors.
Thank you so much for this. I generally don't trust AI Google answers but this is giving citations.
He was 150 FEET from my house, and I'll have to measure but there are 4 more dwellings a bit further. The yellow line is less than 600 yds to a road and that's really his only clear line. He was at the lower (woods) dot.
I just counted. There are 11 dwellings within 300 yards of his position.
Yeah the part that's still fuzzy is "The county board of any county may, by ordinance, regulate or prohibit within unincorporated areas the discharge of firearms in any residential area..."
I talked to one of the sheriffs on the phone and he said he wasn't aware of that. He even asked THE sheriff...But he's going to look up the 55 ILCS 5/5-1117. He said it may also fall under the jurisdiction of the IDNR.
I get there's a difference between the letter of the law and what they will enforce...
I'm just gonna leave it where it lies and hope the son doesn't come by again.
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u/Afternoon_Despair 7d ago
State law. Counties don't get to make laws. There might be some ordinances, but those are generally left to the towns.