Wake County updates decades-old guidelines for outdoor shooting, target practice
After months of debate, rules for shooting outdoors in rural areas within Wake County are changing.
The Wake County Board of Commissioners voted Wednesday night to update a decades-old gun ordinance, increasing how far people must be from another home when firing a gun.
The updated ordinance also requires shooters to use a backstop to stop bullets and states people can't fire outdoors between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
The changes come after more than 100 complaints were made about shots fired in the Knightdale area. A handful of those bullets have hit homes and other property.
In September, WRAL News spoke to Shannon Hardy, a Knightdale resident who said on two separate occasions bullets nearly missed her while standing outside of her own home. In one instance she was outdoors grilling with her family.
“This summer on July 19, we were in the backyard grilling, and I was with the dogs, and I happened to bend over," described Hardy. "Right where I was -- in the space where my head was -- a bullet flew by along with other bullets, one hitting our neighbor's fence."
The Chapter 130 ordinance applies only in unincorporated areas of Wake County outside of city or town limits where target practice is allowed. The ordinance does not impact hunting, which is regulated by state and federal law.
Changes in the ordinance are as follows:
- Distance: Increase the minimum distance from a home, public building or livestock in which a person may discharge a firearm from 100 yards to 300 yards.
- Backstop: Require a backstop that meets industry standards or at least meets the height and width standards specified in the ordinance.
- Restricted hours: Prohibit the discharge of a firearm from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m.
- Fine: Increase the maximum fine for violation from $50 to the statutory limit of $500.
