Sighting in Shotgun

[chucker34]

Hello,

Bow season has been slow so far so I think I might partake in the firearms season this year as well. I was thinking about it anyways.

I haven't shot a slug for two years now and wanted to shoot a box to make sure I am sighted in and have the feel for it. I have a remington 870 with the rifled barrell and will be shooting shots pretty much 50 yards and under. Hunting in thick woods that don't present much longer shots.

My questions are (a) what are the regs or where can I find the regs about sighting in? I seem to remember time restrictions on doing so - even on private land and ( where do you sight in? On the land you'll be hunting? Do you feel half a dozen shots or so in the middle of the day is enough to scare them off for the season?

I appreciate the responses. Thanks.

[lawdog]

Look in the hunting synopsis there is stuff about the day before and after season if I remember right...

I would never shoot where I'll be hunting.

[chucker34]

Aha. Thanks, I found it. You can't posess a firearm or ammunition of any type outdoors in any area where you could legally take a deer from 5 days before season until 2 days after season.

And I had pretty much ruled out sighting in where I hunt just that I hear gun shots nearby all year long on adjoining land and wondered how many actually tried practicing on their own hunting land.

[Powerstroke]

There are no rules as to sighting in on your own property. There are rules in almost all state lands prohibiting indiscriminate shooting. Sighting in is usually not allowed.

[chucker34]

I was wondering more about sighting in on private land within a certain time in relations to the firearms opener. Page 25 of the reg book says I can sight in on private land only if its at least six days before the firearms opener or if I am using an "authorized target range" on private land.

See the reg section below:

Possession of Firearms Before, During, and

After the Firearms Deer Season

(Note: This section does not apply to the Muzzleloader Season, see page 86, except that muzzleloaders legal for deer may be possessed only by persons with a muzzleloader or all-season deer license during that season.)

No person may possess a firearm or ammunition outdoors during the period beginning the fifth day before the open firearms season and ending the second day after the close of the season within an area where deer may be legally taken by firearms (see page 32), except:

• A person who has a valid firearms big game license in possession may hunt big game during the open season with a firearm and ammunition authorized for big game.

• Possession is also legal under these conditions:

a) An unloaded firearm that is in a case or in a closed trunk of a motor vehicle.

A shotgun and shells containing No. 4 buckshot or smaller

diameter lead shot or nontoxic shot.

c) A .22 caliber rimfire handgun or rifle with .22 caliber short, long, or long rifle cartridges.

d) Handguns possessed by a person with a carry permit.

e) On an authorized target range.

[BLACKJACK]

Quote:

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No person may possess a firearm or ammunition outdoors during the period beginning the fifth day before the open firearms season and ending the second day after the close of the season within an area where deer may be legally taken by firearms

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Sit out on your deck or in your deer stand (bowhunting) the Friday evening before gun season, you'll hear guns getting sighted in all over the coutryside.

[bigbucks]

I wouldn't worry about sighting in on the property you hunt on. I probably wouldn't do it from my stand the week before season, but if it was in the middle of the day & it was on a field edge it would be fine. We've sighted in shotguns with in plain sight of three of our deer stands for as long as I can remember & deer cross that field within 100 yards of that target, during season, every single year.

The year I bought my muzzleloader, I sighted it in from about 3-4pm on one end of a field & sat in a stand on the other end of the field, approximately 400 yards away. Within an hour I was looking at a nice doe piled up in the same field.