You can target shoot on your own property in New York, but only if you stay at least 500 feet from any occupied building, keep every round on your land, follow any stricter town or village ordinance, and use firearms you’re lawfully permitted to possess. Miss any one of those and legal target practice turns into a misdemeanor or worse.
The 500-Foot Rule
Environmental Conservation Law Section 11-0931 sets the statewide floor. You cannot fire a gun within 500 feet of any occupied dwelling, school, playground, factory, or church.1New York State Senate. New York Environmental Conservation Law ENV 11-0931 The distance is measured from where you pull the trigger to the nearest occupied structure. Crossbows drop to 250 feet and longbows to 150, so the buffer changes with the weapon.
There is one carve-out that matters. You can shoot closer than 500 feet to a dwelling if you own or lease it, you’re an immediate family member of the owner, you work there, or the owner gives you explicit consent.1New York State Senate. New York Environmental Conservation Law ENV 11-0931 The exception only covers the specific building whose owner consents. A neighbor’s house still counts against your 500-foot circle unless that neighbor also signs off.
Two more restrictions sit inside the same statute. You cannot fire in any direction that would send a bullet over a public road, even partially. And “dwelling” is read broadly to include seasonal cabins and permanent hunting camps, so a parcel that looks remote may still have protected buildings inside your buffer.1New York State Senate. New York Environmental Conservation Law ENV 11-0931
Your Town or Village Can Be Stricter
Clearing the state rule does not mean you’re legal. Nothing in New York law stops a city, town, or village from tightening the restrictions further, and many do. Town Law Section 130 specifically authorizes towns to prohibit discharge where it would be hazardous to the public. Local rules can extend the distance, ban shooting on parcels below a set acreage, or forbid discharge anywhere in residential zones.
This is where most people trip. They confirm they have room for 500 feet, load up their rifle, and never open the town code. A Hudson Valley or Long Island municipality often looks nothing like a rural Adirondack town on this question. Call your town clerk or read the municipal code before you set up targets. If you live inside an incorporated village, check with the village too, because villages regulate discharge separately from the surrounding town.
Which Firearms You Can Use
Rifles and Shotguns
Target practice with a legally owned rifle or shotgun is the simplest case. If you meet the 500-foot rule (or qualify for the owner-consent exception) and comply with local ordinances, state law does not layer on any additional permit for shooting on your own land. You still have to possess the firearm lawfully, but no separate license is needed to pull the trigger.
Handguns
Handguns work differently. New York requires a license to possess any pistol or revolver under Penal Law Section 400.00, and the license itself can carry restrictions on where and how you use the gun.2New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 400.00 – Licensing and Other Provisions Some counties issue “sportsman” or “target” permits that only authorize use at recognized ranges, while an unrestricted carry permit gives you broader latitude. Read the conditions printed on your permit. If the wording is ambiguous, call your county licensing office before you shoot in the yard, because using a restricted-purpose handgun outside its authorized use can turn target practice into a criminal charge.
Penal Law Section 265.20 does contain exemptions for pistol use at indoor and outdoor ranges operated by incorporated conservation or shooting organizations, but those apply to organized range facilities, not informal setups on private land.3New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 265.20 – Exemptions
Assault Weapons and Magazine Limits
The SAFE Act bans firearms defined as “assault weapons” and caps magazine capacity at ten rounds.4Gun Safety in NYS. Resources for Gun Owners An assault weapon under New York law includes any semiautomatic rifle that accepts a detachable magazine and has at least one additional military-style feature, along with certain semiautomatic pistols and shotguns matching similar criteria.5New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 265.00 – Definitions If you owned a now-banned weapon before the law took effect, you had to register it with the State Police. An unregistered assault weapon cannot lawfully be used for target practice or anything else in New York.
Suppressors Are Banned
Don’t buy a suppressor to make your setup quieter for the neighbors. New York treats possession of a firearm silencer as criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, a Class D felony carrying up to seven years in prison.6Justia Law. New York Penal Law 265.02 – Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree The federal NFA process that allows civilian ownership in many states is irrelevant here. State law flatly prohibits them.
Keeping Every Bullet on Your Property
Even a shooter who satisfies every distance rule can face serious charges if a round leaves the property. You are legally responsible for each bullet until it stops moving. A round that reaches a neighboring house, a passing car, or a person can support felony charges no matter how carefully you counted the feet.
A proper backstop is the single most important piece of a private range. The standard approach is an earthen berm of tightly compacted, stone-free soil, tall enough and wide enough to catch shots from your firing position with margin for rounds that drift high or off to the side. A face slope of roughly 56 degrees from horizontal is the traditional angle for limiting ricochets. Sand, loose gravel, or a thin dirt pile will not work; those materials can send bullets in unpredictable directions. Centerfire rifles demand substantially more berm depth at the crest than rimfire or pistol rounds.
Orient the range so you’re shooting into a hillside and away from any structure, road, or area a person could wander into. Post warning signs at the boundary near your shooting area. Never shoot toward a ridgeline where the sky is the backdrop, because a round that clears the crest can travel farther than you can see. Set a clear firing line, keep a consistent routine for going downrange, and don’t shoot when you can’t see what’s behind the target.
What a Violation Costs You
Penalties scale with what you did and whether anyone was put at risk.
Breaking the 500-Foot Rule
Firing a gun in violation of ECL 11-0931 is a misdemeanor. The maximum is three months in jail, a fine between $200 and $1,000, or both.7New York State Senate. New York Environmental Conservation Law 71-0921 – Misdemeanors Lighter than many people expect, but a misdemeanor conviction still leaves a criminal record that can affect employment, professional licenses, and future firearm eligibility.
Reckless Endangerment
If your shooting creates a real risk of injury, prosecutors can charge under the Penal Law regardless of whether you technically met the ECL distance. Reckless endangerment in the second degree applies when your conduct creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury. It’s a Class A misdemeanor with up to 364 days in jail.8New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 120.20 – Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree9New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 70.15 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Misdemeanors and Violation
If the conduct shows “depraved indifference to human life” and creates a grave risk of death, the charge becomes reckless endangerment in the first degree, a Class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.10New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 120.25 – Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree11New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 70.00 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Felony A high-powered rifle fired toward an occupied area over an inadequate backstop is exactly the pattern that gets charged at this level.
Prohibited Use of Weapons
Penal Law Section 265.35 covers certain dangerous uses of firearms, including willfully firing at a vehicle, train, or aircraft, which becomes a Class D felony when anyone’s safety is endangered.12New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 265.35 – Prohibited Use of Weapons Ordinary target practice on private land doesn’t usually implicate this section, but a stray round that hits a vehicle on a nearby road can pull it into play fast.
Insurance Won’t Always Save You
If a round leaves your property and hurts someone, civil liability rides alongside any criminal charges. A standard HO-3 homeowners policy generally covers liability for accidental shootings on your property because it covers what isn’t specifically excluded, and firearm discharge isn’t excluded. Coverage evaporates, though, if the insurer treats the injury as “expected or intended,” and criminal or reckless conduct falls outside the policy entirely. Many policies also exclude injuries between people living in the same household.
Anyone shooting regularly on their land should ask their agent about an umbrella liability policy, which typically adds $1 million or more above homeowners limits, or about specialized firearm liability coverage through organizations like the USCCA or NRA at a few hundred dollars per year. Have that conversation before you shoot, not after.