can i shoot my bow on 5 acres of land
 

sorry i know its been asked before but i keep finding info on Calgary and Edmonton nothing on acres. I live on 5 acres, 40 mins west of Calgary in the Foothlls county.
can i target practice with my bow??

Any info is greatly appreciated!!

Becky :sHa_shakeshout:

Are you 200m away from an occupied building?

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right on that line
 

very close, plus minus a few feet

As per the regulations, you can not discharge a weapon with in 200m of an occupied dwelling with out written permission from the occupants

I guess it comes down to how well you get a long with your neighbors

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This is a a what it says in the hunting regulations. What if you’re not hunting?

That rule only applies to firearms, that is why the section is titled "Firearms around buildings.

From the Alberta Wildlife Act

Firearms around buildings

52(1) No person shall
(a) discharge a weapon, or
(b) cause a projectile from a weapon to pass
within 200 yards of any occupied building.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to
(a) the owner or occupant of, or the person having immediate
possession or control of, the land on which the building is
situated, or
(b) a person authorized to perform the activity by a person
referred to in clause (a).

It says in the regs discharging a weapon

It does not say discharging a weapon while hunting......

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Actually, it says weapon not firearm.

It used to say firearm and then they changed it

Applies to archery as well

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If it’s your property go nuts!

Wildlife Act.

(kk) “weapon” means a firearm or any other device that
propels a projectile by means of an explosion, spring, air,
gas, string, wire or elastic material or any combination of
those things;

My neighbors house is 175 meters away. Are you suggesting I need his permission for my son to use his sling shot in my back yard?

Well you just posted the definition of a weapon and the regs say discharge a weapon with in 200 m

Pretty clear to me...

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I agree it says in the “hunting” regulations. That would mean activities while hunting.

Actually I don't agree with either of you...

The 200 yard rule only applies to firearms, that is why if a municipality does not have a bylaw preventing the use of a bow, you are good to go. You are responsible for every arrow you release but the 200 yard rule does not apply provincially to archery gear.

But the 200 yard rule in regards to firearms applies at all times whether you are in the activity of hunting, predator control or target shooting. In addition to the 200 firearm rule, cities, municipalities, and counties can add additional rules to firearms and any other item they designate as a weapon.

The Wildlife Act does not solely governor hunting activities. The Wild Act rule of discharge at night also applies in all situation including outdoor CFO approved ranges.

Well fish and wildlife disagree with you in regards to what "weapon" means, what it applies to, and how it works in regards to the 200 METER rule

I find the regs super clean and simple to understand, not sure why this is such a debate lol

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I agree with this and I had this discussion with another friend who had a run in with a neighbour and F&W interpreted it the same way you are stating Kyle. I’ll ask an officer I know see what he says. It’s “discharging a weapon” not a just a firearm.

LC

Within the Wildlife Act the definition of "Weapon" includes many items including a firearm. But I assure you that the only "Weapon" that applies to Section 52 is a firearm.

So why do they used the term "Weapon" in section 52? Because the definition section of the act says that a firearm is a "Weapon." You see the Wild Act does not have a separate definition for a firearm like the Criminal Code does.

If they wanted section 52 to apply to all Weapons, then they would have titled the section "Weapons around buildings"

This is the exact text I just received,

“Well I can tell you one thing for free I am not losing my licence for a year discharging a bow within two hundred yards of an occupied building. It’s an automatic one year suspension”

LC

The definition in the Wildlife Act for "Weapon" applies to many different items, including a firearm. But what the Wildlife Act does not provide is a definition of a "Firearm"

Why is that important?

If a person is charged with contravening section 52 of the Wildlife Act and the charge refers to a firearm, then a smart defense counsel will ask "where a firearm is defined within Wildlife Act." That is why the section wording was changed to "Weapon", so that when the charged is laid the "Weapon" is clearly defined within the Act.

But I 100% assure you that the only "Weapon" that applies in Section 52 Wildlife Act is a firearm as defined by the Criminal Code.

If you like, you can PM me the CO's name and I will give him a call tomorrow to discuss.

Atlatl’s and spears would be fine????

Remove all the legalizes from it and consider this...

The title of the section is "Firearms Around Buildings". There would absolutely zero probability of conviction if they attempted to charge someone under section for the use of a bow, just based on the title alone. No courts would except a normal person to infer that this section would apply to anything but a firearm, just based on the title.

Unfortunately your CO friend has bad information.

I was just pointing out what is in the regs say so the OP was aware.

If you want to chance it and fight it in court, well you do you man.

Fortunately I dont have to worry about this situation as the closest neighbor is almost a mile away.

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I live within the City of Calgary limits and drive just outside City of Calgary limits to an undeveloped Government Road Allowance. When on this GRA, I'm +- 200 to a house, but have been going there with my bow and target over the last couple of years to do some quiet practice. Have only been seen / spoken to by locals a couple of times and ALWAYS practice safely by shooting away from the house in the opposite direction. No problems so far (knock on wood) but even if I'm approached by a CO, I would tend to think that (hopefully) there would be a calm, rational conversation that at most, would be used as an educational moment more than anything else.

If you don't have a clear line of trajectory beyond your target (arrows fly up to 500 yards) in the direction you intend to shoot, then it's probably going to go bad IF something happens.

If you're concerned about how a neighbor might react, here's the chance to go ask before shooting to ensure they would be okay with it.

J.

I have zero worry about court because it is not an actual charge under the Wildlife Act if I am using a bow.

Also quoting legislation without content and/or interpretation doesn't really assist the OP, so I guess that is what I was pointing out.

Then why do they still use the word "firearm" here?

Why do they not use the word weapon like in 52?

And here again, they choose to use "firearm" rather than weapon.

And in 33 they differentiate between "weapon" and "firearm" again

Looking at it, they are specifying "firearm" where they mean "firearm" and "weapon" when they mean "weapon" according to the definition of "weapon" in the Wildlife Act. And they are usually quite specific about their terminology for a reason, most of the regulations have been challenged in court at one time or another, and issues with terminology have cost them convictions, an example being the old five point elk rule, which was changed after a hunter was found not guilty because of the previous wording.

And that makes sense considering that a modern bow or crossbow could propel an arrow up to 200 yards or more, and injure someone.

If you want to believe you can not cause a projectile from a bow, pellet gun, air soft gun, sling shot, rubber band gun, or a fly gun within 200 yards (2 football fields) of your neighbors house without his/her permission than have at it. I believe it is in grade 10 law class that they speak to reasonability and whether a law is applicable in given circumstances. But grade 10 grade was a long time ago, so I will leave the discussion there and let the OP seek legal counsel if they feel they need to.

Your error here is that you are using other sections of the Act to interpret and assume things, that is not how law works. Each section is looked at individually and interpreted for the language. So again section 52 is titled "Firearms Around Buildings". So section 52 speaks to firearms only. A firearm is a weapon as defined by the act. So all firearms are weapons, but not weapons are firearms.

Have a good night

Just go have a conversation with your neighbour and have an adult conversation about it and use common sense and be respectful and responsible.

Not sure what your training is in reading and interpreting laws is , but respectfully you are wrong on all accounts.

Wording matters, punctuation matters and definitions matter. What doesn't matter is title of a part. Doesn't form part of the charge and you don't have to meet the elements of a title, but you do have to meet the elements of the offence. In this case the elements are:

No person (have to prove person)

Shall discharge a weapon (here is where words matter, have to prove discharge and weapon and what is the definition of weapon?)

Or cause a projectile from a weapon (again definition matters, they didn't say firearm and bullet)

Within 200yrds of an occupied building. (Not just where the projectile was fired from but where it goes too)

Sorry they have to prove everything in the section, has nothing to do with title, just like you don't have to be hunting to be charged under the Wildlife Act.

You must be no closer than 200 yards to an occupied building ( I don't have a problem with understanding the regulation). Surely, on 5 acres, you have a space where you meet the criteria. Your own house does not count as it is implied you give yourself permission :)

And section 4 where these regulations are contained is titled:

So using your logic, these regulations only apply when you are hunting, because of the title.:thinking-006: