Horry County - Shooting snake in yard?

[Aggressive1]

Haven't had too many snake problems, but a neighbor chased a snake one day with a rifle and shot and killed him......truthfully I don't think that'd be me since he was walking down the street and shot it on macadam. But I was thinking in my own yard or the yard next door where the home owner is out of town long term and I plan to cut some bushes....is it legal? I had heard that there is a law about how close to a residence you can fire a gun but what about it its at an animal that puts you in danger? Just curious.

Also, is it safe to shoot into the ground? All of my shooting experience has been on a range and I haven't had much freedom.

[RNG]

It depends what the laws are in your county/city. Typically City ordinances prohibit the discharge of firearms within city limits. Here in Beaufort County if you live in "unincorporated" Beaufort County and NOT within City limits you can discharge a firearm no matter how close you are to another residence. I live in a residential neighborhood with about 30 feet between homes on the sides of the house and 200 feet to the rear. Since I reload I sometimes need to test feeding reliability of my reloaded ammo so I set up a 55 gal drum in the back yard near my shed. The drum in set at a 45 degree angle towards the shed and filedl halfway with sand. Although not required by law, when I need to test some reloads I place a courtesy call to our Sheriffs dept dispatch to let them know how many rounds I intend to shoot and detail my shooting setup. They appreciate the heads-up in case someone calls in and it also fosters good relations with the dept. I've also cleared it with my neighbors and explained my test procedure to be sure they understand the precautions I take to be safe. Time of day has a lot to do with it too.

Cheers,
Richard

[FN1910]

Most cities in SC have a ban on firirng a gun inside the city limits. However outside the limits there are usually little if any regulations that I know of. For killing snakes in your yard I would use a shotgun with bird shot. The possibility of damage from a ricochet is much less than with a rifle and never on a hard surface. A hoe or shovel is much better and safer for snakes.

[Aggressive1]

I was wondering if it would be safe to shoot it in the grass with what I always carry. If I was in a good position to walk away I'd go grab a shovel. I definately think a rifle on pavement would be dangerous as hell.

[Red Hat]

Originally Posted by Aggressive1

I was wondering if it would be safe to shoot it in the grass with what I always carry. If I was in a good position to walk away I'd go grab a shovel. I definately think a rifle on pavement would be dangerous as hell.

Just be aware of your surroundings. Shooting into the ground isn't a problem unless you hit a rock. As long as the round can safely ricochet in a safe direction you should be good to go.

[MufDady]

My son is with the Horry co. Police. and inside the city limits of a SC, town its unlawfrl to discharge a firearm.. But in the county as long as you shoot safetly, there is nothing they can do.. so inside the city
limits keep a shovel or hoe handy to be on the safe side............

[rugerfan.64]

As a surveyor the preferred tool for killing snakes is actually a kaiser blade,some people call it a sling blade,mmmmhhm. Nice long handle! Better yet,shotgun,LONGER handle. Seriously though,the only good snake is a dead snake. And for petes sake please bury the head after you cut it off.

[Aggressive1]

Thanks Mufdady. My home is outside city limits. My office is inside, but the only snake I'd see there is a 2 legged one...and I know my rights to kill him if he tries to bite me.

[blume357@]

Yes, a long handled blade works well, but it is more fun to deal with them with a firearm. We have a nice wooded lot beside our house in Greenville City... my wife 'makes' me wack back the ivey / ground growth about twice a year. We tend to be a little over run with copper heads here as of late (I'd leave a non-venomous snake alone) last time I cut the lot I ended up shooting two. I use snake shot in a 357 mag revolver... much safer. I chamber the first three rounds with snake shot and the last three with hydro shocks... in case a larger snake of the two legged variety shows up. About a month ago a nice 2.5ft copper head showed up near our wood pile... it took 3 shots with my carry gun (230 Sig in .380) to take its head off from 10 ft. away. City police have yet to show up. I guess if they do, they'll have to write me a ticket. Years ago, old geezer one block over used to wage war on squirrels 2 or 3 days a week with his shot gun and pellets were always raining down in our yard.