# Laws on discharging a firearm on private property.



## BUCKSHOT HALL (Aug 27, 2009)

I have a friend of mine who has 10 acres in Gwinnett county.  One day when he was out target practicing a Gwinnett county cop came by and told him he had to be 500ft from a public road to discharge a firearm.  In the DNR regulations it says 50yards.  Does anyone know if there is some county ordinance that supercedes the DNR regs.?  Any Gwinnett county Police out there feel free to enlighten me.  His address is Sugar Hill but he is not in city limits.  He personally checked it out at Sugar Hill City Hall.


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## rjcruiser (Aug 27, 2009)

BUCKSHOT HALL said:


> I have a friend of mine who has 10 acres in Gwinnett county.  One day when he was out target practicing a Gwinnett county cop came by and told him he had to be 500ft from a public road to discharge a firearm.  In the DNR regulations it says 50yards.  Does anyone know if there is some county ordinance that supercedes the DNR regs.?  Any Gwinnett county Police out there feel free to enlighten me.  His address is Sugar Hill but he is not in city limits.  He personally checked it out at Sugar Hill City Hall.



Not sure about gwinnett cty, but Covington/Newton Cty has something similar.  Within city limits in Covington, you can't discharge a firearm (I don't think at all).  In the county, I believe it is within 300 feet of a public road.

Actually...something just came up about a squirrel permit (you could get a permit that allowed you to shoot .22 bird shot and 410 shotgun bird shot at squirrels).  When it was found out, they took away the squirrel permit because it didn't mesh with the city ordinance.


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## Dead Eye Eddy (Aug 27, 2009)

There is a large metal sign at the intersection of Johnson Rd. and Suwanee Dam Rd. that says "GWINNETT COUNTY ORDINANCE # __________.  It is unlawful to discharge a firearm within 500 feet of a public road or structure."  That's not a direct quote, but close enough.


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## BUCKSHOT HALL (Aug 28, 2009)

*Thanks*

The funny thing is yesterday I called the GCPD information desk and all he could find was the state law 50yards.  I am gonna see if I can find that number and see if the ordinance is still on the books but so far I can't find it anywhere on the Gwinnett county website.  Another cop was telling me that some ordinances had to be taken off the books because they are unconstitutional or something.  Although I don't know how that one could be?


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## Twenty five ought six (Aug 28, 2009)

> Another cop was telling me that some ordinances had to be taken off the books because they are unconstitutional or something. Although I don't know how that one could be?



Gwinnett County had a run in with a local turkey shoot that had been going on for years.  County tried to shut it down.  County attorney advised them that the ordinances were unenforceable and they repealed them.  I don't know if a lawsuit was ever actually filed or not.

I looked at the county ordinances, and did a search on them, and nothing came up.


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## BUCKSHOT HALL (Aug 28, 2009)

*Thanks*

Yeah it didn't sound right to me either.  When GCPD couldn't find an ordinance I figure it probably no longer exist.


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## Doc_5729 (Aug 28, 2009)

*typical rainy Friday....*

got side tracked before I posted this... this morning.....

I also did a search on Municode this morning and found nothing in Gwinnett other than County Parks and Recreation areas. NO firearms allowed at either. (those are also known as "political subdivisions")

Certain municipalities (incorporated areas) throughout Gwinnett do have "no discharge laws" but the county is controlled by the State regulations.

btw - There was also an article dated last September (shortly before deer season opened) in the Gainesville Times that stated there were no firearms restrictions in Gwinnett County. (The author had researched the codes and interviewed county officials.)

It was more or less an informative article for new comers who were complaining to local authorities about hunters and such in close proximity to homes.


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## Twenty five ought six (Aug 28, 2009)

> I also did a search on Municode this morning and found nothing in Gwinnett other than County Parks and Recreation areas. NO firearms allowed at either. (those are also known as "political subdivisions")



And those local ordinances aren't valid any more either.


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## BlueMan015 (Aug 30, 2009)

Call the Gwinnett -County Attorneys office and just double check.


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## whitworth (Aug 30, 2009)

*For Years*

firearms hunting is allowed in Gwinnett County.   I've never seen any regulations in the Northern Zone Firearms Deer Season, where the firearms season  is any different for Gwinnett County than any other county in the zone.  
While some counties in this zone are restricted to archery only, no separate restriction is made for any county and firearms, where firearms hunting is allowed.  

Now if Gwinnett County wants a special hunting allowance on the use of firearms, Georgia and the DNR make no mention of that allowance.


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## NGxplr22 (Aug 30, 2009)

Unfortunately, any and all counties, cities, etc are allowed to create their own ordinances dealing with the discharge of a firearm (unless it's for selfdefense). 
That's the only firearms related item the state doesn't preempt.


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## Dead Eye Eddy (Aug 31, 2009)

I was by there Saturday morning.  The law may or may not have been repealed, but the sign is still up.  I think it said code 74-2, but I didn't have a pen to write it down.  If you turn onto Johnson Rd off of Suwanee Dam Rd, the sign is on the right side of the road next to a dirt road behind the new day care center.


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## huntfish (Aug 31, 2009)

Dead Eye Eddy said:


> I was by there Saturday morning.  The law may or may not have been repealed, but the sign is still up.  I think it said code 74-2, but I didn't have a pen to write it down.  If you turn onto Johnson Rd off of Suwanee Dam Rd, the sign is on the right side of the road next to a dirt road behind the new day care center.



I'm not postive, but that may be an older sign when there was a deer hunting club off Johnson road before they built the GC and houses there.


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