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shooting on public land in florida

Rick H

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2011
Messages
323
Location
Hoover, Alabama
I will be moving to the sarasota area soon and I am wandering if its legal to shoot on public land in florida? if so where?

State parks including Myakka which would be the one by you ,Target practice is prohibited unless you are at a regulated target range from what I just researched
Here is the best that I know of for you.

Manatee Gun and Archery Sports Park
1805 Logue Road, Myakka City, FL 34251
Phone# 931-322-0055
Public Myakka City
Outdoor Pistol (15, 25 & 50 Yd),
Outdoor Rifle (Up to 500 yds),
Muzzleloading, Archery, Airgun
 

scoobydoo6906

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2008
Messages
81
Location
Sarasota, fl
so guess public hunting lands are pretty well nonexistent then too? from what I have read for sure local government can't pass ordinances short of a very few exceptions. florida statue 790.33 prohibits them doing so. So unless the state of florida has passed a law saying you can't shoot on public lands local law enforcement can't legally enforce anything. thats just my understanding and I am not a lawyer so probably shouldn't test it unless you talk to one before testing it.
 

Rick H

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2011
Messages
323
Location
Hoover, Alabama
so guess public hunting lands are pretty well nonexistent then too? from what I have read for sure local government can't pass ordinances short of a very few exceptions. florida statue 790.33 prohibits them doing so. So unless the state of florida has passed a law saying you can't shoot on public lands local law enforcement can't legally enforce anything. thats just my understanding and I am not a lawyer so probably shouldn't test it unless you talk to one before testing it.

Well as far as hunting goes I go to the Ocala National but The green swamp is closer though it sucks there. I would prefer Chiefland there is a lot better hunting up there, But Florida sucks in general.
I am originally from Michigan so you can see my point.
 
Last edited:

brboyer

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2007
Messages
412
Location
Tampa Bay, Florida, USA
so guess public hunting lands are pretty well nonexistent then too? from what I have read for sure local government can't pass ordinances short of a very few exceptions. florida statue 790.33 prohibits them doing so. So unless the state of florida has passed a law saying you can't shoot on public lands local law enforcement can't legally enforce anything. thats just my understanding and I am not a lawyer so probably shouldn't test it unless you talk to one before testing it.

There are over 5 million acres of public hunting land in Florida.

It is unlawful to discharge a firearm in a public place in Florida - with some noted exceptions (lawful hunting is one). Florida Statute 790.15
 

~*'Phoenix'*~

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2011
Messages
538
Location
Florida
Despite our 'preemption' laws, there generally can be local ordinances on discharging firearms, thus prohibiting shooting on public land. But yes, you can hunt on some public lands and WMA's, just can't target practice :rolleyes:
 

scoobydoo6906

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2008
Messages
81
Location
Sarasota, fl
Phoenix I think you miss the point of preemption. If a local ordnance can written that is contradictory to state law and can be enforced legally the state law preempts nothing. The hang up is Florida Statute 790.15 for shooting on public land not wherever's ordnance. Private land may be a different story or seems to be from what I found.
 

bobthegunslinger

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2010
Messages
27
Location
tampa,florida
good question!i used to go out to the everglades,just outside of broward county(because there is a no open discharge)and plink at cans back in the early 90`s.i have only shot since on private land in rural counties that don`t have an open discharge restriction or at a range.i hope someone gets your answer,as i`am curious to know that answer also!
 

MustangPython00

New member
Joined
Apr 8, 2011
Messages
7
Location
Bradenton, FL
State parks including Myakka which would be the one by you ,Target practice is prohibited unless you are at a regulated target range from what I just researched
Here is the best that I know of for you.

Manatee Gun and Archery Sports Park
1805 Logue Road, Myakka City, FL 34251
Phone# 931-322-0055
Public Myakka City
Outdoor Pistol (15, 25 & 50 Yd),
Outdoor Rifle (Up to 500 yds),
Muzzleloading, Archery, Airgun

Thats the range I frequent...Its a great place, very nice! Oh and the rifle range is up to 1000 yards by the way ;)
 
Last edited:

cyberfed

New member
Joined
Aug 20, 2012
Messages
1
Location
Orlando
I just wanted to throw my 2 cents in on this issue as no one has posted recently.
Since HB-45 passed essentially making all local county and city gun ordinances null and void this has opened up the path to allow target shooting on Florida's public lands, in particular is WMAs.
I have contacted Florida Fish and Wildlife on this matter, because many of the WMA brochures on their website listed "Target practice prohibited". Well thanks to the law passed in October of 2011 this is no longer the case. FWC confirmed my beliefs and said that they would be removing that verbiage from their brochures but they "discouraged" target shooting.

You CAN target shoot on wildlife management area's so long as you follow a few simple (yet tricky) guidelines:
1. You can ONLY target shoot on a WMA during hunting season where the firearm in question is a legal method of take, so you cant go target shooting during archery season..ect..
2. You cannot damage any trees (i.e. hang targets on them)
3. You have a safe backstop - this is the tricky one in Florida, finding a good natural burm to use as a backstop could prove tricky. They do not define what a "safe backstop" is so this is open to legal interpretation..
4. You clean up your spent shell casings and other trash.

So if you do all this you should be legal in Florida. Could you get arrested, absolutely! Cops don't know the law like they should sometimes, or perhaps you piss off a hunter nearby. A lot can go wrong with this scenario. Just thought I would share.
 
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