For a similarly opposite perspective as someone who's currently in a rural area:
I can go out back, set up target(s) and plink away basically anytime I want. Might even do it this evening if the ammo I ordered finally gets delivered today. There's a safe direction to aim in and the distant neighbors don't mind, they do the same!
For longer range, there's various outdoor ranges around, both formal and informal (you may shoot on nearly all large tracts of public land and private land that isn't posted against it, provided you're an appropriate distance from structures and all that).
The occasional sound of gunfire here doesn't alarm anyone. One or two is someone killing a pest or hunting, lots is some target shooting.
If I put my trash outside without it being in something fully bear-proof, it will have a bear into it within a few days. Cook something nice, leave a door/window open to just the screen, and you might have a bear, moose, or something else in your kitchen one day. Police response time is 30 minutes on a good day.
(far) Northern New England. And you would be right, that's an important consideration if there isn't an appropriate backstop.
The topography up here has granted plenty of appropriate natural backstops, however. (And some not so natural, the various old gravel pits and quarries are popular for that purpose as well).
There won't be "stray bullets" unless you shoot straight up or at high angles, which is a no-no. Otherwise gravity does a great job grounding the lead on your property.
A .30-06 round, aimed high, with the goal of getting it as far as possible, is generally going to max out at 1.5-1.7 miles, assuming favorable winds and no obstacles.
For most practical shooting, at a target that's roughly chest level, ranges aren't going to exceed ~500 yards, and are often a moot point with a decent backstop.
From wikipedia: "The acre is related to the square mile, with 640 acres making up one square mile. One mile is 5280 feet (1760 yards)"
Stray bullets cause a lot of harm, generally in the city to innocent bystanders. Even in hunting season when many people take to the woods with guns, stray bullets rarely cause harm, though people who shoot at movement before identifying an animal do hurt and kill people.
I can go out back, set up target(s) and plink away basically anytime I want. Might even do it this evening if the ammo I ordered finally gets delivered today. There's a safe direction to aim in and the distant neighbors don't mind, they do the same!
For longer range, there's various outdoor ranges around, both formal and informal (you may shoot on nearly all large tracts of public land and private land that isn't posted against it, provided you're an appropriate distance from structures and all that).
The occasional sound of gunfire here doesn't alarm anyone. One or two is someone killing a pest or hunting, lots is some target shooting.
If I put my trash outside without it being in something fully bear-proof, it will have a bear into it within a few days. Cook something nice, leave a door/window open to just the screen, and you might have a bear, moose, or something else in your kitchen one day. Police response time is 30 minutes on a good day.