6 Hunting Rules That Let New York Hunters Get Closer to Your House Than You’d Think
Living on a lake or river in New York can mean fall mornings full of shotgun blasts across the water.
Whether that hunter is breaking the law isn’t as simple as measuring the distance to your house.
Here are the hunting rules that let New York hunters get closer to your house than you’d think.
Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Hunting rules and distances are subject to change, so confirm the current requirements with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
1. Bows at 150 Feet
A bow hunter only has to stay 150 feet back from a dwelling.
Firearm hunters have to stay 500 feet back.
Many homeowners picture a single distance for bows, crossbows and firearms.
State law sets a different distance for each.
Subtract one from the other, and a bow hunter can stand 350 feet closer to your door than a firearm hunter can.
2. Crossbows at 250 Feet
Crossbows sit in the middle. The setback from a home is 250 feet.
That’s half the distance a firearm requires and 100 feet more than a bow.
Hunters can use a crossbow during all bowhunting seasons and in all bow-only areas.
During any bowhunting season, the hunter near your house may be working with either the 150-foot line or the 250-foot line.
Three counties differ.
Where a Crossbow Needs 500 Feet
New York’s Environmental Conservation Law sets a 500-foot crossbow distance for Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties.
DEC’s crossbow page names only Suffolk and Westchester, so Nassau is a 500-foot county on the statute’s word alone.
Other counties can adopt the 500-foot distance by passing a local law.
3. Waterfowl Over Water
Waterfowl hunters can fire a shotgun within 500 feet of a house when the birds are over water.
They can set up on shore, in a boat or in a blind, even with a house less than 500 feet behind them.
The catch is the line of fire. No house, public structure, livestock or person can be within 500 feet of the hunter in the direction of the shot.
On a lake, bay or river, a waterfowl hunter near your shoreline can be legal inside 500 feet of your house as long as the shot points away from it.
For hunters, the exception covers shotgun fire over water at migratory game birds.
4. Invited Guests and Household Members
A guest you invite to hunt behind your house can legally shoot inside the usual setback. The exception covers a guest acting with your consent.
The same exception covers the people who own or rent the house, immediate family living there and employees.
It covers only your house, so a neighbor’s consent doesn’t let a hunter inside the setback around yours.
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5. Firearms at 500 Feet
The firearm setback ends at 500 feet from your house.
The distance runs from the building itself, so the edge of your lot doesn’t set the line.
With the landowner’s permission, a hunter on a neighbor’s land can end up about 167 yards from your door and still be within the law.
The same 500-foot bar covers a farm building or structure that is occupied or in use, such as a working barn.
6. Neighbor’s Written Permission
A hunter holding a neighbor’s written permission can’t be prosecuted for trespass on that land, even when it borders your yard.
The setback from your house still applies on that land, but outside it, your neighbor’s say decides.
DEC recommends written permission, though verbal agreements are common.
Your posted signs keep hunters off your acres, but they don’t reach the property next door.
Deer Seasons and Their Setbacks
Early bowhunting season has run in most of the Southern Zone since October 1 and ends November 20.
Until then, deer bowhunters near your house are working with the 150-foot or 250-foot line.
Regular firearms season there opens Saturday, November 21, which adds hunters working with the 500-foot line.
In the Northern Zone, regular firearms season for deer opened October 24 and runs through December 6.
Westchester County’s regular deer season is bow-only and runs October 1 through December 31, and Suffolk County’s runs through January 31.
In both counties, a crossbow hunter has to stay 500 feet from your house.
Suffolk also holds a special firearms deer hunt starting the first Sunday in January, which brings firearm hunters and the 500-foot line back.
The firearm has to be a shotgun using a single ball or slug, or a muzzleloading rifle or pistol.
Each of those hunters needs a landowner’s endorsement, signed by someone who owns or leases ten or more acres.
Pellets Can Outrun 500 Feet
A firearm hunter who stops 501 feet from your house has met the setback.
Shot pellets, especially when fired at a high angle, can sometimes travel farther than 500 feet.
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