Does Tennessee's 100-yard hunting buffer around dwellings apply when someone is hunting on private property, or only on public land?

Plain-English summary

State Senators Bill Ketron and Jim Tracy asked whether the 100-yard hunting buffer in Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-4-108(b) reaches hunting that takes place on private property. The factual backdrop in the request was real-life: police were getting calls about gunfire near homes inside city limits, and the shooting was sometimes lawful hunting on private property, but neighbors were occasionally being hit by birdshot. Officers wanted to know whether the 100-yard rule gave them a tool when the hunter was on private land.

The AG said no, the 100-yard rule does not apply on private property. The statute's plain text makes it unlawful to "hunt, shoot at, chase, or kill, with or without dogs any wild animal, wild bird or wild fowl on public lands and waters within one hundred yards (100 yds.) of a visible dwelling house, whether or not such dwelling house is on public or private lands, without the owner's permission." The 100-yard buffer protects dwellings from hunters who are themselves on public lands or waters. If the hunter is on private land, the statute simply does not apply.

The AG explained that the Tennessee Constitution gives the General Assembly broad power over wildlife regulation (Tenn. Const. art. XI, § 13), that the legislature has delegated most hunting regulation to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission (Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-4-107), and that the TWRC has rulemaking authority under § 70-1-206(3). A prior AG opinion (90-100) had recognized that TWRC could regulate hunting whether on state-owned or privately owned land. But § 70-4-108(b) itself was a legislative provision that, on its plain language, only reached public-land hunting.

The AG then pivoted to the practical concern about birdshot raining on neighbors. The opinion makes clear that even if § 70-4-108(b) does not apply, hunters who shoot recklessly remain criminally liable under Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-13-101 to -103. Reckless endangerment under § 39-13-103 reaches anyone who discharges a firearm in a manner that places another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury. Police were not powerless in the birdshot scenario; they just had to use the right statute.

Penalty note: a violation of § 70-4-108(b) when it does apply is a Class C misdemeanor under § 70-4-108(c).

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2010. Subsequent statutory amendments, TWRC rule changes, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Background and statutory framework

Tennessee splits hunting regulation between the General Assembly (which writes statutes) and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission (which writes rules under delegated authority). Most hunting law applies on both public and private land, including the licensing scheme, bag limits, and weapon restrictions. § 70-4-108(b) is one of the few provisions that specifically draws a public-private line.

The 100-yard rule's design makes sense once read carefully. The legislature was protecting homes from being hunted at by people who happened to be standing on adjacent public land. A hunter standing on a state wildlife management area, for example, could not lawfully fire a shotgun across the boundary at a deer that is 80 yards from a house on the other side. The statute does not protect against hunters who are on the same private parcel where the home stands, nor against hunters on adjacent private land.

The TWRC rule-making authority is broader. The agency could in theory adopt rules that draw similar distance-from-dwelling restrictions for private land, and individual local-government ordinances may regulate discharge of firearms inside city limits. The opinion does not survey those overlays.

The criminal-code overlay (§§ 39-13-101 to -103) is where Tennessee actually polices reckless hunting. Assault, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment statutes apply to hunting just as they do to any other conduct involving firearms.

Common questions

Q: Can a hunter on private land legally shoot 50 yards from a neighbor's house?
A: Per the opinion, § 70-4-108(b) does not prohibit it because the hunter is on private land, not public land. But local discharge-of-firearms ordinances may, and reckless endangerment law may, depending on the facts.

Q: What if the hunter has permission from the landowner who owns the property where the dwelling sits?
A: The 100-yard rule has a permission carve-out, but only when it applies, which it doesn't on private land. On private land, the question of permission is governed by trespass law and the landowner's actual consent.

Q: What is reckless endangerment?
A: Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-103 makes it an offense to recklessly engage in conduct that places or may place another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury. Firing birdshot in a direction that exposes neighbors to imminent danger fits the statute, regardless of whether the hunter has hunting rights on the property.

Q: Could the TWRC issue a rule with a similar distance rule for private land?
A: The opinion noted the TWRC's broad rule-making authority over hunting on private and public land. Whether the TWRC has adopted such a rule and whether it would survive challenge would need to be checked against current rules; the opinion does not endorse or reject such a rule.

Q: How does this opinion play with city-limits gunfire ordinances?
A: The opinion focuses on the state statute. Many Tennessee cities have separate discharge-of-firearms ordinances that ban or restrict hunting inside the city regardless of land ownership. Those local ordinances operate independently of § 70-4-108(b).

Citations and references

Constitution and statutes:

• Tenn. Const. art. XI, § 13 (General Assembly's wildlife-regulation power)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-1-206(3) (TWRC rule-making authority)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-4-107 (TWRC's exclusive authority over when and how wildlife may be taken)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-4-108(b) (100-yard rule on public lands and waters)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-4-108(c) (Class C misdemeanor penalty)
• Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-13-101 to -103 (assault, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-103 (reckless endangerment)

Cases:

• Boarman v. Jaynes, 109 S.W.3d 286 (Tenn. 2003) (plain-meaning statutory construction)

Prior AG opinions:

• Op. Tenn. Att'y Gen. 90-100 (Nov. 5, 1990) (TWRC authority over hunting on private land)
• Op. Tenn. Att'y Gen. 98-038 (Feb. 9, 1998) (reckless hunting and criminal liability)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2010/op10-102.pdf

Original opinion text

Hunting on Private Property

QUESTION

Do the distance and permission requirements of Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-4-108(b) apply to individuals hunting on private property?

OPINION

No. The plain language of the statute omits any reference to hunting on private property and instead specifies only that it is unlawful to hunt on public lands and waters within 100 yards of a visible dwelling house without the owner's permission.

ANALYSIS

The question posed focuses upon the language of Tennessee Code Annotated section 70-4-108(b), which reads as follows:

It is unlawful to hunt, shoot at, chase, or kill, with or without dogs any wild animal, wild bird or wild fowl on public lands and waters within one hundred yards (100 yds.) of a visible dwelling house, whether or not such dwelling house is on public or private lands, without the owner's permission.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-4-108(b). A violation of this provision is a class C misdemeanor. Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-4-108(c).

The opinion request supplies facts related to this statutory provision. More specifically, the opinion request explains that law enforcement officers have answered calls relating to the discharge of firearms within certain city limits near homes or business locations. The calls stem from instances of individuals being engaged in hunting on private property. The opinion request indicates that law enforcement officers have therefore explained to complainants that state law generally permits hunting on private property. The opinion request does, however, make reference to instances of individuals being showered with projectiles from birdshot, indicating that law enforcement officers have in the past stopped hunters in such instances.

As an initial matter, it bears noting that the Tennessee Constitution grants the General Assembly broad power to enact wildlife laws. Tenn. Const. art XI, § 13. In the exercise of that power, the Legislature has provided the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission (TWRC) the exclusive authority to establish when and in what manner wildlife may be hunted or taken in any area of the state. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-4-107. The TWRC is also authorized to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement the wildlife statutes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-1-206(3). In light of these provisions, this Office has opined that the TWRC "is authorized to regulate all hunting and fishing in Tennessee, whether such activities occur on State-owned land or on privately-owned property." Op. Tenn. Att'y Gen. No. 90-100 (Nov. 5, 1990).

Turning to the statutory provision at issue in this opinion request, we first note that the plain language omits any reference to hunting on private property. Instead, the statute refers only to hunting activities that occur on public lands and waters. It is well established that the primary purpose in construing statutes is to ascertain and give effect to the intent of the Legislature. When possible, legislative intent is to be determined from the natural and ordinary meaning of the language used in the statute. See, e.g., Boarman v. Jaynes, 109 S.W.3d 286, 290-91 (Tenn. 2003). The natural and ordinary meaning of the language of section 70-4-108(b) leads this Office to conclude that the distance and permission requirements of the provision do not apply to hunting activities that occur on private property. We further note that we can locate no other statutory provision or regulation that would alter this conclusion.

As indicated above, the opinion request makes reference to instances of individuals being showered with projectiles from birdshot. Although it is the opinion of this Office that the distance and permission requirements of section 70-4-108(b) do not apply to hunting activities that occur on private property, we reiterate that anyone discharging a firearm, even when doing so while lawfully hunting, must not do so in a reckless manner that places or may place another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-103; see also Op. Tenn. Att'y Gen. 98-038 (Feb. 9, 1998). Thus, officers may enforce statutes prohibiting unlawful conduct such as assault, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment, even when the conduct arises from otherwise lawful hunting activities. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-13-101 - 103.

ROBERT E. COOPER, JR.
Attorney General and Reporter

JOSEPH F. WHALEN
Associate Solicitor General

R. STEPHEN JOBE
Senior Counsel

Requested by:
Honorable Bill Ketron
Senator, 13th Senatorial District
13 Legislative Plaza
301 Sixth Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37243

Honorable Jim Tracy
Senator, 16th Senatorial District
2 Legislative Plaza
301 Sixth Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37243