Target Shooting With the Skeet Fleet

August 2, 2012

Question: In Southern California we have taken large boats offshore on the open ocean to shoot clay pigeons with shotguns. We call this “Skeet Fleet.” We use steel shot and do not shoot auto loaders such that we can maintain control of the shells and not have the casings land in the water. I guess the first question is what are the regulations regarding this activity and is there a distance that we need to be offshore? I now live in northern California and am interested in doing the same. Would there be an option of doing the same around Grizzly Island or on San Francisco or Suisun Bay? (Anonymous)

Answer: Target shooting in the ocean is not addressed in the Fish and Game Code, but littering in waters of the state is. Therefore, the throwing of the clay birds, which are coated in paint for visibility, into the water may be an issue.

“It is unlawful to deposit, permit to pass into, or place where it can pass into the waters of the state, or to abandon, dispose of, or throw away, within 150 feet of the high water mark of the waters of the state, any cans, bottles, garbage, motor vehicle or parts thereof, rubbish, litter, refuse, waste, debris, or the viscera or carcass of any dead mammal, or the carcass of any dead bird” (FGC, section 5652).

Depending on the location, there may also be local, state and federal laws prohibiting the discharge of firearms.