Orange County NC Website
4 <br />x Every county in the state requires hunting safety classes and offers at least one <br />such class per month from about August through November. <br />x Written permission to huntfrom the property owner does not overrule the <br />prohibition against hunting with a firearm on Sundays within 500 yards of <br />someone else’s residenceor places of worship. <br />x Intoxicated hunting on public game lands is prohibited. The only public game <br />land in Orange County is the 500 acres off of Buckhorn Road. It is not illegalto <br />hunt intoxicated on private land. <br />x The NC Wildlife Commission has no jurisdiction over shooting ranges. <br />x Rifles, shotguns, pistols are the types of firearms that may be used to hunt in <br />North Carolina; fully automatic weapons for hunting is prohibited. There is no <br />caliber size restriction. <br />x There is no magazine restriction,except for hunting migratory game birds (e.g., <br />doves, ducks, and geese). <br />x The purpose of the Sunday Hunting Law, in Officer Orr’s opinion, is to control <br />noise, not to afford safety to people congregating at churches. <br />x Medical facilities are required to report firearms-related injuries to law <br />enforcement authorities, but not to the NC Wildlife Commission. <br />Mr. Tilley observed that there does not appear to be a safety issue related to <br />hunting in Orange County. The hunting safety courses appear to be working well, <br />he said. Mr. Hunnellagreed, adding that there is a perceived safety issue <br />sometimes when people hear gunfire but usually not an actual safety issue. This <br />can be addressed, he said, by someone going over and checking out the source of <br />the gunfire. <br />Michael Harvey, Current Planning Supervisor, Orange County Planning <br />Department, introduced himself. He is responsible for the administration and <br />enforcement of the County’s land use management program, which includes <br />zoning enforcement, subdivision enforcement, and administration. <br />He explained that the Department had recently completed a comprehensive process <br />to amend the definition of “recreational facility,” including clarification of what <br />constitutes “commercial activity” for such a facility. Previous regulatory standards <br />for this were inconclusive. They also relied on the operation’s tax status (whether <br />the applicant was for-profit or non-profit) to determine whether a permit would be <br />required to operate a commercial facility. That is not a viable methodology for <br />making that determination, he said.