Consider a few scenarios:

Person A sees a deer dart by and fires a weapon in the right of way of a paved public road that is not approved for hunting.

Person B target shoots in his 10-acre backyard, which is not surrounded by any homes.

Person C wants to welcome in the New Year's and shoots his rifle in the air.

Which of these would be violation of Florida law?

Person C's peccadillo could be described as a non-brainer. It is a demonstration of "recklessly" and "negligently" discharging a firearm, Carr and Paeplow said. After all, what goes up has to come down and that bullet could kill or hurt someone.

For those who think that both Person A and Person B are violating the law, the answer is yes and no. Under Florida State Statute 790.15, anybody who "knowingly" discharges a firearm in any "public place or on the right-of-way of any paved public road, highway, or street" is committing a first-degree misdemeanor unless he or she is lawfully defending "life or property," or is in a spot approved for hunting.

With Person B, it gets a little involved. If he fires over an "occupied premise," he is breaking the law unless it's a "justifiable" use of force.

If he "recklessly" or "negligently" shoots outdoors on any property used primarily as a home or zoned residential, he is also breaking the law.

But if he fires his shot gun in his 10-acre backyard with an adequate backstop to prevent bullets from straying, there are no occupied homes close by, and he is not shooting recklessly or negligently and not breaking any other laws, he is within his rights to target shoot, experts say.
- See more at: http://highlandstoday.com/hi/local-news/residential-backyard-shooting-what-you-can-and-cant-do-20140323/#sthash.8f0frkYs.dpuf