Shotgun pellets landing in yard.

[Highland Mule]

You've missed the point.

First of all, I think the hackles of most normal people will go up when they are aggressively confronted by a trespasser, which is what you were, when they are doing something on their own land that they have always done and believe to be perfectly reasonable and lawful. These days there are a lot of animal rights activists around who will object to the slightest thing. Should we really capitulate to their demands without question?

Secondly, to reach 200 yards, a shotgun pellet would need to be fired at 45 degrees or more. At the limit of that range it would be descending near vertically. I know exactly how much a lead pellet hurts when fired horizontally as I have been shot several times when running a sporting agency but I am still alive and none drew blood.

If the dangers were as you seem to suggest, there would be an awful lot of dead bodies around after a driven shoot because most of the shots will be fired near vertically -- and what goes up, must come down.

I called the police out twice when my dear sweet neighbour's teenage son was staging one of his impromptu clay pigeons shoots (on his six acres bounded by two roads and just over the fence from my heavily pregnant mares). Both times plod stated he was doing nothing wrong and my neighbour continued to tell me that "It's my land and I'll do what I want on it". The shoots continued. Finally, after ponies had gone through two fences, he got a solicitor's letter and the nonsense stopped. But the police were of no help whatsoever.

Perhaps the "public" meeds educating? A lead pellet falling due to the force of gravity alone is not a problem, but the imagination of some will very quickly make it one, given half a chance.

Maximum range is at ~29°, not the 45° you claim.

 

[flowerpot]

I am surprised that they called you a liar! Shooting people should be more careful about their public image. We had pellets landing in our back yard when the large house next door were shooting clays from a treehouse I think and that must have been easily 200 yards away. They were extremely apologetic when we told them and were careful that it didn't happen again. Hopefully this was just a one-off incident and they won't be shooting in that field again.

 

[Kidds]

They were extremely apologetic when we told them and were careful that it didn't happen again.

This is exactly how the folk in the OP should have reacted and if they had then all would be well.

I can’t find reference to it but there was definitely a case of a shooter being struck in the eye from a falling shotgun pellet fired from his own gun. It went straight through the soft tissue of his eye and into his brain. I believe he was killed.
Ordinarily falling shot is indeed harmless but it still shouldn’t be falling in someone’s garden.

 

[JCMaloney]

I was furious and went round to tell them to stop. They denied this could have happened because they were 200 yards away from the house and pellets can't travel that far. The wind was also blowing quite strongly towards my house as well.

1. No injuries or damage, the main part.
2. Both parties seem to have acted in the "heat of the moment".
3. Might have been better to have a cuppa to calm down then talk about it?

 

[HolzKopf]

Blip or a trend? - I would see if it happens again. Ignore a blip, deal with a trend

HK