Shooting / Where you can shoot
This is the big question, and it has no one-line answer - because Texas law mostly regulates cities and counties, not individuals, and where you are decides which rules apply. Walk through your situation.
Inside any city's limits, you very likely cannot shoot. Texas lets cities ban firearm discharge, and most do (with narrow exceptions like a licensed range or lawful self-defense). On top of that, recklessly discharging a firearm inside a city of 100,000 or more is a state crime - a Class A misdemeanor. Check your city's ordinances, and assume the answer is no.
Just outside the city is its 'extraterritorial jurisdiction' (ETJ) - the unincorporated ring a city partly controls. A city's power to regulate discharge out here is limited, but only if your tract is big enough AND far enough from others: for shotguns, BB or air guns, or bows, the tract must be 10 acres or more and the shot 150+ feet from a home or occupied building on someone else's property; for rifles and pistols, 50 acres or more and 300+ feet - and in every case you must shoot so no round can cross your boundary. Below those thresholds, the city can still regulate. Check your city.
Out in the unincorporated county, a county's power to regulate discharge is narrow: it reaches only lots 10 acres or smaller inside a platted subdivision. A larger rural tract, or one that isn't in a subdivision, is generally outside county discharge rules. (Counties can't regulate owning, carrying, or transporting guns - only discharge on those small subdivision lots.) Confirm with your county.
The myth to drop: There is no magic acreage. The '10 acres outside the city and you're legal' idea is a garbled echo of two different rules - the city-ETJ limit and the county-subdivision limit - and neither one grants you a right to shoot. Even on a big rural tract, you must have a safe backstop, you must not be reckless, you must not shoot toward people, homes, or across roads, and you're on the hook for any round that leaves your land.
No matter where you are - even on your own land, even where no local ordinance reaches - these statewide rules don't go away.
Knowingly firing a gun at or in the direction of a person - or at a building, home, or vehicle while reckless about whether it's occupied - is a third-degree felony (Penal Code 22.05). Even recklessly putting someone in danger of serious injury is a Class A misdemeanor. And pointing a firearm at someone is presumed reckless, loaded or not.
Discharging a firearm in a public place - anywhere that isn't a public road or a licensed sport shooting range - is disorderly conduct, a Class B misdemeanor (Penal Code 42.01(a)(7)).
Firing on or across a public road is prohibited statewide, even from your own property - a separate offense (Penal Code 42.01(a)(9)), with only narrow defenses like a dangerous wild animal.
Recklessly discharging inside a city of 100,000 or more is a Class A misdemeanor (Penal Code 42.12) - on top of any city ordinance.
Don't assume 'I wasn't aiming at anyone' is a defense. Careless shooting - firing toward buildings or roads, or into the ground or air near people - is treated as reckless.
Separate from any criminal law, if a round you fired leaves your property and causes injury or damage, you can be sued and held responsible. A safe direction and a backstop aren't just good manners - they're what keeps you on the right side of all of this.
Not legal advice: This is general orientation, not legal advice. Your city, your ETJ status, your county, and whether you're in a subdivision all change the answer - so check them against the actual statute, and when it matters, talk to a Texas attorney. When in doubt, go to a range.
Official sources
City and county discharge authority comes from the Texas Local Government Code; the always-applies criminal laws from the Penal Code. Your own city and county set the local rules. We map the law - we don't rule on your spot.
Caution: This is NOT legal advice, and the law is specific to your exact location. Check your city and county against the statute, and for any real question, consult a licensed Texas attorney. When in doubt, go to a range.
