Questions

Is No prohibition found a permission?

No. It means none of the regulations and bylaws Shootable checks bans it there. You're still responsible for a safe backstop, for permission on private land, for posted signs and for the rules that apply everywhere, which every answer lists.

Why does it say Not confirmed so often?

Because guessing is worse. Some closed areas are described in survey text that hasn't been drawn and checked yet, and some bylaws haven't been read by a person yet. Each one we finish turns into a firm answer.

What should I do with Not confirmed?

Read why. The answer says what's missing: a closed area whose map isn't checked, a bylaw nobody has verified, a reserve where the Nation sets the rules. Move to a spot that answers firmly, or ask the authority it names.

What happens near a boundary?

Shootable checks a ring around your spot as wide as your GPS error. If any part of it falls where shooting is prohibited, the answer is Not confirmed instead of a guess about which side you're on.

What is the downrange check?

A Pro feature that shows what's mapped in your line of fire: buildings, roads, forest roads, trails and property lines, out to your cartridge's danger distance, the distance a round can travel if it misses or ricochets. Pick your firearm and cartridge, point the way you'll shoot, and the list shows each feature with its distance, nearest first.

It only knows mapped features. A tent, a vehicle or a person isn't on any map, so you still confirm your target and what's beyond it every time.

What rules apply everywhere?

In BC: no shooting within 100 m of any dwelling, school, church or occupied farm or ranch building, and none from or on a highway's road allowance. They're on every answer, including No prohibition found.

What about fire bans?

A campfire ban doesn't ban shooting, so it's listed on the answer, with exploding targets called out when the order covers them. A wildfire area restriction or an evacuation order does close the area: the answer is Prohibited. Orders are checked every 2 hours in fire season, and an answer that can't get a recent copy says Not confirmed.

Can I use a handgun outside a range?

No. Restricted and prohibited firearms may only be fired at an approved range, so Shootable answers Prohibited anywhere else.

Where does the data come from?

BC's Closed Areas Regulation and its GeoBC maps, each town's and regional district's own bylaw text, the parks regulation and BC Parks boundaries, recreation sites and reserves, BC Wildfire Service orders, and BC's open map data. Every answer shows its source and date.

Can I shoot in a provincial park?

Not for target shooting. BC's parks regulation bans discharging firearms, air guns, bows and crossbows in provincial parks, conservancies and recreation areas, except hunting in open season in the parks that allow it.

Do air guns and bows count?

Sometimes. BC's closed areas and parks rules count air guns as firearms; town bylaws differ, and some leave air guns or bows unclear. Pick the right one in the app: when a bylaw doesn't settle it, the answer says Not confirmed.

Does it cover Alberta?

Not yet. Shootable starts in British Columbia. Alberta is next.

Does Shootable show popular shooting spots?

No, and it never will. It answers questions about places, not people: no popular spots, no heat maps, nothing ranked. Saved spots stay on your phone.

Is the answer free?

Yes, for every spot in BC, along with anything that changes it. Pro (CA$24.99 a year with 14 days free, or CA$4.99 a month) adds offline regions, rule-change alerts and re-checks of your saved spots, the downrange check, area planning, unlimited saved spots, conditions and the wind window, and offline directions on forest roads.

What are the long-range tools?

The lane finder, lane cards and offline satellite imagery: the tools for shooting past 300 m on Crown land. They are part of Pro. They work from mapped terrain and features only, so walk the lane and confirm the backstop and what is beyond it.

What does the lane finder actually do?

From the spot you're standing on (or tapped), it checks every bearing: can a shooter on the ground see a target at 300, 600 or 1,000 m; does the ground rise behind that target within 400 m; is anything mapped in the fan past it out to your cartridge's danger distance; and is the target point itself Prohibited. Bearings that pass are shown as lanes with their backstop angle. It works from terrain data (30 m Copernicus elevation) and mapped features only, so a small berm, a tent or a parked truck don't exist to it. You still walk the lane and confirm the backstop and what's beyond it.

It never ranks places by where people shoot and can't be pointed at "the best lanes in a region". It only answers for the spot you're at.

Who makes it?

10ten Studio, an independent studio in British Columbia that also makes Huntable and Fishable BC. Shootable is not a government app.