"To defend yourself."
If you think you are in danger then, of course, you are allowed to defend yourself. This means that if somebody breaks into your house and you happen to have a shotgun handy you can probably point it at them and might get away with firing if they threaten you in some way. What it does not mean is that you can attempt to protect your property by shooting at people. As you say, a warning shot could be reasonable to warn them away from you, but shooting at anyone that's not "coming right for you" is likely a very bad idea.
However, the whole "ger orf moy laahhnndd" situation which I think apeloverage was alluding to is just farmers either scaring gullible people or trying to get themselves jail time.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Mon 28 May 2012, 1:01, Reply)