shooting..and neighbors

Everyone here in SC shoots, even after dark. I have a friend who had their house broken into, and the police suggested that they get a gun, and shoot it regularly so that folks would know that the homeowner is armed.

It always annoys me when folks move into an area, and then want to change things to suit their needs. If you want the freedom to keep goats, you have to be willing to put up with the other freedoms that come with it. Otherwise, move to some fancy gated community.

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"What one generation tolerates, the next generation embraces." -John Wesley

Sure seems like you do, when reading your posts in this thread.

My wife and I just bought a new place. Every single time we went to look the place over, and after closing the deal, every time we've been there to work on the place, we hear shooting from the next property over. I'll take a "gun toter" for a neighbor over a 4 wheeler any day. (I'm not against 4 wheelers either, but find their noise more constant and loud).If she tells you again that it bothers her goats, tell her, "The noise from your quads, is affecting my marksmanship."

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"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow the fields of those who don't."-Thomas Jefferson

I can see it from both sides. I shoot/target practice on my property, and so do my neighbors. Its our property and our right to practice our shooting craft to keep ourselves sharp as long as we're careful and responsible.
However, my neighbor has an annoying habit of target shooting in his backyard during hunting season, for hours. When we're hunting on our own 30 acres and the neighbor is blasting his gun repeatedly and for extended periods of time, it scares everything in the area and gets frustrating. I don't think he's ever really thought about it from that point of view though. We have talked about making him aware of it, but we haven't because we know he has the mentality of "its my property and I'll do what I want when I want on it" and it would do nothing but create more hard feelings between neighbors.
Yeah, I can see it from both sides of the coin.

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I am thankful that the land where I live and grew up is surrounded by other country folk. The only time somebody would mention shooting is to ask if a) Did you get a new gun? or b) did you get a good deer? LOL! The suburbanizing of the country is sad to me. If I had my way, 40acres would be the smallest parcel sold. I am not sure I know how I would handle this. Afraid I would ask her if I was on my land or hers. When she says on mine I would tell her to mind her business. the goats will get over it.

Answers to why:

Target shooting is a sport. (It's even an Olympic sport)
It's enjoyable.
It prepares you and your neighbors for TEOTWAWKI.

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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus

As Jesse James said, while revving up his LOUD motorcycle: "What good is a motorcycle if it doesn't pi-- somebody off?"

I haven't gone for awhile to the conservation club range where I have a membership, but I do shoot on on my own property in a responsible manner, at recognizeable targets(Michigan law) and when I want to. I even fire off the twelve guage whenever it seems appropriate to make like Jesse James.....

Other neighbors would like to make this area(and maybe the OP's) a gated community with HSA rules.....but I would definitely make sure there is no four wheeler activity on my property, and I would keep shooting within my state law.

In Michigan, target practice is NOT limited to a 450 foot "safety zone", but hunting is prohibited within 450 feet of an occupied house or outbuilding.. Me, I always am target practicing and have a few pop cans downrange......and the twelve guage doesn't come out during deer season(different hunting rules then).

Best thing OP can do is really know the gun discharge laws in his/her home state...

geo

Honestly, I wouldn't give the conversation with your neighbor another thought. You appear to be enjoying a hobby in a responsible manner on your own property. To me, it sounds like this person moved to the country with unrealistic expectations for peace & quiet and is using her goats as an excuse to complain. As for the 4-wheeling on your property, stop it now. They can find somewhere else to ride.

Hunters use the farm next to us, and prefer to set up their blind right on the property line almost....and my animals don't like it at first but they do get used to it.

LamonchaLover, have you thought of inviting your neighbor over to try to shoot? Maybe she'll see it's fun and won't get so bothered by it. Or I could see the phone call letting her know you'll be shooting.

In Montana if you register your gun range withthe Sheriff's Dept they will come out and go over it making sure that it is safe. After it is approved, and most are, any complaints are told that the gun range is pre-existing and they are ignored as would any legal means to shut it down. This is whether it is a one man range or open to membership of 100's.
@ 14 rounds a pistol shooter is just getting warmed up. The next time the neighbor visited I would encourage them to look into noise deferring plantings on their property, hedges, trees etc. I recognize that these are not compatable with goats but that is not your problem.

Hmmm.....we shoot and we have goats. Go figure. The goats go in the barn on their own when we shoot (which isn't a bad thing for them to learn to do so that when hunters are close they can be safe) and when we quit shooting the goats come out.

Most of our neighbors shoot and the shots echo all over the mountain. You hear shots and target practice most weekends. I would be polite but tell her you are going to be shooting. I wish some of our neighbors only shot 14 times, but several of them are LEO's and I like them to practice. Both your neighbor and her goats will get used to it. As long as you are shooting safely and legally, your neighbor is out of order.

Everyone around here shoots quite often. Nobody thinks a thing about it.
If we hear multiple shots in the middle of the night however we contact neighbors to see if it was
them and if they need help with something.

Tell the neighbor you're trying to kill coyotes before they get their goats.

One question.
Why would anyone spend time on the telephone listening to someone complain about what they choose to do on their own property?

I would build a berm to shoot into , it is just a good idea it can be very simple and not cost much heck even if it is the manure pile piled high at the edge of the woods

next i would post your perimeter maybe even put up a simple fence , some t posts and wire more as a visual barrier than to keep everything out to help with the 4 wheelers

explain to the neighbor that you do enjoy target shooting but in the interest of being a good neighbor you will keep it between 8am and 8pm

and that you shoot into a berm so no need to worry

then enjoy , it's your land

as long as people are shooting into a berm in a safe direction generally even if they call the police the police come out see your shooting safe and go tell them your being safe.
if everyone just took some simple things and tried to be neighborly rather than getting upset and put out , things could be much more pleasant

i am no saying you should stop shooting but some times communicating nicely the safety precautions you already take can defuse a situation


animals get used to noises , the more you shoot the less it will affect them , and at that distance it really can't be that loud

sometimes a ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

you should take into account the safety of your neighbors when you do target practice..we put up a berm behind our targets to make sure all stray bullets are stopped

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Brenda Groth
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You have the RIGHT to target practice on your property when it is a safe distance from the homes of others.
However..... any time you engage in activities on your property that impact the enoyment of the property owners around you, there's bound tto be trouble. In my community, an old hermit didn't have runinf water. He used an old newspaper for a toilet. In his back yard he had an old Maytag washer. He'd add his soiled newspapers daily and when it was full, he'd put a match to it and it wwould all burn up. Fine, except when the neighbor's house was down wind.
This year Michigan law allows huge fireworks purchases by anyone. So, for at least 6 weeks, every night, someone was setting off fireworks. Many dogs can't stand fireworks. So, many communities had to create anti-fireworks laws. This is proof that there are hundreds of folks that don't want to have to listen to the fireworks of others and there are hundreds of folks that don't care. I had a neighbor, a mile away, that had fireworks that were far above the tree tops at 130 AM.
There are parents that send their kids out on Four Wheelers with no mufflers. Four Wheelers are allowed on the roads. Becides being loud, many find spinning round ruts ino the gravel roads great fun.
If you have a "pay as you go" house, you might have construction junk laying around. As your neighbor, it effects my enjoyment of my property and reduces the value of my home.
The property west of my farm has a vacant house. Many times the son of the owner would come out with his pals and they'd target practice. He had a 44 pistol.Happened to be my day off from my job. I wanted to trim horse hooves and set some shoes. The horses wouldn't stand still with that loud noise. I couldn't do what I wanted, because he was doing what he wanted.
Most shooting ranges have earth backstops and warning signs. Shooting into the woods can endanger people and animals.
I've also had folks that come up from urban areas with four wheelers and because I have hundreds of acres, they feel they should be able to run their four wheelers all over the place.

In closing, remember, being in the right doesn't always make it right. Get along with your neighbors or discover how difficult it is to fight terrorism.

Depends on how your property is laid out. Mine is 13 acres but is 1314' long. The farmer behind me has a safety zone intrusion on my property due to a barn. I can target shoot there but can't hunt. He can hunt there though because it his property. It's weird the way the law works but it's liveable.

My property is only two acres. I have horses and goats. Most of my neighbors have only one acre. That side of the street there are woods behind the properties. Several of my very close neighbors target practice. One of them has quite an arsenal from the sounds of it. The closest neighbors and the ones right next to them put on an impressive fireworks display a couple times a year. I would never dream of telling them not to shot guns or fireworks. As long as the bullets and fireworks don't come in the direction of my property, they can do what they want on their own property.

The horses and goats have gotten used to it.

A lot depends upon where you are shooting. If you are just firing into the woods without any knowledge of where the bullets will end up, you are seriously in the wrong. Legally, morally, and ethically wrong.

If you've got a good solid backstop to your target where there is no question about where each and every bullet will end up and if it is legal to shoot in your area, then you are OK.

Your neighbor is probably worried as much about her goats being shot as she is about the noise. Explain to her that you are only shooting at targets with a safe backdrop so that no wild bullets are flying (if that is true). Offer to shoot more often so the goats get used to it.

I've got a neighbor who is either a lottery winner, or he is on a rifle team, because he will shoot a rifle 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I don't worry about him. But I do worry about the casual shooters and people who drive out to the area to shoot on the BLM. You never know who is a safe shooter and who is not.