Posted on 07/28/2012 4:02:17 AM PDT by marktwain
PETERBOROUGH A gun club official says members are doing all they can to be considerate of their neighbors.
The Monadnock Rod and Gun Club will most likely not make any changes after receiving a letter from selectmen asking it to be quieter, said Mark Carbone, chairman of the board of directors.
Neighbors recently brought their concerns to town officials about noise levels at the shooting range increasing in recent years.
Town officials said they could not make the gun club change its activities because it has not done anything illegal. But selectmen sent a letter last week requesting the club not allow outside groups to use the shooting range, groups that have used explosives and machine guns.
Carbone said he received the letter, but club officials dont believe the noise is as bad as neighbors claim.
The club gave an official response Wednesday to Town Administrator Pamela L. Brenner. Brenner said she will now work on getting representatives from both parties to sit down and talk about other options.
The gun club has been at 595 Jaffrey Road since 1947, and neighbors have said its only been in the past few years that the noise has been too much to handle.
But not much has changed in recent years for the noise level to increase, Carbone said.
On the weekends, there are usually a dozen or so members for activities such as shooting and archery. And during the weekday, Carbone said, its quiet, with just a handful of people.
About five years ago, the club started allowing a regional organization The Northeast Shooters to use the range for events. When that group uses the shooting range, which is usually three or four days a year, there are more people participating,
(Excerpt) Read more at sentinelsource.com ...
A refreshingly American attitude.
I’m betting that all the complainers built or bought there knowing the gun club was next door.
The town officials might consider making silencers easily available. In some Scandinavian countries I hear it is considered rude not to use them.
“On the weekends, there are usually a dozen or so members for activities such as shooting and archery.”
Those arrows whistling down range are hard on the ears.
To: marktwain
The town officials might consider making silencers easily available............
The town officials COULD ALSO create a noise ordinance which sets a noise level they shooters cannot exceed. they could also create a “nusiance ordinance” which can be difficult to beat. The shooters need to meet with the town to set some reasonable standards unless they want to relocate. Not fair to make them move or cease operations but that seems to be the way things are done these days.
If the club was there before the homes, wouldn’t it be “grandfathered-in” and immune to new regs? Or isn’t that even a factor anymore? Just wondering...
“Government” can always find a way...........
NH provides a number of protections for gun ranges, which hopefully the club has availed themselves of. A noise control ordinance has to apply to everyone, and has to pass a vote at town meeting. Peterborough is more liberal than many NH towns, but also has its share of libertarians. In general noise ordinances don't really end up causing much of a problem in NH since the actual sound level that "annoys" the anti-gun neighbors isn't that loud. Usually their lawn mower or a chainsaw is louder, and nobody in town is going to vote for an ordinance which prevents them from mowing their lawn.
You’re right; they sure did with “emminent domain”, didn’t they?
Exactly! It’s like a family buying a home, then demanding speed bumps in their street, because people drive on it and they want a park-like atmosphere because they’re special.
Yeah, but they sure don’t mind sending over a letter putting pressure on the club to be quieter.
My guess is they have some activist Lefties who have moved in, and they’re angry because there’s a “filthy rotten” gun club near them. A law suit is inevitable.
Remember this rule of thumb: One Lefty complaint and the world must stop revolving. Half a million complaints from Conservatives, and it’s, “What complaints?”
“Im betting that all the complainers built or bought there knowing the gun club was next door.”
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Perhaps the same kind of people that buy houses off the end of an airport runway and sue because of the noise of aircraft.
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