Posted on 06/02/2013 6:16:57 PM PDT by Sawdring
Today while I was planting the garden, a neighbor started shooting his guns. He is known to do this during the summer and for his bachelor party he and his crew shot constantly for four hours. I do not mind the noise and before today my only concern was how he could afford all the rounds he fires.
Today was different because he would shoot and then I would hear a bullet "whiz" through the air above the swamp and then thwack into the woods on the other side. This was right behind my property and I knew the bullets were ricocheting so I didn't know which way they would go next.
I live on the edge of a subdivision and his property is rural farm land. Another neighbor lady asked if it was dangerous to be in the back yard because she heard bullets in the air as well. I assumed it would be so she went in and I crossed a swamp and started whistling to get his attention. I introduced myself and told him what was happening and he wouldn't believe me. I explained to him that I didn't mind his shooting and actually appreciated that he was a gun owner but he needed to know where his bullets were landing.
I looked at his setup and all he was shooting was a Glock .40 caliber pistol, he had a berm in back that goes up to the railroad tracks and then our houses are at about a 30 degree angle from where he was standing and the barrel he was shooting at.
When I saw what he was doing I didn't think he was doing anything wrong but he would not accept that he bullets could even come close to our houses. When I got home I looked up our properties on Google Earth and found he was shooting at barrels about twenty yards from him and the barrels were about 480 yards from where the bullets hit woods.
Unless he takes some sort of corrective action, I'm going to play indoors when he starts shooting and if he hits my house I will have to call the authorities, have them extract the bullet and then we can match it up. I don't really know what else I should do.
Tell him to stand in your yard while you shoot at his barrel.
If he does, he’ll see what you’re seeing.
If he refuses, then you’ve made your point.
People like that given owners a bad name. He needs to build a better backstop or stop shooting in his yard.
buy your own gun and do the same to him.
He should be as reasonable as you and modify his behavior or aim.
My guess is that he (or one of his guests) was shooting at birds for “fun.” Naturally, he played stupid when you queried him about it.
"That thing you're doing? Well, it's having a direct effect on me."
And they answer: "No, it's not."
And if the effect is question is the sending of bullets in my general direction, and they refuse to acknowledge that reality ... well, I'd probably call the authorities pretty quick. Gun safety should always be a top concern. It gives all gun owners a bad rep if some yahoo refuses to understand that.
Even pistol bullets can go much farther than 500 yards, depending on angle of fire of course.
Or tell him you’ll shoot back with your .40 cal and see if he minds.
Here’s a link - http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=5&f=20&t=88660
Scroll down, a source from Speer ammo says the max range is 1753 yards.
I rebuilta local LEO shooting range several years ago when a homeowner a mile away ended up with a 9MM slug in his wall.
Indiana State Police confirmed it came from the officers gun
The cool part is, if you hear the whiz of the bullets fly by? They ain't for you. Explaining that while the whizzing is going on is left as an exersize for the student.
Rejoice in the Day the Lord has Made, and be glad in it. ;)
Things could be worse, he could have intent.
/johnny
After seeing his setup I couldn’t tell him that it looked unsafe and I wouldn’t have thought twice about shooting there if the I hadn’t heard the bullets for myself.
Bullets exit the barrel with a great deal of energy. They can travel an extraordinary distance. If your target is something hard, they can ricochet for quite a distance. If you are shooting on a rural range with neighbors within a one mile radius, you need to use soft targets, ensure that you have some sort of backstop and enforce strict fire discipline on your range.
He is a reckless firearm owner. Call the police. At 500 yards, a 40 cal is not accurate. The effectice range (as in usefull) of a 40 is between 50 and 100 yards depending on the round, the firearm, and the shooter. However, it can be lethal at well over 500 yards.
PS I despise reckless firearm owners. They give the libs ammo to use against the responsible ones. No excuses accepted.
It’s quite possible that they are shooting “short” of the backstop and the bullets are ricocheting back into the air.
Very common problem with unwitting shooters.
I forgot to mention the pumpkin trebuchet: everyone should have at least one for this purpose.
Someone nearby where I live was killed when something like that happened once a few years ago. A guy was shooting at a rabbit that was sitting on the crest of a hill. One of his bullets went over the crest of the hill, through a glass greenhouse and killed someone in the greenhouse.
Completely dumbass gun owner PING!
Thats fine, but once someone brings up an issue he needs to address it. It is a matter of life and death.
I have a neighbor who shoots fairly often. It doesn’t bother me as I have NEVER heard anything which indicated the bullets were reaching me. Have heard some wild pigs squealing cut short.
My other neighbor, a retired army O-5, runs inside each time and calls the cops, who then remind him once again that its legal to shoot in the county.
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