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.
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
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.
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!
A .40 cal can easily travel 500 yards. That is only 1,500 feet and at 1,200 feet per second to start with, it will travel for several seconds easily. I have never measured the distance that round can go but I always assume a handgun round will travel up to 1.5 miles. I have personally shot the .40 to distances of 1,000 yards, just for giggles at a 1,000 yard rifle range, and the bullets travel 1,000 yards no problem.
Get a video camera with a tripod, and record the whizzing bullets. The shooters are probably bored with shooting targets, and aiming at targets in the trees like squirrels.
violated the 3rd rule of shooting.....Know what’s BEHIND your target.
Also, for some reason, Glock owners seem to be the stupidist bunch in terms of safety. As to that point, it has no real safety....
The easiest thing to do is to get out a phone or camcorder when he starts shooting and record the impacts. Then gently go over to his house after shooting and show him the video. Offer to have him over while his friends and buddies are shooting. If he does come over, quietly and unobtrusively record your neighbor during his visit if it is allowed by your local laws.
Keep a copy of all videos.
Provide a copy of the “papercrete” webpage and recommend that he use it as a backstop to reduce ricochets. http://makepapercrete.com/How-Can-I-Make-Papercrete-.html. An inexpensive wall of papercrete blocks 18” front to back will stop just about any bullet.
If all else fails, make friends with a county deputy and call him when your neighbor is out shooting. Ask the deputy to convince the home owner to “improve” his property so that the bullets do not land on your property.
Up to this point, you are being nice. From here on out, you are going to be using the law and possibly pissing off your neighbor.
Find out what the county zoning says about a range on private property. If a home range is a violation of zoning, notify your zoning board and provide copies of the videos.
Speak with a lawyer about what other options you may have.
If you have any damage to your property (bullet holes in roof/walls) etc. Contact your insurance agent to both file a claim and provide a copy of the videos as well.
If you want to get somebody with deep pockets and some stroke on your side, take your information to the owner of the railroad right of way. It is illegal to shoot from or across any right of way in many states. They might be able to provide something helpful...say, a lawyer letter with hints of gathering storm clouds should he persist in any reckless illegal actions. Just a thought...
Does this idiot have a backstop?
On our property up north we built a firing range. No houses/cottages in that direction for a long ways as we have 100 acres, mostly woods. Still, there’s a backstop there. Always.
Your neighbor's bullets may be ricocheting off the barrels, deflected up and over the berm, and passing through your property with wounding, if not lethal force.
Unwilling to listen, consider the concerns of his neighbors, and unwilling to modify his range safety procedures, he is negligent in his responsibility to the law. If he is not willing to verify that it is not possible for bullets to leave the limits of his firing range and/or property, he is not a safe shooter.
Report him. With prejudice. Bullets hitting your house may be too late. If you don't report this, you might be also counted as negligent. IMHO
(From a safe shooter and marksman. I think experts from the bullet companies will validate what I just said. Call them for confirmation. Call your local gun shop for even further info.)