Using my horse Pasture as a shooting range

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Horselady

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Hi, just got from deer hunting with my husband. while i was sitting in the treestand i had time toi think about something that happened last sunday. i have a 13 acre small horse acreage with horses on it and several small 3 sided horse barn. while i was out there having a pony birthday party with 15, 4 year old kids and their parents my new neighbor who lives about 200 feet from my one horse barn starting shooting his guns. we all got a bit concerned but i didnt have time to go check it out. he owns only about 3 acres and he was shooting out back towards my pasture . now i know he has goats back there and chickens so today while sitting in that stand i started wandering where he was shooting at and at what? so i go in my pasture close to his house and find a target blown on my pasture and a small wood piece about 1/4 inch thick about 10 by 14 inches big on a tpost about 3 feet away from my horse pasture fence / he was shooting at that and using my pasture hill as a backstop. the more i think about it the more angry i get. i have horses out there , kids going out to get horses, people riding horses out there and he shoots into that not knowing who is in the trees or coming over the hills.
i decided to talk to the sheriff tomorrow. am i being unreasonable on this?
i really dont want to go over and talk to the new neighbor, we tried that the last couple of months because he lets his dogs run free all over the place and i told him i cant have his dogs on my property chasing horses or barking and chasing kids. we keep catching the dogs and bringing them to him and last time when we told him the dogs could get hurt that thats okay with him if he dies he dies.
i made sure i made pics of his setup, no backstop no nothing.
 
Horselady said:
...am i being unreasonable on this?....
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I don't think so.

One benefit of living in a rural setting is the possibility of setting up a safe shooting range on your property. But it must be safe and reasonably designed to protect others on adjacent properties from wayward projectiles.

However, be advised that there might be little that the sheriff could do unless it's somehow illegal to discharge firearms where you are; and that's unlikely in the country. You might need to find a lawyer and pursue a civil remedy.
 
Horselady said:
using my pasture hill as a backstop
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Not only is that grossly irresponsible, but shooting into someone else's property to use their property as a backstop is, IMHO, probably the part that is illegal. He needs his own backstop.

I recommend you specifically say that he's using your pasture hill as a backstop.

If you're on civil terms with him you could point out that there could be kids and horses between him and your hill and that anything that happened to either could be disastrous for everyone.
 
thank you for responses. the part that gets me the most that he doesnt have any regard to what could be out there in the pasture. i actually put a game camera out there today to keep track off things until i can talk to the sheriff. i hate getting into an argument with a neighbor but i cant let that continue and wait till something major happens. i wish i was on civil terms but he and his family just moved there and have loose dogs and race up and down our county roads with their atv 60mph with little kids and no helmets. dont get me wrong i love the country like guns, shoot myself, love going hunting with my husband but this guy is acting like he owns the country.
 
no backstop whatsoever his little target he put on a tpost is actually only 3 foot from my property fence. clean line of site into my property for about 100 feet but then trees and a hill hes using as a backstop. i made pics of the target the post that has bullet holes go all the way thru into my property the target paper thats laying in my pasture and made several pics of the whole layout. he s target is literally 3 feet away from my property,
 
ill start porting tommorrow and also bought some no shooting signs at amazon (what good it will do) i dont care if he shoots on his property with a safe backstop and safety guards but he only owns a little area and my pasture runs past his whole backyard and further . ( i was wandering why my horses havent gone in that pasture lately i guess i know now why)
 
he knows. his house is facing my riding arena and his front door is about 150 feet from my stock tank and horse barn. i have kids there all day long going in and out . i have been walking out there picking up electric fence fixing fence picking up his crap that blows over onto my property, im sorry the more i think about it the madder i get. hubby said to calm down before i talk to the sheriff but when it comes the safety of my students (kids) and my animals i can get pretty fired up .sorry about my english . i immigrated here from germany with my army husband and this is the greatest country in the world.
 
Sometimes steering a person is easier than stopping them. Can he move his target so his shooting lane is safer for you and the kids? He might be an unreasonable jerk but maybe he is just ignorant with no foresight, not realizing the risks to people on your property. You might have to directly confront him but I would hate for him to then retaliate by shooting more or doing more stupid things. I would somehow tell him you are concerned a ricochet could hit a child so please shoot in another direction. He might not understand how bullets can get redirected after hitting objects. But on only 3 acres, shooting in a different direction might be impossible. Good luck.
 
The sheriff is your best bet. Most states have laws that proscribe shooting within 1/4 mile of an occupied building. Your house and your horse barn both meet that description so if either of those are within 1/4 mile of where he is shooting that solves the problem.
I have found that attempts at polite discussion rarely work with neighbors. Having said that you might have more success talking to his wife than to him.
 
Horselady said:
...birthday party with 15, 4 year old kids and their parents my new neighbor who lives about 200 feet from my one horse barn starting shooting his guns. we all...
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and...

Atavar said:
...best bet. Most states have laws that proscribe shooting within 1/4 mile of an occupied building. Your house...
Click to expand...

Your sheriff can declare that activity a nuisance or endangering, and will do so based on your local statues and previous rulings.


Atavar said:
When talking to the sheriff also mention the minors on ATVs without helmets. This is a pet peeve of mine. Document with your camera if possible.
Let them know that loose dogs that harass your stock will be dealt with.
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It's going to be a sting with your next door dweller (note I did not say neighbor LoL) but really, letting the kids ride stupidly on the road speeding without helmets isn't your PRIMARY concern. Your primary and therefore easier concern is, actions on and about YOUR property e.g. THEIR dogs running on your property and the firearms shooting. All that SHOULD be necessary is, your local sheriff to declare the firing as unsafe and/or unlawful. Do you have pictures of the doggies? At a minimum, if it happens again, take pictures and especially run a short video when taking the doggies back to home. Your trail cam idea is a good one:thumbup:.
What's the chance that your new neighbor is a renter vs. owner? Was there an obvious ''for sale'' sign out from prior to them moving in. If not so, you may want to contact the actual property owner...

Back to the trail cam, you may want to buy a more permanent option for an immediate contact-to-you security cam. Such as, a wifi cam that sends pictures to your phone. Last thing you want is a vindictive neighbor that waits 3, 4 6 months to harass your livestock etc. , or worse.

There is NO WHERE where I would advocate NO security cams anymore, even if only a simple trailcam.



As an aside, I never heard of a ''no shooting'' sign and your English is just fine (have U seen sum others spelling err ours on hear LoL)
 
I, too, have horses and grandkids roaming my 160 acres. I had some similar situations with new cretins occupying adjacent property.

1. ABSOLUTELY NOTIFY SHERIFF and file a report. Call immediately, if anything else happens.
2. Firing a gun within 300 ft of a building, not on your property, without WRITTEN permission, is against the law. Sheriff made this very clear to him. Some States list 3 acres minimum for a shooting range. Shooting across property lines is a NO-NO.
3. You are within the law to protect your livestock from dogs. 3 trips to return dogs. 1 trip to me by him, looking for his dogs, hat hadn't been home in a week. I had not seen them. (wink wink)
4. Luckily, he was renting and moved a few months later. Gave "@$$hole neighbors" as his reason for moving


Good luck,
 
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Aside from how far from buildings, noise, etc, what really cuts it for me is his lack of a backstop.

His bullets need to stop, in the earth, on his property, every time, all the time, no exceptions, and without question. I would start there with the sheriff.
 
talked to deputy in person this morning. showed him pics had me email the pics to him. i bought 50 more trespassing signs. while i was out at horses he went to talk to neighbor but he wasnt home hope he come back later and tries again. deputy said he will follow up with me. he will look up statues on how many feet from what kind of buildings.
 
i downloaded pics. the first one is what his target looks like its 3 feet away from my fenceline facing his house and hes shooting at the target towards my fenceline and pasture which is to the east
as u can see thats a 3 or 4 inch wood post and bullets go right thru
 
pics with the target laying on my property
DoubleMag said:
and...



Your sheriff can declare that activity a nuisance or endangering, and will do so based on your local statues and previous rulings.




It's going to be a sting with your next door dweller (note I did not say neighbor LoL) but really, letting the kids ride stupidly on the road speeding without helmets isn't your PRIMARY concern. Your primary and therefore easier concern is, actions on and about YOUR property e.g. THEIR dogs running on your property and the firearms shooting. All that SHOULD be necessary is, your local sheriff to declare the firing as unsafe and/or unlawful. Do you have pictures of the doggies? At a minimum, if it happens again, take pictures and especially run a short video when taking the doggies back to home. Your trail cam idea is a good one:thumbup:.
What's the chance that your new neighbor is a renter vs. owner? Was there an obvious ''for sale'' sign out from prior to them moving in. If not so, you may want to contact the actual property owner...

Back to the trail cam, you may want to buy a more permanent option for an immediate contact-to-you security cam. Such as, a wifi cam that sends pictures to your phone. Last thing you want is a vindictive neighbor that waits 3, 4 6 months to harass your livestock etc. , or worse.

There is NO WHERE where I would advocate NO security cams anymore, even if only a simple trailcam.



As an aside, I never heard of a ''no shooting'' sign and your English is just fine (have U seen sum others spelling err ours on hear LoL)
Click to expand...
Yeah i have pics of the dogs on my trail camera and i have witnesses about the dogs. i called his wife once to say their one big dog is in my pasture at night. she goes no my husband says his home so i sent her a pic of my wifi game camera with date stamp and pic and said no hes not.
 
My concern would be poisoned horses. Folks like that do stuff like throw poisoned apples over the fence. That kind of stuff happens here. They of course lie to the police.
 
I know some folks that was feuding with the neighbors. Best I know, the folks were shooting unsafely but legal. Cops were called. But nothing done. So after the cops left, the first guy gets his rifle out and according to the neighbors shot at him. Cops come back and nothing done. No bullet holes or dead horses or neighbors. Turns out later on, least what we can tell, they were firing blanks at the neighbors. Nothing was ever done.

That's the kind of people you're likely dealing with.
 
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