Bullet went between me and neighbor!

[Owen Sparks]

Every evening for the last few days someone near where I live has been shooting at least 100 rounds about an hour before dark. From experience I can tell by the sound that it is an AR-15. I pulled up in my neighbor’s driveway to ask what was going on, thinking that they might have built a back yard range. His wife was out working in the yard and told me that it was the guy who lives behind them who was shooting. We started talking and visiting as we are about the same age and she used to live next door to my cousins. I was sitting in my truck with the window down and she was about six to eight feet away sitting on a riding lawn mower when suddenly a bullet whizzed right between us and struck the foliage several feet away causing the leaves to move.

The woman’s immediate reaction was to pull out the cell phone and call the sheriff but I persuaded her to wait. I drove up the length of the driveway, got out and could hear two male voices perhaps 100 yards away through the woods that separated the property. I shouted “HEY, A BULLET JUST WHIZZED PAST MY HEAD!” I heard nothing in response though the shooting has stopped.

Be careful! The woods are no substitute for a proper back stop.

 

[Yo Mama]

OP, only thing I would change is I would have the police there stat, forget finding the individuals and talking about it, they needed to be in cuffs.

 

[WyoShooter1]

Why did you stop her from calling the sheriff?

WyoShooter1

 

[MightyTygart]

He stopped her from calling the sheriff because it wasn't needed. While I agree with the OP that he could handle the situation he did so only partly. I won't comment on what he should have done, rather what I would do. I probably would have approached them (face to face, with a handshake) and told them what was going on. If they declined my advice or resumed their careless shooting then I may be prompted to involve the authorities. I understand why some may want to call the police, come on though. Keep the fuzz out of it when neighbors can potentially handle a hostile situation in a neighborly manner.

 

[Yo Mama]

If they declined my advice or resumed their careless shooting then I may be prompted to involve the authorities.

Or your dead. It's not smart to confront someone shooting at you if you can avoid it. That's what the police get paid for.

 

[Chuck Dye]

He stopped her from calling the sheriff because it wasn't needed.

I disagree. Harking back to experience with a university police department, I would have called, asked the responding officer if an FI, field interview, could be conducted and filed. Incoming rifle fire is different from unwanted pet poop on the lawn. Getting it on official record will help, especially if the next victim is not Mr. Owens or his neighbor.

 

[Impureclient]

Getting it on official record will help, especially if the next victim is not Mr. Owens or his neighbor.

^This.

The police always want calls so they have a history of what happened leading up til the "incident".

 

[Ignition Override]

Well, just outside Putney, VT it did no good to call the Sheriff's Dept.

My brother-in-law and his wife have walked on the bottom road downhill from their house, and heard bullets hitting trees or branches more than once over their heads.
They called the Dept. at least once and the bullets kept hitting not too far above their heads.

This is not far from their house, on the northeast edge of town. The bullets come from behind a house which is opposite some flat farm land.

J. and his wife are true liberals, and are surprisingly open-minded about guns, and realize that the shooter is the problem, not the guns.
It's a wonder that they are not somewhat anti-gun by now.

 

[Tape]

I would not have called the LE either, only because I like shooting and I love that privilege of being able to shoot at home without complaints, also hell'ava LOT cheaper then joining a gun club or renting a shooting lane. I would have walked over and politely told them what happened instead of yelling and I am sure everything would have ended well and no ill feelings toward your neighbors.

 

[Owen Sparks]

I don't like involving the government in gun related problems if it can be solved any other way. The shooting ended and that solved the problem, at least for now. We have had one member of the county board of supervisors propose making it illegal to shoot in the county already and I did not want to give them more "ammunition".

 

[JohnKSa]

The woods are no substitute for a proper back stop.

Correct.

 

[bearcreek]

I agree. If you've got to live near someone, calling the cops about something that was probably done out of simple ignorance and without ill intent is not a good way to have a good relationship with your neighbors.

 

[FreddyKruger]

Or your dead. It's not smart to confront someone shooting at you if you can avoid it. That's what the police get paid for.

It wasnt exactly deliberate...

 

[Impureclient]

I am very impressed/horrified with the degree to what people are willing to allow in the name of helping a fellow shooter. If my neighbor shot a rifle round(which is a one shot, one kill) a couple feet away from me,
I'd really not be concerned with whether that neighbor has the privilege to be able to shoot on his own property. That is somebody who shouldn't be shooting outside or any where for that matter. This
would be a different story if the neighbor was shooting at a backstop and some how a bullet got past/through. It sounds like two doofuses shooting at trees in the woods to me. Luckily we are hearing from
Owen here in person and not about him in some article on the two doofuses that shot some guy by accident. One more shot in the same manner and instead it could have been "HEY, A BULLET JUST WHIZZED
PAST MY".....POW...headshot!....man down . I love the ability to shoot outside at a whim but I do so in a manner that in no way can harm anybody due to my fun time out there. Kids shooting bb guns can be
dealt with by yelling at them to scare them or confronting them to teach them to be responsible but not dangerous adults with guns pointed at you from inside a wooded area. As was said above, cops get paid to be shot at.

 

[joeq]

I would not have called the LE either, only because I like shooting and I love that privilege of being able to shoot at home without complaints, also hell'ava LOT cheaper then joining a gun club or renting a shooting lane. I would have walked over and politely told them what happened instead of yelling and I am sure everything would have ended well and no ill feelings toward your neighbors.

Yes, but I'm sure you take proper safety precautions. If I have a neighbor sending bullets over my head I'm calling the cops. It's fantastic to be able to shoot on your property but you have to do it safely. People could have been killed because these guy's are stupid. I don't like walking through the woods to confront some well armed guys that I don't know. I believe that's a job for the local law enforcement.

 

[Yo Mama]

It wasnt exactly deliberate...

It's not the point. We need to learn from our mistakes.

 

[Owen Sparks]

Anyone who has shot a lot of tracer rounds knows that a small twig is enough to send a bullet nearly 90 degrees off course. I think that is what happened here. These people were just shooting into the woods and probably skipped one off a tree. The whizzing sound was indicative of a bullet that was tumbling as it passed between us.

The reason that I chose not to involve the government is that I shoot at home (with a proper back stop) and don't want legislation passed to restrict me. The government's answer to problems like this are always based in collectivism. If some people are too stupid to shoot a firearm safely, then EVERYBODY is held to the standard of the lowest common denominator and forbidden to shoot, even on their own property because of what some idiot might do.

 

[JohnKSa]

A smart thing to do would be for all the neighbors who shoot to get together and set up a range with a real backstop that everyone can share. Then everyone's happy and everyone's safe.

 

[joeq]

A smart thing to do would be for all the neighbors who shoot to get together and set up a range with a real backstop that everyone can share. Then everyone's happy and everyone's safe.

In a perfect world that would be great. Sadly, there are some unsavory people that enjoy shooting also.

 

[Tape]

Yes, but I'm sure you take proper safety precautions. If I have a neighbor sending bullets over my head I'm calling the cops. It's fantastic to be able to shoot on your property but you have to do it safely. People could have been killed because these guy's are stupid. I don't like walking through the woods to confront some well armed guys that I don't know. I believe that's a job for the local law enforcement.

and the cops will probably ask you if you talked to your neighbor, then he is going to give them a speech on safety as I would as well without involving LE. I do not believe you are such a big shooter or I think you would handle it differently, JMO. The OP may have been exaggerating, maybe not.

 

[NavyLCDR]

Better to call the Sheriff than for an ambulance.

 

[toivo]

That's a tough call. On the one hand, I wouldn't want to do anything that could lead to a ban on shooting on your own property. On the other hand, I don't consider the situation to be an "honest mistake." It was dangerously stupid, and somebody could have just as easily ended up dead. Using the woods as a backstop is not OK.

IMO, the person responsible for it shouldn't pick up a gun again until he can find some cure for his ignorance. If it takes a call to the sheriff to cure him, then that might be the way to go.

 

[moonpie]

I vote with owen on this. he assessed the situation and saw that the police weren't needed. if more people handled their own lives maybe the cops wouldn't get stressed out like the Ohio OFFICER . dead on about trees not being a backstop , that's the reason i stay in town during deer season

 

[Flopsweat]

At this point we don't know if it was a "doofus" or a responsible person who had a "brain fart". Why involve a third party that may ruin things for everyone? I would try to follow up and make sure that the people who were shooting are aware and are changing thier behavior.

 

[Sunray]

"...I heard nothing in response..." That's when you make the call. Mind you, it wouldn't have hurt to go politely talk to the boneheads.
Idiots shooting unsafely is why there's a local issue about it. An invitation to shoot with you would likely make the whole thing go away.
"...It was dangerously stupid..." And that's being polite.