Neighbor Called The Police On me!

[Five Seasons]

Legal or not, I think it's flat out rude to shoot dozens upon dozens of rounds, if you are situated in close proximity to other homes.  Maybe if you live 1/2 mile or more from another house, you could go at it, but in most areas in NYS, that isn't the case.  I would excuse an occasional sighting in session, or what not, but shooting hours on end is unacceptable.  If you like to shoot a lot, find yourself a shooting range and shoot there.  Disturbing the peace with loud blasts around peoples homes won't make you a hero to very many, other than to those of a similar uncaring, I do what I want mindset.

 

very much agree. And even siting in a gun is only a shot every few minutes or so and shouldn't (although we've all had our moments) take a whole afternoon. My gripe was with inviting all your buddies over for a session. That's what ranges are for. That being said, asking all your neighbors if they're ok with it and letting them know you're going to do it is perfectly polite and fine with me.

 

[WNYBuckHunter]

If its legal to shoot in my back yard, Im going to shoot when I want, for however long I want. Its nobody's right to tell me what I can and cant do on my property as long as I am adhering to local laws, regulations, ordinances, etc. Now if the neighbor is having a party, or some special event, yeah, Ill choose a different time to shoot so as not to disturb them. Otherwise, its really none of their business.

 

I dont go around telling people what to do on their property, and I expect to be treated the same.

[ELMER J. FUDD]

This type of situation reminds me of those neighborhood traffic Nazi wannabes. Go to hell.

[Jeremy K]

Playing devils advocate. I'm not sure any single elderly female would feel comfortable pulling up to a house in the country where a bunch of guys from the country are shooting guns and ask them to stop.

 

My parents have a neighbor who shoot all the time, for long periods of time. Multiple guys. We wonder what they must be spending on ammo. We're gun owners and sight in guns on occasion too, but there is little that is more annoying than trying to enjoy a cold one on your deck on a beautiful day with guns going off. Maybe the only thing worse is a chain saw or dirt bikes.

 

you don't sound like a bad guy, but there are those who are out there that are.

 

I would have to respectfully disagree , hearing someone shred on a dirtbike is music to my ears.

[phade]

I would have to respectfully disagree , hearing someone shred on a dirtbike is music to my ears.

 

Same thing with gunfire.

 

Sounds like damn freedom to me. And, I have a 16 month old and two dogs that are noise sensitive. We just sighted in our turkey guns last weekend at my place and not a complaint to be heard. Might want to talk to the wife about those pants she's been wearing, Belo. JK, I can relate.

[Five Seasons]

If its legal to shoot in my back yard, Im going to shoot when I want, for however long I want. Its nobody's right to tell me what I can and cant do on my property as long as I am adhering to local laws, regulations, ordinances, etc. Now if the neighbor is having a party, or some special event, yeah, Ill choose a different time to shoot so as not to disturb them. Otherwise, its really none of their business.

 

I dont go around telling people what to do on their property, and I expect to be treated the same.

 

I wonder if you and my neighbor hang out. He has 2 yippity dogs that bark all day long at me and my family. there are no noise ordnance laws in the country. So they bark all day long and do not allow me to enjoy my backyard. I guess common neighborly respect is a thing of the past.

[WNYBuckHunter]

I wonder if you and my neighbor hang out. He has 2 yippity dogs that bark all day long at me and my family. there are no noise ordnance laws in the country. So they bark all day long and do not allow me to enjoy my backyard. I guess common neighborly respect is a thing of the past.

 

Thats different, people should control their dogs. If your dog is barking all day long, or whenever its outside, there are other issues. My dog barks but not constantly, and she is never out there barking after noise ordinances go into effect.

 

I think I showed my view of neighborly respect when I said I would not shoot, etc if neighbors ar having an event, or something like that. Theres a line between showing respect to others and allowing others to disrespect you.

 

[steve863]

Whether it's a dog barking out of control, or someone spending a bunch of hours each weekend firing away, it's downright annoying for a neighbor to be listening to it.  A person is entitled to have some peace and quiet in their own homes with the windows shut.  Constant noise from barking dogs, dirt bikes OR gunfire will penetrate a shut window.  If someone doesn't give a hoot about being the cause of such noise, so be it, but just don't be surprised when someone does confront you about it, and it's only a matter of time before someone does.  Telling someone that it's your legal right to do so will not be a good enough of answer for everyone.  They also have every legal right to think of you as an arrogant butt- hole, that has no respect for their neighbors.  Surely won't help in winning anyone over to the gun rights point of view either.  With rights comes responsibility and some respect.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2014 by steve863

[Zhe Wiz]

Whether it's a dog barking out of control, or someone spending a bunch of hours each weekend firing away, it's downright annoying for a neighbor to be listening to it.  A person is entitled to have some peace and quiet in their own homes with the windows shut.  Constant noise from barking dogs, dirt bikes OR gunfire will penetrate a shut window.  If someone doesn't give a hoot about being the cause of such noise, so be it, but just don't be surprised when someone does confront you about it, and it's only a matter of time before someone does.  Telling someone that it's your legal right to do so will not be a good enough of answer for everyone.  They also have every legal right to think of you as an arrogant butt- hole, that has no respect for their neighbors.  Surely won't help in winning anyone over to the gun rights point of view either.  With rights comes responsibility and some respect.

Well let's not get carried away here.  We shot for less than 2 hours.  And it was the first time we had fired any quantity of ammo since I (alone) sighted in my ML and shotgun in September.  So I do not shoot "a bunch of hours each weekend".  Even in september I think I shot MAYBE 10 rounds?  Not much.

 

AND I'd have no problem if someone DID confront me about it.  As I said, I've told anyone who'll listen to let me know if my shooting is ever too much, of if there's ever a time they specifically don't want me to shoot.

 

I have no problem with someone wanting peace and quiet.  My problem is that they called the cops FIRST without any attempt at contacting me via ANY other means.  I'm available via phone, via a friend, via mail, via email.  There was and is no reason to call the police first in such a situation.  A complete waste of their time when the problem could have been settled by ASKING me.  Old lady afraid and doesn't want to confront a bunch of guys shooting?  Fine, find another way.  Calling the cops should be the LAST resort, not the first.

 

Zhe Wiz

[Doc]

It's kind of comical to hear somebody start shooting here in the valley, and pretty soon somebody else starts up at the other end of the valley. It's kind of like one guy gets reminded by the other. I know I have started both of them going when I go out to do some shooting. It's kind of like, "Damn that sounds like fun. I guess I'll go out and shoot for a while".

 

For us it's kind of like the sound of rural life. It's exactly the same as hearing a chainsaw or a skidder heading through the woods. Sure, it's nicer when it is absolutely dead quiet, and actually, most of the time that's exactly how it is.

 

The short period that I lived in the city, I came in contact with people who obviously lived to whine and complain and had way too much concern with what the neighbors were doing. It is amazing how sensitive neighbors can get, especially when they are intent on being that way.

[Nomad]

I worked out of a firehouse in the ghetto for 14 years,(now i work in nice area) . One summer we had 4 people shot to death within 100 yards of the firehouse ,most nights you'd hear gunfire.

I lived 8/10s of a mile from work. Many nights I'd hear gunfire at home,including one night when it was in my front yard......maybe 30 feet from my kids rooms.

Bunch of good old boys shooting in the sticks,sorry I'm not too concerned .

I shoot 2x a month or so on my range in Ontario county,8 or so houses from 600 feet to maybe 1000 .3 of us shoot a couple hundred rounds. Nobody seems to mind. I guess it's because well they like to hike,bike,snowmobile and other wise use our land,some I even let hunt a part i don't hunt. But mostly it's because they seem worried we're going to develop the land.

So they have a choice a range we use a couple times a month or a housing tract.

With land prices climbing all around ,I think they ll have a bunch of new neighbors in a few years.....

[jjb4900]

why is it that people don't talk to their neighbors anymore?...........seems to be a growing trend.

[jrm]

Pretty sure the person I think it is would decline. She's in her 80's and only goes out to fetch the mail as far as I can tell. Her immediate neighbor takes pretty good care of her.

If that's the case, I can understand why she didn't confront you directly. She probably would have done the same for dogs barking or any other "problem." I hope I am not that cranky at 80, but considering how cranky I am now it doesn't seem likely. Cut the old folks _some_ slack.

I had a similar situation with my "country" home in the catskills.

We bought the property in the middle of nowhere just so we could to things like hunt, shoot and not be bothered. The locals call us "flatlanders" (being from downstate) and it takes some doing to get on their good side. After meeting my neighbor, I can understand why.

Seems lot's of outsiders move from the "city" to the "country" and then expect to turn the country into the city.

We don't shoot often and when we do it is only for an hour or so. I had some relatives over last summer and we were shooting in the back of my property. About 800ft from my own house and close to a 1/2 mile from the nearest neighbor house.

The lady that bought the property next door is from a preppy area of CT and came barreling over to my house. Was very "worried" that we were shooting guns. For as scared as she was, I give her credit for coming over to speak with me in person.

While I wanted to tell her to "shove it" I took the diplomatic route. Before leaving our "range" area, I packed up all guns (we were done anyway) and handed off everything to someone else to put away. When I spoke to her, I explained what we were doing and all the safety measures that were in place. As things are set up, we actually shoot in the opposite direction from her property (into a natural berm).

It seems she was mollified, but I think she is a lost cause for bringing to any understanding. Some folks are just too scared of those "big scary things that go bang." The one or two times that I was shooting after that, I could hear her yelling for her (grown) kids and dogs... she locks herself inside her barn until we are done.

What I could not understand is her surprise. On any given weekend you can hear _someone_ shooting in their yard.

Like the OP, I don't want to get into a war with the neighbors, but what to do? I don't shoot much and it is both legal and safe. She's made the decision to buy land in the country... in and area where just about everyone shoots on their own property. The ironic part is that while I am legal, she is openly violating a few town code as well as deed restrictions. The deed restrictions affect me, but I don't like to start trouble... at the same time, if I don't bring it up to the town, I could lose my right to complain at a later date (about her or other future violators).

I bought land in the country to get away from crazy neighbors. Sometimes you can't seem to win.

[jjb4900]

we have a neighbor who is a first class dbag, he calls the Cops on us every chance he gets and for stuff that's 100% legal............each time they show up we have a pleasant conversation and they go on their way, but not before they tell us what a nutjob we have for a neighbor....best part is, he is a full blown wacko, but we deal with it because I would never waste an Officers time on nonsense..........unfortunately there is no law against being an a**hole.

Edited May 7, 2014 by jjb4900

[Five Seasons]

I worked out of a firehouse in the ghetto for 14 years,(now i work in nice area) . One summer we had 4 people shot to death within 100 yards of the firehouse ,most nights you'd hear gunfire.

I lived 8/10s of a mile from work. Many nights I'd hear gunfire at home,including one night when it was in my front yard......maybe 30 feet from my kids rooms.

Bunch of good old boys shooting in the sticks,sorry I'm not too concerned .

I shoot 2x a month or so on my range in Ontario county,8 or so houses from 600 feet to maybe 1000 .3 of us shoot a couple hundred rounds. Nobody seems to mind. I guess it's because well they like to hike,bike,snowmobile and other wise use our land,some I even let hunt a part i don't hunt. But mostly it's because they seem worried we're going to develop the land.

So they have a choice a range we use a couple times a month or a housing tract.

With land prices climbing all around ,I think they ll have a bunch of new neighbors in a few years.....

 

I don't think rural shooting is ever really about safety as it is noise pollution.

 

why is it that people don't talk to their neighbors anymore?...........seems to be a growing trend.

 

agreed. I've lived in different parts of the country and down south your neighbors truly are neighborly... if not too much in your business sometimes. Up north people seem like they'd rather write a note or call the cops than talk to each other.

[phade]

I don't think rural shooting is ever really about safety as it is noise pollution.

 

 

agreed. I've lived in different parts of the country and down south your neighbors truly are neighborly... if not too much in your business sometimes. Up north people seem like they'd rather write a note or call the cops than talk to each other.

 

Rural noise pollution?

 

Those of us normal people don't call it noise pollution to begin with - that's most certainly a yuppy term, like assault rifle.

 

The country has chainsaws, 18 wheelers, tractors, dogs, mowers, skidders, fertilizer trucks, bonfires and the associated noises, as well as guns, air drills, hammers, etc. and so on and so forth.

 

I have a damn pair of goats cornering up behind my property and I hear them every morning. I supposed I could complain about that pollution as it riles up my dogs when they hear them. But you know what? I'm not a walking va-j, I live in a rural area and expect such sounds to take place. If I were living in the ciy again, I'd expect thumping stereos in passing cars, people yelling at all hours of the day/night, etc. It is what it is.

 

Certainly better than dealing with city-related sounds and the supposed whackos that complain about "noise pollution."

Edited May 8, 2014 by phade

[Five Seasons]

couldn't think of a better term. so sorry to offend you. I have nothing against shooting guns, I think I made that clear in my earlier posts. All I said was that if you're going to shoot all day all weekend, the neighborly thing to do would be to get a membership at a range. If you have a dog that barks, the neighborly thing to do would to keep him inside when you're gone or put a collar or something on him. If you have a harley, don't rev it at 3am when you're pulling into your driveway. I own a bike, and there's no reason whatsoever to rev it in your driveway after its been good and warmed up for a while.

 

if my case on being a good neighbor was missed by you, then I'm sorry.

[Zhe Wiz]

I'm just glad this neighbor is (apparently) a heavy sleeper.  Never once has anyone called the cops when I shoot coyotes at night.  Even the one time I had to finish one off with a couple shots from my 22 pistol. I've asked several neighbors and of the ones I've spoken to only one has heard me shoot at night, and that was because he was already awake at the time.

 

Then again, at night it's almost always one shot, one kill.  Not like general target practice.