The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

I have a neighbor that is questioning my shooting range. It is on my property and it is set against a small incline and then a dip then a bigger hill behind it. There are no houses in that direction. I took some pictures and want to know what you think, i did check with my LGS and they said it sounded fine. He said it could ricochet off and fly in a completely different direction and hit the house to my left. even though..as we all no..mosins destroy rocks with no problem..and even if the rock is in the ground it is going to stay there...he always trespasses on our land and we now have no trespassing signs. He sometimes even claims our land as his. He told me to cut some of his land and use the slighter steeper hill. It would ricochet the same way regardless of the hill... and there is a house in that direction? it makes no sense to me..if hes given an inch he takes a mile...and he comes over..trespasses on my land comes right up to me and my buddy...tries to tell us about my range and gun safety(me and my friend practice very good gun safety) and then proceeds to try to dryfire my .22 Rimfire!...like seriously....? i told him its my gun give it back. He acts like he knows it all and it drives me nuts...so give me your input on what you think...i have the OK from all my other neighbors who think its fine..and before doing anything i research it extensively online to make sure its ok... Here are some pictures of my range...





The Inline





At the top of the hill facing the targets.



So what is your Opinion?

If that white house there is behind your targets, I think it is a nogo. The cops won't give a shit if the neighbor is an asshole or not if a round goes through his house, or god forbid somebody gets hit.

No thats facing the opposite way..i was just showing the grade...i stand at that end...theres a road that way...im not THAT stupid

I didn't think so, but you never know. I'd hate to opine without seeing it in person.

Check with your local law enforcement officer and they will tell you. As long as it is legal and you have a right then i think you are fine. As far as your "friend" i would tell him where to sit on a bayo but ...It may be better handled by cooler heads as neighbors can be a sticky thing at best. I would not tolerate him touching any gun with out asking AT ALL. Use Gun range etiquite and maybe explain those nicely to him and he may listen. Hope you have luck in this cause i know there are nosey people every where that think they need to "save" you and everybody around you.

Desdem has the right of it. Call the sheriff, and ask him.

It looks a little iffy. We went to the 60 range one night and loaded up the tracers. Bullets were hitting the ground and flying all over the place. I'd bring in a dozer and make a real berm.

I say whatever you do on your property is your right and privilege; your neighbor shouldn't have anything to say about it unless there is some county/township ordinance that prohibits such activity. Having said that, if you have a round that lands off your property and causes damage/injury, you open yourself up to all kinds of litigation (provided that they can prove it came from your place). Just looking at your pictures, they only thing I can offer is the possible need to build yourself a berm to provide a better back stop. Your .22 rimfire may be more a ricochet problem than your 7.62x54r.

Pile up about twenty old tires, and have a 12 yard load of crushed gravel dumped over them to make a berm about 8-10 feet high behind your target. Then be sure to do it all when your neighbor is home and looking on. It'll cost about $100. But shutting him up will be priceless.

Dang. Sometimes I really hate my ability to see both sides. Personally, when I go to my buddy's land, we shoot and a berm about the size of a king size mattress. I forget how far away, but I would guess 100-120yds. give or take. There was a house somewhere near there, but I've forgotton. I was a little concerned, not with us shooting, but I didn't let my wife shoot, because I wasn't sure how well she would do. She did well with the pistol, but that was like 10-15 yards from the targets on the ground.

Now being a dad, I am always concerned about my kids. It's just me. I don't trust anybody's ability. What can I say.

I don't see any problem if that house is behind you and to the left. It's not going to ricochet that far.

Some people can't be happy unless they're minding everybody's business but their own.

As you know, You can't be too safe.
Two concerns that I have:
Your neighbor, I would do as suggested above and get the local law enforcement out in person to verify that your range is safe (both direction and impact area). This is basically a preemptive strike against any official complaints he might make.

Your Backstop, Just from the pictures it looks like the hill is a little too shallow for my liking. I would either dig it out or as suggested above have some fill dumped there to make a high berm.

Good Luck

I I think ill get a shovel out one of these days and make it a little higher...couldest hurt could it....just dig out behind the hill and pile it onto and press it? Or dig out infront and put that on top?

I'm sorry, but it looks iffy to me, too. IMO you should be shooting into a backstop, not a gradual incline. I'd be afraid of bullet skip. Maybe it's the pics, but it almost looks like your target area is higher than where you are shooting from, which is probably worse.

Isn't the first picture the target area?

Yes the last is on top of the backing hill looking the opposite way from the first.....if I was to make the hill higher would I dig out from behind and put it on top or?

mine called the law on me one time and they came out and looked it over.deputy told me i was om my own land and were i was shooting could not hit my neighbors house.he told them it did.

Without seeing the range in person I can't give an opinion. " ..as we all no..mosins destroy rocks with no problem.. ", we may know that but remember, nobody told the bullet and bullets have no brains but have a will of there own. Being right is cool but being right won't stop that one bullet from not understanding the rules and hurting or God forgive, kill somebody.

Like LC said, it really is hard to tell. Look at it on google maps. Draw it out, marking house, target, road and all. That's really the only way we can get a clear view of it. Or just get the law to take a look at it. Neighbors can be good and can be a pain. Good luck

What's the chances of getting a backhoe or dozer in there to create a berm?