If I was building a shooting range for my neighbor, I'd want a signed contract that if he decided to start shooting next to my property again that I'd have legal recourse.
He could be a massive dick, take her bribe, and continue doing as he does not.
My guess is this douche will turn down her off and continue as he pleases.
If she hired a lawyer she'd probably win based on the fact that she's losing legal business, and therefore her property values are being affected.
Yet another thing that nakes is gun owners look bad!
Another vote for either friendly discussion, ignore it or move. For anyone who isn't into legal battles as a hobby, there is not really any way going that route can turn out well.
If neighbors are shooting guns on first shift....
Sis should open up a third shift shooting range, with lotsa big courtesy floodlights. No cover charge for cannons. Come one come all.
Watching this closely. I have a neighbor issue as well, but I will start a new thread as not to derail this one.
Would it be rude to have an array of red dot lasers that randomly cuts a swath over the target zone? Not hard to shine a laser at a disco ball.
Being men, playing with manly toys, and all that entails, maybe set up bleachers on the property line and have people sit and watch them shoot. Maybe a PA system that roars crowd approval every time a gun goes off.
Another idea is South Korea dismantled the pointed North propaganda loudspeakers and is looking to give them a new home.
Keep looking at Craigslist Atlanta.
(Slam dunk! if Marjorie could record herself fussing at them bad neighbors, for Sis).
PHeller wrote: If she hired a lawyer she'd probably win based on the fact that she's losing legal business, and therefore her property values are being affected.
We don't actually know that. Just saying...
But assuming the business is fully legal, it's pretty unlikely she would win a case against an alternative legal usage in an agricultural zoning.
I respectfully disagree. I think her odds of winning in court are dismal.
Well you could take a different direction.
Make a non-descript metal box about the size of a shoe box. Put a couple small holes in it, and an antenna. Make sure that it has a strong flash that goes off at the sound of a gun. Put a tag on it that says "property of USA - do not disturb".
Put it kinda near the range, so that it might be noticed by them while they are shooting. Eventually, they will go check it out. If they damage it or move it, replace it the next night.
Even better if you put a 'serial number' on it, and create a conspiracy theory website with pictures of 'similar boxes' and lots of ridiculousness about what the boxes do and multiple stories about people finding boxes near their property and somehow ending up screwed. Focus on people who had their guns seized, but make sure to have a few other bad things happening to people as well. Some made up government agency must be the aggressor in each story. Make sure that people can find the website by googling the 'serial number'.
As soon as you know they are aware of the box and have seen the website, get an out if town friend to put on a suit and sunglasses, rent a car, and just park somewhere on the street and sit in the car. All. Day. Long. Have them speak into a walkie talkie every once in a while.
Your website could 'predict' certain 'unusual' behaviors like helicopter overflights or unmarked white vans on the street 'pretending' to be service workers.
Deny everything if they talk to you about it, or act equally suspicious.
You could really have fun with that.
WildScotsRacing wrote: Actually, offering to pay to have his firearms outfitted with suppressors is not a bad idea. And, entirely legal for him to possess and use on his own property, as long as he doesn't attempt to sell/give them to someone without a Title II license.
$200 tax stamp plus trust paperwork or CLEO signoff for every suppressor plus the actual cost of the suppressor ($1k is not uncommon)...not a path I'd pursue.
Not all neighbors are A-holes...Kinda humble bragging, but my neighbor on one side cooks at a Japanese steakhouse/hibachi restaurant and hooks me up with free dinners on my B-day. My neighbors on the other side just sold their house yesterday and left a "Thanks for being such a great neighbor" card written by their 7 year old with a gift card in our mailbox. Oh, by the way we "stole" one of their cats...
So it is possible to have actual fun with neighbors...
Will wrote:WildScotsRacing wrote: Actually, offering to pay to have his firearms outfitted with suppressors is not a bad idea. And, entirely legal for him to possess and use on his own property, as long as he doesn't attempt to sell/give them to someone without a Title II license.$200 tax stamp plus trust paperwork or CLEO signoff for every suppressor plus the actual cost of the suppressor ($1k is not uncommon)...not a path I'd pursue.
That and I wouldn't want to be involved in anything that could be twisted into anything even remotely approaching a straw purchase of multiple NFA weapons.
Sound wall or talk to a lawyer.
Beer Baron wrote: Do something entirely legal that will annoy them into moving where they set up the shooting range. Like, set up a compost pile with all the horse manure and everything on the edge of the property as close to the shooting range as possible. Maybe some leather tanning vats. Find an excuse to have industrial sized fans that blow the smell in the direction of the shooting gallery. Like drying out that rawhide you're tanning.
Sneaky but likely legal depending on how it would be set up.
I like the manure pile too if talking to them didn't work. You use your land how you want, so will i. The government conspiracy plot is hilarious too if someone is really bored and wants to go that route.
In reply to Robbie:
I really like Robbie's idea so I've given some thought to how to make it really happen.
Here is my variation:
Spend $9.99 on these dummy cameras. I have bought them, see my review.
This is a "Gov't Job" so that means things will be "overbuilt" so maybe get 3. Point the 3 so to apear to cover as much "field of view" as possible. Or, just put up one at a time and continue to replace as needed.
Get a good metal pole.
10ft Galvanized square sign post $100 This post is similar to what you might see for a gov't stop sign or a gov't No Parking sign. The 4 sides of hole will help with the mounting.
Get a heavy duty case like a Pelican Case. Here's a $40 Pelican imitation
Padlock case and chain to pole.
Out of the cameras, run coax cable into the "box of mystery" (you might need to drill into the case and then caulk around where the cable(s) go in.)
Coming out of the box (preferably on the opposite side) should be a single cable running to a Yagi Antenna $40
Mount Yagi at the top of pole.
Just drive the pole into the ground or create a quickcrete base for it for more portability.
Sample: 
What we now have is a metal pole with camera pointed at neighbor with cable going into weatherproof mystery box which may have recording equipment or battery coming out to a what appears to be a broadcast antenna.
But, that's not enough...
Get any sign shop to make you a sign that looks similar to a Govt sign like a no parking sign.
Sample $30
This sign will say:
REPORT DAMAGE OR VANDALISM
202-XXX-XXXX
Unit#: F44870-3608G-2
Why this sign?
The Phone number will be a free Google Voice phone number that you set up with a WASHINGTON DC AREA code. Google voice will give you a virtual phone number to anywhere in the US. Set the Google voice number to never ring but rather always take a message.
Record a short and professional recording that only says,
"Thank you for calling the ATF service line. Please be sure to include Unit #"
(Never actually say Alcohol, Tabacco and Firearms just ATF will be enough)
The Unit# explained.
This is easy to figure for the neighbor but still looks gov't style. In the example I have given:
F = Firearms portion of ATF
44870 = the zipcode where the camera is located
3608G = the street address of the offender and first letter of the road.
-2 is to imply that it is the 2nd unit (where is the 1st????)
If you want to be less aggressive, change the address # to your sisters own number.
Should the neighbor confront you about the camera setup, be as nervous as possible (which is easy in a confrontation) as say only something like, "THEY would not tell me and I'm NOT ALLOWED to say!
Oh, the mystery of it all!
Maybe one day the setup just disappears??? (if things get better)
Maybe one day the whole thing moves (like to an area where you can see the offender's driveway and read license plates.)
To me, this looks like $250 of fun. Even cheaper if you can source the box and pole cheaper.
I have an old Yagi antenna I would donate to the cause.
Wow, two different threads about bad neighbors. Guess we are way lucky. Both side neighbors are sweethearts, across the street we have hundreds of totally quiet folks. Large cemetery.
There are some pretty fantastic ideas in this thread and while my natural inclination towards being a dick favors the antagonistic approach, I've also seen how ugly a situation like that can get.
To make a very long story as short as possible, my parents got into a protracted dispute with their neighbor over property boundaries shortly after buying their roughly 30 acre property 9 years ago. What started as an innocent enough comment to the neighbors about the extent of their mowing turned into several years of legal proceedings, probably half a dozen plus visits from the state police, and untold amounts of needless stress. The property line may as well be the 38th parallel now, the way either side reacts when the other so much as approaches the border.
I certainly understand where your sister's concern is coming from in regards to the horses, as my parents have horses on their property as well. Unfortunately, that also makes an easy target for retribution, if neighbor guy really wants to be an ass. Your sister may suddenly find herself "forgetting" to close paddock gates all of a sudden, or even worse, if she has hay storage in her barn, the target of an arson. You never know what type of person you may end up dealing with, and unfortunately it sounds like she will likely have a harder time looking after what matters most to her than neighbor guy will with what matters to him. Plus, he's got cop buddy on his side.
Now I'm certainly not advocating doing nothing either, spooky horses are definitely bad news especially if they belong to other people or she has outside people on her property, just saying she needs to very carefully consider how far she is willing to take a potential dispute, what that may be putting at risk, and what alternatives exist.
Go out and shoot a bunch of holes in her barn from the direction of the range. Call the state police.
Bury a 100 car batteries back there and call the EPA.
Kill a bear, drop it back there out of season and report to the game commission.
Grow some poppies just on the other side of the property line.
I guess I'd advocate the straight forward approach. Stop by the neighbors house with a batch of cookies. Start the conversation with "I know you are doing everything legal, and I'm not suggesting otherwise". "I support your right to shoot, etc". "If possible, please move your range, if you do, I'm prepared to give you this X for your inconvenience." If person is still a jerk, then well, you need to change your tact.
She's tried nice. Neighbor just gets nastier and meaner. He drinks heavily and early and is the sort who enjoys his little bit of "power" and sees kindness/intelligence as weakness to be exploited.
A friend suggested today setting up a minaret and broadcasting the call to prayer at all the appropriate times. That way it's protected and any subsequent unpleasantness gets labeled as a hate crime. Funny, but so obnoxious it wouldn't help anyone.
Too close to a building. IN NYS it is 500 ft.
She should talk to the sheriff to see if something can be done.
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