Question about shooting on private property

[gonnatell]

I'll get right to the point.
I shoot my guns quite a bit on my grandpas property but im pretty sure ive been pissing off his neighbor.
So myself and 2 friends of mine went shooting some of my rifles a few days ago on my grandpas empty property which is perfectly legal in this area. So about 30 minutes into shooting 2 police county sheriffs jump the fence onto the property with their guns drawn on us and demand us throw down our weapons and put our hands on our heads. They tell each of us to sit down about 30 feet away from eachother and ask me whos property it is and what we are doing there. I tell them its my grandpas property, I provide them his name and address and also tell them my uncle has property (which he lives on) right next door. They run our I.D's and run the serial numbers on all 4 of my guns which everything comes back clean. The whole process takes about 25 minutes.
Now this is the second time the neighbor has called the police on me saying he heard "suspicious" gunfire and was worried that someone was trespassing on someone elses property. The first time the officer pulled me over as i was leaving the property and ran my I.D. Again, everything came back clean. I've been shooting there about 3 times a month for the past year but i think the neighbor has become annoyed ever since i started shooting my AR15 (which was the first time he called the police). Before the AR15 i was shooting .22 and my shotgun. But I feel that since he doesnt like for me to shoot out there he will call the police on me all the time now. Both times so far the police told me that they will let the neighbor know that everything was fine and there wasnt any illegal activity going on. My question is is there anything I can do to avoid having to go through this everytime I go shooting. Do the police officers log the outcome of the call somewhere? Having to put my hands on my head and throw down my gun isnt my ideal day at the range.

Sorry for the long story, I just wanted to paint a picture for you on what happened so you can provide some input. Thanks in advance. This is in Hays County by the way.

 

[matefrio]

Call the local police and let them know you're shooting that day on the land. Worked for someone else I knew with the same problem.

Sent from my Liberty using Tapatalk

 

[San Antone RR]

Welcome to TGT. I think my first course of action would be to drive onto the neighbor's property with a hot cup of coffee, introduce myself and ask if he likes cream and/or sugar. Then tell him you have been shooting next door to him and ask him why that makes him uncomfortable. Hear him out. (You and friends might be sending ricochets into his morning coffee or something).
be courteous and find out why he is calling Hayes Co. Maybe invite him to kill some Bud Light cans. Might avert further calls.

 

[Rum Runner]

Welcome. If neither of those work, get a louder gun IMO.

 

[hogrider]

I wonder why your grandpa and this neighbor aren't talking. Maybe a deeper rooted problem there that should be talked out as well. Have you talked to your grandpa about this? Seems he could head some of this off if there was a good neighborly relation there.

 

[Renegade]

How much land are you shooting on? How close to the neighbor is the shooting taking place?

Just because it is legal does not make neighborly.

Anyway, I would call Police ahead of time and tell them you are out there.

 

[Dawico]

My neighbor called the law on me once for the same reason. If it is legal, there isn't anything the law can do as long as it is safe and during the daylight hours (6am to 10pm here).

I went to his house the next day and figured out what the problem was. My shooting was freaking out his grandkids. I gave him my number (his wife called the law btw) and told him if they had something going on and it was a problem to call me. As I can shoot anytime, I let him know I would stop and shoot later.

Try to be neighborly first. Invite him to shoot with you. If that doesn't work, then get the loudest gun you can. Screw him.

Be warned, some people don't understand "plinking". They may think you are just shooting at random and being dangerous. When my neighbor's wife called the law, she asked he husband "how many shots does it take to sight in a deer rifle?". I was plinking with my 44 Magnum.

 

[mikeofcontex]

Carter's Country on the north side of Houston receives complaints often. The range has been at its current location for approx. 40 years. That long ago, the area was rural. Today, subdivisions surround it. Modern folk seem to be very uncomfortable with muzzle reports. Since a rifle can be heard for, literally, miles, what do shooters do when they become the annoying minority?

 

[Angered_Kabar]

Sounds like a good reason to get a silencer.

 

[gonnatell]

Thanks guys for the suggestions and responses. Well my grandpa bought the property in the '70s' and doesnt live on it. My uncle lives on the next property over and said that hes had a few problems with him also (not sure exactly what). Going over to his house sounds like a good idea but im not too sure how he would handle it. Maybe I'll try it just so I can say "I tried". The only reason why I'm so hesitant is because Ive had a run in with him already. One time i was shooting and he jumped the fence to see what was "going on". I didnt like that he jumped the fence and on top of that attempted to open my bag to see what other firearms I had. I didnt want to be rude though because I thought maybe my grandpa and my uncle know him. But i later found out they dont really like him. He just seems like a nosey neighbor I think.
Im shooting on 30 acres and all the lead gets caught into sand and dirt. I've only heard a few ricochets since i've been shooting. Maybe ill call the local police and give that a try.

 

[Acera]

Sounds like you have all the information you need on this guy. He feels it's his business to trespass on anther's property and search through items that are not his.

Have you thought about shooting some Tannerite and/or other forms of exploding targets.

 

[gonnatell]

Haha! I like that idea! I may have to put some thought into this one.

 

[ChunkyMonkey]

I'd get some no trespassing signage on my fence, specifically on the neighbor's side. I definitely wouldn't have let him touch my bag to look at my guns. I understand if he was just trying to make sure things were okay, but trying to look in my bag sounds like he's trying to muscle or be threatening. I'd definitely call the police each day if I was popping off rounds. Heck, it'd probably get to the point where the officers would just come to expect you to be shooting everyday. Just keep expressing that nobody lives there and is used for that purpose. Talking with the neighbor could help, unless there was already tension there. Otherwise, like others said, bring out some big boy guns and have some fun!

 

[Texastransplant]

Neighbor is breaking the law coming onto the property without a invite and as long as the property is 1 square foot over 10 acres and you are more then 150 from their house you are totally legal. You are however responsible to keep any shots inside the property.

 

[randy_rcr]

I'm thinking a nice TGT range day would be a nice way to say I'm here to stay just a thought lol

 

[lalonguecarabine]

Don't go to that dude's house!
If he's as "alarmist" as your stories already suggest, he's liable to take your mere presence on his property as threatening.
He already knows you're a gun owner. And you already know he likes to make problems! Do the math.

I second the setting up of "No Trespassing" signs on the land, aimed square at that neighbors property. Make sure there are enough of them so that there is no doubt.
Second, I also agree with calling the law before you shoot. In fact, go out to that station and set up a rapport with the guys there. Let them know who you are, where you're grandpa's place is, and what you use that property for. I'm also in Hays County, and I know most of the cops here are cool with gun ownership with law abiding citizens.

Don't go out of your way to annoy that rotten neighbor, but you don't have to walk on eggshells either. Just make sure you're cool with "the law" here, and you should be okay.

 

[weiss27md]

Seems the best thing to do is to try to get friendly with the neighbors and let them know ahead of time when you will go shooting.

 

[Bithabus]

Hays county did all that? A few times I was shooting at a friend's house, brain damaged neighbor (really has brain damage) called 911, Hays County Deputy showed up. Deputy asked us what we were doing, I told him, he asked what we were shooting etc... No demanding ID or ordering us to "drop the weapon". Was a friendly guy.

 

[jr urbina]

I'm out in Hays Co. as well. Were only on 16 acres but I shoot all the time. Never had any issues with the neighbors or Hays Co deputies yet. In fact there's many times I'll start shooting and I'll hear the neighbors break out their hardware and go at it themselves.

Sounds like that nosey neighbor of yours is a shitbird.

 

[gonnatell]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll definately get some "no trespassing" signs for sure. I'll also get some sand and dirt behind my targets to keep the ricochets down to zero. The last thing i need is for that guy to say a ricochet flew into his yard. And i'll be calling the police also the next time im out there. Heck the neighbor is pretty much building good rapport with me and the police everytime they go out there and see that everything is good.

I was also surprised Bithabus. I think the neighbor may have told the Hays County deputies that I was there illegally or something because that was pretty unexpected. But the deputies were cool after they saw everything was good and nothing was being done illegally.