Rounds entering neighboring property?

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Axis II

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Okay guys I would like your advice on this.

I took a walk through a county metro park today with a friend and his up and coming hunting dog. We took a break and sat on a log maybe 75yards from a neighboring private property and start hearing gunshots and it sounded pretty close. I said we are a ways from the road and that would mean they could be shooting back this way so lets head back towards the road. We begin our walk though a large open field owned by the metro parks and on a designated trail and I hear the shots again and the dog goes running towards the sound, my buddy yells for him to stop and come and the shooting stops. We begin walking again along a large lake and I hear the shooting again and we are getting very close to it. The dog runs towards the sound again and my buddy yells for the dog and the shooting stops and then commences again in rapid fire and I can literally hear BBs flying through the tree tops and now they are landing all around me and into the lake! My buddy is on the property line now retrieving the dog and about 5 more shots wring out and several BB land in the water in front of me and I can hear them going through the trees in front of me meaning they are shooting towards and into the metro park!

I yelled there are people over here!!! and the shooting stopped for about 2-3 minutes and then commenced again. I kind of played with the idea of calling the park rangers and making them come out but he said not to. This has kind of bothered me all day because IMO if they were so close that I could hear the BB in the treetops and some landing 10ft from me that's pretty close and IMO deliberately shooting into the metro park. It almost appeared they were in a small bowl shooting upwards but my other concern is if this is their designated shooting area what if they break out rifles and pistols? I couldn't for the life of me think why they would be shooting south into the park when their property runs west to east and I dawned on me its a tree farm so they don't want a bunch of lead in the ground or water.

Would you guys make a trip to the ranger station tomorrow or brush it off? I've been out here a few times fishing these lakes and never had an issue until today. We ran into an older couple exercising their dog and I don't think they would be too happy if put in that situation.
 
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I kind of played with the idea of calling the park rangers and making them come out but he said not to...
Played with? I would look around to assure I am on park property, then call 911. Not the non-emergency line. Even if you think it's an accident, and they aren't shooting /at you/ it's a dangerous situation. Do not care what my friends say unless it's something like their personal property and they have some reason to not do so. Don't want to be involved? He can go back to the car. But I do not like getting shot at, no excuse for that.

Would you guys make a trip to the range station tomorrow or brush it off?
I wouldn't visit, because we have phones and internet here, but certainly would report it as soon as possible still. Be specific, try to figure out the address or other geolocation (but with e911, police like everything to have a street address) where the shots were coming from.


Only thing I am confused about is "BBs"? Was it bullets, airsoft, lead airgun pellets, or steel airgun BBs?
 
Played with? I would look around to assure I am on park property, then call 911. Not the non-emergency line. Even if you think it's an accident, and they aren't shooting /at you/ it's a dangerous situation. Do not care what my friends say unless it's something like their personal property and they have some reason to not do so. Don't want to be involved? He can go back to the car. But I do not like getting shot at, no excuse for that.


I wouldn't visit, because we have phones and internet here, but certainly would report it as soon as possible still. Be specific, try to figure out the address or other geolocation (but with e911, police like everything to have a street address) where the shots were coming from.


Only thing I am confused about is "BBs"? Was it bullets, airsoft, lead airgun pellets, or steel airgun BBs?
Shotguns. By the way they were shooting I would assume they were shooting skeet or trap. The rangers for this metro park are weird they only work certain days and hours cause it's all seasonal. I asked a grass cutting guy where I could find a ranger a few years ago cause I had a property question and was told he was a ranger but he was cutting grass so not really sure who to call or email.

It was confirmed we were on metro park property cause they had those white fiberglass trail markers all along the line between us and the people shooting. I don't think they did it deliberately so I didn't feel 911 was valid. I think they were just a bunch of idiots that figured it's a wide open field who cares.
 
Would you guys make a trip to the ranger station tomorrow or brush it off?

Report it.

The shooters' disregard for the safety of others was manifest when you said, "I yelled there are people over here!!! and the shooting stopped for about 2-3 minutes and then commenced again."

The last thing the pro-2A people need right now is a couple of slob shooters who won't even stop shooting when people are yelling at them that people are downrange of them.

The last thing they need is the lawsuit and potential jail time for shooting someone; far better they get a citation and have to pay a fine that will remind them to take common sense precautions seriously.
 
Why not just go tell the guy his pellets are going across the line. Shotgun pellets from a range where you can’t see the shooter shouldn’t be of any danger, but he maybe a good ways back and figure they won’t cross the line and your just hearing the bang.
 
Lead does not harm trees, save for mechanical damage. I would think the DNR would want it kept out of the lake though.

Beside the annoyance, pellets falling out of the sky are relatively harmless. Buckshot on the other hand...

There should be nothing leaving that property that came from a firearm. A police officer would be more persuasive than a park-goer in enlightening them to this fact. If need be.
 
county metro park
Since it was county property, I would contact the county and see what the county ordinance regarding discharging firearm towards county park is.

If there is any county ordinance violation, you can report it so county sheriff deputy can deal with the private property owner. They may stop by and give them a warning that complaint was filed regarding them discharging firearm towards county park and BBs hitting county property (trees, lake, etc.).

I would get a copy of the report or report number so if shooting continues, you can report again and reference prior complaint.
 
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Report it.

The shooters' disregard for the safety of others was manifest when you said, "I yelled there are people over here!!! and the shooting stopped for about 2-3 minutes and then commenced again."

The last thing the pro-2A people need right now is a couple of slob shooters who won't even stop shooting when people are yelling at them that people are downrange of them.

The last thing they need is the lawsuit and potential jail time for shooting someone; far better they get a citation and have to pay a fine that will remind them to take common sense precautions seriously.

Well said, and exactly my thoughts.

Unfortunately, idiots like these guys don't get it. While ideally we all have a right to own firearms, these clowns make the case for the anti's as to why some people shouldn't be armed. And why the anti attitude of throwing the baby out with the bath water is so dangerous. To them, we all need to be disarmed because of the possibility of people like this.

IMHO, we need to come together as a community and make it clear that we DO NOT support people who will shoot into a park endangering others, and we will do all we can to get such people prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Maybe if the sane majority of people in the middle seeing us call for harsh penalties and putting these guys in jail then maybe our fight will be a bit easier. If not, the anti's name calling especially GUN NUT will stick and we'll continue to lose ground and eventually our rights.
 
Maybe I'm just being hard to live with but I have to take the attitude that if you had projectiles heading in your direction, the shooter was not particularly concerned with the state of your health. When somebody is that unconcerned and has the ability to do you severe bodily damage… I kind of believe that would be a police matter and I would not dream of preventing the police from doing their job through inaction on my part. But that's just me.
 
I'm confused as to what a "metro park" is? To me that screams "city" and I wouldn't think any kind of outdoor shooting would be allowed.
I'm in rural Ohio and we have several metro parks throughout the county in townships. This one is mainly for horses, fishing and hiking, no bike paths, etc.
 
Why not just go tell the guy his pellets are going across the line. Shotgun pellets from a range where you can’t see the shooter shouldn’t be of any danger, but he maybe a good ways back and figure they won’t cross the line and your just hearing the bang.
No, i was not "just hearing the bang" I pheasant hunted for a lot of years on public land and know 100% what pellets flying through the trees and being rained on feels and sounds like. As i was standing up on the hill with the lake to my back right and a small marshy area below/in front of me i would hear the shot and hear pellets/BB come flying through the trees and hitting the 3-4'' of water in front of me as well as the grass. My buddy even confirmed that the pellets were indeed coming over the line and into the park.

As far as walking onto someone else land that is armed and telling them its going across the line i don't think that would have been a wise idea. Not trying to be a jerk but i don't know them and they don't know me.
 
The @SUBJ had me thinking that the problem was BULLETS impacting ... only to find that it is probably only some #8/#9 pellets falling.

WHEW! :)
I'm used to it after many years pheasant hunting public land and I've had words with a few who thought oh your 75-100yards away it wont hurt you. I was concerned about that shotgun pellets about 75% but my real concern is what if they decide to break out a rifle or pistol. I kind of snuck over and took a peek and it appeared they were on a lower level of ground so they would be using the park hillside as a backstop. I would imagine that older couple walking their dog out there wouldn't have been so pleased if they went the way we did.
 
I don’t think it will make much difference at this point. Would be a lot like calling them and letting them know someone was speeding yesterday. Pointless at this point but I’d call them next time for sure.

If they break out a rifle or pistol next time, they won’t hit as many clays.
 
Why not just go tell the guy his pellets are going across the line. Shotgun pellets from a range where you can’t see the shooter shouldn’t be of any danger, but he maybe a good ways back and figure they won’t cross the line and your just hearing the bang.
^^^This. I been pelted with pellets while duck/goose hunting many a time. If you were 75 yards from the property line and the shooters were a distance from that, odds are the raining pellets were relatively harmless, altho irritating. I would have tried to go around and come from behind, and let them know they were pelting the park pathway in a courteous and polite way. I doubt any law enforcement agency would cite you for trespassing and I doubt very much if the shooters would have considered shooting you, just to keep you quiet. Odds are they were just out having fun and were ignorant to the fact that their shot was reaching that far. If not, and they reacted in a negative way, then I would report it. Otherwise it's a do unto others kinda thing.
 
I’m not sure ORC covers this, we used to be regulated by distance from road but they dropped that so now it’s only illegal to shoot across a roadway.

As a duck hunter having pellets rain down is just par for the course in popular swamps, but having a .22 zip over one’s head can be a bit disconcerting.
 
Out of curiosity, how far should one expect #8 shot to travel? I would guess at most a couple of hundred yards, but that's only a guess.
 
Without being there and knowing more it is hard to say. If someone were shooting a shotgun on private property and the pellets were falling from the sky over an uninhabited forested area there is no harm. But if it is an area where lots of people walk and congregate it is still a bad idea. I'd contact someone in charge of the property and advise them of what happened.

Out of curiosity, how far should one expect #8 shot to travel? I would guess at most a couple of hundred yards, but that's only a guess.

Anyone who has ever been to a dove shoot knows that when shots are fired on the opposite side of a field as much as a 1/4 mile away there will be a shower of pellets falling from the sky in 15-30 seconds. I've been hit many times as has anyone who has ever dove hunted. It does no more damage than rain drops falling from the sky. I suppose if someone were looking up without eye protection a pellet to the eye could do some damage.

Unless they were shooting almost straight up they were too far away to hear you call out to them. Especially if they were wearing hearing protection. I'd say at least 100-200 yards away.
 
Out of curiosity, how far should one expect #8 shot to travel? I would guess at most a couple of hundred yards, but that's only a guess.

It can probably go further than that, I'd say 300-350 yards to be safe. Back when I was a teenager my buddies and I would sometimes rain #8 shot on each other across a pond we hunted at. The pond was just about 125 yards across, and we probably only tilted our barrels 10-15° from perpendicular to get the shot to reach that far.
 
I had a situation last summer at my parents when I was fishing with my family and we heard shooting and bullets wizzing overhead through the leaves. I had my family huddle up next to the bank and then I walked downstream protected by the bank (its about a 15' bank) until I reached a horse shed on the property the shooting was coming from, and then climbed up and yelled out as I approached from behind the shed. They were shooting handguns from their deck at pieces of propped up 2x4's. They told me they were being safe and shooting into "bullet proof targets" and into a bank, but that bank was literally just a gentle slope that rose probably 18 inches over 20 feet total. They even said the sheriff had come and looked at their "range" and said it was safe.

I let them know it was not safe and my family and I had heard bullets going over our heads down in the creek, and that there are houses just past where those bullets where heading. They protested, telling me there was no way bullets were going that far but they did stop shooting for the rest of the day. I later confirmed with my parents that they had called the cops on them when they heard bullets wizzing over their house earlier that year. If anything, it lessens my trust in cops knowing a darned thing about firearms, because nobody with any common sense would have called what they were doing "safe".
 
I would say based on how loud it was and how close we were to the road id say 150yards max. I think the trees blocked a lot of the pellets so that maybe another concern of how much damage to the park trees did they do or have done for how long.
 
Found this.

“From http://www.rangeinfo.org
A French ballistics expert, General Journee, years ago worked out a formula to the effect that the maximum range in yards equals 2200 times the shot diameter in inches. When the gun is held at a horizontal position or only slightly elevated, this formula gives the maximum range of shot sizes as shown below.

No. 2 - 330 yards

No. 4 - 286 yards

No. 6 - 242 yards

No. 7 1/2- 209 yards

No. 8 - 198 yards”

Although I can guarantee you #8 isn’t going to go anywhere near 198 yards held horizontal, unless you are shooting from the top of a fairly tall building.
 
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