Interesting

[Lloyd Danforth]

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/national/northeast/view/2009_04_20_NH_firing_range_prevails_in_court_case/srvc=home&position=recent



Monday, April 20, 2009 - Added 2h ago

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NEWTON, N.H. — The New Hampshire Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a firing range in a debate with a business over noise complaints.

The debate between Sara Realty and Country Pond Fish and Game Club in Newton began in 2001 when the club bought 40-acre lot between the range and a campground owned by the realtor.

Sara Realty opposed the club's expansion plan because of the campground's proximity to the range, and said that clearing the property removed hills and trees that functioned as sound buffers, the Eagle Tribune reported.

The club said a state law prevents citizens from suing firing ranges over noise complaints. So the lawsuit became a fight questioning the constitutionality of the law.

The club's lawyer said legislators recognized that more people own guns and need a place to be instructed on using them.

[Pat McCotter]

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/national/northeast/view/2009_04_20_NH_firing_range_prevails_in_court_case/srvc=home&position=recent


Monday, April 20, 2009 - Added 2h ago

The debate between Sara Realty and Country Pond Fish and Game Club in Newton began in 2001 when the club bought 40-acre lot between the range and a campground owned by the realtor.

Sara Realty knew the club was there. If they wanted to keep the buffer between Whispering Pines Campground and the club range Sara Realty should have been the ones buying the 40 acres - or that acreage needed for a noise buffer. Now their only recourse is to build some kind of buffer.

Eight years and they couldn't work out a deal with the range.

[KBCraig]

Eight years and they couldn't work out a deal with the range.

My local gun club had a similar fight, but lost. It's in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by pastures and farms. Some guy who had lived in Dallas for decades decided to retire and move back to the old homeplace where he grew up, so he built a home directly across the road from the club, then sued over the noise. After repeated trips to court, they settled on an agreement that there be no shooting before sunrise or after 8 p.m. (a ridiculously early hour to shut down, IMHO).

The nearest firing points are 200 yards from the road, with a solid buffer of trees in between, and firing from under a closed shed in the exact opposite direction of the guy's house. His house is another 200-300 yards from the road. He hired someone to test with sound meters and claimed something ridiculous like 98 dBA on his back porch (the opposite side from the range). We tested at the road and couldn't even get 90 dBA, but he was determined to out-spend us on lawyers, and he had the money to do so.