I was visited by possible new neighbors today....

[ncy54]

Yaris is actually a pretty damn decent car.
Good MPG, dependable, not too expensive in the grand scheme of things.


Jim

A bit on the ugly side, but a creditable econobox. BTW, the Yaris is not a hybrid or electric. It uses a regular gas engine, rather small in displacement, though.
Not my cup of tea, but a least it isn't a Prius.........

 

[slowburninsteve]

Before I moved into this house I lived wayyyyy out in the country in VA. I had 3 acres of land, mostly straight up and staight down, wooded, but the joy of it was if I walked down to the back bottom it flattened out beside a creek and the hills went up on either side. Great for target shooting/deer hunting. I never dreamed someone would buy the lot next to me (which was a real piece of crap) but a couple did. I met them when they moved in, and they seemed very nice. A few days later I went down to the bottom and did some target shooting. When I returned I ran into the guy from next door. He was very concerned about shooting behind the houses, down in the bottom. I told him that where I was shooting was blocked by hills on both sides, and that it was legally far enough away from the houses. He huffed off. It wasn't long after that they broke up, sold the house, and moved away. All the other neighbors around me were avid deer hunters and we all had tree stands down in the woods around our property. What the hell do people expect when they move out in the boonies??? When I sold the house the buyer asked me if we had any problems with mosquitoes. I told her "no", turned around, and grinned the whole time wondering if she would be that concerned when the next copperhead came to visit at the back door.

 

[stk622]

Hi:
You and your other neighbor might consider purchasing that parcel of property- you half and him half. That way no "None Shooters" will move in. I can see that couple as cronic complainers.
Jimmy

That was my immediate thought. Buy the land if you are able and keep ANYONE out. Neighbors are over rated.

 

[Rule 303]

Look at it as possibly a new oppurtunity to bring some folks over to the "Gun Side". Offer to take them shooting one afternoon and stress the safety aspect to the max.
Make them feel comfortable shooting light caliber guns.
Never can tell how it might turn out.

Rule 303

 

[ladder13]

Just so much land you can buy before you run into neighbors, the world's not flat.

 

[delta-419]

Back in Jan 2005 I retired from federal service in Arlington VA and proceeded to find a place as far down in the woods as I could in NW Florida (wife said we had to be close to the kids, I would have perfered Montana). We found a place on the internet that was a 1/2 mile off the road and in the woods where I could shoot off the patio. Real estate agent said the land in front of me belonged to the paper company and no one would build on it. 90 days later the dozers were cutting a road along my property line. There are two houses behind me and a whole subdivision in front of me. Ask me my opinion of real estate agents, and we can talk about character disorders that range between child molesters and horse theives. If you can afford the land buy it, make your own deal with the owner.

 

[USAF385]

I haven't heard anything from any of the neighboring land owners if that parcel was purchased or not. Funny that so many have mentioned buying the 10 acres... the farmer to the North of me mentioned he and his wife talked about it for some time and if it doesn't get purchased they very well might. Supposedly they are going to call the land owner at the end of the week and find out about the status of the land.

It's a pesky 10 acre square in the middle of three larger properties. The two farms around me help each other out a lot in.. various farming ways.. and if they were able to use that 10 acres it would give them a more direct route to drive equipment from one farm to the other.

 

[mm6mm6]

I totally understand your circumstances. My parents built a log cabin in Wisconsin on 10 1/2 acres that backed up to 525 acres of Wisconsin Power & Light land than can't be (by law) developed. It was a great area and the first thing my dad did was build a shooting range on his property.

He never had a problem with neighbors (like you, they were rather far away). One day a new neighbor came driving up to the cabin. My dad greeted him and they chatted a bit.

Then the new neighbor said, "I wanted to ask you about your shooting."

My dad thought, "Oh no. Here we go. This guy is going to complain that I shoot too much."

Instead, the neighbor said, "I assume you have a little range and I was wondering if I could sight in this new handgun I just bought?"

A friendship was made that day!

 

[rcurry]

Look at it as possibly a new oppurtunity to bring some folks over to the "Gun Side". Offer to take them shooting one afternoon and stress the safety aspect to the max.
Make them feel comfortable shooting light caliber guns.
Never can tell how it might turn out.

Rule 303

I am of the same cloth as you seem to appear to be. The best way to avoid "scary gun issues" with others (neighbors) is to attempt to be opened minded about their uneducated fears. It can benefit us all if we put forth the effort into bringing them into the fold. Others may be surprised what the end results can be if a respectful effort of exhibiting responsible gun ownership is promoted. Many new ex-city dwellers that are moving to the rural areas don't have any hands-on personal experience with fire arms. You are in the position to educate and persuade your new neighbors into being pro-2nd or full blown and never turning back "anti". It's up to each of us to decide how we choose to sway the people who are recently introduced to our areas.

 

[buckeyeshooter1]

I've been home just one day and I'm already causing trouble it would seem.

I was away for a while training for a new job in the Reserve. While away my brother in law called and informed me some folks stopped by one day while he was cutting my grass and introduced themselves. They are planning on buying a small 10 acre parcel of land next to me. He explained to them he wasn't the owner but chatted with them anyway. He told me they seemed to be nice people. A newlywed couple in their early 30s.

Well, I wasn't overly thrilled when I heard about this. I live in a rather secluded area. My nearest neighbor is just under one mile away. I like this... I like the privacy. I really don't want a new neighbor, but there's nothing I can do about it.

This morning I drove to where they'd likely build and realized it isn't really in a bad place at all. They'd be about a half mile away and live down near the dirt road that leads to my dirt road. They wouldn't be "intruding" on my privacy at all. Great! That put me in a good mood.

I came home and did some target shooting, worked out, went for a run, came back and got my supplies together to go to work tomorrow. After lunch I decided to go fishing up at my pond so I was getting my gear out of the my shed and into my truck when I heard a car come up my driveway.

I turned around and saw this Toyota Yaris struggling to make it up my steep, gravely driveway. I didn't recognize the car or the people when they got close enough for me to see them. It was a younger couple so I figured it might have been the new neighbors.

Yep... it was.

They got out and introduced themselves. I'll call them Dan and Jan. Real nice people. Married for two years. He is a dentist and she does medical billing. They're moving to the area from Binghamton NY. We talked for a few minutes before Dan noticed the 681 on my waist.

He pointed at it and asked if I "carried that thing around all the time". I told him that I indeed do carry a gun anytime I'm doing stuff outside. There's lots of critters and my land goes deep into the woods.

He than asked if that was me they heard shooting this morning. I told them yes, and when he asked if I was shooting yesterday... I said yes again (because I was).

"Do you shoot every day?" asked Jan.

"Pretty much every day I can." I replied.

"Is that safe?" she asked.

By this point my opinion of them started to change.

I asked what she meant. Safe for me? Safe for others? Either way the answer is yes. As long as nobody is trespassing there is no way someone could get hurt. (I fire in a safe direction into a big hillside which is all my land.. so.... very safe)

Dan then said something about the noise and I told him I don't shoot at odd hours. I then pointed out that there is a farmer not far down the road from where they'd build who does a lot of shooting as well.. as well as another guy on the other side of the valley.

Anyway we got off the topic of guns and chatted for a total of 10 minutes probably. I could tell Jan was uncomfortable after my .357 was spotted.

I still think they are basically nice. They don't really come off anti gun, but they definitely aren't comfortable with them.

It turns out this parcel of land isn't theirs yet, but they are seriously considering it. They're staying with an aunt who doesn't live around here but owns the land. I met her once when I was still in high school.

I told them that they might want to find out more about the area before jumping into rural living.

I think it was a good thing they met me. At least now they know beforehand that there are people in the area who shoot.

do yourself a favor and buy the 10 acres now!

 

[bigshot500]

Bake them a cake with a handgun inside as their house warming gift....

 

[shooboy]

I went from the first post to the last because once I read they were driving a Yaris I was done..... Shoo

 

[sherrill15]

I have neighbors like that. The move out here from the city then complain about the gunfire. I don't see where it's any different from loud music in the city. Every time I go shooting they sit at the end of their driveway staring like idiots till I pack up and go home. I take my time on purpose

 

[Kelly Green]

My uncle lives on his farm over in Montgomery county. Back in the day, the area was all farmland. Much of the land surrounding his 100 acres has now been developed, with big sprawling city type homes on five and ten acre plots.

Uncle loves his guns and loves to shoot but now it’s causing problems. Neighbors call the sheriff whenever they hear gunfire. It’s still legal to shoot and hunt on your land so there isn’t much the sheriff can do. Now the tactics have changed, every time there is shooting someone is calling the game warden and complaining.

I have a hard time sympathizing with city folks who move into our world and then want us country folks to conform to their way of life.

 

[corpulent]

Eh, doesn't seem like a big deal to me. Everyone can be a little hesitant and cautious when meeting new neighbors; esp. when one has a gun strapped to their hip. Even gun nuts are cautious of other gun nuts. Firearm owners run the gamut from responsible shooters to hootin' and hollerin' hillbillies.

Many here seem quick to label the neighbors as hippie liberal anti-gun demmy-crats based on their vehicle. Just as unfair as saying you're some backwoods redneck with an arsenal of weapons you'll be firing off in all directions at all hours.

 

[dickttx]

A guy in our area who did some work for me had someone looking at land adjoining his for a trailer park. He put up a large sign saying "Future home of ***** hog farm". It worked.

 

[glenncal1]

My grandmother used to own some ranchland outside of Los Angeles (My dad's side of the family moved to California in 1910) we used to shoot in one spot on the land into a hillside. There was a horsetrail through the spot where my Grandmother let people ride so they could access national forest land further up the trail. In the 50s 60s and even into the 70s it was no problem. If people were come on the trail they would stop and holler or whistle, we would stop shooting, they would pass and we would start up again. In the late 70s people began complaining to the Forest Service and every time we would shoot the forest Service or sheriff would show up. When my grandmother passed we sold the land and the Forest Service took our old shooting range and made it a park.

 

[kraigwy]

When I retired and move back to Wyoming, I picked a spot (29 Acres) where I could shoot. This was after a great deal of research on zoning and convenents (there is none).

My main goal when I retired was a place to shoot, my range goes to 400 yards.

I also checked with the neighbors informing them of my intention. Zero problems, they shoot too.

Fast forward 12 years. One neighbor sells out, new owner calls the sheriff cause of my shooting. Sheriff comes out looks around see's its safe (I shoot into a rather high ridge on My property) and tells the lady, I've been shooting a long time, if it bothers her, maybe she should move to town. It was two days later when my kid told me the sheriff was there, he never talked to me.

That was about 5 years ago, no problems since, and I shoot a lot, a whole lot.

 

[Steve in Vermont]

I'd take a little different approach. If they buy the land I'd invite them over to see your range and give them an opportunity to try shooting (something like a .22 or mild .38). Many city people have no knowledge of shooting/hunting but have a lot of misconceptions. I know one "city" person who never held a gun in his life. He was introduced to hunting by a neighbor and now runs a small slaughter house in the fall where locals bring there deer. Don't throw all "city folk" into the same mold.

 

[26Ford]

Lets see if I have this correct. A Dentist, { highest rate of suicides of all professions- stats don't lie }, and he drives a Yaris. Me personally, I'd be very afraid.