My Neighbor is Shooting at My House

[Moonshadow]

I live in a rural area of Wisconsin. Gun laws are minimal. It is not legal for them to shoot at my house. Unless I see them shooting at me, or have proof that he is intentionally firing at my house, there's not much I can do.

My neighbor is not right next door. There is a large cornfield between our properties, and their house is behind a block of trees. It is nearly impossible for me to see them hiding in the trees.

Unless somebody gets shot, or I have proof of more shots hitting my property, I have little recourse.

I've told my kids that they need to come inside, if they hear gunshots (without panicking). I seriously doubt that any of our neighbors would actually try to shoot us. Especially since the sheriff has already been alerted to the problem.

I don't even know what the neighbors' problem is. Ever since they moved in 2 years ago, they've driven by on their ATV, glaring at us.

Last year, the Dad of the house (falling down drunk) started mowing the grass on our property, at 11 o'clock at night. When my husband went out to talk to him, the guy was very hostile and belligerent.

I am going to have to swallow my fear and try to live my life normally. I will not let them scare me away from my garden or my backyard, or anything else that brings me joy, on my own property.

With so many shitty people in the world, I make no apologies for my anti-social tendencies.

 

[Jetto]

Horse shit.
Wisconsin 'State Law'
Possession of a firearm while intoxicated, shooting within 100 yards of a home without permission, pointing a weapon at anyone except in self-defense, and negligent handling of a weapon are all outlawed. Statute 941.20
File a complaint with the sheriffs office, speak to who ever is in charge. Tell them you feel threatened and if you have to, you've visually seen them fire weapons at your house while intoxicated or whatever. If that doesn't work, speak with the local news people, they have nothing better to do half the time and love little stories about negligent police officers/shitty neighbors.
If anything move the hell out cause sooner or later you or someone in your family is going to get hurt or killed by these idiots and if your town is as hillbilly as you say, it's going to be considered an accident.

 

[Moonshadow]

Most of June had been quiet, free of gunfire, but the last 2 weeks has sounded like a war zone.
My asshole neighbors have been firing 100+ shots each day.
They shoot from all over their 2 acre parcel.
I'm afraid to go out and hang my laundry on the line. I do not feel safe to be outside.
I've had so many panic attacks, I've lost count.
I feel scared, sick and drained.
The sheriff's department has done/will do nothing.
I kind of lost it, during a panic attack today, and started screaming.
Now, my throat hurts, and I've lost my voice. But then, I guess I never really had a voice in the first place, where this is concerned, .

I really hate living here.

 

[hodge]

OMG, Moonshadow!!!

I haven't been able to read this entire thread, but could you get a restraining order? Don't bullets count as much as people as far as getting that close to you???

What is wrong with these people????

I'm sorry, I wish I could offer helpful suggestions. I would feel the same way you do. It's awful that you're going through this madness. Who's above the sheriff in your jurisdiction? Can you get a lawyer? Of course, though, I know taking action could make them angry, but, jeez, this is intolerable. Isn't there a shooting range they could go to? Most rural areas have one. Maybe they won't let the jerks in?

 

[Moonshadow]

They wouldn't bother going to a shooting range, when they can legally shoot on their property. They couldn't care less, who they disturb.

I don't know who's above the sheriff, around here, so we're thinking we'll have to talk to a lawyer. We would have to file a civil suit, and hope that a jury will side with us. Unfortunately, this area is filled with redneck hicks, who would most likely side with the gun-happy hillbillies.

The thing that is really surprising, is that ammo is not cheap, and they're shooting A LOT. These people are not "well-off", by any means, so I cannot understand why they're blowing so much money on bullets (or shot).

I know this would be nerve-racking, to anyone, but it's debilitating, to me.

The optimist in me wants to think that their house is being foreclosed on, and they're trying to use up their ammo before they have to vacate.

The paranoid me is afraid that they're doing it to drive me crazy.
It's a short trip, and I'm nearly there.

 

[Auburngirl]

this is completely insane. Here you can complain about neighbours playing music too loudly and having disrupting parties. It seems to me that firing more than one hundred shots a day is loud disruptive behaviour (not to mention dangerous!).

And surely they aren't allowed to deposit or throw anything onto your property (including bullets?).

I can't believe you have to live with this. It sounds horrible.

 

[hodge]

I think Jetto's on to something about getting the media involved. Are you anywhere near a larger city, i.e., one with a daily newspaper and at least one local TV news station and where, preferably, a saner attitude exists?

We're in a small, small town with one weekly paper. When a few of us were involved in a messy public situation some time ago, we informed the editor of the daily newspaper in the closest larger town, who followed the story and wrote editorials in our favor. Who knows but that the media attention may even have had a positive effect on some locals' attitudes on the issue. Send me a PM if you'd like more details.

 

[Moonshadow]

Thanks, Hodge. I live in western Wisconsin, and there are regional media outlets, but we live in a very rural area. I tried talking to the newspaper, but they had no interest.

We live near a very gossipy, tiny town (it's actually a "village"). I've taken it on myself to tell everybody I possibly can about the problem. If nothing else, perhaps I can get them shunned by the town.

 

[Rose Who]

Moonshadow, I really feel for you because my husband & are going through the exact same thing in rural Virginia.

We moved here because the house is perfect for us and because we thought it would be a "quiet" country atmosphere. However, quiet it is not. Like you, we have gun heads all around us and the worse ones are right next door. Unfortunately, we have a right of way through their property.

The woman who lives there (who BTW says she is bipolar) says she needs assault weapons to hunt with. They are usually drunk and on New Years they fired their assault weapon even though they were all so s--- faced they could not stand up. It's usually Sundays when they like to shoot. That is when they have all their seedy bar fly friends over to get drunk. We politely voiced our concern over the noise and for a short while they moved their target range a little further away.

Another neighbor at a different time allowed someone to shoot on his property every Sunday. During one of their shooting frenzies they almost hit my husband and I as we walked out our front door. The bullets were so close we could hear them wiz past us. A deputy did come out but was very lame in his investigations. In order to be taken seriously, I had to write certified letters to the land owners and to the sheriff. Deputies who came out basically said they couldn't do anything. One even made the comment in defense of the shooters "if I owned property back here, I'd set me up a gun range too".

If we could sell our house for what we paid for it, I'd leave in a minute. Unfortunately we are stuck and home prices are not making a comeback. Anyway, it's insane and the governments aren't doing anything about it because like you said, they are all of the same breed...redneck, pro gun. Thanks for listening....I hope after all this time things have improved for you. I just noticed that you wrote this in 2008! It's 6 years later. Maybe you have moved on to a better place.

 

[KwanYingirl]

I'm just reading this now in 2014. What ended up happening?? I'd get some powerful wireless speakers and mount them on your lot line and blast Yoko Ono music at them all night long

 

[cherryblossom]

@KwanYingirl , if you check out the member profile, you will see that the post starter hasn't been on the forum since September 2013, so you may not get an update on this one ;)