State shooting laws lead to a need for tolerance

Your neighbor's gunplay probably is legal

Blam! Blam! Blam!

Across the property line, a neighbor is blasting away with a .22-caliber gun at bottles lined up on a table. Can he do that?

"People have the right to shoot on their property as they see fit," said Pete Wingert, Flathead County Sheriff's Office patrol commander. "They do have a responsibility to their neighbors to know where the bullets are going to land."

The number of complaints about shooting increases this time of year when people get back outside after the winter, often with a gun in hand.

The Sheriff's Office receives an average of two calls a week about shooting, Wingert said.

In Montana, outside city limits, people can shoot - and they do. (Discharging a firearm inside city limits in Montana carries a $25 fine.)

It's unsettling sometimes to neighbors listening to the sound of a high-powered rifle going off so close. Sheriff's deputies field complaints about noise and safety issues.

"We don't have a whole lot of tools we can use to deal with that aspect of Montana culture," Wingert said.

There is no noise ordinance in the county. However, residents who disturb their neighbors with gunfire after dark may be charged with disorderly conduct.

That misdemeanor criminal offense in Montana has an interesting definition. It says that, among other things, a person commits disorderly conduct if he knowingly disturbs the peace by discharging firearms, except at a shooting range during established hours of operation.

In Montana, a shooting range is defined as anywhere people shoot, including your neighbor's backyard.

Shooters are expected to have a safe backdrop. One recent call to the Sheriff's Office was from a resident who said the neighbors have no safe backdrop and stray bullets had hit a building, a vehicle and a dog.

"The shooter needs to know what is safe and what is not safe," Wingert said.

The first knowledge he or she should have is the range of the weapon. Wingert has seen a bullet from a high-powered rifle travel 600 yards with enough velocity to kill an elk.

The next bit of data a sports shooter might want to collect is whether his or her neighbors are cowering under their beds.

"If your neighbor is freaked out by your shooting, you should maybe schedule it" at a time when the neighbor is gone, Wingert said.

Likewise, the people who live around shooters will have to be a little tolerant.

"Just because you have firearms, just because you shoot in Montana, doesn't make you a criminal," Wingert reminded people.

Civil conversation between neighbors can clear the air.

"I know it's very difficult to nicely ask your neighbor to stop when he's got a gun in his hands," Wingert said.

Still, that's what he recommends unless a neighbor's actions are truly dangerous.

"If you're mowing your lawn hearing bullets go by," a discussion is definitely in order. "My advice is get to know your neighbor. Say, 'Your shooting bugs me. Can we work out a schedule?'"

Wingert guarantees that that's better than sending a patrol car and an officer over to the neighbor's house.

"As soon as law enforcement becomes involved, your relationship with your neighbor will never be the same."

Reporter Chery Sabol may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at csabol@dailyinterlake.com.