Brush Prairie, WA Lady Hit By "Stray" Bullet

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thallub

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Linda Sperling of Brush Prairie, WA was hit by a bullet while working in her yard. This is not the first time bullets have landed on Sperling family property: Some have hit their house.

A sign at the adjacent firing range stated the range was closed because of a "safety issue".

This is the first time someone has been hit, but there have been close calls according to Sperling's husband. Her son Andy, who grew up on the property, confirmed that. He showed KATU's Mary Loos where bullets had hit the house.

"We've just had safety concerns with the rifle range, you know. There's a bullet hole here, and a star in the glass there. And there's this one I actually just cut out. It's there, the bullet's still in there."

As KATU's On Your Side Investigator Bob Heye found out, the family filed three complaints after bullets flew onto their property.
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At this point they are treating it like an accidental injury, Clark County sheriff's Sgt. Fred Neiman said, adding that they don't know if the woman was struck by a bullet from the neighboring Clark Rifles shooting range.
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http://www.katu.com/news/local/Woma...ome-brush-prairie-clark-county-290009241.html


One of the 300 yard firing ranges is oriented inline with the Sperling property.

http://kron4.com/ap/woman-says-stray-bullet-from-shooting-range-grazed-her-head/

IMO: Spent rounds from the range are landing on the Sperling property.

Every bullet that leaves a firing range has the shooters name on it.
 
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Bullets from the range (which seems likely, but not yet established as the source) are qualitatively different from noise or traffic problems associated with a pre-existing business.
 
The range was built in 1972. The range may need to do some work on their berms and it appears that they have done so in the past. This is kinda akin to what goes on all over with dairys........City folks move in to the area and then complain about the aroma while they pour milk on their cheerios.
 
It should remind all shooters that you cant call bullets back and they dont have steering wheels . I shoot on my own property and from time to time evaluate where I shoot as the area grows and new houses are built .
 
This is not the first time bullets from that range have impacted on the family's property.

It does not matter who was there first. The guy who owns that range is responsible for every bullet that is fired on his range. Had the guy properly responded to previous complaints he would not have this problem today.

This ain't about the smell of cow poop. This one is about bullets leaving a firing range and impacting on residential property. The family has complained about bullets impacting on their property previously, to no avail.

i sometimes investigate incidents like this one. You might be surprised how sloppily many firing ranges are constructed and run.
 
Price of freedom is responsibility.

I'm sure not in favor of shutting down rifle ranges.

I do not believe the "Grandfather" idea applies,and here is why.

If the range own or leases all the land downrange in the beaten zone,they can post the land as dangerous,and not allow trespassing.No problem.That may be about 5,maybe 6 sections of land.Those 338 Lapuas with .800 Ballistic co-efficients,you know!!

But no matter how long I may have been shooting on my land,yesterday does not count if I rain ordnance down on your home today.You cannot "Grandfather" a use on property you do not own.I cannot "grandfather" shooting bullets into property that you own.

If a range has been in operation 30 years,and their property line is 200 yds beyond the backstop,the range has no right to send bullets over the property line.If a range wants to have longevity,they had better consider having control over their long range beaten zone.

Whether I like it or not,as a shooter, If a family buys property 400 yds or 2000 yds behind my backstop,they have a right to be there,and their safety trumps my shooting.

It did not have to be a problem,if shooters on the range made sure none of their rounds were fired or ricocheted over the backstop.
 
It doesn't matter who was there first. The range is responsible for making sure no bullets leave the range. That should be job one for any range. Just one stray shot that injures or kills someone could could bankrupt you or even land you in prison.

If I were on the jury for this incident I would have to side on the side of the homeowner. And I am very pro gun. There is no excuse for a round to ever leave a range.

A local range had this happen and a woman was killed so I heard. The range was shut down for a long time while it was rebuilt. This range can be seen in the movie JFK. In the movie you see tires and overhead baffles installed. This was after the accident. This place is Alpine Shooting Range in Ft Worth. I heard the woman was hit with a stray 357 slug.

An interesting side note to the movie is that my shooting and model airplane flying buddies uncles garage was turned into the jail cell scene where the D.A. whose name escapes me interviews Jack Ruby during the movie. The best part is the uncle lived across the street from Rose Hill Cemetary where Oswald is buried. Not more than a hundred yards away from the grave.

OK I had to google it. The DA was Jim Garrison and he played the part of the interviewer. Oliver Stone bought the rights to his book because it was the cheapest one on the market. The book was called "On The Trail Of The Assasins".
 
One article says the property the lady was hit on is down range the other says adjacent just not enough specifics and I just donr fell like spending two hours at the accessors office website chasing down addresses. As to the alledged bullets found in the yard those bullets could all well be from before the house was built.
 
Sorry, I call BS,
If the range was there first, and they moved in, then they are at fault. It is the same as others said, they move to the country, then complain about the smell. I have dealt with the same issues concerning airports. They are built on the edge of town, then people move around them and start to complain about the noise and say who would be dumb enough to build a airport close to housing.
The shooting range should do what has been done by some airports, people move near them and start to complain, the airports will file a claim against the property saying it is defective, that usually shuts them up.
 
Originally posted by Crankgrinder:

Who was there first? Was the range built before the house was? If so, grandfather law.
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Grandfather law? Are you kidding me? The range is responsible to keep all projectiles within it's property lines, period. That's like saying new neighbors to a pit-bull owner are responsible when the dog comes over and kills their kid and the dog owner is off the hook cause he was there first.

If the lady was indeed hit by a stray bullet from that range, the range does need to be investigated and it's berms/backstops revised. I would think tho, if there were indeed other numerous rounds hitting the buildings previous to this, the range would have already been investigated. Could be a ruse by the family to try and shut the range down and the liberal media jumped all over it. Too little info to be sure.
 
Many of the bullets that leave firing ranges ricochet off the ground short of the berm. This is caused by shooters who have not sighted in their rifles.

Photo of bullet hole in the home:

"We've just had safety concerns with the rifle range, you know. There's a bullet hole here, and a star in the glass there. And there's this one I actually just cut out. It's there, the bullet's still in there."
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http://www.kboi2.com/news/local/Wash-woman-likely-hit-by-stray-bullet-while-gardening-290323771.html
 
Sorry, I call BS,
If the range was there first, and they moved in, then they are at fault. It is the same as others said, they move to the country, then complain about the smell. I have dealt with the same issues concerning airports. They are built on the edge of town, then people move around them and start to complain about the noise and say who would be dumb enough to build a airport close to housing.
The shooting range should do what has been done by some airports, people move near them and start to complain, the airports will file a claim against the property saying it is defective, that usually shuts them up.
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These are two COMPLETELY different situations and your comparing apples to oranges. One is a nuisance and the other is life threatening due to irresponsible shooters. It sounds like a few people here need to re take gun safety 101.
 
Sorry, I call BS,
If the range was there first, and they moved in, then they are at fault. It is the same as others said, they move to the country, then complain about the smell. I have dealt with the same issues concerning airports. They are built on the edge of town, then people move around them and start to complain about the noise and say who would be dumb enough to build a airport close to housing.
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Complaining about "smell" or "Noise" is a far cry from a bullet.
 
I have to agree with what most have said so far. It doesn't matter if the range was there first. It is the range's responsibility to make sure bullets do not leave their property. Being there first does not give them the right to shoot onto property that is not theirs. They chose how much property they were going to buy and they have to keep rounds within that property line.
 
The gun range might have been there 30 years before the homeowners bought the property and the use of that land is OK. (Grandfathered in.)

But the bullet that struck the home owner has not been there for that period of time and does not receive the same consideration.

People defending the range, I am guessing, have never had to dodge a bullet or two. So long as the bullet does not cross the property line, everything is fine. Once it has crossed the property line, you have, in essence, trespassed on to someone elses property.

Not many people are authorized trespass.

I have a small range set up on my property. Most of the people I shoot with are very experienced shooters. We have skipped bullets over the fence on to the neighbors field. It is not done intentionally, but it does happen.Luckily for us, it is a field that has enough acreage we do not need to worry about it.
 
Seems everyone is talking about the range when there is a shooter that let a bullet they fired get away from them . I know how this could happen I fired a .50 Cal Muzzel loader with a round ball the ball punched through the target and a pine limb about 200 yds away fell in the back ground . There is a solid back stop behind the pine tree , A moutain side . I blame the shooter and think the Range should change the angle of that fireing line . Being at a public range does not change the shooters responsibility to know 100% where his rounds are going .
 
There are measures the range can take to prevent these types of incidents.
Yes, they cost money. No, they aren't 100% perfect.
But isn't saving a life/preventing injury worth the cost? I think it is.
And no, the home owner in not to blame here. The range needs to do everything in its power to keep the projectiles on the range property.
The shooters need to do their best to do the same as well.
 
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