In February the Virginia Shooting Sports Association, which describes itself as "The Official NRA State Association," reported on comments from citizens of Western Loudoun County at a Board of Supervisors public hearing about permitting skeet shooting in the eastern part of the county.

According to the VSSA, the session "quickly turned into a gripe session from people residing in the western portion of the county where residents not only can hunt, but can also shoot on their private property if they are not within 100 yards of an occupied building, within 50 yards of a highway and 100 yards of a park or school."

Citing a story from Leesburg Today, the account quoted Purcellville area resident Kathleen O'Neil. "I would like less shooting in Loudoun County not more. We residents of western Loudoun routinely listen to the discharging of firearms on Sunday. It's morning, noon and night. It is time we change our laws to limit discharge of firearms in Loudoun."

The VSSA then noted that "Comments like these are what we have been hearing in more rural counties as former urban and suburban residents move to the country to either retire or to get away from the noise and traffic the city. It's almost as if these people had no idea that people in rural areas like to shoot on their private property."

The organization called for residents of the rural west to "let your supervisors know you do not want additional restrictions on your right to target shoot on your private property."

On March 6 Supervisor Suzanne Volpe of the Algonkian District introduced, and the Loudoun County Supervisors passed unanimously, a measure to liberalize the regulations governing shooting clay pigeons in the east.

The measure, according to Supervisor Janet Clarke of the Blue Ridge District, would have no effect whatsoever on shooting or zoning restrictions in the western part of the County.

Incidents in Western Loudoun

Complaints about gunfire are not new in Western Loudoun. A member of the Mosby Heritage Area Association's Board told the Eccentric that he and several of his neighbors had banded together to protest what had become for all practical purposes a shooting range near his home near Middleburg some twenty years ago. The shooting, he remembered, went on for what seemed like hours at a time and included heavy weapons.

A resident of Leesburg, and a columnist for the Eccentric, reported that he had recently complained to the Leesburg Police Department several times about what he called "ongoing gunfire" near his neighborhood on Route 15, just south of the city. As the father of a four-year-old, he was concerned both about the safety of his child and those of his neighbors. Leesburg Police, he said, could not help because the firing was being done on County land, just outside the Leesburg City Limits. The Country Sheriff's office could not help, he said, because the firing, though noisy, appeared to be completely legal.

Two years ago, just north of Waterford, the Publisher of the Eccentric heard what was clearly recognizable as machine gun fire coming from a house in a neighborhood just north of his home on Milltown Road. He soon observed two young men, taking turns, firing a fully automatic AK-style assault rifle at something floating on a pond overlooked by several houses. They had fired at least two full magazines by the time he notified the Loudoun County Sheriff's Department, and waited.

As he waited, the target (apparently a propane canister) exploded, sending a plume of smoke high into the air, causing at least one nearby horse to throw its rider, and bringing residents from nearby homes out into their yards to see what was going on.

Volunteer firemen from Lovettsville arrived, sirens screaming, in minutes, and were soon jointed by a county deputy sheriff. The deputy approached the house where the two young men were last seen; knocked on the door; and waited. No one appeared.

Later, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff's department, it was found the automatic weapon was properly licensed. No one was apparently charged with any other offense.

Two weeks ago, the Eccentric's Publisher heard rifle fire loud enough to be heard over the firefight in "Saving Private Ryan." From his deck he observed two hunters approaching, in pursuit of what appeared to be two deer, one still dying, lying in his back yard. They did not have permission to hunt there.

He called the County Sheriff. The hunters fled, leaving the deer behind.

Later, a third deer carcass was found.

In Middleburg, residents have complained in the past about hunters working dangerously close to the Town Limits.

Police Chief A.J. Panebianco told the Eccentric just before press time, however, that, since he's been Chief, he has had no similar complaints about gunfire.

Northern Fauquier

Just south of Marshall, Virginia the Fauquier County Sheriff's department responded on several occasions to complaints from a resident about what was described as an informal shooting range and weekend shooting "parties." According to the complaints the shooting would go on for hours, sounded like it included rapid-fire weaponry, and was potentially quite dangerous.

Inspection of the site revealed that weapons were not only being fired nearby, but that bullets were being fired across a hiking path and into his property.

The Sheriff's deputies sent to the scene initially appeared to believe what was going on was legal, and advised the property owner not to walk on threatened parts of his own property while the firing was in progress. Follow up by a Fauquier Supervisor produced different conclusions about the legality of what was going on as well as its propriety.

Gun Owners

All of the people noted above who complained about either excessive noise or dangerous behavior were and are gun-owners themselves. All appeared to be firm believers in the right to bear arms.

But all were concerned about when, where and how some gun owners chose to exercise those rights.

Given the effective range of modern weapons, the "legal" distances governing target shooting or hunting (50 yards from a road; 100 yards from an occupied building or school) seem clearly inadequate.

The Publisher of the Eccentric calls upon the Supervisors to reconsider the laws governing acceptable weaponry, noise and ranges in the west.