Groton MA neighbors fired up about shooting range

Joined
May 8, 2005
Messages
4,728
Likes
348
Location
In the Great Smoky Mountains
Feedback: 31 / 0 / 0
GROTON -- Concerned with what they believe has been an increase in activity at a shooting range on town-owned land adjacent to the Department of Public Works garage, residents of the Cow Pond Brook Road neighborhood have protested its continued use by the Police Department.

"The police department began using the range right after the DPW garage was built about 15 yeas ago," said Hoyts Wharf Road resident Andrea Murdock. "Before that, they were using the field that belonged to Ben Black and just local police were using that one."

Since then, however, Murdock claims that the Groton Police Department has invited police from departments all over Massachusetts to use the range with an increase in the level and duration of noise created by the use of automatic weapons and even stun grenades.


Read more: http://www.nashobapublishing.com/ci_16162881?source=rss_viewed#ixzz10W8SGDDK
 
These people are morons and not only dislike the range but have a problem with the police judging from some of the comments in that article. I belive this range has been in place much longer then any of the houses around it.
 
there's a new housing development going up right across the street
from the Worcester rifle and pistol club. I was there several weeks ago,
i go hear the roofing nailers, i'm sure they could hear us shooting.

here we go.
 
Before this gets blown way out of proportion from both sides, there are a few things that need to come to light:
1. When I saw those "close the gun club" signs I immediately freaked out thinking they wanted to close Westford Sportsmen's Club. That is NOT the case even though the club is only 1 mile from this sand pit they are calling a shooting range.
2. As it was discussed at the Westford club meeting. This sand pit was setup for Groton officers a long time ago with the blessing of the neighborhood. The problem now is that word has gotten out, and other police forces are shooting there very often including night drills. That's not cool or what was agreed to.
3. Westford is only 2 minutes up the road. Come shoot with us. I'm sure the Police units could work something out with the club (I believe Westford has already done this). Maybe they are afraid we will heckle them if they shoot like crap. Well, I still shoot like crap, but I go anyway.

I don't want to see any clubs closed, so I think a healthy dose of common sense (and face to face discussions) from BOTH sides is needed for this one. Legitimate clubs have a hard enough time keeping the doors open. This situation has "knee jerk" consequences written all over it.
 
2. As it was discussed at the Westford club meeting. This sand pit was setup for Groton officers a long time ago with the blessing of the neighborhood. The problem now is that word has gotten out, and other police forces are shooting there very often including night drills. That's not cool or what was agreed to.

If that is truly the case I would have a problem with this too. It's one thing to listen to it here and there during the day but, if it's 7-8pm at night and your trying to go to bed or put your kids down and you have all kinds of racket going on, that's a little over the top.
 
As long as the nightfire is not everyweek and its over by 9:00 at the latest i would not find that unreasonable.
 
Last edited:
If that is truly the case I would have a problem with this too. It's one thing to listen to it here and there during the day but, if it's 7-8pm at night and your trying to go to bed or put your kids down and you have all kinds of racket going on, that's a little over the top.

How about whatever the local noise ordinance is? Why should gunfire be treated any differently than loud music or power tools?
 
I was a member of a club once that allowed the cops to use it. Two sometimes three days a month the range was CLOSED to all but the cops! We pay the dues and we can't use our range up to three days a month? When they closed the range that meant the club was closed to all. We could not even go to our club to watch!! I find when the cops get involved in a privet club nothing good happens.
 
I was a member of a club once that allowed the cops to use it. Two sometimes three days a month the range was CLOSED to all but the cops! We pay the dues and we can't use our range up to three days a month? When they closed the range that meant the club was closed to all. We could not even go to our club to watch!! I find when the cops get involved in a privet club nothing good happens.

The town range I belong to (sand pit with rifle/skeet/pistol ranges) is located in a conservation type area pretty far away from houses. The police usually claim 1 -2 days a month and there are notices when the range will be closed for their use. I don't have much of an issue with that as it is normally daytime on a weekday and they are usually done by 3pm. I can understand why they want the place to themselves. Safety is a top concern and basically not getting interrupted constantly by people shooting all around them. I am sure each town is different.
 
... I can understand why they want the place to themselves. Safety is a top concern and basically not getting interrupted constantly by people shooting all around them.

Where I live, the the police union is against in-car cameras. Safety?

If a PD needs a place for drills training, there're more appropriate facilities other than clubs to facilitate such activities. Especially if safety is the primary concern.
 
The people who complain against police training will find something else to complain about once this situation is resolved.
 
"We want to know whose coming into our town to use the gun range, what the scheduling is, and exactly what hours is the range in use," said Murdock. "But beyond that, we would like to see the range closed."

I don't say this lightly. I am dead serious about it. I hope they DO move the range out of their precious "for the children" neighborhood. And when the BGs know that there are no more police or armed citizens around to frequent the range, I hope their level of domestic crime increases astronomically. I really do hope for this.

This way, the blinded-by-the-nanny-light dickheads who felt the kids were unsafe while the range was in use will then suddenly realize that the range kept the criminals away from their neck-of-the-woods. And when they cry and wail and bemoan about how crime has dramatically increased where their precious "for-the-children" play, they can be told to go soak their heads and move out of the now-dangerous neighborhood.

After all, that's what they told the gun range to do...move out. Now they can make like their own trees which they planted, and leave.
 
I don't say this lightly. I am dead serious about it. I hope they DO move the range out of their precious "for the children" neighborhood. And when the BGs know that there are no more police or armed citizens around to frequent the range, I hope their level of domestic crime increases astronomically. I really do hope for this.

This way, the blinded-by-the-nanny-light dickheads who felt the kids were unsafe while the range was in use will then suddenly realize that the range kept the criminals away from their neck-of-the-woods. And when they cry and wail and bemoan about how crime has dramatically increased where their precious "for-the-children" play, they can be told to go soak their heads and move out of the now-dangerous neighborhood.

I happen to live in this very community. Thank you very much for wishing that the libtards win and drive up the crime rate in my neighborhood. It is easy for you to wish harm on others when it is somebody else's problem eh?

Even if the entire community were libtards you should not wish harm upon them just because they have bought onto the fear-mongering.

Time to go check your moral compass.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

And for the record: I did recently hear some gun fire off in the distance. I thought to myself that it was odd because I was not aware of club off that way... it was obviously a range and not a firefight judging by the frequency and duration. Firefights do not last over an hour. I shrugged and went about my business. That was the only time I noticed a thing.

-MS
 
...It is easy for you to wish harm on others when it is somebody else's problem eh?

Even if the entire community were libtards you should not wish harm upon them just because they have bought onto the fear-mongering.

Time to go check your moral compass.

And for the record: I did recently hear some gun fire off in the distance. I thought to myself that it was odd because I was not aware of club off that way... it was obviously a range and not a firefight judging by the frequency and duration. Firefights do not last over an hour. I shrugged and went about my business. That was the only time I noticed a thing.

-MS

I NEVER intimated that I wished harm on anyone. I'd like you to find that bit in my post where I typed that I wished said harm upon the locals in that neighborhood.

Are you doing anything to dissuade this "fear-mongering" you say is going on in YOUR area? Are you fighting for the gun club? The only time "you noticed a thing" was "recently"?

If you do not live near the gun range, and never hear the reports, then you should be fearful in any case. Whatever, man.
 
http://www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_16141736

Also Monday night, Haddad told selectmen that a public hearing had been scheduled for their meeting of Oct. 4 to hear a petition by residents of the Cow Pond Brook Road neighborhood dealing with a shooting range used by the Police Department.

The petition was sponsored by Hoyts Wharf Road resident Andrea Murdock, who claimed the department allows police from many other towns to use the range, making for a public nuisance.

Haddad said Police Chief Donald Palma is expected to attend as well.

I know where I will be on Oct 4. Any other Groton residents here?
 
Murdock's petition has all of 60 signatures on it? I am planning on showing up to the hearing with a petition of my own. Anyone who lives in Groton that wants to sign it PM me.
 
My favorite part is how "the children"!! are terrorized by police officers marching down the street. I am sure this happens many, many times a week.....................

Range was there, amount of use is irrelevant as long as it is treated like any other noise generating venue.
 
The only time Police March down the street is if the Lowell Police academy and its recruits are using the range. Lowell is lucky if it runs 3 academies a year,usually its only 1-2.
 
These people are morons and not only dislike the range but have a problem with the police judging from some of the comments in that article. I belive this range has been in place much longer then any of the houses around it.

not surprised that they have problems with the cops, as twogunwilly said: libtards hate cops.

i know a bunch of the groton cops and they are good guys. haven't seen them in a while but i used to talk to a few of them on a pretty regular basis.
 
You hope this will happen in my neighborhood? Right back at you tough guy.

Not that I wish crime on anyone . . . well, maybe excepting libtards who are TSTL . . . but if it happened to EC while he was home, the problem would be "self-correcting"!! [wink] [laugh]

I live close enough to two gun ranges that I can hear them when in use. It might have been a motivating factor in my life to get my permit way back when. In any case one of those ranges has been in continuous use since the 1930s and in spite of "management issues" I hope that it continues operation forever.

The MA laws on gun range noise and MGLs on noise wrt "disturbing the peace" actually allow shooting until 10PM any night and starting at 7AM any day (Sunday/Holidays may have a later start time, unsure).

Back in the days when I started with the PD, we had 2 quals and a night qual every year at one of these clubs (took multiple days/evenings per qual to get a total of ~60 POs thru).

The Chief told me that the PD would get calls all the time complaining while we were doing night quals (always ended by 9PM) and even when they were told that it was the PD shooting (club rules were to dusk only for members to shoot), the sheeple weren't happy. Ended up that they stopped all night shoots and for 20+ years no officers got any training on shooting with lights/no light, etc. I have no idea if that has changed recently and never thought to ask.

After Messina built all the condos surrounding our ranges at BR&P (IIRC the club has been there since the end of the 1800s, but I can't find any date on the website), he bitched about our shooting and the noise. I still think Messina is a damn fool . . . if he SPECIFICALLY ADVERTISED to club members (who may be older and contemplating giving up their house) he may well have sold some to club members who could then walk to the ranges. I call it making lemonade out of lemons!
 
I live in Groton, and I'll try to make it.



You hope this will happen in my neighborhood? Right back at you tough guy.

Did I know you lived in that neighborhood? No. So how could I wish it to happen in yours?

As I stated above, I don't wish for violence upon anyone. I said domestic crime. There's a whole lot of non-violent domestic crime that can occur once the sounds of a gun range are muted by people who think the "sound of gunfire at a gun range" is "dangerous."

I know that anybody here who is involved with firearms would welcome the sound of gunfire at a range, because it would deter criminal activity. I hope that people who whine about "noise pollution" have the petty domestic stuff happen so they realize that having a gun range in the vicinity, especially one used by lots of LEOs, actually can deter those crimes from happening. This way, they will then realize that their local range is a blessing and a deterent to crime, so they can then rethink their attitudes about how bad a gun range really is, and plead to get it back once it is gone.

That was my whole gist. Since there shall be other people here who will intend to twist what I have typed to mean something other, there is no point in trying to justify my position on this any longer, and retire from this thread. Oi vey.
 
Having seen the way many LEO's shoot, I wouldn't want to live within a mile of a range that they were using with any regularity....[pot][popcorn]

barney_fife.jpg
 
I don't say this lightly. I am dead serious about it. I hope they DO move the range out of their precious "for the children" neighborhood. And when the BGs know that there are no more police or armed citizens around to frequent the range, I hope their level of domestic crime increases astronomically. I really do hope for this.

Well, I suppose that you could have meant violations of business licensing rugulations or failure to pay vehicle excise taxes on time. For most of us, the idea that crime increases means that people get hurt. Maybe it's physically; maybe it's "just" that something that they've worked and saved for is stolen or vandalized. Either way, people get hurt.

Ken
 
Back
Top Bottom