Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Shooting Range Drama

Nov 22, 2019
WEEKI WACHEE, Fla. — A home under construction in a rural part of Hernando County has a unique addition to the backyard that has people living directly behind it concerned for their safety.

The homeowner is building a private gun range. The backstop ends just feet from where the property line of another home in the Weeki Wachee neighborhood begins.

"I think a sane person would not even remotely consider doing this," Misty Cintron said.

Cintron and her husband Jason said they built a home in the rural community for a better life. A few weeks ago, they noticed a large clearing behind their house.

"The fact that he can shoot at me, and I can't shoot at him is not equal protection. The fact that there is not a clear distance, and he is shooting military-grade weapons that are not accessible to the average person in Florida, that's not equal protection. My local enforcement is not able to fully protect me, so they are violating my right my civil rights."

ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska spoke to the man constructing the home and gun range. We are not naming the homeowner because he is a private citizen and is not breaking the law.

He is also licensed with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) as a commercial gun dealer.

He allowed us onto his property to see the rough outline of the range up close. The berm is roughly 20 feet high, and the builder says he is focusing on making the backstop even safer by building up an addition 25 feet or higher.

"Safety, safety, safety, is my top priority," he said over the phone. "I'm not even close to being done yet."

Weapons and firearms are regulated through Florida Statutes 790.15, 790.33, 790.333, & 823.16, which contains certain preemptions from local regulations. Cintron said those laws only protect the gun owner and do nothing to protect her life and property downrange.

For example, statute 790.15 states, "any person who recreationally discharges a firearm outdoors, including target shooting, in an area that the person knows or reasonably should know is primarily residential in nature and that has a residential density of one or more dwelling units per acre, commits a misdemeanor of the first degree."

Cintron's property is less than an acre so she can't legally fire a weapon recreationally. Just on the other side of her property line, her neighbor's acreage is well within the legal requirement.

Cintron said the only way the homeowner would violate Florida state law is if any of the bullets fired cross into her property or into another residential zone. Cintron said she does not doubt that she will have shrapnel and bullet fragments in her yard.

"The state is failing us, failing miserably," Cintron said. "The problem with this is there is no regulation and guidance by the state. Anybody can do this. So, you could find yourself in this situation with the neighbor next door; it's not prudent it's not safe."

We asked the homeowner if he could aim the rifle range in a different direction away from homes. He said he offered to move the berm slightly to the right, but, it wasn't good enough for his neighbors. The homeowner also said because of the geography of his property that spot was the safest spot to build the range.

"Originally, we said you know what if you move it that way, I'd feel a lot more comfortable because you are not aiming it at my house and there is nobody that lives that way," Cintron said. "His response was, you know, this is his dream... I'm all for people's dreams but I have a dream too, you know. I want to see my children grow up, my grandchildren, my dreams don't affect other people. This is very unreasonable. If you are so comfortable, why don't you turn it around and face it toward your house? Oh, I just can't do that. He gave every excuse."

The homeowner told ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska he planned to shoot .20 caliber and .50 caliber rounds, but a majority of his shooting would be from pistols.

On Thursday, Hernando County Code Enforcement, the sheriff's department and the county attorney's office met to discuss complaints lodged against the building of the range.

Cintron said the county informed her Thursday night the county found no code or statutory violations with the building of the gun range.

The builder told us he plans to finish the home and range in the next 10 months. He invited us out to shoot and verify for ourselves how safe it was.

Cintron said he invited her too. She isn't taking him up on that offer.

"My daughter is going to be fully prepared to at my death to take on the state that they failed me," Cintron said.

Welcome to the Brave New World.

Just because one CAN do something does not mean one SHOULD do something.

I'll be surprised if he is not shut down due to noise (nuisance) laws.

That damned DigitalDan.

There is another back yard range in the area that got ran through the media wringer for a couple of years and he is still shooting there, he's a full auto guy to boot.
As far as noise and nuisance is concerned we have a pretty solid law. 6am to 10pm pretty much anything goes.
That has been challenged many times due to Air Boat use and the associated noise, Law stands and the boats run 6 to 10.

Peroxide eats brain cells! My neighbor has a 600 yard range that's (GASP!) pointed right at my line fence! Oh, the humanity!
Jerry

Florida again ?

If it really poses a hazard there are sufficient means to deal with it in civil law.

That Florida man sure gets around

"A military grade weapon"

Ole Blondie knows how to use the media key buzz words doesn't she...........

Didn’t ‘flave move down there?

Be nice or I'll take the .50 to the line. I promise.

Weeki Wachee is just a few miles down the road from me. Hope his Rick O'Shays don't hurt me. One of my immediate neighbors is a butthole though and has had no qualms about shooting his stuff on his property and sending ricochets thru the trees over my head. I didn't say anything to him for awhile, but got tired of it eventually. He started up one day and I touched off the .30-30, pointed at the ground in front of my feet. That was about 3 years ago and I've not heard him shoot since. It was a lot simpler than complaining about it.

I doubt her excessive drama will contribute much to her case in the long run.
If she truly had concerns for her and her families live's you'd think she'd just quietly put her home on the market and move.

If she keeps it up at the rate she is going, and she appears the type, her place is gonna become a hard sell house all of her own doing. "Oh this is the house I see on the news all the time that people shoot at".....

In that area that guys range will probably just become a lake after the first rainy season anyway.

Good to see she is making plans for her impending doom though...

Legally, I can go outside a shoot a firearm anytime I want. But I rarely do. There's houses, cattle and horses within rifle range and even though I'm sure that I could do some shooting without harming anything,..I don't want to be "that guy" that keeps the neighbors nervous.

And you think you do not make them nervous now?!?!

Why did they move to a rural area if they don't like this sort of thing? If they want to guarantee they're nowhere near someone's range, they need to buy a lot more land. The set up looks completely safe.

Cintron, sounds like a certified nut

Nah,.....I'm just that old guy over there.

Nobody gives me a second thought and that's how I like it.