[TN Larry]

Sad news. The skeet and trap club was first established in 1970 by Carl Poston. The Sheaffer family purchased the club in 2000 and added sporting clays.

When neighbors, who moved near the club, complained about noise, the county attorney discovered that the club never received a "special use" permit when first established in 1970. The county filed suit to injoin operation of the club. Never mind that for 38 years the county had full knowlege of the club and allowed it to operate.

The judge ruled against the club on all arguments and further ruled that Tennessee's Range Protection Act did not apply because the club was not lawfully permitted in 1970.

While the Sheaffer family has the option of seeking appropriate zoning approval, the politics in this case do no offer much encouragement. At the behest of a hostile county commissioner, the county commission recently voted to remove jurisdiction of gun ranges from the local zoning board and require gun range zoning be approved by the county commission.

Montlake Classic Clays was a very fine facility operated by a dedicated, hardworking family. This is a loss for the state of Tennessee.

 

[TN Larry]

The above is from the shotgunsports web site.

 

[Frank C]

Lone Pine Hunters Club in New Hampshire also closed a few yrs ago by legal wrangling and finally bankrupting the club...Sad that well financed neighbors managed to close a nice little club with two trap and two skeet fields...

there was a LOT more to the story than the above link covers....

 

[grnberetcj]

Our Democratic governor signed a law a few years ago that protects "Existing Gun Clubs/Ranges" from those people who move close by and suddenly realize they don't like the noise.

Curt

 

[Hullchucker]

I Think Montlake was located in Soddy Daisy and was operated by a young couple from Michigan. I shot there last summer and the owner spent about an hour with us. It's about the only small club in that area. What a shame. Hullchucker

 

[870]

Those Range Protection Acts in various states are not always something you can rely on to save your club. You have to read the law and see how it applies in your situation. Especially in regard to noise. There are different methods of testing the decibel levels near a club and you might be surprised how hard some are to pass.

 

[phirel]

Sad and bad news for the club, local shooters, Tennessee shooters, the ATA and all supporters of gun rights.

Pat Ireland

 

[John Thompson]

I have shot for over 40 years and urban sprawl has taken many clubs. In Indianapolis, the Indiana Gun Club was waaaay out in the country when it was moved to it's present location. They have had very high end housing built against the property and those people knew of the club when they purchased. They then want to sue to close it. O'hare airport has the same problems. People move to the approach areas then want to sue. There are too many attorneys, they will take any case and when they cannot create a problem, they to into politics and really create problems.

 

[Brian in Oregon]

And again, there are many non-trapshooters who are shrugging their shoulders and saying, "You didn't support my gun rights in my hour of need, why should we care about yours?"<br>
<br>
We need to support ALL Second Amendment rights, or we will lose our rights one slice of the pie at a time.