EVINGTON, Va. – A Bedford County man is hoping for a new ordinance after he says a bullet nearly hit his home from a backyard gun range.
Grant Winman wants the Bedford County Board of Supervisors to create an ordinance about the use of firearms near homes.
Winman says an incident occurred in his yard this past December and said it’s known his neighbors had guests shooting at a home gun range.
“Almost immediately, I heard it hurling through the air, that was unmistakable this round had ricocheted, and I heard it go overhead and go off in the distance,” Winman said. “Who knows where it went and what it could have hit or who it could have hit?”
Winman, an Air Force veteran trained with guns, was frustrated and concerned his neighbors were firing weapons in the direction of his home.
He took his concerns to the sheriff, who had deputies inspect the range.
“They listened to my story, and they told me there weren’t any laws that could help me in this situation,” Winman said. “As long as you’re not firing within 300 feet of someone’s house or road there’s nothing they could do, the only remedy was that they could build the dirt berms a little bit higher.”
10 News asked the homeowner to speak about the firing range in his backyard, but he declined.
In his pursuit for change, Winman took his concerns to the Board of Supervisors. They’ve asked the sheriff to check on ordinances.
“We’ve asked them to see if there are other similar ordinances around shooting ranges like this in other localities none of us were familiar with any,” said Board Member Edgar Tuck.
Tuck said the goal is to see if there are any common sense ideas the county can incorporate to mitigate the issue.
“We certainly don’t want to forbid anything like that activity we just want to make sure it’s done safely,” Tuck said. “I can’t say we’ll enact an ordinance or anything but if it makes sense surely, we’ll look at it.”
In a phone conversation with 10 News, the Bedford County sheriff said authorities are working with the homeowner to ensure the firing range is safer.