Well, after two nights of debate, it looks like Drake Landing will be allowed to continue to operate the shooting range at their facility. :)

So, we've won the battle, but not the war. It's still a conditional use permit, and their fight is far from over, but it's a step in the right direction. Thanks again for all of your help. Here is the news article from this morning about the decision. It also has some links to most of the past articles about this ongoing saga.

http://www.wral.com/debate-over-harn...ight/13934031/

Thanks,

Mike

Golly, some of those county laws are stricter than some of the Massachusetts laws.

Seems when folks move to the country to escape the urban life they start complaining abut things they didn't expect in the country - so they begin to make changes there so things will feel more "urban". It happens everywhere and on every level. A way of life is rapidly disappearing and it is saddening.

Good news about Drake's. But as stated, the "war" continues. However, I make these suggestions for the continued battle;

1) Get the NRA involved NOW. With their clout, the future odds are in Drake's favour.
2) Get the NSSA and NASCA involved too.
3) Get the NAME of the Superior Court judge who ruled against Drakes, and start a campaign to remove him or her.
4) Publish the NAME of the county commissioner who voted against Drakes. And start a campaign against that person. Heck, put a Drake's owner on the next ballot !!
5) Offer Drakes a booth at the next Southern FREE in order to solicit donations for legal defense. If Drakes falls... Deep River could be next!
6) Hire a PR firm to work through much of this.

Good news Mike, thanks. I see that they are closed on Sunday which I would assume is one of their busier days. Too bad. Looks like we'll have to get there a day earlier next April to get our fair share of shooting in.

We shot there today. Really hot, but still fun. At Bellini's now

They were closed Sunday, but we shot at nearby Kidd's Place which was pretty good. We shot doves at Drakes this morning and it was excellent. Photos to follow.

Mills, I hope you and Julia had as much fun as we did this afternoon at Drake Landing. I hate that they were closed on Sunday and that I missed shooting with you guys.

The heat was absolutely oppressive (95 degrees today), but the birds flew anyway. My brother in law and I went out there at 2:00 and were in the field by 3:00. I think it's the most Doves that I've ever seen on a shoot. You couldn't go five minutes without seeing a Dove, and we had them coming in sometimes in groups of 10 or 12. Dan told me later that he's been scouting the fields and leading up to today would see them coming in 40 to 60 at a time :shock: Needless to say, I took my limit and had a great time doing it. Of course everything that Dan does is first class, including his hunts. Jesse cooked an amazing dinner, including Rib-Eye Steaks and some Caribbean Jerk Doves! Mmmmm, tasty.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3918/...080168bf_b.jpg

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3918/...f6c94cc1_b.jpg

We did talk a little bit about the events of this past week, and now that they have been granted this conditional use permit, they should be all set barring annoyances like having to close on Sundays. They do a lot of revenue on Sunday afternoons, but the feeling was that they could have lost every day, so it's still a victory. I'm told that about 85% of the people who showed up on Wed night were in support of Drake Landing staying open (not sure about Thursday's ratio), and they evidently had a huge stack of emails from supporters like us. The next step will be to hopefully win back their Agri-Tourism status, but there is no timeline as to when that appeal will be heard. if they do get that status reinstated, then they can stay open 7 days a week if they want too. In the meantime, I'll just start shooting early on Saturday morning instead of late on Sunday like I have been. :)

Mike

We are sorry we missed you too Mike. We will see you at Backwoods though. We had a great morning hunt. Julia shot her VH 16 and I shot my Sterlingworth 16.

This off an email from Drake's. They are suggesting sending a thank you email to Harnett County for the conditional use permit. I sent one myself.

Thank you for all the emails, calls and well wishes during the recent weeks. Please take a moment to thank Harnett County Board of Adjustment, for the recent decision at tbyrd@harnett.org.