Disclosing neighbors' target practice when advertising our "quiet" cabin

During 4th of July or any other loud events, including thunder I’ve always wondered how vets that served in wars handled these. I watched something where a woman vet was leading a discussion with several vets that had bad physical injuries, one from Viet Nam and the others more recent.

Even though their service was years ago they all still had reactions to loud noises, some with PTSD that probably never goes away.

If you’ve never been in war you probably think the louder the gun the better. After the war those loud sounds do not sit well.

Not everyone who has been in a war gets PTSD. Everyone is different. But it does affect some as well as people who haven’t been in war and it certainly affects the dogs. But really, those using guns and fireworks don’t give a flying ****.

Just a personal reflection … a few years ago I bought a house in the country on a creek (having lived in the city my entire life) and I could almost not sleep it was so freaking quiet! Well after a few months of not being able to stand the quiet I am startled from my bed at 6:30am by shotgun fire! I look around frantically, spot the neighbors across the creek in camouflage shooting shotguns. Me being a city guy all my life I call 911 and tell them what I saw, the lady on the phone calmly responds to me “well today is the first day of duck hunting season sweetie, you’ll need to get use to that”.

The point being that everyone will react differently to the gunfire, we are conditioned for certain things. I get plenty of guests at my units in a vibrant neighborhood in the city who say the “noise was nothing, I live in NYC” to people saying it was unbearable trying to sleep there.

Mention it in your description and leave it at that. Be matter of fact about it.

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I thought you said it wasn’t a gun range. Shooting range Definition | Law Insider

You aren’t following the conversation. No, there is no gun range involved in the OPs situation, just yahoo neighbors, as well as being in an area where people hunt.
JJD was responding to Rolf saying silencers should be used at gun ranges. That did not relate to the OP’s post.

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Read again the original post. Call it a “riflefest” as the OP did, or a shooting range, a gun range, a constant barrage of gunshot, target practice for hours–whatever terminology you think is most accurate.

The bottom line it is a major problem.

So far the OP has been fortunate in that no guest has made a fuss about the noise.

I predict that situation is not going to last. I would bet on it.

As somebody who booked a quiet farm country cabin (a converted livestock shed) using AirBnB in 2022, I can tell you I would not book such a place if the shooting was disclosed, and I would throw a MAJOR fit hours of shooting happened while I was there and the risk of this was not disclosed in the listing.

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Not so sure this is a wise decision. Aren’t there Air rules regarding guns? I know hosts have to disclose them if they’re on the property, but maybe I’m just thinking of house rules in places I’ve been a guest. :woman_shrugging:

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The only one I know of is having to disclose if you have guns on the property. Unless the guns are on display or in a basket by the front door as one guest alleged in a story that was posted here, it’s not an enforceable policy, just a tool to remove hosts if a guest complains.

It would be idiotic. I can’t imagine the cost of liability insurance.

How do you describe the noise and also say it’s serene? Or do you not say it’s serene? So far I’ve removed “quiet” and added the bit about hunting/shooting, but am wondering how else to capture it.

I used to advertise our location as being quiet. And it really is - I can hear a cat walk by or minor drizzly raindrops.

Then I was contacted by a potential customer who asked if I could guarantee quiet during a two-day stay (I forget why - he was probably studying or writing a book or something).

I realised that I can’t guarantee quiet at all. Yes, it is beautifully quiet 99% of the time but there are lawn services (ours and neighbours) regularly. That might only be for an hour or so but it’s noisy.

Sometimes, very rarely, a noisy boat goes by on the canal or occasionally a sunset-time party boat. I’ve also known neighbours to have guests with noisy dogs.

So 99% of the time it’s lovely. But the important thing is that potential guests need to know the reality.

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You could say something like, “Being out in the countryside, when there aren’t any human-made sounds, it is very peaceful and quiet. However, the cabin is in an area where people hunt, so gunshots can sometimes be heard, and there are some neighbors across the valley who are sometimes rowdy and the sound carries.”

The setting, itself, is serene to me. I have come to realize from this discussion that it is subjective and I should probably be careful about my phrasing. We abut a nature preserve and most people marvel at the wildlife that casually inhabit our yard. That said wildlife is the source of some of the racket disturbing the serenity is part of the irony.