MAYFIELD TWP. — The
Michigan Dept. of Natural
Resources and a team of
acousticians spent Wednesday
conducting sound tests at the
Lapeer Shooting Pit that could
lead to changes at the site.
Lori Burford, a Michigan
DNR shooting range analyst,
along with a team of sound
experts from Gainsville, Fla.-based Siebein Associates, collected sound samples from at
and around the pit.
Burford said a team of DNR
officers fired several different
types and gauge/caliber of
guns throughout the tests.
She said it will take at least
three months for information
collected to be further analyzed via computer modeling
to be completed by Siebein.
“The ultimate result is that
it will help us determine if
there are some design things
we can change to improve the
sound and make things a little
better,” she said.
Burford said the Lapeer
Shooting Pit is on the DNR’s
list of “priority shooting areas
throughout the state that we
want to address.”
“Some we want to do some
construction, some we want
to do some improvements,”
Burford said. “Here, because
of the high level of use and the
proximity to some of the neighbors, there is some conflict
between some of the shooters
and some of the neighbors.
That’s the impetus for this
now
<snip>
Burford said testing that
began Wednesday at the
Lapeer Shooting Pit is being
funded through a grant
received via the PittmanRobertson Act, which includes
of monies obtained via excise
taxes on guns.
“Previously, the state has
allocated that toward wildlife
restoration or habitat acquisition,” Burford said. “Now,
we’re able to put that toward
some of the stuff we want to
do at shooting ranges and give
back a little to those who have
been paying into system.”
To get the most accurate
readings on Wednesday,
Burford said the DNR closed
the pit so that it could have a
controlled environment.
Hyun Paek, associate
principal consultant, Siebein
Associates, was one of three
people from the company
onsite Wednesday.
Paek said his team had
set up equipment to measure
sound near the source and
also at select locations at properties near the Lapeer Shooting
Pit.
“We try to remain true to
how the range is used,” he
said, adding that sound-measuring devices were even set
up to be consistent with where
different gun types are fired at
the pit (handguns are usually
shot at the south end of the
pit, while long guns are used at
the opposite).
Lapeer’s Andrew Tasca, 70,
said he appreciates the work
being led by the DNR, but that
he hopes test results reflect
reality.
Tasca, who typically heads
to the shooting pit once a
week, said variables such as
wind and greenery like leaves
on trees can impact the level
of sound in the area. He also
said it isn’t uncommon for
shooting to take place in other
locations on the state-owned
land around the pit.
“I’m sure (test results) will
be unbiased,” Tasca said.
“I just hope they take into
account a lot of different
things.”