Resources
Trap Shooting at Waynesborough Country Club has a number of negative effects on our safety, environment, water quality, property value, and ambient noise levels.
WCC’s on-site shooting range is located over or near wetlands, and utilizes lead shot. If not properly, routinely and thoroughly removed from the ground, the lead shot poses a serious contamination issue, both to wildlife and the well water relied on by neighboring residents.
It has been stated that with windows closed we cannot hear the gunshots in the winter. However, during the November to April on-site Trap Shooting season, many living in close proximity to WCC lose all semblance of peaceful enjoyment of our property on a shooting day. We can hear the gunshots in every room in our homes, for hours straight at high decibel levels, even when windows are closed. Anecdotally, we have dogs that refuse to go outside, shake and have accidents, babies who cannot sleep, and children who are afraid. On the worst days, especially for neighborhoods north and west of the shooting range, the shots literally echo across the countryside.
As contrasted with WCC, other area clubs (Philadelphia CC and Aronimink CC) who have trap shooting programs, have approximately 100 acres of additional buffer space and have been designed in a way to help mitigate the noise for the surrounding community. WCC’s property is in extremely close proximity to residential neighborhoods on all sides and does not have the acreage to buffer the shotgun noise.
The on-site Trap Shooting is run by Club members in a very narrow shooting corridor adjacent to fairways occupied with golfers, with a firing wall of shotguns aimed directly at neighboring properties, exposing both golfers and neighbors to hazardous and potentially fatal risks. Further, there are no protective barriers to prevent golfers or neighboring families, including children, from wandering into the line of fire.
Additional reading related to health, safety and environmental concerns due to Waynesborough Country Club’s on-site Trap Program:
The environmental effects of WCC’s on-site trap shooting are severe if not properly mitigated. We encourage you to do your own research on the subject in addition to what we’ve included here.