TERRE HAUTE — A group of residents near the Lost Creek Township Conservation Club in a lawsuit is asking a Vigo County judge to restrict firearms activities at the club to two days per week.

Testimony began Tuesday in the bench trial being heard by Judge Michael Lewis, and evidence presented included two recordings of gunfire at the club range made by neighbors at their homes.

Les Shively, attorney for the 14 nearby residents who filed the lawsuit, said his clients simply want the conservation club to follow a 1972 court decree that stipulated when the club could have its shooting activities, including Wednesday night trap shoot competitions.

“We’re asking the court to abate a nuisance,” Shively said. “We’re not trying to stop the activities of the conservation club. Now, they discharge all types of firearms and the facility was never modified for safety.”

Residents testified they hear not only shotgun, rifle and pistol fire, but also automatic weapons and something that sounds like a cannon.

Neighbor Phyllis Woodsmall, who leads the list of concerned neighbors, testified that she just wants the conservation club to return shooting activities to the 1972 recreational use of the property. The conservation club was founded at its Seelyville location in 1934.

“You just can’t enjoy being outdoors,” neighbor Susan Marr said when asked about how her activities at her rural home have changed in recent years.

Marr said she used to enjoy spending time outdoors on her deck with family members and neighbors. But since club property improvements led shooting activities to increase in 2006, her family has stopped having outdoor get-togethers in the summer and they don’t go fishing or use their boat like they used to.

Marr presented a recording made in March with her digital camera to include audio of the gunfire coming from the conservation club. The audio includes loud gunfire and was recorded about a foot inside the door of her home. The sound of March winds also gusts clearly in the background, but the gunfire is much louder.

Marr and husband William have lived north of the conservation club since November 1995, and she said she used to consider the club a good neighbor.

Like other nearby residents testifying Tuesday, Marr said she started noticing more shooting in recent years. She said the gunfire has increased from just Sundays and Wednesdays to seven days a week.

While she has not found any stray bullets on her property, she said she was on her deck one day and did hear something hit nearby that she thought was a bullet. Her husband has found two bullets on the property they believe to have come from the conservation club.

William Marr said he found the first bullet in the summer of 2006. It was on the back deck near a patio window. He found the second bullet in October 2008 next to a dog kennel. The bullet had cement on it, and the cement at the kennel had been poured in September 2008, he testified.

Neighbor Joe Bush testified that he was raking leaves on his property in 2007 when two bullets flew over his head. He also told the judge that the noise has increased through the years, far beyond what it was when he moved to his property in 2004.

“It’s just a nuisance, irritating,” Bush said. “You don’t know when they’re gonna start or when they’re gonna stop.”

Neighbors Charles Schlunt said when he and his wife bought their property in 2003, they knew they were next door to the conservation club, but they did not know the gunfire would increase through the years.

“The term ‘conservation club’ did not imply to me that it was a shooting range,” Charles Schlunt said.

He and his wife both said gunfire at the club occurs after dark on days other than Wednesdays. He also said use of the firing range by police agencies has increased in recent months, and their activity is louder than the club member activities.

But conservation club president Danny Favre said the club does not authorize after-dark firing of pistols and rifles, contrary to what neighbors contend, and numerous signs with safety rules are posted around the property. Improvements also have been made for safety, he said. Club members who do not follow the safety rules and who fire guns after dark are subject to expulsion, Favre testified.

But Favre did tell conservation club attorney James McDonald that use of the facility by police agencies has increased. While that means more pistol shooting, no one is allowed to use large .50-caliber ammunition because it tears up the berms behind the targets meant to stop stray bullets.

Favre, who stated in court that he owns Favre Gunshop, which is on North 42nd Street, said he has been shooting at the club since the 1950s. He also testified to hearing no safety concerns from any law enforcement people or other shooters with the expertise to recognize a dangerous situation at the club.

He did say that use of the club property by law enforcement agencies has increased since 9/11, when the federal penitentiary closed its firing range to outside agencies. But those agencies also must follow the club rules.

He noted that all 200-some members of the club have keys to the property’s gate, so some people may go out there at times other than organized shoots to practice with their guns. But during planned shooting events, club officers always are at the property. The club has not had a caretaker living at the property for a few years, Favre said, but the club is considering having another caretaker due to vandalism and break-ins at the property.

Testimony in the case will continue today with the conclusion of plaintiff testimony, and presentation of defense witnesses and experts. The trial is expected to conclude this afternoon.

Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com.