Smoke Rise Gun Club had set its sights outside Jackson County’s Tilley Creek community, outside the county and even outside the state — contingent upon county commissioners dropping any plans to pursue an ordinance that would regulate shooting range operations.

But that offer was withdrawn after county commissioners passed a 90-day moratorium on all new shooting ranges and promised to continue to pursue an ordinance regulating their operation Monday night.

“We’ll probably take action against them,” said Smoke Rise President Barry Moore. “There’s lots of evidence that this is purely targeted toward us.”

During county commissioners’ Monday night meeting, Commissioner Eddie Madden read from a letter Moore wrote saying that sentiments between the gun club and local residents who do not want a shooting range to locate in their backyards are “past the point where Smoke Rise and the neighbors can reconcile our differences.”

Consequently, the club would prefer not to locate in the area, but pulling out of its purchase contract on the property comes with a price, Moore wrote.

“If the ordinance is dropped, we will terminate our contract to purchase the Tilley Creek property immediately. In short, we will not operate a shooting facility on Tilley Creek if there is no ordinance,” Moore’s letter states. “Because we do not want to go through this again, we will not locate a shooting facility around any populated area. We are not now and have no plans to look for other property in Jackson County. We are currently looking out of state. If we ever get a new facility, it will be completely isolated by forest property. You will not face this with us again because we do not want to be involved in another fight. We just want you to drop the proposed ordinance.”

In response to the letter, commissioners promptly passed a 90-day moratorium on all new shooting ranges to give the planning board time to complete work on an ordinance regulating their operation.

Planning board members have been in the process of developing a shooting range ordinance based largely on National Rifle Association guidelines, which are considered “the bible” of range operation, but are not legal requirements. The ordinance and the moratorium have been at the crux of a months-long battle over gun and property rights.

Commissioners received a draft copy of the ordinance during a May 10 work session, during which Commissioner Joe Cowan lauded the ordinance and the work of the planning board.

“I’ve never seen a more thorough ordinance in my entire life,” Cowan said.

At the time, however, planning director Linda Cable reported that the board had “grave concerns” about presenting the ordinance as a finished product. More time was needed, she said.

The motion for a moratorium passed 3-2, with commission Chairman Brian McMahan and vice-chairwoman Roberta Crawford voting against it.

McMahan later said that he has always stood against a moratorium and could not predict how he would vote on the proposed ordinance once the planning board presents it.

“A lot of it is going to depend on how the ordinance is written,” McMahan said. “I’m not really going to say until I see it.”

Prior to learning of Smoke Rise’s proposed retaliation, residents of Tilley Creek called the moratorium a victory for the community.

“They said ‘we will not look in Jackson County;’ of course we’ve heard that before,” said Perry Eury, a local resident who is an opponent of the proposed range. “But right now it looks like the process is working.”

Community members, along with other supporters of countywide planning efforts, will continue to push for passage of the ordinance.

“We have said all along that we don’t want this to be out of Tilley Creek and back into Caney Fork or any other inappropriate location,” said Louis Spagna, a Tilley Creek resident who has supported a moratorium and an ordinance that would protect both property owners and Second Amendment rights.

However, Moore said that the moratorium and ordinance are nothing more than zoning in disguise.

“I think everybody has lost very badly in this county,” he said.