Need help finding a pro-gun state to re-locate

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HankT wrote:

ColtPistols wrote:

I haven't posted on here for a while, but last time I was looking to relocate but my plans got post-poned.I currently live in a very gun-unfriendly area with lots ofanti-hunting sentimentand I'm getting tired of it. A few things that might help posters in giving me advice or recommendations on where to move include some of what I'm looking for. I don't fit the profile of the average guy looking to move. I don't have a family, I'm in my early 20's, never had a decent job, cold weather doesn't bother me too much, etc. I have worked for less than minium wage many times before, soI don't need much to be happy. I am first and foremost a Christian, a firm believer in the 2nd ammendment in it's original form, and a die hard hunter.

Some things I'm really looking for:

I'de stronglyprefer astate that allows hound hunting for bears and cats. A lot of liberalism has crept into many states and people have this weird idea that using hounds is unsportsman like. They think you just turn a dog loose and he tracks and kills animals for you. They don't realize the work, effort and even a little luck involved in this strenous, and difficult sport.

I NEED a state that allows open carry. Be nice if it was allowed in the car without a permit. Enough said.

I NEED a state that allows concealed carry. The less places the state lists as off limits the better. The less expensive the licensing the better. Also the less training, fingerprinting, waiting etc. the better.I like states that have either no licensing requirements (Alaska, Vermont), or over the counter states (Pennsylvania, New Hampshire) with no wait or fingeprints, maybe even cheaper fees (i.e., not TX or SC's ridiculous fees.) Lifetime license are cool too, but not necessary (I think NY and IN have them?)

I also like states that allow NFA stuff, even though I don't have any yet. It is a distant goal of mine to collect a few pieces.

Anyone have any comments or recommendations? Thanks for any help as I really am not yet sure where I want to go, but this thread may help me choose.

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You seem kind of, uhm, focused on the guns thing.

What kind of requirements do you have on career field, education, schools, housing selection, cost of living, access to resources needed, etc.?

Maybe consider narrowing the field to 4 or 5 states that best meet all your non-gun needs (more important, usually), then weed out the states that have onerous gun laws.

Guns really can't be the # 1 criterion in going through an important decision process such as yours...


Good luck.

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Obama said during the campaign, “This can’t be the reason not to vote for me. Can everyone hear me in the back? I see a couple of sportsmen back there. I’m not going to take away your guns.’’


My reaction to Hank is the same as my reaction to obama was... That gives you the right to decide for someone else what they should use to make a decision? If someone wants to move to a state because they like the state motto, so be it! The flaming arogance need to tell someone what they cant make a personal decision apon is over the top to me. But, hey I like that little thing called personal freedom.


BTW, ColtPistols....take a good look at Va!

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It's hard for me to rank what's the most important thing...But Guns are really, really up there. I've lived in upstate NY, PA, NJ, SC, and WI. Never really been happy with any of them as far as hunting or gun regs were concerned. I have hunted in all those states as well as Alaska, Utah, Idaho, and West Virginia. Several of the statesI lived in had some things going for them, but not enough for me to stick around. NY had lifetime pistol licenses, decent hunting, and probably the cheapest housing in the US. But they have mandatory handgun registration, and probably many more new anti-gun laws sinceI left. They also don't allow cat and bear hunting with hounds (SomethingI am currently pursuing.) NJ had a couple of good things about them as well. Just nothing good for me, just the governor's pockets lol. WI had decent hunting, and relaxed gun control laws. I absolutely loved going to gun shows and just buying onesI liked without haveing to wait MONTHS for a permit like I did in NY. However, in WI there is no ccw, and bear hunting with hounds is by lottery. That doesn't really work for me. SC has bear hunting with hounds, shall issue legislation, gun shows were really lousy that I saw. Also the ccw thing is ridiculous. Fees were huge, list of places off limits and signs in businesses banning ccw were everywhere. I never bothered to get the permit while there, it just wasn't worth it. PA has a VERY good ccw system. no fingerprinting, no needless waits, small fee, etc. But it doesn't allow handguns to be purchased at gun shows without going through an FFL and NICS check fees. Also no big game hunting with hounds. As you can see I've lived through some tight gun regs in past years, and guns and hunting are such a huge part of my life that I'de really rather just save up some dough, move and start anew somewhere more condusive to my lifestlye. Most of you don't just move so you can do what you want when you want. However as i mentioned at the beginning of this thread, that's really what I'm about.I believe in liberty and patriotism through the 2nd ammendment. I am different than most people looking to move since I only work because I have to live. AndI live to hunt, fish and shoot. Money isn't really all that important to me.I have worked for as low as 4.38 an hour. I'de rather not work for that low again, but all I'm saying is I ain't qualified for a doctor's salary, so wherever I'm at, I can probably live on a ranch hand's salary, or working at the local wally world lol.

States recommended so far are pretty good. I love ID, MT, WY, and Utah the most so far. So farI see it as the states have this going for them;



*****Idaho-Hound hunting, good ccw, open carry, not many off limits places for carry, gun show andprivate purchases allowed, but small gun shows

*****Utah-Hound hunting, good ccw, open carry, not many off limits places for carry, gun show andprivate purchases allowed, but small gun shows

****Montana-No bear, but cat hound hunting?, good ccw, not many off limits places for carry, gun show andprivate purchases allowed, but small gun shows

****Wyoming-No bear, but cat hound hunting?, good ccw, not many off limits places for carry, gun show andprivate purchases allowed, but small gun shows

****Arizona-Hound hunting but by lottery?, good ccw, open carry,but many off limits places for carry, gun show andprivate purchases allowed, good sized gun shows

****Virginia-Hound hunting for bear, good ccw, open carry, not many off limits places for carry, gun show and private purchases allowed, except for handguns?, good sized gun shows

Let me know what you think. The ones with question marksI am kinda of looking for confirmation as I am not sure if that is true.

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Can't go too far wrong with any of those states.

I love Utah's scenery. Very diverse landscape.

The desert to the west, the mountains to the northeast, the valleys, the red rock in the south.

Hunting as you know, is good, the sand dunes are a good place for hgih speed dune buggies, lots of camping, pony express trails to traverse, great quartz formations to find in the desert, skiing and snowboarding in the winter, paragliding in utah county.

It really is a great place.

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Arizona would work well, depending on how much money you want to make and what your skill set it. The thing to remember is that if you're no more skilled than a Mexican illegal, you'll make little more than a Mexican illegal. Blue collar trades and such you won't make much in, unless you're extremely skilled. It is a state with the 49th lowest wages in the country. But decent jobs are available if you have skills that can put you ahead of everyone else.

Also know that while you can hunt almost anything with any reasonable means, the hunting licenses aren't always as easy to get as I'd like. But if you can definitely hunt everything from Jack rabbits to buffalo.

The good news about Arizona is that you can have just about any weather you want, and the cops in most parts could not be more gun friendly. Arizona's weapon laws are nearly as good as they come.

For weather, hunting, scenery, and most importantly gun rights of all types, I find it to be the best state to compromise on. I'll be moving back after I'm done with school.

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ColtPistols wrote:

****Virginia-Hound hunting for bear, good ccw, open carry, not many off limits places for carry, gun show and private purchases allowed, except for handguns?, good sized gun shows

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For the time being, private sales of handguns are legal in Virginia. There are still a lot of people around here who want to make private sales of firearms illegal at gun shows (if not everywhere).

We'll have to wait and see what is proposed by the General Assembly next session, if anything; whether any proposal would be restrictive beyond gun shows, whether it would apply to all firearms or just handguns, or whether there would be exceptions to the rule that would still allow private owners to sell any of their guns to any non-prohibited person anywhere; everything is still up in the air and if we do our job right, nothing will be passed.

If Virginia is on your short list, pay close attention to the upcoming Gubernatorial election pitting McDonnell against Deeds.


Next you'll have to figure out where in your new state, whichever it may be, you would live...

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thx997303 wrote:

I love Utah's scenery. Very diverse landscape.

The desert to the west, the mountains to the northeast, the valleys, the red rock in the south.

Hunting as you know, is good, the sand dunes are a good place for hgih speed dune buggies, lots of camping, pony express trails to traverse, great quartz formations to find in the desert, skiing and snowboarding in the winter, paragliding in utah county.

It really is a great place.

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Sounds fine. But, ahh, but can one OC a rifle there????

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Why yes Hank, one CAN OC a rifle in Utah.

I am considering doing it myself when I get back there.

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virginiatuck wrote:

One last thing, you'd better check with Il_Duce to make sure he likes you and says it's okay for you to move in. He's banned me from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; I sure will miss the place.

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Now you're banned from West Virginia. Keep it up.

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Michigander wrote:

Arizona would work well, depending on how much money you want to make and what your skill set it. The thing to remember is that if you're no more skilled than a Mexican illegal, you'll make little more than a Mexican illegal. Blue collar trades and such you won't make much in, unless you're extremely skilled. It is a state with the 49th lowest wages in the country. But decent jobs are available if you have skills that can put you ahead of everyone else.

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Umm...I never made much money. Working as a daylaborer getting paid $12 an hour was good for me. The illegals around me on the same crews generally made close to that as well. I am primarily unskilled. Started landscaping at age 13. Still doing some of that now. Started doing odd jobs, construction, a little bit of plumbing, this and that, work for a mover loading and loading trucks for residential moves, worked security, worked retail, also manufacturingetc. and I have college credits for criminal justice. As you can see I've done a few things, but I'm not really qualified for anything above an entry level job. In Idaho the jobsI looked at in carpentry or similar for limited experiencepay around 12 to 15 an hour, but living expenses would be FAR less than where I'm at now. I really don't need that much.

Arizona does sound like a world better than where I am now, however it's the list of places off limits and the difficulty in getting the licenses to hunt the game
I'm primarily after that makes me want to look to another place.

I liked Cour D'Alene Idaho a whole lot. It's cheaper than where I'm at now, but I was kinda looking for somewhere even cheaper, so I can live on the budget I had when I lived in upstate NY. Don't know if there's any areas in Idaho or Utah where housing is very affordable, compared to the housing I looked at in west Virginia, but if there are, than I'de like to look into those areas. Especially if they're close to large tracts of state, federal or otherwise public hunting land. Vernal Utahwas nice whenI went there.

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ColtPistols wrote:

****Virginia-Hound hunting for bear, good ccw, open carry, not many off limits places for carry, gun show and private purchases allowed, except for handguns?, good sized gun shows

Let me know what you think. The ones with question marksI am kinda of looking for confirmation as I am not sure if that is true.

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Private sales are fine for handguns! Some tried to change that, but they couldn't even pass that right after Va Tech, so I don't see them ever doing it. At lest as long as we don't fall asleep at the wheel. There are a couple things that could be better, but Va is one of the best gun friendly states in my opinion.

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Price of living isn't bad in Utah, I had got by for a number of years making 9 an hour.

Seems like it doesn't matter which direction you go inUtah, you are leaving cities.

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ColtPistols wrote:

*****Idaho-.... but small gun shows

*****Utah-...... but small gun shows

****Montana-....but small gun shows

****Wyoming-....but small gun shows

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I wouldn't put any weight on the size of gun shows in determining a target state - none are as good as they used to be and I've all but stopped going any more unless I'm just killing time.

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Come on down to Colorado Springs! It's a beautiful place to live, with Pike's Peak nearby, it has a great view as well. I've lived here about 4 months now, open carrying everywhere I go and not ONE problem. I've been out OC'ing on multiple occasions and passed by cops or sheriff deputies without incident. They're pretty good about knowing the law around here.


Here's the view right out my window:

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ColtPistols wrote:

Umm...I never made much money. Working as a daylaborer getting paid $12 an hour was good for me. The illegals around me on the same crews generally made close to that as well. I am primarily unskilled. Started landscaping at age 13. Still doing some of that now. Started doing odd jobs, construction, a little bit of plumbing, this and that, work for a mover loading and loading trucks for residential moves, worked security, worked retail, also manufacturingetc. and I have college credits for criminal justice. As you can see I've done a few things, but I'm not really qualified for anything above an entry level job. In Idaho the jobsI looked at in carpentry or similar for limited experiencepay around 12 to 15 an hour, but living expenses would be FAR less than where I'm at now. I really don't need that much.

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How are you going to get the "NFA stuff" you would like to get someday?

Remember, guns are the most important thing...

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I took the find your spot test, and having similar desire to relocate under the same motivations, I thought I'd share.

It listed a big pile of small towns in Northern AZ and Southern UT.

Exactly where I've been eyeballing for the last year already....

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thx997303 wrote:

Seems like it doesn't matter which direction you go inUtah, you are leaving cities.

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That has got to be one of the most arousing statements I have seen in a very long time.

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If i had to move anyone else it would be Alaska for sure. I live in Washington, the 2nd best state (if it weren't for the no NFA weapons). we have all kinds of hunting, forests, big mountains, desert, ocean beaches, OC, etc. Alaska has all that, but bigger, colder, and harder. I like Montana's gun laws, but too dry there for me.

I OC all the time, some of the liberal snobs give me wierd looks, but I haven't had any LE problems, except on the National Parks (they dont like me OCing hehe)







here's the view from my window in the morning...







one of the deer in the corral a few months ago (they don't mind me)







the lake down the road from me (yes i took this)







Where I ski in the winter (yes I just layed tracks down that )







where else can you get that?

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All the photos I just sawabove this postcould have been taken in Virginia, and the ocean is warm enough to swim in until OCT / NOV. I sail on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries(which has more shoreline than the entire west coast) year round.

I can't imagine living anywhere else. Did I mention that we have ONE murder a year (at the most) in my county, but we're less than an hour from the oceanfront?

Check our gun laws. OC everywhere (except federal government property) and class 3 is up to the local sheriff. Our local sheriff is VERY supportive of 2A and OC. I've never asked him about C-3 weapons, since I don't have any...

Semper Paratus
msc

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Yes Hank, I would very much like to purchase NFA weapons...someday. They are down the list a little ways since money is tight, and may become tighter whenI move. Also there are many other types of firearms I need...ok, maybe want. I was very much impressed with a huge private collection of weapons I saw at a man's house in PA. Some of which were beautiful NFA items, valued in the tens andI believe one was over a hundred thousand dollars. obviously I can't afford anything in that price range, but someday, who knows. MaybeI will afford the lower end NFA stuff, like a MAC 10 or something with a sound suppresor or short barrel, just for the sake of adding to my firearms collection.

Utah, and Idaho or so close together on my list that I can't decide which I like better. Both have such beautiful landscapes, of deserts, mountains, and lakes. People so much more friendly there than anywhere I've ever lived before. Gunshows should avail me of the opportunity to satisfy my ever increasing urge to "just look." Hunting is excellent in both states. Gun control is not going to interfere too much with my rights and liberty to carry openly or concealed nor will it prohibit me by imposing the major hoops to jump through just to purchase another weapon. The west is looking better than ever! All I need to do now is research some towns, hunting areas close to each, and cost of living, then save up enough dough to move!:lol:

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virginiatuck, MSC 45ACP, or anyone else who knows; When you say that private purchases of handguns are alowed without NICS checks or registration, does that include private sales conducted at a gunshow? I know I sound like a rebel trying to avoid government and all, but that's not what it is. I wouldn't do it if it was illegal in that state. It's just that I make very little money and I spend a lot(or waste) on purchasing weapons that strike my fancy at the moment. Some types of weapons I would really only purchase used rather than new, like say maybe a couple of single action revolvers (rugers maybe) and a derringer just to hang on display in my pistol cabinet for kind of a cool western theme. I just can't imagine someone buying a cheap pistol like a derringer for the sole purpuse of displaying on the wall and then paying 20% of it's value just for a NICS check. A NICS check on a new 1911 or another 870 might not be to big a deal. But as you can see, I'm not interested in registering or NICS checks if it's not required by law.