Medford , Oregon area... gun laws ?

[Digger]

Just came back from a quick business trip the the town and surrounding communities .. Ashland (college town ?) and over to Grant's Pass.
Very nice looking with all the mountains and forest and thought I would post a question on the forum for any members in the southern Oregon area as to the politics there as far as fire arms status ..... found a Sportsmans Warehouse and noted a couple of gun shops here and there and enjoyed the area for the short time I was there.
The most enjoyable part was going north out of Susanville to Shasta ... Wow , what a beautiful part of the country ! seems like nothing but forest for a hundred miles.

any how , just an inquiry in to the area and it's surroundings as now I can say I have been there once .
digger

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

The past four or five years Coastal Oregon's LE uniform patrol officers have redirected their focus from fighting crime and drug interdiction (which they have proven themselves fairly inept at) to revenue enhancement via speeding, etc tickets. It is difficult to tell anymore, when you cross the border from California north into Oregon.

Save the rant responses, I have three nephews in LE on the wetside; and that is their assessment.

Rich

[OldSchool]

By the way, it's "Grants Pass" without the apostrophe. We'd like to be back, but it won't happen anytime soon.

With respect to your question: During the California Invasion of the 60's and 70's, Oregon's political climate changed hard left.

Two good resources are:
http://www.nraila.org/gunlaws/
http://www.handgunlaw.us/

As well as the Oregon State Police.

[mpbarry1]

Oregon allows concealed carry. And has reciprocity with a few states. However we are on the cusp of having a loss. Multnohma county (Portland ) dominates our political environment. Bush 1 called Portland 'little beruit'. Those folks take pride in being weird. We are a control of both houses and governor by the *******es away from losing ground. So far we are holding them off. In fact my Senator (pendleton) put in legislation this session to relax our gun laws a little. It died in committee. 90 percent of our states land area is populated by good folks. 10 percent dominated by the Marxist weirdos.

[lylejb]

90 percent of our states land area is populated by good folks. 10 percent dominated by the Marxist weirdos.

+1 on the idea, but I'd go with 75% / 25% , only because the Portland metro area is so large.

"Keep Portland weird" is a bumper sticker often seen in the area.

The Portland metro area, the Eugene / Springfield area, and the Ashland area the most liberal areas.

The Hard left / liberal / progressive crowd IS the minority, but is very vocal. Their voices get heard, because the majority of normal people are often silent.

Oregon is a "shall issue" state for CHL. Requirements are passing a training class ( which can be from any certified instructor. my class took 2 hrs, and $35 ) and passing a background check. Oregon is poor about CHL reciprocity, Oregon doesn't accept any other states CHL's, and few other states accept Oregon's, as far as I know.

There is no other firearms license / registration requirements in Oregon beond the usual BATF forms. Purchase of a gun requires the "instant" background check ($10 to the state police. The gun store phones in and usually has approval in a few minutes)

Oregon doesn't have a specific open carry law. Indivdual cities / areas DO prohibit open carry. Bottom line, is if you plan to open carry, get your CHL. CHL holders are exempt from at least some of the nonsense.

Oregon does allow class 3 items. Rumor has it that individual CLEO's may not want to sign off your BATF transfer forms. This would vary by area.

Here is a link to the oregon firearms federation, an aggressive, pro gun organization. This site has links to oregon gun laws, legislative updates / alerts, ect.

http://www.oregonfirearms.org/

[10x]

Oregon allows concealed carry. And has reciprocity with a few states. However we are on the cusp of having a loss. Multnohma county (Portland ) dominates our political environment. Bush 1 called Portland 'little beruit'. Those folks take pride in being weird. We are a control of both houses and governor by the *******es away from losing ground. So far we are holding them off. In fact my Senator (pendleton) put in legislation this session to relax our gun laws a little. It died in committee. 90 percent of our states land area is populated by good folks. 10 percent dominated by the Marxist weirdos.

Pendleton?
My wife has people in Dale, Ukiah, and long Creek....
Nice country that.

[mpbarry1]

Pendleton?
My wife has people in Dale, Ukiah, and long Creek....
Nice country that.

Beats the hell out of Chicago, that's for sure! :D

[Simonpie]

Glad you enjoyed my adopted state. I'm Seattle bred and have been living in Portland about 10 years.

I find most of my Portland friends are liberal, not politcally active, and like to shoot. I don't really know anyone into defense weapons. Portland just seems too safe to bother for me, but lots of recreational shooters.

I think people forget about the outdoorsy Paul Bunyan vibe that exists out here. They see the noisy tree huggers and forget the huge number of hunter-fisher types that are really the polite power behind the local enviro scene.

Also, there are a lot of outdoor businesses in the state like Nosler, Benchmade, Gerber, Danner, Leatherman, and a scope manufacturer (Leupold maybe). Even though I love Portland, it can be great to get out in the rural parts. It is true Old West out in some places.

Simon

[GL49]

Ashland? Liberal? I've lived here all my life and seen it change from a sawmill town into a college/Shakespeare/tourist/retirement town, it's W-A-A-Y past liberal. But there is still hope, the city council has taken a step back towards center after the last elections. Right now we are trying to renew our gun club's lease on city owned property outside the city limits, don't know yet how that will turn out. If asked where I live, it's.... "West of Klamath Falls".

[crazy mark]

Springfield is no way the same as Eugene. We are known as "Springtucky". Springfield used to shoot and ask questions later. Now they tase and ask later. I work next to the UO and I hate that establishment.

[Digger]

Kind of figured Ashland is that way as while on one of our job sites an older gentleman walked up and started to chat , of course we got to talk a little politics and he mentioned about having to get permission from the town to cut down a tree and it would not be a good idea to bring your deer back from the hunt tied down over the hood of your truck .....
I came back with a comment about how that would probably start a street protest ......

Can you go out away from town of course ..... pick some place in the woods to let off a few rounds with out a helicopter or some other coming after you ?

[dale2242]

It is obvious where I live by looking at my profile. I have lived here most of my life. I will be 70 in Feb.
I made my living in the timber industry, that has been basically distroyed by the environmental community. Things change.
We have had a major influx of people, mostly from California. The political climate has moved to the left. City people seem to have a more liberal attitude. People move to the area for 2 reasons, lower real estate prices and the sheer beauty of the area.
I live south of Grants Pass. The 3 countys in SW Oregon are more than75% federal land, which means nearly unlimited hunting and fishing ......dale

[376Steyr]

Summertime in western Oregon, also known as the Californian's Bane, is a cruel trick by Mother Nature to lure the unsuspecting into moving to western Oregon, whereupon the victim discovers the reason the place is so green and lovely is because it rains continuously the other three seasons. Gun laws are better than California, which is a pretty low bar to clear. Oregonians as a group range from those longing for a Marxist paradise in the cities to the rural folks longing for FDR's New Deal to finally kick in. I was born and raised a hundred miles north of there, and was fortunate to escape.

[GL49]

Digger,
There are a lot of places out of town where you can shoot. There is a lot of public land, and many private landowners along the unpaved forest access roads won't mind if you shoot. If you don't cross a fence, or if it is not posted, you are probably OK. My mom owns 160 acres about 8 miles NE of Ashland, we shoot there all the time and don't mind if anyone else does, as long as they don't make a mess or shoot the door latches off the cabin. One of these days I'm gonna catch the bugger that keeps shooting the cans of root beer and Pepsi we leave in the spring. Even have a sign that says "have some if you're thirsty", but.....
dale2242, I worked summers in sawmills while attending Southern Oregon University, and after college decided I liked the timber industry better than teaching math. I've been a full time wood products employee for nearly 40 years and am currently an electrician at a plant in Medford.
My Ashland story: We live on an acre and a half in the city limits with a creek along our back property line. When my son was 11 years old, he liked to play in the creek, as most kids do, and we were reported to the city about the "unlawful excavation and construction in a riparian area" by the neighbor lady who had just moved here from Orange county. The code compliance officer and I got a good laugh about it, but after he explained to the neighbor that an 11 year old building little dams in the creek didn't warrant any further pursuit of the matter, she has chosen not to speak to me since. I think what really burned her, she had her yard maintenance person go down the creek onto my property, take all my son's rocks he had accumulated, pack them up the creek, and line her side of the creek bank. After speaking with the city, my son took all his rocks back. Sometimes you just gotta grin.

[The Double D]

Born it Roseburg, grew up in Ashland and Medford. Left the area in 66 to go in the service and work. Returned in 76 to work, live and go to school...met Dale2242 and shot with IHMSA with him.

Left the area in 84 to work for the government. Looked forward retiring to back home at the end of my Career, but found out our Oregon was now the northern most county in California and no longer appealed to us.

We retired to Montana.

Next spring I will travel to Medford to place my wife's ashes in the grave with her grandfather and probably never go back to the Area.

[GL49]

The Ashland city council did decide to renew our gun club lease for another 10 years, but it makes the gun club responsible for any and all lead cleanup at the range when we decide to give up the lease. Cleaning all the lead from the entire acreage in the lease has been estimated to be as high as $1,000,000 if we do all the city and neighbors have requested. I've been told the "club" is responsible, not the individual members and users, I hope they're right. Next year we can go back and request one more year to be added to the expiration date of the lease, maintaining our ten year minimum on the term of the lease. Already, three neighbors have filed a suit against the city and the gun club for violating Oregon's environmental laws because we allow lead to contaminate the berms and the land under the shotgun range. I guess those with the most money are able to make the loudest noise, and if you don't like the neighborhood when you move in and build your expensive houses, you can try to make the neighbors move. Gotta love it!

[Bob Krack]

Just came back from a quick business trip the the town and surrounding communities .. Ashland (college town ?) and over to Grant's Pass.

The most enjoyable part was going north out of Susanville to Shasta ... Wow , what a beautiful part of the country ! seems like nothing but forest for a hundred miles.
rDigger,
I was born and raised in Ohio and after high school went into construction and have worked in every state EXCEPT Hawaii.

I lived in California the last 35 years and 25 of that in the area (Susanville to Shasta). Can't disagree one tiny bit about the scenery.

Don't have any contribution to your question, just commenting on your observations.

Bob

[Digger]

The Hard left / liberal / progressive crowd IS the minority, but is very vocal. Their voices get heard, because the majority of normal people are often silent.



http://www.oregonfirearms.org/

How true that is for most of the country ..... sorry , maybe went a little to far here .....

and yes Bob .. that part of the country would be nice to explore now and then , just for the beauty of it all .

digger