The Best State for a Shooter???

[405]

Buy or rent a very cheap-to-operate car. Set aside a month or two and go look-see. Talk to the locals. Check the local and state tax situation. Check land market prices. In some areas the best shooting situation would be a lot of cheap land for some buffer and at least a 1000 yard range. Shooting Utopia would be to have the long outdoor range and a culvert covered all weather range Get a feel for some areas. I like those places that no one else likes. Utopia in the future US of Amerika??... won't be able to escape the feds no matter which state.

My personal choices would include- some of Wyo. or bush AK. If you're looking for wide open public land... check with the BLM for land status maps/areas. But both the USFS and BLM are seeing green touchy feely these days so that isn't a sure bet either in all areas.

[wrcook]

One of the reasons that we moved to Maine, 20 plus years ago was that it was gun friendly. There is a long time hunting tradition, there are planty of open spaces (woods too), and all the public land is accessable to hunters, and a lot of the private land is too. There are few gun laws, and those few seem to make sense. I have a range on my property, and can even shoot off my own porch. When I got my class III weapon, all the law enforcement people thought it was cool. Besides myself there are at least two others in my area who own full autos. Maine is a neat place. The biggest downside is a lack of employment, and jobs are hard to find unless you are in one of the high demand professions.

Bill C

[AZ-Stew]

Forgot to mention that Class 3 is allowed and that only 17 percent of the state's land is private. 1/4 of the state is Indian reservation, a lot of National Parks and National Monuments, LARGE areas of National Forest and LARGE areas of BLM land, as well as many tracts of State Trust land. Generally speaking, the Monuments, Forest, BLM and State Trust land is open to hunting without any permits other than the state hunting license. We have more free public hunting land than most Eastern states have land.

Regards,

Stew

[txpete]

I have lived in the following states thanks to uncle suger.fl,ky,ga,sc,mo,wa and texas.
I really liked GA some real fine folks down there but the taxes were very high.I ended up staying in texas after I retired.good hunting and fishing & no income tax.the state is one of the best for taking care of its disabled vets.I haven't bought a hunting/fishing license or plates for my truck in years.
pete

[Gee_Wizz01]

I grew up in TX and I am partial to the state. As stated before no income tax, relatively conservative, generally very reasonable prices, concealed carry, hunting, shooting sports and gun friendly. As stated earlier, hunting is usually by leases, but reasonable ones can be found, you just have know where to look. That being said, Uncle Sam has me living in FL right now, and it is also very gun friendly, has easy concealed carry, lots of public hunting land, but most require lottery drawing for deer and hogs. Lots of Hunt Clubs and plenty of good gun clubs and other places to shoot. The biggest problem here in FL the constant influx of liberal yankees who want to bring New York city type laws here. Yes there are some good conservative northerners but they are few and far between. The best part is that it doesn't get cold in Florida. And there is no income tax here in Florida either.

G

[DeepSouth]

Mississippi,very short winters.Snow, the first time I saw snow(in any large amount in MS)I was 24.It was about an inch.It does get warm.We do have hurricanes but they are not that often.Lots of deer,turkey,have some bear.Land is cheap and some of the best people you will ever meet.If you have enough land you can shoot in the backyard and nobody cares,if you don,t have enough land you can still shoot in your backyard and nobody cares to much.That maybe a turn off!MISSISSIPI GIVE IT A TRY!

[Leadforbrains]

All I can tell you pretty much anywhere down south. We still have some rights left down there .....at least for now anyway. Maine and New hampshire would be an exception. I was visiting the great state of Maine, and I went to the Kittery trading post in Kittery Maine. I walked out with a Marlin 1894 in .44 mag in 25 minutes, and I am from out of State. The folks in that store were super nice to me to.

[BD]

I've lived and worked in PA, WV, SC, NY and ME, and a couple of foriegn countries. Out of all of them, northern Maine is by far the most gun friendly. Game is not super plentiful, but they do have deer, bear, moose, grouse, rabbits, bobcats, racoons and turkeys. You're allowed to be out hunting something or other from late August through the end of march, and there's plenty of room to do it in. You're still allowed to run bear with hounds, or hunt them over bait. There's an action pistol match somewhere within an hour's drive every weekend during the good weather, and plenty of indoor pistol ranges available for winter shooting if you're so inclined.

Downsides: Very little work, only one deer a year, (with a few exceptions), no hunting on Sundays, high taxes and lots of state regulation of business. Also, southern Maine, where the liberals live. In the 1990 census there were 1 million people in Maine, and 750,000 of them were in the five counties of the portland area. That leaves the rest of us spread kinda thin up north. If I go west out of my back door I pass my neighbor's house and then it's a 26 mile walk to the next paved road. Going east, I pass a couple of neighbors within 400 yards and then it's another 35 miles to a paved road. It's 40 miles to McDonalds, 75 miles to the movie theatre. Gotta love that.

We haven't decided if Bangor is really part of northern Maine or not, after all it is south of Abbott village they do have a movie theatre though.

IMO the ++ out wiegh the --, We still own our home in Greenville, and I'll move back as soon as there's work, or when there's no work anywhere, whichever comes first.

BD

[MakeMineA10mm]

Well, back in 2006, I did a comparison of states with the following criteria:

CCW - "Shall-issue," "May-Issue," "Forbidden"
NFA weapons legal - "No restrictions," "Some restrictions," "Forbidden"
Total State & Local taxes for an average person - "(dollar figure)"
Crime statistics (from the FBI Uniform Report data)

I found the best states were:

Idaho
South Dakota
Utah
New Hampshire
Colorado
Oklahoma
Texas
New Mexico
Louisiana
Arizona
Florida
South Carolina
Nevada
Alaska
Ohio
Maine


The WORST places to live were:

California
Maryland
Delaware
Iowa
Hawaii
Rhode Island
Massachusetts
New Jersey
New York
Illinois
Washington D.C.
(Connecticut and Wisconsin would not be high on my list either.)


The best states all had lower taxes (Colorado was highest at $4100/annum, just 200/annum over the national average), shall-issue CCW, unlimited NFA weapons availability (at the state/local level - you still have the NFA34 law, of course), and generally low crime rates (worst of the good list was South Carolina w/ 784 violent crimes and 4505 property crimes per 100,000 population).

If you take Colorado out of the top 6 (because of taxes and crime), I'd be giddy to live in any of the other five. (I've marked them in red for you.) Look at a map and watch the weather channel for about 12 months on those five states to see what you want to handle as far as weather goes... Personally, I've had my fill of frigid winters and being in tornado alley (two more great attributes of IL), so I'd pick Utah for myself.

[j23]

"Almost Heaven!" or "Wild and Wonderful!" (...thats West Virginia!)

The state's general population (aside from some yuppie transplants in the eastern panhandle, fleeing from the District of Columbia...) are firearms friendly, to say the least.

In fact, if you dont have a .22 or thudy-thudy by your door, or hanging from your simple, high-school-shop-class-produced-gun-rack, you may be excommunicated!

...not to mention the extremely liberal bag limits on whitetailed deer. Last year between city limit hunts, landowner tags, anterless, bucks only, muzzleloader, and archery, I harvested seven deer. ...and of course I borrowed a few from my neighbors, Ohio and Pennsylvania!

I love West Virginia, and Im sure most of you would too!

[RugerFan]

South Dakota Black Hills area. Milder winters, liberal gun laws, very friendly laid back people, great hunting and fishing.

Great hunting and fishing yes, but "milder winters" ??? Milder than what? Whats the annual snow fall and average temps in January?

[piwo]

Your border in MO the past 4 years passed concealed carry, passed the castle doctrine, and seeks to expand that even further. Unfortunately, a new Governor's who's alliances are with his party (which if fond of curtailing 2nd amendment civil liberties) is in control of the mansion, but not the legislature. Unlike Il, deer hunters can use centerfire rifles, nice ranges exist, and public ground in all areas of the state. But that is the weak link. The state has been trying to improve the 91% private to 9% pubic land ratio. Using taxpayer’s money to outbid individuals for land is BS, but the conservation commission still remains pro hunter, so I'm still happy about that. No FOID card, good hunting, decent ranges public and private. I'm pretty please overall.......

[JW6108]

Buy or rent a very cheap-to-operate car. Set aside a month or two and go look-see. Talk to the locals. Check the local and state tax situation. Check land market prices. In some areas the best shooting situation would be a lot of cheap land for some buffer and at least a 1000 yard range. Shooting Utopia would be to have the long outdoor range and a culvert covered all weather range Get a feel for some areas. I like those places that no one else likes. Utopia in the future US of Amerika??... won't be able to escape the feds no matter which state.

My personal choices would include- some of Wyo. or bush AK. If you're looking for wide open public land... check with the BLM for land status maps/areas. But both the USFS and BLM are seeing green touchy feely these days so that isn't a sure bet either in all areas.

Excellent advice.

Another thing you can do is read the local paper online, where available. This can fill in some of the info gaps as per local government, crime, businesses, etc.

[wiljen]

TN has no income tax, shall issue carry, NFA legal, and a low crime rate if you stay out of memphis. Worth adding to your list.

[mooman76]

The western states excluding CA have a whole different attitude toward guns as apposed to the rest of the country. They also have for the most part allot of open spaces to shoot. Being retired military I did get around abit. UT is good, might want more toward the south though even though wenters aren't as bad as IL except maybe the mountains of UT. NV isn't bad but southern NV is too hot for me and not much hunting fishing in the southern part but much better in the nothern part. Pick a western state that suits you.

[Ole]

I would say AZ is in the running (top 10), but we're already full.

[missionary5155]

Good Evening
I am still hoping someone from New Mexico will speak up... I am considering retiring there some fine day when Peru is no longer a possibility to start Bible orientated Churches.
I lived in Tennessee for 7 years and would easily go back.

[Charlie Sometimes]

Plus 1 for WV- only the "city folk" look a little sideways at you when you have a gun.
Montani Semper Liberi- MOUNTAINEERS ARE ALWAYS FREE (State Motto) and he carries a gun too!
(on the flag- check it out).

Everyone is welcome here, very friendly people, and a lower than average unemployment rate (currently)- just don't bring the ways of others with you, and expect us to change, please- we'd like to remain free.

We have the best of most everything- 4 seasons (the lengths vary at times); not too cold or too hot (varies some too); green hills & mountains; lots of game (both big and little); very little or none of the annoying types of insects (depends on where and how you live- mosquitos, flies, politicians, etc.); Only 3 kinds of snakes to worry about- Rattlesnakes, Copperheads, and Politicians (them again?); we're within 500 miles of most of the major population centers (if that thrills you- not me) but the sometimes rugged terrain inconviences the liberals, and keeps most of them out.

You can drive all day (hell, all year) and never leave the state if'n you want- roads are well marked, fairly well maintained, and some are crooked as a dogs hind leg (don't pick those areas).

Even the dead can vote here- they do it every election in Lincoln Co. (got more dead voting than live ones there- Damnocrats, everyone).

We were one of the last states to get Swine Flu- maybe still not here yet, haven't heard lately.

On a sad note- we sometimes don't make enough money in our jobs. For some reason, no one wants to pay use a better wage than some other states get. However, on a good note, we have not had any problems with illegal immigrants- maybe we don't make enough money for them to do our work for us? Lots of work brickle people here, or good work ethic, as some call it.

You're welcome here with open arms.

[Charlie Sometimes]

Oh, yeah- our gene pool is not as small as some would have you believe either. Thought I might add that before the jokes get started! (Thank you Dick Cheney) I can tell you where NOT to go here- if you're concerned about that.

[MakeMineA10mm]

TN has no income tax, shall issue carry, NFA legal, and a low crime rate if you stay out of memphis. Worth adding to your list.

Hey Wil,
TN is on the list (it has all 50 states - I just abbreviated it for space here). Tennessee didn't have totally unbridled NFA laws. I checked suppressors, MGs and cannons, and TN restricted a few things from that list, whereas the top 16 states had no restrictions whatsoever (beyond the federal law). Tennessee's taxes ARE darn good but crime stats are actually a little higher than average (probably because of Memphis, Nashville, and Chattanooga). It is a beautiful state and the area between Nashville and Alabama is some of my favorite country. Just doggone scenic, it is!

I've noted a lot of mention of WV. It is in the middle of the list, too, just below TN. It has higher taxes and lower crime than TN. It has several restrictions on Class III toys, but does permit some.


Considering Class III may not be a big factor for many folks here, there probably are a lot of states that would be nice/acceptable to live in. Even if you do not want Class III, I figure how permissive the state is towards Class III tells you a lot about gun-friendliness overall, though.

I should also have mentioned in my first post, that the govt. Cost Of Living Index was compared for all of those states as well. Of my five favorites, Oklahoma was the cheapest as far as cost of living.