Question for our American friends

spike.t said:

nah just something i have wondered about with the different gun legislation in different states, as to which would be the best to live in if someone who is into guns fancied moving over there. mind you after checking the prices of houses in orofino and flagstaff they are cheap compared to here. you dont get much here for the equivalent of $800,000 to $900,000 , and you really need to be looking at over a $1,000,000.00 ...............here is a link to an estate agent a friend owns here http://www.thompsonestates.com/

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Well just in case you change your mind, it's relatively simple. Avoid any of the really heavily Democrat states (California, NY, Illinois, etc.). There are some exceptions to this, for instance Minnesota. Heavily Democrat, but full of outdoorsman who draw the line firm there it seems.

Here's a link that'll help you on that : http://www.gunsandammo.com/network-topics/culture-politics-network/best-states-for-gun-owners-2014/

Jeez you guys, I am surprised no one has suggested Alaska yet? Hunting, fishing and every other outdoor activity you can think of. We like guns and people that have them. And for the weather? The pic is my house on Thanksgiving NO SNOW! What more could you ask for?? And with global climate change who knows? Maybe desert bighorn and marlin tuna in the next ten years.... (Ok I am being sarcastic, maybe a little funny, not trying to hijack the thread with global warming discussion)

mekaniks i think i could live in alaska for 6 weeks of the year when you have daylight and no snow !!!

There you go Spike, Alaska in the summer, Florida in winter and a RV for everything in middle. And you could stop and hang with Brickburn on the way by!

Mekaniks said:

There you go Spike, Alaska in the summer, Florida in winter and a RV for everything in middle. And you could stop and hang with Brickburn on the way by!

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spike drives on the wrong side of the road!

PHOENIX PHIL said:

spike drives on the wrong side of the road!

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That might just make it plus one for spike and Alaska then. In the winter on a snow mobile no one would notice!!!

And ARGH!!!!

Was just about to shoot a doe with the .458 Lott, had the safety off, but when it cleared the brush it ended up being a spike instead of a doe. The irony!!!

Royal27 said:

That might just make it plus one for spike and Alaska then. In the winter on a snow mobile no one would notice!!!

And ARGH!!!!

Was just about to shoot a doe with the .458 Lott, had the safety off, but when it cleared the brush it ended up being a spike instead of a doe. The irony!!!

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On AH while deer hunting?!?! ...........okay, I might would do that

Texas- no state income tax, best gun laws in the US, We have everything from piney wood forest, high plains, hill country, coast, mountains, and prairies. Great hunting laws. Easy land access. We have whitetail, mule deer, turkey ( eastern and rio), a few elk, hogs, upland game, waterfowl, great fishing and cheap property if you look in the right area. What more could a guy want?

gizmo said:

Texas- no state income tax, best gun laws in the US, We have everything from piney wood forest, high plains, hill country, coast, mountains, and prairies. Great hunting laws. Easy land access. We have whitetail, mule deer, turkey ( eastern and rio), a few elk, hogs, upland game, waterfowl, great fishing and cheap property if you look in the right area. What more could a guy want?

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Can't argue much with any of that, but easy land access? Without a deer lease which I was under the impression are very hard to get, you don't have land to hunt. Am I wrong?

PHOENIX PHIL said:

On AH while deer hunting?!?! ...........okay, I might would do that

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Sometimes the ADD kicks in.... Besides, I had just gotten set up and hadn't even been there for five minutes. No deer were going to be there for at least an hour!

Royal27 said:

Sometimes the ADD kicks in.... Besides, I had just gotten set up and hadn't even been there for five minutes. No deer were going to be there for at least an hour!

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Wish I was on tree stand right now!

I think that Florida is a good choice for you if you like the heat and nonrestrictive gun laws. Now with that said, I would recommend staying away from most of mainland Florida (south beach is unlike any place you have ever been to and not in a good way). I choose to live in the Ocean Reef Club on Key Largo. This works great for me because it is extremely laid back, which is exactly what I wanted.

Now if you don't want such a laid back environment or too much humidity, I think that Texas is a great choice. You can't go wrong with a place in Austin or Houston. I absolutely love the Texas environment. There is some great hunting in Texas as well (just stay away from Ted nugent).

Now I am not necessrily recommending Illinois, but I do think that now after they passed concealed carry, it is pretty far from being a highly restrictive state when it comes to guns. I spend a good chunk of my time in Chicago and I enjoy shooting pheasant at Max McGraw when I can. I have never felt that Illinois was that restrictive. Now with concealed carry, they are basically on par with most other states.

In conclusion, my vote is for one of the Florida keys. They are very reasonably priced and you absolutely can't beat it if what you want is the resort experience. It is definitely not for everyone, but since I spend so much time traveling, all I want to do when I am at home is relax. I highly recommend checking out the Ocean Reef Club. It is the best place to buy property in the Keys, especially if you like the resort vibe and enjoy the water sports.

I would recommend Oklahoma except for the weather, tornadoes, earthquakes, and locust plagues. Lots of things to shoot, inexpensive land and good gun laws. If I talk it up too much a whole bunch of people might move here and crowd me. As long as they are AH people it should be ok.

What part of Oklahoma do you recommend? I was told that the Panhandle was the epicenter of the great dustbowl in the 1930's.... So you actually have like a sort of celebrity status out there!

Seriously, great people out there and lots of open country yet amazing the economic activity going on in some parts.

Although I looked at a piece of land that I think a jack rabbit would have needed to pack a lunch to cross it.

Well I live in north central okla. This year I have some areas of grass over 6 ft tall. Technically called crosstimbers, but we have swamps and cypress in the southeastern areas, tallgrass in the northeast, and lots of diversity. Temps have gone in one month from minus 10 to 70 degrees f . I do understand the dust bowl. My grandfather farmed in the panhandle in the 30's and I remember his stories.

PHOENIX PHIL said:

Can't argue much with any of that, but easy land access? Without a deer lease which I was under the impression are very hard to get, you don't have land to hunt. Am I wrong?

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There is over a million acres of public hunting land plus the walk on program. I also forgot to mention we have the largest free range herd of Auodad sheep in the world, the second largest canyon (Palo Duro Canyon is 2nd only to the grand canyon), and did I mention at least 100 species of exotics from all around the world. Everything from Chinese water deer to Cape Buffalo!

Not to barg into this thread and go off topic but AH is great while in a tree stand. I was on here for a while in the stand when I shot my buck on Thursday.

When choosing a state and location you need to consider what else you want. Do you want nice restaurants, night life, shopping, movie theatre, etc close by or a couple hours drive. Also cost of living vs your income or savings. Living in Some states like NY are a lot more money than in other states like Wyoming.

Florida is great, the gulf coast has much realier, friendler, and more of mid-western visiters than the east side of FL. The east side and in areas like Miami you'd probably feel out of place as their are a lot of fake people and it attracts more of a North east crowd such as new yorkers.

Do you have a preference for being near the coast or not?

PHOENIX PHIL said:

spike drives on the wrong side of the road!

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the correct side as you might have noticed even when in africa!!!!!!

Royal27 said:

That might just make it plus one for spike and Alaska then. In the winter on a snow mobile no one would notice!!!

And ARGH!!!!

Was just about to shoot a doe with the .458 Lott, had the safety off, but when it cleared the brush it ended up being a spike instead of a doe. The irony!!!

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surely with a .458 lott the little itty bitty horn things would have fallen off when you shot it?????

good to see its warming up with all the "mine is better than yours" !!! still think that flagstaff area is edging into the lead from weather, property etc the texas places were a bit one horse florida keys are some of the most humid places i have ever been!!! but nice views on the beach