Best state for hunters and shooters

[dzavoina]

Red Eagle, you could retire in Central Texas. There are many job opportunities for retired military, the PX, dispensary and commisary privileges at FT Hood are close, and you may hunt on post when there isnt any training being conducted.

If you hunt on post, then you have to do the drill with bringing firearms on post, but thats the cost of post 9/11 military installations.

[Red_Eagle]

I mainly looking at being a heavy equipment mechanic. maybe Tractor trailer if I can get into the diamler-frightliner course my school offers. Tennessee would fit most of my criteria. Close to my family, Minimal taxes, low cost of living, pro-2nd amendment, good hunting seasons / regs, and a culture compatible social beliefs (i.e. "red state"). east Texas would be good too, but would put me futher away from my immediate family. My dad has people here someplace. and besides, the idea of never eatting at Whatta buger again really scares me. Can't get white gravy for your chicken stips in NY, thats for sure.

[TXGunNut]

Sounds like a good plan. Daimler/Freightliner school sounds good if they cover the other engines as well. Lots of Detroits and Cats out there to work on. I'm guessing you can already assemble an N14 as well as a Marine can assemble his M4. Allison trannys won't be foreign to you either.

[Art Eatman]

Unemployment in most blue-collar work in Midland/Odessa is right at zero. "Help wanted" signs are all over the place. The oil patch is back in bloom, er, boom.

Varmint hunting in Georgia seems weird to me. They worry about how and when you can use lights, what cartridge, a bunch of stuff like that. I disremember the specifics, but bobcat, coyote and fox are all different, last time I read the regulations. Deer? Yeah, fine. Hogs and turkey, no problem. Okay on game birds.

[TXGunNut]

Lots of varmints in the Atlanta metro area but they're all protected. Think that's another forum anyway. I've heard tell, even seen videos where the hogs are bigger and meaner in GA, AL and a few other Deep South states than they are in TX. Sounds like fun!

[603Country]

Well...the hogs may be bigger and meaner in other states than Texas, but my game camera caught 23 of them under one of my feeders yesterday. I have plenty pigs. But, back to topic, central Texas is where I am. Our place is in the middle of what I call the triangle (between I35 and I45, south of Dallas and north of Houston and San Antonio) and land is pretty cheap. Hunting is good, though the deer aren't huge. Population density (of people) is very low. But if RedEagle just has to have a Whataburger, it's 40 miles to Waco.

[Fish_Scientist]

Big sky country. Gun friendly (lots of pickups have gun racks AND the guns in them), plenty of public hunting and private landowners that offer up their land to the public for hunting, and friendly landowners who would let you hunt their land if you're polite and asked nicely. A standard hunting/fishing license ($80) gets you a fishing license and all required stamps, an elk tag, a deer tag, and an upland bird license. (Bear, antelope, turkey, lion, goat, and sheep tags are extra, but not much.)

We're a "shall issue" state so getting CWP isn't a problem (but neither is crime) and it only took me 6 weeks to get mine (and that was because was of my references was out of the country when the sheriff tried to call them). Land can be cheap if you can live outside of town. I've not met a rude Montanan since I've been here (3 years) and have even had complete strangers offer me a place to stay for the night when my truck was broken down and all the hotel rooms were filled up.

Montana is a great place to be, but if you want to be close to relatives, it may be tough out here.

Fish

[TXGunNut]

I've spent a little time in MT, hope to spend more soon. Good points, Fish.
603? If you need a little porcine population control I'm just a PM and a few hours away!

[Redbeardsong]

Georgia is a "shall issue" state, open carry is legal, and you can have all your NFA items you want. It took me 8 days to get my carry license. I don't hunt, but there's lots of it around. Mountains, beaches, big city, farmland, antebellum architecture, great music... Plenty of good stuff here. And this is coming from a Michigan-Colorado-South Carolina-New York guy. My only complaint is that SC won't recognize our carry license, and we can't carry in church or bars.

[aaalaska]

Check the Brady campaign state scorecard.
Alex

[Sarge]

State of Solitude- as far away from population centers as is practical.

[Scorpion8]

Alaska. Great hunting, except for deer. Probably the most reasonable gun laws around, in fact I'm wondering if we have any....

[38superhero]

Mayor AL "Shooting and gun ownership is a complex operation in California for non-spanish speakers."..... what?

[Doyle]

Lots of varmints in the Atlanta metro area but they're all protected.

Including the ones that run the government there.

[Art Eatman]

Let's not get too carried away on politics...

Focus on hunting laws and public attitudes, mostly, I guess.

[Mayor Al]

38 Superhero,
That was my poor attempt at making a bit of fun at the current immigration situation. No offense intended. I will stay closer to the actual topic next time.

[davlandrum]

DO NOT MOVE TO OREGON!!!! The people are jerks, there is no game to speak of, you are forced to wear tie-dye and sandals. It just sucks!!!

OK, really the only downside to Oregon as a military retiree is they will tax your retirement check as income.

Other than that, it rocks.

[22-rimfire]

I am from PA, have hunting and fishing relatives in NY state, and live in East Tennessee. I like Tennessee. It is a little difficult to find places to hunt depending on where you are. There are WMR's, but many are restricted to archery, black powder, or shotgun use for deer. Most of the better deer hunting is west of the the valley and ridge part of East TN on the plateau area and further west.

Lots of people retiring in TN these days due to low cost of living. The lakes are great for warm water fishing and there are trout fishing opportunities in the Eastern part of the state primarily. The trout fishing does not come close to what I was used to in PA.

Lot of people moving to Northern AL too (the hilly part). North Georgia is nice too. TN has the benefit of not having a personal income tax.

I enjoyed tramping around Arkansas a lot. But much prefer TN.

[gedenke]

$.02 from the "best coast"...Here in S. Oregon, I hunt bear, turkey, deer, elk, birds, cougar, coyote, even varmint and furbearers. We even have some sheep or antelope if you're lucky enough to draw. Public land is abundant, from flat grasslands to coastal timber, to high mountain lakes or wetlands. I can own a suppressor, full auto, hi-cap just about anything, as long as I give the feds their due. Just about every town south of Portland has a local club/range/gun store not too far off and CCW isn't hard to get.

[Daryl]

Arizona and Colorado are at the top of my list.

Between the two, Arizona is more gun friendly by a bit, and has better access laws for hunters, but big game tags are limited and therefore hard to get sometimes. Bear, lion, and archery deer are the only over-the-counter big game tags offered.

Colorado is very gun friendly as well, although not quite like Arizona. Access laws are somewhat restrictive for private or leased state land, but there's still plenty of forest land you can hunt to your heart's content. Big game tags are available over-the-counter for many areas and species, and you can apply for limited tage to get a "better" hunt if you draw.

Daryl

[Saltydog235]

Don't come to SC, there's too much warm sunshine, pretty countryside abounds, the longest deer season in the nation, everybody's packing, decent fishing, mini-mountains and pristine coastline. This place sucks, stay away from here.

[snipecatcher]

I'm a younger guy, but have grown up hunting in TX. TX isn't necessarily a hunter friendly state. If you like duck hunting, you are in luck. The bay systems on the coast are free to hunt on and there are lots of ducks. If you hunt anything else, expect to pay. You may find a landowner or two who will let you hunt pigs or coyotes for free, but most of the farmers and landowners I've talked to are scared of being sued, so they do not let anybody on their land. There is very little in the way of public hunting land. The laws about hunting and gun ownership are great, but don't expect just to go park somewhere and start walking into the woods. Everything is private and you've gotta lease land, which will usually be over a grand a year. Just throwing that out there.
Regards,
-Dan

[stevelyn]

I am sorta surprised that no one has mentioned Alaska.

We're closed. The visa process is long, complicated and verrrrrry expensive.

[Art Eatman]

At Ayn Rand's final public appearance--attended by some 6,000 people--there was a Q&A session. Somebody called out, "What about the poor?"

Her answer: "Don't be one."

If hunting is truly a priority for one's lifestyle, I'd think that extra work or a second job would then allow one to hunt, no matter the cost-level. I never saw it written in stone that Art Eatman was obligated to remain poor.

IOW, there is a vast difference between hunting opportunity and low-cost access to that hunting opportunity. TANSTAAFL.

The Brady score was mentioned above. Seems to me that what they consider bad is what we'd think of as "No hassle, to and from hunt camp."

[sirsloop]

not NJ, unless you're hunting illegals