What's it like where you live?

[ronnyvous1]

Another New Yorker here, and thank God I am in Livingston County. Our Sheriff here, as did his predecessor, seems to understand that we like our handguns. No slack or lack of enforcement, mind you, but none of the horror stories I hear from surrounding counties. In Rochester Carry permits take 6 monthsto a year to get, here we see them in 6 weeks at the most of you do your paperwork right., The big problem, at least here, is that each county can decide what it's policy is towards handguns. Each individual judge acn issue or deny permits according to his own standards. There have been those of a liberal bent that issue almost no permits regardless of the reason. We do have a good tool here in SCOPE, the Shooters' Comittee On Political Education. They have actually sued certain judges and jurisdictions for unduly restricting permits without cause, and area always making it damn hard for the Lawmakers in Albany to slip legislation through. Last year there was a "plot" added somewhere into the State budget very quietly that would have required permit holders to re-apply every 5 years, that each handgun transaction would cost up to $100, and original permit applications including the 5 yr renewals would go up to $500. Thank God it was discovered, but there's always next time. I don't know if SCOPE is just NY based or national, but they sure do hold the ground on gun laws here. Check out the Web site sometime. Good group!

 

[rayb]

See what pepperbelly said about gun ownership in Texas. Definitely gun friendly overall.

Not many muzzleloaders in my part of Texas. It's a big deal where i go to shoot trap, that's how i'm identified, the guy that shoots that loud smokey thing.

Plenty of hunting. Where I'm located lots of deer, antelope,quail, pheasants (Texas Panhadle east of Amarillo). The opening weekend of pheasant season you can't get a flight in or out of Amarillo,the flights are filled with people from everywhere, going to Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma,to hunt. You would be surprised how many deer there are in the middle of the flatlands, wheat fields, grainfields, etc. The only danger is that they are starting to plan a lot of cottton around here; that will hurt hunting if it displaces the milo, corn and wheat. The rangeland is all privately owned, and the lease is the way it goes. Lots of real estate pressure to buy "hunting ranches" has increased real estate values.

See the Texas elk sticking his tongue out at me when i took his picture. Look close, you can see it.

rayb

 

[MichaelPetersen]

If you have a approved gun cabinet, you can keep your gun at home.

Normally you are only allowed to carry your gun from your home to the shootingrange, I guess minor detours are ok, but carrying it when you go shopping, is a bad idea.
It is possible that some form of a concealed carry permit exists for personal protection, but I doubt it.

If you hunt, I think you can take your gun whereever the hunt takes place.

 

[Greg Walden]

Pretty gun friendly here in Florida cracker country. I have to have a permit for concealed carry, but that's the only permit restriction I know of (except of course Class III for full auto).

I might have some of the few flintlocks around though; most guys I see shooting have inlines. Haven't really done much range shooting with others, though.

Greg

 

[IronMan]

Okla is a pretty gun friendly state. No permit needed to buy or own any type of guns,except autos and such. Concealed carry permits availible for $65 and an 8hr course. Hunting licenes for anyone 16-20 yrs requires Hunting safety course. Game includes about everyting except moose and bear. All in all not a bad place to live.

IronMan

 

[brushbuster]

south central texas is a mixture of juniper laden hills and heavy brush country.where i live we have live oak mesquite ,guajilla ,black brush, white brush,sage ,prickly pear,and cholla in some places,deer hunting is difficult in my neck of the brush due to the large ranches useing 8'high fences to keep their deer and exotics on their property thus restricting deer movement as well as there are a lot of small ranchetts(30-160acres)who lease to just about anyone with a gun and willing to pay 150.00 for a day hunt.this puts a lot of pressure on the deer down here.they are so skittish you want to shoot them with prozac instead of a bullet.
you have to own a minimum of ten acres to be allowed to hunt on it and not be in a sub division,if you dont own land you have 4 choices .get invited,day lease,annual lease,hunt on state property(natural areas,permit only)or hunt out of state.
thats why the only wat to get deer to come to your stand is to bait :results:

 

[Halftail]

Up here in Nova Scotia we are strapped with the same gun laws as the rest of Canada.Last I knew our Provincial government wasen't enforcing unless there is some kind of Domestic Dispute or similar disruption.There are regulations on everything except Flintlock Rifles and Some Antiques.That means Registration and Proper storage =Gun Locks with Trigger locks or a cable lock or a gun safe.PAL=POSSESION and Aquistion licence or a POL Possesion only licence.Both are renewable every 5 years.You need to re-apply for the PAL.
All the cards needed and other things equal some $$$$ and lots of time and effort.
As far as the hunting goes we have Whiteails,Bear, Ducks Grouse,Coyotes,Moose By lottery in Cape Breton.
The gun laws are kind of a pain but it's all worth it to hunt and shoot.

 

[Gary]

Left wing stronghold that is extremely anti-Second Amendment. Even mentioning that you have smokepoles will draw hostile glares. Well, tough it if they don't like it. :blah: I like it and that's good enough for me! :thumbsup:

 

[BigCity]

Keith,
Here in the "Peoples Republic of Maryland", we have some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. There are 22 counties plus Baltimore City. Baltimore City and only 2 counties around Washington, DC pretty much control the legislature. We finally got our first Republican Governor in 40 years! But the rest of the legislature is Democratic and very left leaning. To purchase a pistol you have to be "not disapproved" by the State Police and then have the waiting period. Rifles and shotguns have the Instacheck system. Last time I bought one, I waited maybe 1/2 hour.
Carry permits exist, but self defense is not a reason to get one. I have one but it is only good between my home and work and at work. You have to jump through a lot of hoops to prove you need one.

We have a lot of deer here to hunt in addition to Canada Geese, all kinds of Ducks, pheasants ( in some areas), rabbits and small game. We had our first black bear season this year in a million years. Because of the flack from the bunny huggers, only 40 bears were allowed to be taken. Because like 30 were taken the first day, the rest of the season was cancelled so it would not go over the limit allowed. I have only hunted deer, canada's and sea ducks so far.
Hope this helps.

 

[PaulN/KS]

Well you would think that Kansas would be a pretty good state for gun owners and hunters...fact is that this is one of the few states with no allowed concealed carry for it's subj..er,"citizens".Hunting is good,big deer but not much public land and the private land is getting leased up in lots of the state.Pheasants out west,geese and ducks,rabbit season is year round,turkeys are more numerous than quail around where I live.Mule deer in the far western part of the state too.Not too bad...but I do miss Oklahoma.

 

[Zonie]

Arizonie..Oh, Ah meen Arizona:
Like several of the western states (California excepted) the gun laws here are few.
You can't carry concealed without a CC Permit, but you can carry any gun exposed almost anywhere except a few places like schools, Courthouses etc.. This includes wearing your .44 Walker or .45 Colt in a holster on your hip.

More than half of the state is National Forest which means you don't have to get anyones permission to hunt there.
The main exceptions are the Indian Reservations and incorporated towns and citys and certain areas which the G&F dept has placed off limits.

The climate and vegetation depends on the elevation.
At 77 feet, Yuma and the surrounding areas are HOT and rather barren (cacti, greasewood and little low bushes. At Flagstaff, Payson, Show Low, Prescott and the White Mountains in the Eastern area of the state the elevation is between 5000 and 9500 feet with cold air and heavy forests of Ponderosa Pine, Oak, Spruce etc.
Much of the state is around 1100-2000 feet with cacti, Paloverdi and Mesquite trees. The Southeast portion of the state also has rolling grasslands.
In other words, there is something from barren desert to treeless alpine mountain peaks and everything in between except heavy hardwood forests. It all depends on where you are.
It is also all available in a 3 hour drive from Phoenix.

Arizona is on the migratory bird flyways so everything from ducks to geese to cranes pass thru. I haven't heard of Swans tho.
Dove (Mourning and White Wing), Quail (Gambels, California, Scaled and Mearn's), Phesasant.
Whitetail and Mule Deer, Elk, Antalope, Bear, Mountain Lion, Bobcat, Fox, Coyote, Turkey, Javelina, Big Horn Sheep, Buffalo (penned), Rabbits (Cotton Tail and Jack), Squirrel and others I forgot to mention.
We have Wolves too over in the White Mountain area but you aren't permitted to even yell at them, let alone hunt them.

Almost everything except rabbits require getting a permit thru a drawing process. Open season on rabbits all year long.

Muzzleloaders (and centerfire handguns) are legal for all of the mammal hunting I know of here.

 

[brushbuster]

Dove (Mourning and White Wing), Quail (Gambels, California, Scaled and Mearn's), Phesasant.

i used to raise quail cotournix(japanese quail),gambles,mountain,blue scale,and bob whites,i thought the mearns quail were on the endangered species list like the masked and benson rodgers (i also had a pare of these but they never bred) ::

 

[Musketeer]

Ditto to Zonie's post, with a few additions. Coyotes are huntable year round here too. Though AZ is a very gun-friendly state, unfortunatley you ain't seen urban sprawl until you've been the the Metro Phoenix area! Many good shooting and hunting areas have been closed down around the borders of the city in the last several years, as the city continues to expand outward. Many of the areas I used to hunt 4-5 years ago now have houses on them! :cry:

 

[Rebel]

Musketeer, i know what you are speaking about. The same thing down in Tucson. Places i used to hunt quail, rabbits and coyotes are now sub divisions. Heck Tucson is built up clear out past the town of Catalina clear to Oracle Junction, and south past Green Valley. Just not the same anymore.

 

[Zonie]

brushbuster: Mearns quail can be hunted in Arizona between Nov 21 to Feb 9th. Limits on quail is 15 except Mearns is 10/day.
As I recall, they are down in the Southeast part of the state in the prairie land areas. That's where the scaled are too.
Incredibly beautiful birds!! :shocking:

 

[the skrat]

up here in michigan we are pretty gun friendly at least in the northern portion of the state. there is lots of public land to hunt on but opening week of deer season is very crowded the rest of the time its not to bad. we have lots of game here deer bear turkey coyote fox bobcat pheasant woodcock ruffed grouse my favorite squirles porkupines rabbits crows and probably a few more i cant think of. my family has a fair amount of land so i have been well blessed with good hunting experiances hope to pass it on to my children.

curly maple

 

[Keith]

Curly, do you ever see wolves up there? Maybe that's only Wisccosin or Minnesota. :hmm:

 

I have been fortunate in living in several gun friendly states through my 60 yr life so far....except Calif., where I was born....Penna., Ark., Texas, Okla., Colo., Nev.,Ga.,and present Lousyanna....all seemed pretty gun friendly when I lived there. Even Virginia, at least back in the late 60s-early 70s. I think I have lived in 11 states--yeah, 11. It was MD that was the worst.....but when I lived there (1969) it hadn't gotten that bad yet. The problem locally isn't gun control, but hunting access. I shoot a a gunclub range, but have little access to hunting areas because of widespread huntclub leasing and shortage of public lands.

 

[shmrck1]

Mike,
living in ohio the gun laws are fairly friendly on a state level it's the local statutes that are anti almost
everything guns, smoking, gambling and for the most part individual thinking.
snake-eyes :hmm: :hmm:

 

[HistoryBuff]

Gun laws are pretty lax here in Tennessee. But like some others have said, the urban sprawl is killing the fun. The place where my grandfather and uncles used to coon hunt is now in the middle of several very large appartment/condominium/housing areas; in a least a mile radius around the fields and forest which is now completey paved and bricked. The area along I-65 South of Nashville between Brentwood and Franklin used to be prime whitetail country. Completely built up now a mere 15 years later. The deer are still quite plentiful; they get hit by cars all the time. Growth is so fast and the developers so thirsty, we don't even bother with Civil War battlefield or monument preservation.

HistoryBuff