[Big Mike]

Hello!

I am inquiring as to experience people have regarding how "gun friendly" Texas is. Recent state cutbacks in Oregon where I am a state employee have made me and my family rethink where we live (Southern OR). I originally came from a relatively gun friendly state, Washington. There to Nevada, which the people are gun friendly, but laws are kinda weird. My wife suggested CA, but I put-the-foot-down:rolleyes: and told her no. She agreed. So, we want to live in a relatively serene place, but Texas has recently come up as an alternative. She agreed that all things considered, if the state would not allow us the latitude of CCW, then we wouldn't do it.

So Texas has come up. Especially East Texas, near College Station. How are the laws there? People? Attitude? Are police OK with Texans carrying? Any response would be appreciated. You can respond on this or PM or email. Thanks, Mike

[Skunkabilly]

Please don't PM back to him, post it here, I need to know too!

[just_another_citizen]

I've got a whole bunch of relatives in Bryan which is right there with College Station (home of Texas A&M University).

It is a college town, and the college dominates the local scene. Hope you like college sports.

If you want to check out the local newspaper:
http://theeagle.com/

Selected Texas A&M news: http://www.thebatt.com

A&M main web site: http://tamu.edu

We thought about making that move (in 2001), but the place was too small for us and we opted to stay where we are.

Freedom-friendly though. Shall-issue CCW.

I was told the state follows federal law on eeevil black rifles and automatic weapons if that is your thing, meaning you could buy and posess them with no state restrictions. More knowledgeable Texas residents will correct me, I'm sure.

I liked Texas people everywhere but Dallas.

[Art Eatman]

A Texas resident with a clean record can easily get a CHL. There are licensed instructors all over the place. The Department of Public Safety is very pro-CHL.

In general, Texas is gun-friendly, other than a very few local areas. Austin police are gun-friendly, even if the City Council is berzerkley-oid. In general, LEOs are CHL friendly to properly-behaved folks.

To over-simplify (and leaving out CHL), Texas forbids any kind of weapon other than long guns in your vehicle. Exceptions are a handgun "while travelling", which by court-decision-precedent means out of home county, overnight. If you are clean-cut and minding your own business, your vehicle won't ever be searched.

There are all the usual laws against nunchuks, clubs, saps and switchblades (unless you're one-armed) and all that. SOP stuff.

Bryan-College Station, home of the Aggies, is surprisingly conservative for a college area. East Texas in general is politically conservative, although few are too far off to the right of Attila the Hun. Aggies are good people, once you learn'em to read and write and inculcate table manners. :D (I'm an old Teasipper from UT-Austintatious. I bleed Burnt Orange.)

Come on down! Always room for another shooter!

:), Art

[JohnKSa]

Transportation and carry of long guns is virtually unrestricted with the exception of the standard no-nos--Airports, bars, federal buildings.

Transportation and carry of pistols is VERY restricted unless you have a permit. You can carry one in your trunk without a permit, but that's about it. The travel exclusion is fact but is a defense against prosecution only. In other words, after you have been arrested and come to trial, you may ask for the case to be dismissed on the basis of the travel exclusion. This is a precedent based on a late 1800s trial involving a freedman who was arrested for possessing a pistol while travelling. To complicate things a bit, there is no clear definition in the law of travelling, but it is generally accepted that an overnight stay is involved. There are other less restrictive and somewhat generally accepted definitions (such as crossing two county lines), but you're skating on thin ice since it's not spelled out anywhere. That's unless they've changed that section of the penal code since the last time I waded through it ( a few years ago).

Texas weapons laws make no distinction between loaded and unloaded firearms.

Permits are shall-issue, so if you've been a good boy you can get one that's good for 4 years after taking the 12 hour class, getting fingerprinted, photoed, etc. background checked and paying the fee to the state. Full service classes can be had for around $100 (don't hold my feet to the fire on this one, it's been awhile...) if you shop around, and the initial 4 year license fee is about $170 if I recall. Renewals are 4 hour classes every 4 years. They run as low as $50 for a full service class with a renewal fee of around $70 for the state-sanctioned piece of plastic good for another 4 years.

As with any state, highly urbanized places tend to be less friendly to guns with Austin topping the list of places that the antis like to congregate. Dallas has in the past been fairly gun-unfriendly as have a few of it's suburbs (notably Plano), but not overboard since state law prevents them from getting too far out of hand. As pointed out earlier in this thread, LEOs are pretty uniformly pro-gun, it's the politicians that vary. Of course since Police Chiefs & Sheriffs are elected positions, they tend more to the politician side than the LEO side in my book anyway.

Self-defense and property defense laws allow the citizen a wide lattitude in the exercise of deadly force. Texas grand juries have a strong tendency to avoid indicting otherwise law-abiding citizens for shooting those engaged in criminal activities. I believe they no-billed the guy who killed a thief trying to steal hubcaps off his car. Of course, the thief's family may take everything (including his hubcaps) in civil court...

Automatic weapons may be posessed by doing ALL of the following:

1. Receive the permission of the Chief Law Enforcement Officer (typically County Sheriff or Chief of Police). This permission is discretionary and he does not have to give you a reason for refusal. He can also place restrictions on his permissions. I know one Sheriff who required that the weapon be accessible (in a reasonable time frame) to his department if it was required for official reasons. I've heard that others may specify storage safety requirements, etc.

2. AND Pass a background check.

3. AND Pay the state fee. I believe this is $200.

Finding a range that will allow you to shoot full auto is another story...

Of course, all federal laws apply.

[Selfdfenz]

I think if you are shooting for a medium sized town you are on the right track. Houston and Dallas are dang near too big to be user friendly. I've been to College Station but can't say much about the culture or mindset there other than to say its a college town.
As a rule Texas is pretty gun friendly. After you live here 6 months you can go for a CHL. It's not as cheap as some shall-issue states but not as pricey as others. FBI and DPS background checks, classroom training and shooting all in one day. If you don't have a CHL having a gun in your car that is accessable to you or another occupant is dicey unless you are "traveling" or going directly to or from a range. Unlike too many other places, using deadly force for selfdefense in Texas does not automatically mean you as the shooter will be charged with a crime/homicide/manslaughter etc. Unfortunately like just about everyplace you can still get sued in Texas after such a deal no matter how legal or justified you might have been.

Some of the bigger cities here have politicos that are more liberal and thereby not so gun friendly as smaller cities and towns. OTOH politicians in Texas are sensitive to the conservative=progun POV here and try not to unset that pool of voters with they want to have a long political future.

Texas offers awesome hunting opportunities.
Texas offers some awesome fishing opportunities. (fresh and salt)
No state income tax. Plenty of gunshows depending on the size of the place you pick to live.
Summer temperatures that pretty much revolutionized the ice cold beer industry here.
And of course bluebonnets. Springtime in Texas is a beautiful time to be alive and roaming!
And last but not least....I have the great, good fortune to call many native Texans friends. They are fine people.

Downsides
Too many liberal immigrants from other states.
Too many illegal immigrants from outside the United States.

JMHO

S-

[GunNut]

Big Mike,

Yeah, I'd get out of Oregon if I were you too.

I'm in Washington, and things are creeping more and more to the left side politically. That and the lousy damn weather, have me considering relocating to the Tucson, Arizona area.

I wouldn't mind New Mexico or Texas, but have some family in Arizona, it would be nice to have someone I know nearby.

Good luck in your endeavors and get the hell out of Oregun. I work there, and that's enough for me.

Steve

[Johnny Guest]

JohnKSA's essay is pretty complete. Couple of minor corrections, though:
Beyond cost of the required training, the Concealed Handgun License state fee is $140 for four years, and $70 renewal for each subsequent four years, if you don't let your license lapse. There is a fee for the MANDATORY change of address. A CHL exempts a firearms purchaser from the federal NICS check (as in other states,) and there is no state mandated waiting period for delivery. This is pretty handy-- I have gone into a shop, located a revolver I wanted, paid for it, showed my CHL, filled out the 4473, paid the clerk, and been out the door with my new piece, all within 15 minutes. I did this while a local police officer was on his second trip, trying to pick up a new gun. The NICS was running very slow that afternoon.

As to acquiring an automatic weapon. 3. AND Pay the state fee. I believe this is $200. Nope, unless some agency has run through some sort of special fee, which sounds VERY questionable. There is NO state fee for processing an ATF Form 4. The applicant is NOT required to be fingerprinted at same location where the Chief LEO signs off. My agency charges $10 for the two fingerprint cards, but nothing for processing the F4. I am my sheriff's designated processer. He is very pro-gun, and I have taught members of his family in a CHL class.

I meet the applicant, inspect paperwork and proof of residence, and copy his ID. I ask communications to run the required checks while applicant sits at my desk. If all is clear, I fill in the blanks, sign off the forms, ask if he needs fingerprints, and he can be on his way in 20 minutes. (It usually takes a lot longer, but only because I end up talking guns with most of the applicants.)

(JohnKSA, if you have certain knowledge of any Texas LE agency charging a $200 fee to do a F4, please reach me by e-mail or PM. We need to talk.)

Big Mike, about the only other thing I have to add is that CHL law requires CONCEALED carry--No open carry except on private property. Also, It is a HANDGUN law— the CHL does not provide for carry of other regulated weaponry such as swords, switchblades, clubs and brass knuckles. ;) Also, law requires that a licensee, while carrying, must present the CHL with drivers license any time a peace officer requests ID for any reason. Officer is empowered to take possession of the handgun during the contact and return it when finished. The vast majority do not, and some agencies have SOPs stating this does not happen, unless the officer can articulate his reasons in writing.

I think you are doing the right thing in researching your prospective destination BEFORE moving. About the only unwelcome movers-in are those who break the law, or who move in, tell us how much better things were elsewhere, and then try to transform HERE to the image of THERE.

Best regards,
Johnny

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

Art's right on track with what he says. Johnny and John are too. I like the DFW area, but I grew up in deep East Texas. I like it swampy and thick. It just happens thay Bubba don't use no computers out there (much), so this is where I is.

West Texas is pretty conservative, Austin, of course, is Babylon on the Brazos. West Texas is somewhat less hospitable, climate-wise than East Texas, but Houston is a town where plastic rusts. There are gobs of small towns scattered all over the state. If you know a trade, you'll do fine. If you're an overedumacated guy, the 'burbs might suit you better...or at leadt one of the towns with > 50k population. Travel 3 hours in any direction from the center and you can find any weather you like. Personally, I'd like to get south of DFW just because land is more readily available and cheaper, relative to the north of Dallas. You have to get within sight of Oklahoma to find cheaper land up that way.

Most folks are pretty friendly and easygoing around here. Those that aren't usually moved here from somewhere else last year.

By the way, native Texans don't care how you did it back home.
Just a heads-up for when you get here. Otherwise, we'll all get along fine.

Regards,
Rabbit.

[Big Mike]

Wow, what great replies. I am glad to see Texas represented here:)

To answer, I have intentions on completing my Masters Degree, my wife her Ph.D in the near future. Both of us are in the human services field, her a therapist, me a manager in juvenile corrections. From what I gather, about an hour from Bryan in a few directions there are a few Texas Youth Commission institutions. There are/appear to be an elevated level of job opportunities. This is good.

Yes, with Measure 28 going down in flames here in Oregon, there are serious plans to have offenders released when they should still probably be in prison. I know Washington is going slowly down the tubes as I still have family up there all over the Puget Sound region. The weather basicially drove us out of there, and Souther Oregon is starting to remind me of rainy Tacoma. YUK!

I don't have, nor would my wife allow me to have an automatic weapon, so class 3 is out. Maybe I should put the foot down and make a command decision? :rolleyes: ??

I am glad to know the nature of owning handguns in Texas. I had a CCW in Washington and now Oregon. I would be wholly compliant in attaining a CCW there. Sounds like Texas is everything I heard it was, live and let live...I can't believe TX is not an OPEN CARRY state?

Thanks again. I am sending my wife the link to this thread!!!

Go Aggies!

PS, what the hell is an Aggie????? I know that may sound stupid, but I have to know. :(

Mike

Moderators: I had a brain fart posting this in Rifles. I intended it to be in General Discussion. Sorry! :D

[Braz]

:)

Aggies? Have fun killa, Texas is to be experienced to be believed.

Austin is God's country forn Texas. I grew up in Bryan, and Austin is where ya wanna be, heh.

[Double Naught Spy]

I would not say Texas gun laws are that restrictive. In just how many states is it legal to carry a loaded rifle or shotgun in your vehicle, such as in the gun rack in the rear window of a truck? Of course there are a few areas you can't go like that, such as schools, but for a person about town, you can carry a loaded rifle or shotgun within reach in your vehicle. Isn't that nice!!!

College Station? Lived there 7 years. There are a couple of neat ranges in the area and a few good gun stores and sporting goods stores. The humidity is high and being in the Brazos River valley area, you can actually have windless days that can be oppressively hot in the summer, especially with the humidity. I really like the area, but hated the climate issues.

[Dorrin79]

Born, raised, and lived here my whole life.

Most of the comments here are pretty accurate, although I think Austin (where I lived 97-02, and still live near to) is being unfairly judged. It's not really that bad, and has much lower pollution/crime/overcrowding than Houston, Dallas, or San Antonio. The liberals are annoying, and the Central Texas Pravda (Austin-American Statesman) is as horribly biased and amateurish newspaper as you woul ever hope to never read. My solution was to move out to a small town nearby.

In my experience, your best bet would be to find a small town near one of the metroplexes - housing prices are much better (with a few exceptions, such as Conroe to Houston, or round Rock to Austin), crime is non-existent, and the attitudes of the locals are (at least in my experience) very pro-gun and pro-freedom.

My only complaint is the streak of Bible Belt religiosity that runs deep in many parts of the state, especially in small towns. It may come as a bit of a shock if you are not used to it, or offended by that sort of thing.

One word of warning though - Texas summers can not be accurately described in words, especially in the Austin-Houston corridor, where temperatures have been known to exceed 100 degrees for 30-45 consecutive days. Better make sure your vehicles have "cold" ACs (and by "cold", I mean able to form frost on the inside of your windows)

[cola8d8]

I have lived in Bryan College Station for 27 years (all my life). It is great, I plan on staying. It is small enough to still feel "small townish" but enough to do, places to eat, etc... as a town with a higher population because of A&M being here. You can always run to Houston (1-1.5 hr away) or Austin (1.5 hours) to have some fun or shop at the big malls or what ever... My $0.02, it is wonderful. If you have kids there are also some great schools (some not very good also). There is only one outdoor range (100 yd) and one indoor range here. You will meet plenty of people with land outside of town to go shoot.

[Art Eatman]

"Aggies": Students of Texas Agricultural & Mechanical College (now University). Texas A&M. Really good kids.

Students from the University of Texas at Austin (referred to as THE University of Texas), the Longhorns, are referred to by Aggies as "Teasippers". This rivalry is over a century in age.

So, the pore ol' Aggies are picked on as are Polacks in Deee-troit City. ("You need a Polish passport to enter Hamtramck.")

Example: There was an Aggie coyote who chewed off three paws--and wuz still caught in the trap.

:D, Art

[ahenry]

I went to A&M so I know the Bryan/College Station area fairly well. The area is super conservative. In fact, the important local elections are the primary’s because whoever got the republican slot in the primary tends to walks away with the win. The towns are very heavily influenced by A&M. IIRC, the population of Bryan is about 60K and the population of College Station is a tad more and the “population” of Texas A&M, when faculty and students are present, about 100K (about 50K students). On game weekends (as an aside Texans take their football pretty seriously) traffic can be incredibly bad. The stadium (called Kyle Field) holds near 100K and there are only so many places for all those people to go after (or before) the game. Also, we like our LE here in Texas, and we don’t like people that break the law. The term “hangin’ judge” originated in Texas, and it can still apply (not trying to imply you would have a problem with it, just an FYI). Having said that, College Station has way too many police for the level of crime there, which is virtually non-existent. In other words, sometimes they look for something to do. If you have a family then you probably wouldn’t even notice, but if you are single guy then you might want to be careful. I myself never had a run-in with them, but I know lots of people that did.

Don’t forget if you live in B/CS you’ll only be an hour or less away from Shiner Texas, the home of Shiner Bock beer! And on a related note, if you like to go to bars and you want to live in B/CS, you better learn how to play 42.

PS, what the hell is an Aggie????? I know that may sound stupid, but I have to know. Texas A&M is Texas Agriculture and Mechanical. Aggie is a shortening of Agriculture and what you call an individual that attended Texas A&M. Aggie jokes are the Texas version of Polish jokes.


[edit]
I see Art beat me to it.

[El Tejon]

The answer to "how restrictive are the gun laws there" is always "it depends where you come from." To me, they are restrictive, to Kalifornians they are blessed freedom.

Big Mike, check out Saint Tony's! I have been visiting there for many years now and I love it. A modern, growing thriving city with some of the most stunningly beautiful, yet pleasant women in the world.

I usually fly into Saint Tony's then out to the "hill country" for gun skul. Wonderful places there, must be experienced to be understood.

I'll be in Austin in April. I hear it is great as well.

Every place has good and bad. The rub is in the weighing. Get the gig first. Best of luck to you.

[ahenry]

The answer to "how restrictive are the gun laws there" is always "it depends where you come from." To me, they are restrictive, to Kalifornians they are blessed freedom. You’ve said that before, and I still don’t get it. Explain how Indiana's gun laws are less restrictive than Texas’. Just because a concealed carry license is cheaper to obtain (technically Indiana license holders can have limitations placed on their ability to carry, but I digress), you think that over all Indiana has less restrictive gun laws? Makes no sense to me. Both states have concealed carry licenses (unlike Vermont), both states make no bones about long guns, both states allow class III weapons. However, Texas has the ability to carry a handgun (albeit slightly restricted) without a license. Moreover, Texas CHL holders are not subject to a “superintendent’s” possible restrictions to the carry license. I’m with you in that any firearms restrictions are “too much”, but I just can’t understand where you keep coming up with this “Tejas has restrictive gun laws”. Clearly you ain’t from around here. I'd really like to know what you base this view on.

[El Tejon]

ahenry, depends on where you come from and where you are going. It's all relative. Tejas is much better than visiting Chicago! Just basing it on a survey of Tejas and Indiana law. Let's just stick with carrying pistolas around,

1. You have to be 21 in Tejas vs. 18 where I come from;
2. It costs more money for the license;
3. There is a training class in Tejas;
4. There are restrictions on the weapon you can carry in Tejas ( revolver vs. semi-auto) v. carry whatever you want here SA, FA or revolver;
5. 51%;
6. .30-'06 & "the sign" saga;
7. The weapon must be concealed and continual Internet concerns over printing vs. Indiana (we do not have "concealed carry") just carrying;
8. Must tell the po-po that you have it;
9. Po-po can take it from you;
10. Indiana has worldwide reciprocity v. Tejas requires individual agreements and is hesitant to sign them;
11. The Tejas CHL reform law is very recent.

Both states have administrative procedures in place for the suspension and revocation of licenses. Both states have provisions in place for exemptions to the licenses.

ahenry, I understand that this here visiting Yankee following RoT law is the freight I pay, so I do. Takes some getting used to that's all, sort of like getting used to my funny accent.:D

[Brad Johnson]

Aggies? AGGIES!?

Now, now, we have to steer you into better territory.. :neener:

Go RED RAIDERS!!

http://www.ttu.edu/images/1st/bg_top_left.jpg

Hey, how can you go wrong with a team who's motto is "Guns UP!"

Brad :D

[Art Eatman]

El Tejon, minor points: If you qualify with a semi-auto, you can carry either a revolver or semi-auto. You're only limited to carrying a revolver if you qualify with a revolver. (There's no reason; it's just our policy," said the Legislature.) At least we're not like those states which allow only one specific handgun and record the serial number...

Frankly, I rather like the 51% law. I don't carry when I'm out for serious drinking, and I'd just as soon that others didn't, either. :)

The Section 3006 law actually helps CHL folks, since it reduces confusion for all concerned. Coupled with publicizing of the liability for protection of customers by places which don't allow a CHL to enter when armed, it's rather helped the cause.

The only time, typically, where there is interaction with LEOs is a traffic stop. They'll know by your license plate that you're a CHL holder; all you are required to do is show your CHL license along with your Driver's License. This commonly leads to a bull session about the merits of various handguns and which ammo might work better. "You on the Internet?" "Why, yeah." "Well, check out The High Road dot com." "Oh. Okay; thanks."

Art

[El Tejon]

Art, if .30-'06 aids the plaintiff's cause, then you are right: I'm all for it! Hope that the cost of litigation has caused business owners to rethink their policies. And just to clarify, I do not see as many `06 signs as I did when first went down there in `95.

With 51%, `06, givin' up yer hawglaig or restricted weapons, I'm just pointing out to ahenry how Tejas law is more restrictive than here in gritty, industrial YankeeLand, but to Vermonters we must be nuts. I understand how arguments can be made (or against in my gig) as to the merits of any law.

As to Tejas po-po, based on my limited contact (never as the "detainee"--yet) with them over the whole 3 or 4 counties I've been in, I have no reason to doubt what you report. It seems we Yankees and Texicanos share more than we have different [shudder].:D

[rick458]

I think you will find the people of Texas to be friendly, and helpful
the landscape and temperature to fit any climate wants you might have, ( Africa Really does look like East Texas Ive been there). The Bryon College Station area is very nice, Austin has the worlds BEST live music, Houston has some of the best resaraunts (there is a reason it has been the fattest city for years) the laws are pretty sane for this day and age, Shiner has Bocktoberfest,
we have the worlds 2 fastest drag strips (depending on weather)
and a pretty healthy economy. Come on down just dont be a Damn Yankee and don't go pissin people off you will be fine.
We will give you the shirt off our backs BUT if you try to steal it we will also be happy to give you the last shot you will ever need.

[rock jock]

Aggies are good people, once you learn'em to read and write and inculcate table manners
Those table manners come in handy when we're chowing down on Bevo.

[CleverNickname]

If you do decide on Texas, get a FL CCW ASAP, as we have a stupid law that says you can't apply for a TX CHL until you've been a resident for 6 months. A FL non-resident license will let you carry until then.

[rick458]

the best meal I EVER had was from a little french resaraunt
on the east side of College Station (take University past the loop and turn north then go about a mile cannot remember the name
white two story house Haunted absolutly wonderful food).

[Skunkabilly]

How's the sushi?

[Aggie1]

We call that bait down here.;)

[rick458]

Skunk you have to go to Houston Austin or Dallas for the
non batter freid non blackened non broiled non baked fish dishes
but we have Chicken fried steak out the wazoo

[Texas Gunman]

Seem like everyone pretty well said it all, Im fond of the Kerrville area aka Texas Hill Country.

It has everything a gun loving man or woman want, you'll feel at home your first day here.

TG:D

[Dannyboy]

Since no one else has said it, I will. Texas has the best looking women in the country, if not the world. I was partial to the UT girls, myself. I know you're married but that is beside the point.

[seeker_two]

I live near Bryan/College Station & Waco. Great medium-sized cities. B/CS has more diversity in stores, but Waco isn't far behind. Either are a good choice.

FWIW, B/CS & Waco aren't in East Texas. They're in Central (as in Heart of) Texas. For East Texas cities, you'd look at Tyler, Corsicana, & Texarkana. Much smaller cities there, but the huntin' & fishin' is better...:D

(...and, if you miss the liberals on the Left Coast, you can always visit Austin...:banghead: )

Here's some good gun stores to check out...

Waco:
Praco Pawn
Hewitt Guns

CS:
Burdett & Sons
Champion Firearms (good selection, bad service)

Buffalo:
Buffalo Sporting Goods

Dallas:
D/FW Gun Range (www.dfwgun.com)

As for the CCW laws, check out www.txdps.state.tx.us

Come on down...:D

[Hawk]

I work at a small company in Irving - occasionally described as West Dallas.

There are a total of eleven female employees, seven of which I've taken to the range at lunch for a machine gun rental / recoil therapy (it's gentle - DFW gun range has 9mm MP5's). The other four are just waiting their turn - I'm catching up as best I can.

Most of the guys have gone as well, but I only cover MG rental for the ladies - just old fasioned, I guess. Their respective husbands / SO's can cover it after the intro I provide. The going joke is that I'm trying to build an army to infiltrate the MMM.

The range works well for entertaining customers as well.

GAWD, I LOVE THIS PLACE! ...just can't picture this sort of thing working well in, say, SanDiego.

[rick458]

We do have very pretty women down here
but oddly enough I married a Jersey Girl
she is a transplant that the roots took well

[Skunkabilly]

No sushi?!?!?!? :eek:

Any Korean barbecue???

[Blackhawk]

Great thread about Texas! :neener:

Fill it in with El Paso, Big Bend (Art's yard), Laredo, South Texas, and the Gulf Coast, and it could be adopted by Parks & Wildlife as a travelogue. :)

[Braz]

Something I wrote for another forum,

Austin, a place where 50,000 collage girls return each fall. The center cloud of guitar slinger heaven. There are more live music joints in Austin than you can shake a pick at. On one hand you can water-ski in the icy cold Lake Austin, or sail the warm water on Lake Travis. Great water parks, beer gardens, best BBQ and longnecks, rattlesnake chili and beer festival, come to think of it most all activities require liquid because it's hot. Really hot. For six months out of the year. Ya get three months of fair weather wrapped around three months of bitter cold. In the summer your in water, or pouring it into your face.

Always wear shoes, everything on the ground is thorny. Turn on the lights to avoid the scorpions when you go to the bathroom at night. Don't leave shorts on the floor because of the black widows. Never make a cat door (don't ask). Try not to fall asleep in the grass, the fire ants take a few tourists every year. It's Red and Yellow Kill a Fellow for coral snakes, please don't hurt the king snakes as they eat the rattlers. Hornets don't lose their stinger and die when they attack, but they can smell fear a block away. The pretty red centipedes are not to be played with, and if your not the Crok Hunter, leave the tarantulas alone. Baking soda works for mosquito bites, but mosquitos love the smell of baking soda. Bats will not lay eggs in your date's hair, but they will make her mess up your Boxster seats. Oh and lastly, don't let your new fishin' buddies talk you into yelling "Gig 'Em!" in public. You'll find out why. :)

Cya up...Braz

[Greybeard]

Texas Parks and Wildlife: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/

P.S. Avoid barbeque sandwiches in convenience stores that also sell minners.

[TexasVet]

Holy Cow! We may partially civilized here in Texas, but we still don't BBQ PEOPLE!!!! Even Asians! We kinda like most of them, even.:rolleyes:

[ahenry]

Just now able to get back to this. Anyway Kirk, looks like somebody else beat me to the clarification of your list so I won’t bother adding more. A couple of important points however. First, several statutes (30.06 law for example) are in place to protect other rights beyond the right of a person to carry a gun. In the case of the 30.06 statute, the private property rights of business owners are protected without undue infringement on an individuals right to carry (ease of avoiding location with sign, etc). This is a necessary and good, and I would argue, cornerstone to ones freedom, or at least as cornerstone as the right to carry a pistol around. And my last little point here is this. I agree with you that it is easier to obtain a concealed carry license in Indiana. However, handgun carrying that is but one small aspect of “gun laws” and but one minute portion of ones overall freedom. For example, how many threads have we had here and on TFL about a self-defense shooting in Texas that turned out satisfactory for the good guy? Or how many times have we discussed a defense of property shooting in Texas that turned out satisfactory for the good guy? What about our discussions of Texas Law Enforcement? I could go on, but I’ll stop and hope you see my point. I tell you what, if you were practicing law here in Texas instead of up with all those Yanks, you never would have felt the need to harp so much on “problem number 2”... Regardless, I have never been to Indiana, but from what I have heard it sounds like a great state, and I’m not at all trying to suggest that its not. Or even imply that it has restrictive laws. For what I’ve read its laws sound pretty good overall. I just don’t think you know what you’re talking about when you say Texas has restrictive gun laws.



ahenry, I understand that this here visiting Yankee following RoT law is the freight I pay Hey, I are an Aggie. What is RoT?

[ahenry]

the best meal I EVER had was from a little french resaraunt on the east side of College Station (take University past the loop and turn north then go about a mile cannot remember the name white two story house Haunted absolutly wonderful food). I’m confused. I assume by loop you mean 2818. IIRC, where 2818 and University intersect (by Easterwood Airport and the Bush school) there isn’t much at all going north (away from campus). Parsons Mounted Cavalry has their “Green” right there, and going on farther north a few miles you get to the Hall and such. Did I get confused here or did I just always drive past it without noticing?


Speaking of eating in B/CS. If you come you must try Wings-n-more, they’re fantastic. Also for people that never lived here you ought to try Freebirds Burritos (www.freebirds.com). Burritos like no other place on earth. Also, I discovered a place out of town that my fiancé loved for me to take her to. It’s a little restaurant on your way towards Huntsville (can’t recall the name of the highway, but its the main highway out there). Its called The Black Forrest Inn, but as far as I know its not actually an inn. You have to call and get reservations and they aren’t always open (although they will sometimes open for just you), but when they are it is an incredible "date" place. Sometimes it would be just you and your date, or at most one or two other couples. The food was fantastic, and the prices were wonderful. IIRC, I took my fiancé out there a couple or three years ago and we ate some real fine food had a bottle of wine, appetizer, the whole nine yards and I think I just paid 55-60 bucks (including a nice tip). Of course that just meant I had more money to spend on her somewhere else. :rolleyes: Anyway, I would recommend you try it, if there’re still in business.

[JohnKSa]

Ooops!

Johnny Guest is right. With regards to owning automatic weapons: The $200 fee is a transfer tax and goes to the Feds. There is no state fee.

Sorry about the misinformation.

John

[stephen_g22]

Great Sushi in Houston!

Welcome to Texas, if you don't have a firearm, we'll be happy to loan you one!

I lived in College Station for 5 years while getting my first degree. It would be a great place to raise a family.

There are two kinds of Texans, those that were born here and those that got here as quickly as they could!

[rick458]

for the restaraunt ,I was refering to the road running parallel to Highway 6 (non Buisness) but further east past the Fox and hound, Hilton and Roadhouse just keep going east and you Tee into a road, turn north and go up about 3/4 - 1 mile the restaraunt will be on the right (sure would be easier if I could remember the name.

and Freebirds Rules

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

Skunky, Richardson, a suburb of Dallas to the north (actually, they have a common, tortuous border) had a huge Asian population. Home of First Chinese BBQ, which is a dive but they have good food. In fact, there is an entire shopping center of nothing but asian restaurants just north of the Richardson PD and a great little place called Mike's Guns (obligatory firearm reference) on Greenville Avenue. Mike used to fly Oscar Deuces and has some tales.
There is a huge Korean presence over off Harry Hines as well, and the largest Vietnamese population outside of the Texas coast lives in Arlington, if memory serves correctly. You can't hardly sling a dead cat without hitting a pho bar around these parts. No pun intended, really.

Regards,
Rabbit.

[Skunkabilly]

'sling a dead cat'?

What's a 'dive'? Jeez you guys talk funny!

Fo' sheezie, my heezies! Awww nawww....fo' sho'....

Viet food! Reeehaw!

[El Tejon]

ahenry, RoT=Republic of Tejas. Anywho, Tejas is more restrictive than where I am which is more restrictive than Vermont. My point to the young man was that his view of a different state's gun laws will be based upon where he is from. Thus, my view of Tejas gun laws are different than someone from, say, California.

Self-defense laws are not necessarily gun laws. However, it does part of me good to read about SDs gone well.:)

Do not shortchange Problem #2. Those darn tilecrawlers are expensive!:scrutiny:

[Dannyboy]

Any Korean barbecue???

I think I remember hearing that the Killeen/Harker Heights area has the largest Korean population in the country. Considering this is where Ft. Hood is located, I'd say it made sense. Anyway, there is some good Korean food in Killeen.

[ahenry]

Rich,

Are you talking about Christopher’s, little pricey, but probably the best food in all of B/CS? If you are, I wholeheartedly concur with you on how great it is. That place is incredible (in food and cost...).

El Tejon,

I should have known what RoT was. Duh. I don’t disagree with your overall point, just your interpretation of Texas gun laws. Guess we’ll just have to disagree. As far as problem number 2 is concerned, I never have and don’t plan on fixating on it, as I run my life by doing what is right and let the consequences be what they may. Besides if I ever have a go round with it, then I’ll just call up the lawyer that can’t figure out how to pronounce my state. ;)

[rick458]

AHenry : you nailed it Christophers is the place
the head waitress told us the place was haunted by the original home owners Daughter.
but I always go to Freebirds when in CS they say we may get one around Clear lake

[Gila Jorge]

Culturally the people there are "Old South"
If you are looking for Western hospitality then its west of the Pecos river. Another thing: I've been to Cutin Chute, Annajuac, Beaumont, and the college Station areas....reminds me of Arkansas or Apalachia where everyone is related to everyone else...if you get my drift. That part of Texas gives me the creeps. same for Louisiana. I am from El Paso. Were I to move it would be into New Mexico or southern Colorado. Certainly nowhere east. I liked Spokane and the Cour de Lanes and on over into MT. Have friends in Spokane and Sheriden, MT. Been through there many times. The ambiance is great. Don't know if I could make a living there or not. But you couldn't give me Oregon...way too left wing. As bad a Kalifornia.
Western WA is just as perverted.

[El Tejon]

ahenry, not my interpretation, just my perception. Read the first sentence in the "Texas Gun Owners' Guide." It is your fellow Texicanos that use this interpretation, not moi. I did grad skul in Chicago, so I know restrictive when I live under it!:D

I pronounce the RoT correctly. I have the T-shirt purchased in a Houston airport to prove it!;)

[Bob Locke]

I grew up about an hour east of Houston (small town - Liberty). Been all over the state, prior to signing on to Uncle Sam's Canoe Club and leaving for good. Have relatives down in the Piney Woods (some of the best hunting and fishing you'll find) as well as close to Victoria.

For me, if I were seriously contemplating a return to Texas to make my home, I'd be looking in the area of San Antonio. I've been to almost every major city in the country, and it's still my favorite. Austin is nice, too, and if you're looking to go to school then U.T. is a great choice.

But, as always, the best part about Texas is the people. Taken as a whole, the most friendly and neighborly folk in America (and that means the world).

[Steel]

Houston sucks. Not real Texas.

[geojap]

I feel the need to chime in. I live just outside of Austin in Elgin (The Sausage Capital of Texas). Went to UT and my family has been here long enough to fight against the Yankees. Half my family are aggies, and the good half are Longhorns .

Bob Locke, my Dad, Grand Dad and Great Grand Dad are from Liberty and Lufkin. Did you know The Phillips? Claude or Robert? They haven't lived there in a while, but what the hey.

I moved from Houston to Europe as a child, then to Beaumont for a year, Europe again, Los Angeles and finally back to Austin to finish school. When I came back, I had a greater appreciation for this place. I am very happy to settle here. Texas is not perfect, but if you can show me a better state, I'll listen. Most Texans are very friendly people. Some are truly good people. Just try and find that in California. And the land is like no place else. The only thing we lack are tall mountains. You won't find the Cascades here, but we do have some 5,000 foot hills that are fascinating in their own right (they are a 200 Million year old coral reef), called the Guadalupe mountains. There is so much to say about Texas that it would be pointless to describe it all. The famous small-town BBQ joints (Coopers in llano, Kreuz's in Lockhart), the hunting (dove, white tail, turkey, hog), the beautifully clear and cool spring-fed rivers in the Hill Country (The Frio, Guadalupe, Blanco and San Marcos), the sports (Pro teams, college sports and Friday Night High School Football <<--- a RELIGION here), the beaches, the border culture and towns that we share with Mexico, the Tex-mex food, and our great economy. Jobs are still plentiful here in Texas, although we are hurting a little bit. Not as much as other areas, though. Austin has a nightlife that would rival Los Angeles. So does Dallas and San Antonio.

Many people have moved to Texas in the last 10 years. It seems that half the people that I have worked with at the last two companies I have been at, weren't born in Texas. Most come from the rust belt and California. The rest come from Alabama, Louisiana or Mississippi, it seems.

The only thing I don't like about the people who move here is that many bring the crap from their old states or countries here. The bad driving habits, the bad manners, crime, the whining (Californians whine more than anyone I've ever heard. What babies. Deal with it.). These "immigrants" bring their anti-gun bias with them too. This is TEXAS. If they didn't want to see or be around guns, move to Boston. I love it when people move here and "fit in".

To answer your question, Texas is about as gun friendly as you are going to get. But if you move here, don't just come here to shoot guns, there are many, many other things to do here. Try and get more than 2 weeks of vacation at your jobs, because you'll need it. West Texas is a 5 to 9 hour drive from Bryan, depending on where you are going. You'll need a three or 4 day weekend to go explore there.

One more thing: the cops love to set speed traps here. I think that you can't go a full day without going thru a speed trap somewhere. It goes along with the "don't break the law" mantra that the others have told you about. It is maddening to drive the speed limit when you've still got 350 miles to go, but getting a ticket is even worse.

Good luck and we'd love to have you here. Enjoy it if you come.

[Arts]

Moving to San Antonio from the Peoples Republic of Illinois in April. Can't get out fast enough. I sell magazine loaders on the internet and local gun shows and Texas will be a whole new beginning.

[glirette]

If you do decide on Texas, get a FL CCW ASAP, as we have a stupid law that says you can't apply for a TX CHL until you've been a resident for 6 months. A FL non-resident license will let you carry until then.

FYI
Be sure you take this advice get a FL permit ASAP. The law requires that you be here for 6 months but it does not state that a resident needs a TX CHL. So once you have your Florida permit you can get the Texas CHL at a future date and still be legal to carry here.

[Drizzt]

Texas is the place to be (no matter WHAT El Tejon tries to tell you... ;) ). I've lived all around the state, Kerrville, Harlingen, Waco, Denton, Dallas, Houston, and am now residing in Austin. I give the town a hard time, but it's not so bad. There's a couple of real friendly ranges locally, and the music scence is pretty active.

Spent time in California, Florida, Virginia, Arizona, and Tennessee, but something always keeps bringing me back here.

Friendly people, good food, and an extremely diverse state make it worth it, I suppose.

[El Tejon]

Geez, Driz, no I did not say that. I just pointed out that it one's perception of the gun laws there is dependent upon where one comes from.

I come from a state that has somewhat less restrictive gun laws than Tejas, that's all. Don't get me wrapped up in a East Coast v. West Coast rapper thing. Bad idea, we're all armed to the teeth and we don't shoot with the weapon sideways and flick our wrists.

Besides, I'm down there twice a year. If it wasn't the place to be, why would I love it so (well, the 3 or 4 counties that I see)? And I bring greenbacks and a smile, not the Stars & Stripes and a war-like grimace as did my ancestors.:D

/s/ El Tejon, the friendly damn Yankee

[Double Naught Spy]

At the risk of being biased, the only really bad thing about Texas comes from the number of Yankees who move here and tell us all the stuff they think we are doing wrong. Obviously it is better than where they came from, otherwise the yanks would have left a LONG time ago. :D

Two visiting Jersey cops were in my DH1 class at Thunder Ranch. They thought our laws about protection of one's home and property at night were downright barbaric and at first suggested I must have misunderstood the law here that lethal force can be used against a person committing a crime on your property at night (given X parameters, of course) not necessarily associated with a risk to life. A Texas LEO in the class chimed in an explained that in fact, lethal force could be used. The Jersey boys said they were happy to be leaving such a backwards place and to go home to where not so many people (they meant NON-LEOs) had guns.

And for those who don't know, YES, we all drive everywhere! Texas is so big that we all need our own vehicles. We have lots (not just one or two) of counties that are much bigger than Rhode Island.

[Art Eatman]

My home country, Brewster, is the size of Delaware. About 120 miles, north to south; about 80, east to west. We're under 10,000 population.

Back in WW II there was talk of imposing a 35 mph national speed limit, to save gasoline. Texas' governor, Coke Stevenson, was against it. A reporter asked him why: "Son, in Texas, if you had to drive 35 miles an hour, you'd never get there!"

:), Art

[rick458]

when I go visit my folks in north Arkansas and they talk about driving to a place "a few states over" I get apploplectic if they haven told you
Texas is approximatly 700 miles from side to side
and 700 miles from top to bottom.

[glirette]

Two visiting Jersey cops were in my DH1 class at Thunder Ranch. They thought our laws about protection of one's home and property at night were downright barbaric and at first suggested I must have misunderstood the law here that lethal force can be used against a person committing a crime on your property at night (given X parameters, of course) not necessarily associated with a risk to life. A Texas LEO in the class chimed in an explained that in fact, lethal force could be used. The Jersey boys said they were happy to be leaving such a backwards place and to go home to where not so many people (they meant NON-LEOs) had guns.

That is what I am talking about run those NJ cops out of Texas, good job!

[glirette]

If you do decide on Texas, get a FL CCW ASAP, as we have a stupid law that says you can't apply for a TX CHL until you've been a resident for 6 months. A FL non-resident license will let you carry until then.

To clarify the above, this was true before Sept of 2003. Now I include a section that was modified this year which allows for new residents to obtain a Texas nonresident CHL prior to the 6 month mark.

From

GC §411.173. NONRESIDENT LICENSE

"if the person is a legal resident of a state that does not
provide for the issuance of a license to carry a concealed handgun or if
the person relocates to this state with the intent to establish residency
in this state. "

I still suggest that everyone go ahead and get the FL CWP but if you do not have it you can still apply for your Texas CHL now under this new law.

[glirette]

Sorry, I was looking at old posts and didn't recall how old this was as I have been gone for a while.

[Jeff OTMG]

If you are planning a move to Texas please read an old thread from TFL.

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=36864