Southern Arizona: tell me about it.

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Gord

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Looks like I may be relocating to the Sierra Vista area in the near future.

I'd very much appreciate any tips on good gunshops, good ranges or other places to shoot, or general pointers (feel free to PM if not gun-related enough to pass muster - looking for any and all info about the area). Much appreciated!
 
Here's what I know about AZ based on my limited experience:

Low elevation and it's hotter than Hell.

High elevation and it's snowing.
 
I grew up near Sierra Vista (Safford) and currently live in Yuma.

Yes, it gets hot, but winters are beautiful.

There is a small free range north of Safford, and I am sure there are good places to shoot near SV.

As I am sure you already know, AZ is very gun friendly.

Jonny
 
Sierra Vista is a nice town with a large military contingent at Fort Huacucha (sp?) on the edge of town. Military members are well treated in town. Elevation is about 4000' IIRC, with occasional snow falls in the winter time but not bad, and summers cooler than most of Southern AZ. There are several ranges and gun clubs within easy driving distance, lots of metallic silhouette shooting among other disciplines. You can play tourist all you want , lots of neat things to go see within a daytrip distance. Arizona is very gun friendly so you wont have much if any hassle with CCW, etc. If you like 4-wheelers or jeeping you will be in hog heaven. If I had to move from where I am, Sierra Vista would be on the short list. Have fun!!
 
There are a few gun shops in town, but I have not visited any of them. I don't know about ranges in the Sierra Vista area but you can shoot in the desert. You are fortunate to be moving down here at this time of the year. The rainy season has ended and the summer heat has gone with it.
 
I live in Tucson, and visited Sierra Vista many times. As stated earlier it is a great place pleasant weather, and growing. The military has kept the town alive, but it has turned into a good place. Best shopping is still in Tucson. There is a public range about 45 min drive from SV on the south side of Tucson. Plenty of BLM lands that you can shoot on. I think that you will like it.

Brer Rabbit
 
Thanks for the responses so far, all. Very helpful. :)

As noted over to the left, I'm originally from southern California and currently in Utah, so I'm used to the "drive until there's nobody around, then shoot all you want" method. I've been to SV a few times to check out the area and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting for so close to the border. The Homeland Security/BP checkpoint on the highway into town was pretty intimidating - they had a HMMWV with a mounted and manned M2 parked right out front. Once past that, it seemed to be business as usual.

Stopped at Tombstone on the way out. Boot Hill was probably the biggest disappointment in the world.
 
Pros:

Sunny
Dry
Nice folks
Lots of land to shoot on
Grows rocks, not weeds

Cons:

Drug dealers
Hot
Military convoys with illegal goods in them
Murder, rape and kidnapping by foreigners
Hot
Must have tinting on car windows
Smugglers may decide to take over parts of your land
 
I think Sierra Vista is nice, plenty of area to shoot in the desert. I was there a couple weeks ago and saw like 3 gun shops. There are plenty of deer and predators in the area too if you hunt. About the illegals...I'm down in prime illegal country all the time and I've only seen one. They are there but by and large they aren't out looking for hikers/hunters, they are hiding by day. Even the pirates are mostly after other illegals running drugs. A lot of folks spend a lot of time down south without incident. Even so, I'm always heeled when I'm down that way.

Cons:

Drug dealers
Hot
Military convoys with illegal goods in them
Murder, rape and kidnapping by foreigners
Hot
Must have tinting on car windows
Smugglers may decide to take over parts of your land
Click to expand...
It is hot. Drug dealers are everywhere, this is not specific to AZ. Can't say I've seen convoys filled with illegal goods. Smugglers taking over private land is not a problem I'm aware of. I also haven't had a problem with murder, rape, or kidnapping by foreigners and none of my vehicles have tinted windows...
 
The area has really built up in the last 20 years. Lots of good resturants and major chain stores now. I met my first ex-wife there in 1974 and there wasn't muchon the main drag then. Several good gun stores and a good shooting range out on hwy 90. Lots of things to do and see and as mentioned a Jeep or Quad will get you into some great back country.
Yeah Boot Hill is a joke tourist trap. A relative of mine C.S. Fly was a photographer in Tombstones boom days and chroncled many events including the shootout at the OK Corral.
Right now I live over near Safford Az.
 
At least he did make one good point:

230therapy said:
Grows rocks, not weeds
Click to expand...

I'm very much looking forward to not having to water, fertilize, de-weed and mow a lawn frequently. Utahns are pretty anal about their grass.
 
That may be the prettiest area of the entire USA, a true Arizona Highways picture perfect spot. You'll need a nice sidearm rig for informal occasions and of course a nice CC rig when you want to be discreet. You are a lucky guy.

Thanx, Russ
 
Tactical Ninja said:
Anyone know what the general attitude toward campus carry in AZ is?
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Pretty much completely verboten at state schools and community colleges. Not too hard to find in the Arizona Revised Statutes, but I haven't looked recently. In addition to allowing concealed carry without a permit for all eligible US citizens, I've heard they now explicitly allow storage in locked vehicles on campuses, which used to be a bit of a gray area. Its possible CC on campus will become legal the way the state is going.

Here's where to find the info:
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/arizonarevisedstatutes.asp
AFAIK, the gun stuff is in chapter 31 of the criminal code (tittle 13). May be other references elsewhere in the statutes.
 
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Hmm, looks like I was reading a badly written or incorrect version of the statutes from some external source: I was under the impression that campus carry by CCW holders was state-legal but subject to the academic policies of the college in question.

The Arizona DPS site states that campus carry is legal for peace officers only. Bummer.
 
Now that I think of it, the Arizona Board of Regents sets the policy at the universities, in the absence of actual legislation. Campus policing agencies are typically pretty clear about the rules, might look on the website of the campus in question. The University of Arizona in Tucson is very clear about the policy on campus - there's a sign stating "no weapons" on every entry door to every building.
 
Stopped at Tombstone on the way out. Boot Hill was probably the biggest disappointment in the world.
Click to expand...


I was in Tombstone once and thought boot hill very impressive. Situated on a little knoll on the east side of town with a great view of a low mountain range about thirty miles due east with a beautiful wide valley lying between the two. The cemetery itself is small with winding paths that meander among the graves. Of course many of the markers are inscribed with humorous verses. Example, "Here lies Les Moore, no les, no more." How can you not love a place with so much history surrounding it.

But then I guess there are people who visit Gettysburg and say what's the big deal.
 
Here's what I know about AZ based on my limited experience:

Low elevation and it's hotter than Hell.

High elevation and it's snowing.
Click to expand...

The southeastern part of the state, where Sierra Vista is located, is somewhere in between those two extremes. It's chaparral, not desert, and the summers and winters are both relatively mild:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Vista#Climate

As a kid, I used to go to summer camp near there.

The southwestern part of the state is a different story. It is, as you so succinctly put it, low elevation and hotter than Hell.
 
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wvshooter said:
How can you not love a place with so much history surrounding it.
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Because there isn't any. Somebody decided to build a tourist-trap gift shop right in front of it, and the cemetery itself is a bunch of neat little piles of rocks with spankin'-new plywood headstones and smaller plaques made out of scrap lumber bolted to pipes, all surrounded by a rickety stick fence. I'd be depressed playing miniature golf there, much less trying to convince myself that it was in any way an authentic experience. The rest of Tombstone was much more impressive - well-preserved in its original state, and managed in a way that is profitable, but not crassly so.
 
The San Pedro Riparian area is a nice hiking/picnicing area and there are several canyons up in the Huachucas that are real pretty.
 
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