I live in SO CAL, a restrictive state. I have heard that WA and OR are much better. I am interested in hunting, ranges, CCW, firearms purchasing and the overall job situation. If anyone has knowledge of these things I would like to hear from you.
Guns in OR and WA
- Thread starter Fido
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Both OR and WA are shall-issue for CCW. OR has a training requirement; WA does not. WA is shall-issue for non-residents, so if you live in OR it is easy to get a WA permit too. OR is may-issue for non-residents, and depending on where you live in WA it can be sticky to get your OR permit too. Forbidden places to carry in WA are courtrooms, the over-21 section of bars, schools, and "outdoor music festivals" (ala Woodstock, I guess). OR has nearly no forbidden areas -- both bars & schools are legal places to carry with a permit -- but courthouses are off limits. A WA carry permit costs around $60 when everything is said & done; OR permit costs are slightly less but you have to add in the price of your training class.
Class III firearms are legal in OR, but forbidden in WA. There's a pretty good machine gun shoot down in Salem where you can rent full autos if that's what floats your boat. Don't have more info about that, but I'm sure someone on here does!
Don't know how purchases go in OR. In WA, there's a waiting period (five days? I think?) but you don't have to wait if you have a carry permit. Of course you still have the NCIC check. OR requires such checks at gunshows; WA has so far avoided that but the biggest and best gunshows in WA independently require background checks for all sales that happen at their shows.
Hunting is excellent in both states, with Oregon having a slight edge in slightly less confusing regulations. Lots of deer & elk in both states. Can't use dogs to hunt bear in WA (dunno about OR on that one) and WA has a very restrictive anti-trapping law that makes even gopher traps against the law (not that anyone in the rural areas obeys that one!)
Lots of public land in both states and it isn't terribly hard to find an informal outdoor range if you know where to look. Plenty of good shooting clubs in Portland, not so many up Seattle way (but there are a few).
Good self-defense schools in WA include Insights up near Seattle, and FAS near Centralia/Chehalis. Clint Smith's Thunder Ranch recently moved to southern Oregon.
If you look at Oregon and like dry & sunshiny, consider moving to the Bend area. It's in central Oregon and has really been a boomtown the past few years. Should be plenty of job opportunities there as Bend is moving away from being a small town and turning into a real metropolis. From Bend, some of the best snow skiing in the Cascades is a short drive away, up at Mt. Bachelor, and some of the most gorgeous country God ever made.
Both Portland and Seattle have plenty of work for computer geeks, but only if your skills are really competitive.
Politically, Seattle & Portland are liberal and the rest of both states are mostly conservative with a definite libertarian bent. (Think economic conservative/social liberals.)
pax
Class III firearms are legal in OR, but forbidden in WA. There's a pretty good machine gun shoot down in Salem where you can rent full autos if that's what floats your boat. Don't have more info about that, but I'm sure someone on here does!
Don't know how purchases go in OR. In WA, there's a waiting period (five days? I think?) but you don't have to wait if you have a carry permit. Of course you still have the NCIC check. OR requires such checks at gunshows; WA has so far avoided that but the biggest and best gunshows in WA independently require background checks for all sales that happen at their shows.
Hunting is excellent in both states, with Oregon having a slight edge in slightly less confusing regulations. Lots of deer & elk in both states. Can't use dogs to hunt bear in WA (dunno about OR on that one) and WA has a very restrictive anti-trapping law that makes even gopher traps against the law (not that anyone in the rural areas obeys that one!)
Lots of public land in both states and it isn't terribly hard to find an informal outdoor range if you know where to look. Plenty of good shooting clubs in Portland, not so many up Seattle way (but there are a few).
Good self-defense schools in WA include Insights up near Seattle, and FAS near Centralia/Chehalis. Clint Smith's Thunder Ranch recently moved to southern Oregon.
If you look at Oregon and like dry & sunshiny, consider moving to the Bend area. It's in central Oregon and has really been a boomtown the past few years. Should be plenty of job opportunities there as Bend is moving away from being a small town and turning into a real metropolis. From Bend, some of the best snow skiing in the Cascades is a short drive away, up at Mt. Bachelor, and some of the most gorgeous country God ever made.
Both Portland and Seattle have plenty of work for computer geeks, but only if your skills are really competitive.
Politically, Seattle & Portland are liberal and the rest of both states are mostly conservative with a definite libertarian bent. (Think economic conservative/social liberals.)
pax
Carlos
Member
Sorry, Oregon's full. 
itgoesboom
member
Carlos said:Sorry, Oregon's full.
Yeah, don't be caught in Oregon with a California license plate
. They don't like Californians up here, despite there being only about 2 dozen native Oregonians in the entire state. I sought asylum in Oregon a few years ago after living in California my entire life. As Pax mentioned, gun laws in Oregon are pretty lax. The training requirement for CHL up here is really basic, just a 2 hour class taught by NRA instructors, no range requirements or anything.
No waiting period up here for firearm purchases, and no laws against "assault rifles" or high cap magazines.
Either state will be a huge positive step for you, and both are beautiful when it comes to scenery. I just hope you like coffee.
I.G.B.
Polishrifleman
Member
Pax, summed it up great.
7 days on a handgun for the wait without permit.
Long guns are a wait for a phone call.
I don't know about the hunting regs in Ore. but Washington's are pretty lame for big game modern firearm IMHO. We get basically one week for deer and one week for elk. There are some late seasons that will give you another week for deer in areas. Hunter safety course is required if you were born after 1975 (I think that is the year?). There are permit only draws for Mountain Goat, Bighorn Sheep, and Moose. The bird hunting is pretty good from what I hear, I would rather go scouting than hike along the railroad tracks .
Kenmore has a great range which is just North of Seattle about 15-20 min. including a 300yd for members. Benton City in South Central Wa. has the whole shootin match with tin can alley, etc..
As far as work goes, if you are willing to work you will find a job. The cost of living in the Seattle area is a major drawback along with the traffic.
Good luck with the decision.
7 days on a handgun for the wait without permit.
Long guns are a wait for a phone call.
I don't know about the hunting regs in Ore. but Washington's are pretty lame for big game modern firearm IMHO. We get basically one week for deer and one week for elk. There are some late seasons that will give you another week for deer in areas. Hunter safety course is required if you were born after 1975 (I think that is the year?). There are permit only draws for Mountain Goat, Bighorn Sheep, and Moose. The bird hunting is pretty good from what I hear, I would rather go scouting than hike along the railroad tracks
.Kenmore has a great range which is just North of Seattle about 15-20 min. including a 300yd for members. Benton City in South Central Wa. has the whole shootin match with tin can alley, etc..
As far as work goes, if you are willing to work you will find a job. The cost of living in the Seattle area is a major drawback along with the traffic.
Good luck with the decision.
MillCreek
Member
As one of the two dozen remaining native Seattle-area residents p ), I would also add that Oregon has a state income tax whereas Washington does not. Washington makes up for it by having a state sales tax and larger property taxes than does Oregon.
And if you move to the metropolitan Seattle area, start adopting a serene attitude now for the traffic and the prolonged commute. And it will likely be a commute since affordable housing really starts once you get about 20 miles out from the urban core of Seattle and Bellevue/Redmond.
p ), I would also add that Oregon has a state income tax whereas Washington does not. Washington makes up for it by having a state sales tax and larger property taxes than does Oregon. And if you move to the metropolitan Seattle area, start adopting a serene attitude now for the traffic and the prolonged commute. And it will likely be a commute since affordable housing really starts once you get about 20 miles out from the urban core of Seattle and Bellevue/Redmond.
When folks talk about the requirement here in Oregon for training to get a permit, please realize that this can be satified by an NRA-approved safety lecture. When I went in for my class it consisted of a two hour lecture, a Q&A session with the instructor, and then a grade-less paper test. There was no real ability to fail, and no range time. For my money, I got to talk about handguns for awhile with nice people, where and when to shoot or not in different situations, and got a nice diploma saying that I "graduated". I showed this to the clerk at the county courthouse, paid my money, and recieved my permit three months later. Oregon is a good place to live.
MD_Willington
Member
I'm in WA beside ID, what's the wait if any on a sidearm (handgun) if you have a CPL?
Just wondering..thanks
MD
Just wondering..thanks
MD
PaulBk
Member
MD_Willington said:
With a CPL the wait is a phone call.
-PB
Standing Wolf
Member in memoriam
Let me add that both Oregon and Washington, away from the big cities, are very clean, and people tend to be friendly and polite.
Langenator
Member
Well, most of the folks here in Yakima I've actually talked to have been quite friendly, although there does seem to be a relatively high violent crime rate for a city this size.
There was a shooting three weeks ago in the parking lot of the hotel next to mine. And the bank three blocks away was robbed today.
If you happen to be in the winemaking industry, there are plenty of wineries in the Yakima Valley south of Union Gap. Also good for just going wine tasting. Not as over-touristed as the Napa/Sonoma valleys.
There was a shooting three weeks ago in the parking lot of the hotel next to mine. And the bank three blocks away was robbed today.
If you happen to be in the winemaking industry, there are plenty of wineries in the Yakima Valley south of Union Gap. Also good for just going wine tasting. Not as over-touristed as the Napa/Sonoma valleys.
Ifishsum
Member
I'd welcome a gun-toting Californian to Portland...it's the tree huggers we don't need more of.
itgoesboom
member
Ifishsum said:
Now now, trees need love too you know.
Really, either Oregon or Washington are great states to be in, especially compared to California.
Oregon is the way to go though if you want to get NFA firearms.
I.G.B.
Powderman
Member
MD_Willington said:
Assuming everything goes OK with the NICS check, it takes the length of a phone call--about 3-4 minutes.
Ifishsum
Member
itgoesboom said:Now now, trees need love too you know.
I do love trees - in the fireplace
Guy B. Meredith
Member
We just did a tour of the Oregon coast (nice, but too touristy) as part of research for a possible "Plan B" should I receive my walking papers from Xerox. Might consider Medford as it is supposedly less rain. (Too, my father's family is from Medford/Dillard/Roseburg).
We had visited Salem and Portland and looked for housing around a possible job in Wilsonville a couple of years ago. I walked into a gun shop and was told about the no wait sales in Oregon. Nice. I am tired of the 11 day wait silliness in CA when I already have several guns.
Now if I can only find a job or open up a viable business CA is history.
We had visited Salem and Portland and looked for housing around a possible job in Wilsonville a couple of years ago. I walked into a gun shop and was told about the no wait sales in Oregon. Nice. I am tired of the 11 day wait silliness in CA when I already have several guns.
Now if I can only find a job or open up a viable business CA is history.
MD_Willington
Member
Standing Wolf said:
I live in a very small town, we only have a Marshal, everyone is very friendly. We also have a shotgun range right across the street from the School, K-12...
MD
brentwal
Member
A gun totting Californian is always welcome on the dry sides of WA and OR. East of the cascades will be where the best hunting will be and the conservitive people who won't be freaked out by a gun safe in your house.
As said before WA CCW has less requirements and is easier to get for a non-resident or a new arrival. Look for a house and fill out the 1 page form and with in two months get a CCW.
OR however will give you access to NFA goodies.
AFA the CCW goes for each state
OR CCW is honored by the following 12 states
MT
ID
UT
AZ
SD
OK
MO
MI
IN
KY
TN
AK
and of course VT
WA CCW is honored by the following 10 states
ID
MT
SD
MO
IN
KY
TN
VA
AK
and VT
WA also has reciprocity with the following 7 states
UT
OK
LA
MS
MI
OH
and NC
ETA : Packing.Org a good place for CCW and gun laws for each state.
As said before WA CCW has less requirements and is easier to get for a non-resident or a new arrival. Look for a house and fill out the 1 page form and with in two months get a CCW.
OR however will give you access to NFA goodies.
AFA the CCW goes for each state
OR CCW is honored by the following 12 states
MT
ID
UT
AZ
SD
OK
MO
MI
IN
KY
TN
AK
and of course VT
WA CCW is honored by the following 10 states
ID
MT
SD
MO
IN
KY
TN
VA
AK
and VT
WA also has reciprocity with the following 7 states
UT
OK
LA
MS
MI
OH
and NC
ETA : Packing.Org a good place for CCW and gun laws for each state.
PaulBk
Member
Hey Guy
-PB
Are you the same Guy Meredith that worked in the M5 bldg in the late '80's - early 90's?Guy B. Meredith said:
-PB
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