Moving CA->TX, advice?

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Ed Ames

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My employer has just offered pretty decent package for me to relocate to the Dallas area... I can't say it was unexpected, but if I expected it *right now* I probably wouldn't have sent in the C&R FFL app until after I moved.... anyway, at least I'm lucky in that I didn't buy any CA deer tags...

I'm mostly wondering what the firearms situation is in the Dallas area... as in, decent places to shoot, CCW training, and so on. Seems like there are a lot of golf courses in the area....

I've been bumming around the general area for a few days now, mainly looking at neighborhoods I might move to and grumbling about how slow all the drivers are ;) but apart from visiting an Academy Sports&Outdoors I haven't found much firearms related. I'd really like to find some stores that might have antiques or the like but I'm not holding my breath. I did punch up "guns" in my garmin GPS/navigator, but after the first two "gun stores" it led me to were houses in residential neighborhoods I decided I might not be getting the whole picture.
 
Grin

Just enjoy it. Moving from CA to TX will likley be like moving from hell to heaven (firearms wise - not talking about the Dallas summers :evil: ).
 
I lived in the Dallas area for about 10 years. My information is dated, so I won't offer any. You should be able to do much better in the home ownership area especially if your employer buys your house at market prices. My only beef about Dallas is that I never felt it was a place to raise a family although of course many do. I didn't like the fact that the moutains were 8 hours away. I used to camp a lot in Eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas. There are some real interesting nature oriented things around Dallas if you know where to look. Arboritum is really nice. Fort Worth is nice too.

Texas is pretty gun friendly. It is people friendly. You should like it. Lots of golf courses. Look at the suburb cities for shooting ranges....
 
Great firearms environment. Horrible weather. Really nice people. A freeway/street system that looks like it was designed by a 5 year old.

As far as gunshops in the dfw area, there is an indoor range that rents full auto stuff and just about every make of handgun you can think of, but the name excapes me right now. There are also a number of private ranges/skeet clubs in the area as well. You best bet is to spend a half hour on google. It worked well for me when I first moved from San Diego.
 
I'm not local to DFW but surely someone here is...

Seriously, firearms wise, moving to Texas is going to be a big improvement in every single way... We still have a lot of ground to cover in Texas (see my sig line), but we're way ahead of the Left Coast.
 
Do a happy, happy dance. :)

I've moved from MA to CT, and now we'll be moving off to VT soon. I share that special freedom-loving joy.
 
Cant speak specifically about Dallas, but Texas.... ah Texas. the love of many of our lives. Reciprocity laws, tons of gun shows, A good one coming up in houston this weekend. Lots of gun ranges, Castle doctrine is in full effect here. In other words, you have a right to use deadly force, in protecting yourself, your property, you business, yourself in your various property, car, etc., and your family members in the similar situations. We like all kinds of guns here, short long fast slow big small, single shot semi auto, even full auto , with the right docs. now Dallas can be a little squirrely, a lot of high society types there, lotta big and old money, can be a little guilty white liberalish, but overrall , their are lots of good peeps up there. there are also a lot a guys here that talk about ranges up there, so you should be fine.
If you wanna hunt. so much different terrain, temps, woods, deserts, long range shooting, all kinds of game including plenty of exotic plains type game.
You just may wanna stay here a while.
 
also , there are plenty of guns shops, every pawn shop will have guns, also look for Gander mountain, they have terrific sales, will give discounts when asked will beat any adv sale by 50 dollars, for centerfires usually. Also look for Bass pro shops. There is also good deals to be had at the gunshops, Collectors Firearms here in houston, has brand new guns and swords, to 300 yr old stuff, very costly. Dont know if they have a shop like that in Dallas, but you may call Fountain firearms or collectors' here in Houston, I am sure they know every dealer up there personally , by name. Academy usually has a couple of guns on sale every week, and usually have the best prices on Ammo all the time.
 
No waiting period to buy guns. We allow suppressors, full-auto, SBR, AOWs (after BATFE checks). Probably dynamite, too, but it's not sold in Wal-Mart.

Weather... we've got air conditioning, and as long as you're not working long hours outdoors in the summer, it's no problem. So what, you loose five pounds in sweat while walking to and from your car? Most buildings have water fountains.

No trouble with hi-cap mags or 'assault rifles'.

Keep in mind: NO OPEN CARRY. Lots of people think we've got it. We don't. Don't try it. We've got recip... however you spell it with most CCW states.

The CC laws are pretty clear-cut - unless it's a federal building/courthouse/school, they need to post ordinance 30.06 in English and Spanish... no joke.

As for the people, they're like most people. Human - and the police seem like sensible folks (haven't seen DFW police yet, pretty new to area). You probably don't need AP rounds, since most people with vests would have a heat stroke before attacking you.
 
I have lived in the Dallas area since 1963. Texas is gun friendly. Lot's of gun shops in the area. Bring everything you have, because Cali gun laws are draconian compared to Texas. There isn't anything that is legal in Cali that is not in Texas. Can't say the opposit. I know that if I moved to Cali (right after hell froze over:neener: ) I would have to sell most of what I have.

Get a CHL, as stated before, NO open carry, YET. Carrying a fully loaded shotgun or rifle in plain and open sight in your vehical IS NOT illegal. I think you have to live here for 6 months to apply for a CHL.

The thing you will love is the huge gun shows somewhere in the DFW area about every other weekend.:D
 
:D

Sounds like a lot of good gun-friendly points about the area... I'm too used to major cities, or at least certain cities, making their own standards. CA is like that to a great extent... I'm in a fairly gun friendly area... CCW's are fairly easy to get, you can just head out into the desert and go shooting, etc... I did that the day before I hopped on the airplane to Dallas... but you go 6 miles in the wrong direction and you'll hit Los Angeles county which has been totally corrupted by Los Angeles the city. That county isn't especially friendly and the city is downright unfriendly. There's a reason I don't live there.

It's good to hear the area around Dallas hasn't suffered the same disease.

Weather...I've been here a few times now and it sure teaches you the value of air conditioned cars. :D

This'll be a PITA in some ways, but great in others... I haven't even received my C&R license and already I'm going to need to do a change of address. But on the other hand I can actually buy C&R pistols! And non-approved pistols. It was like a flashback to 16 years ago to see 15-round mags hanging on the racks in a store.

Hmmm... here's a question for you... I'm keeping my house in CA (the market's soft and "Prop 13" encourages holding on) but I will no longer be a resident. If I already owned handguns in CA, could I leave them there, in my safe in my house (which I'm going to rent to a family member), and not have to "re-import" them (which is $20/gun) if/when I return? Or if I already owned pre-ban normal-capacity magazines, could I leave them in that safe and use them whenever I returned? Family members won't have the combo to the safe if that makes any difference.

I'm off to have another look around. :)
 
I can't answer your questions on California laws. However, as far as ranges go, there are plenty in the Dallas area. However, to tell you the best ones to go to, I would need to know where exactly in the area you are moving to. As an example, from Garland (east side of Dallas) there are 4 ranges you can go to:
1. Targetmaster - Indoors with firearm rentals.
2. Garland Public Shooting Range - OUtdoors. Pistol, Rifle and skeet range. A few firarm rentals.
3. Bullet Trap (Plano) - Indoors with a large selection of firearm rentals. Also has a couple of rifle lanes.
4. Gibson's Outpost (Mesquite) - Outdoors with up to 200 yard rifle range. Also has pistol range.

One piece of advice for traveling the area. Get a Toll Tag. It gives you reduced tolls and makes it where you don't have to stop at the toll booths. Since getting one, many of my travel times has dropped.
 
Check my signature for the local High Road shooting group in the Dallas Ft. Worth area then email the group. We'll give you all the info you need.

Not sure where you are looking to reside but it's most likely NOT actually in Dallas. "Dallas" to most people is actually a zillion small suburbs gathered around. Unless you are close to downtown you are probably not going to live in "Dallas". That's not necessarily a bad thing, though I am a bit predjudiced since I live in Ft Worth where we all wear "Life's too short to live in Dallas" T-Shirts :evil:

And congrats on your escape!!!!
 
Dallas is a big sprawling city with the usual PITAs that are associated with said same.
However, Dallas has a ton of culture, music, retaurants, shopping, etc.

A couple of hours to the north and you will find great pheasant, quail, and dove hunting. A few hours west and you can find antelope and deer. A little ways south and you have wild pigs, dove, whitetail and turkeys are most every place that has trees. Of course, in these days and times, it's getting harder and harder to get permission to hunt.
Summers are hot. Winters are usually pretty mild, unless they are brutal.:what:
The best part of Texas are the folk that live here. As a rule, we are friendly, open, and polite to a fault. You'll get used to it.:)
Welcome. Enjoy your stay.
Drive friendly.
 
Carrying a fully loaded shotgun or rifle in plain and open sight in your vehical IS NOT illegal.
Click to expand...
Cruiser ready (empty chamber, magazine full) is safer in the event of a motor vehicle accident. Your rifle or shotgun is less likely to be stolen if you keep it out of sight.

I think you have to live here for 6 months to apply for a CHL.
Click to expand...
Not any more. You can apply as soon as you have a Texas DL.
 
Semi off-topic but important.

The best advice I can give is to change your DL and tags as fast as possible and if you ever catch you self saying, "But in California we.....", stop! :)

Other then that, congrats on re-entering the US, we are happy to have you back.
 
Welcome to Texas!

I lived in the Dallas area for a couple years. I recall two major gun stores. B&S Guns, located on I-30 east of Dallas.
http://groups.msn.com/BSGunsTexasBESTGunStore

The other one I recall is Bachman Pawn and Gun.
Bachman Pawn & Guns 2926 W. Northwest Hwy Dallas TX 75220 214-351-3628 (no web site)

Both have some of the best gun prices. Look for the Gun show at Martket Hall. It's twice a year, IIRC, and it's the biggest one.
One of my favorite gun ranges just shut down in McKinney. There's Gibson's on I 30 east of Garland. I recall on about an hour north od Dallas in Sherman, TX.
I hope this helps some.

Dan
 
Here's my advice on moving from CA to Texas:

1) get as politically incorrect firearms as you can.
2) enjoy your new firearms.
 
I've lived here all my life.

If you're selling even a small home in CA, you can take the proceeds and buy a REALLY nice home here. Depending on where you're going to be working, there are lots of suburbs which are really nice places to live. Prepare for traffic delays which may drive you crazy, although I was driving from LA to Anaheim last fall to see relatives. Late afternoon, rush hour, I don't remember which freeway. THAT was worse than almost anything I've ever experienced here.
Weather is definitely not as pleasant as CA. From about the middle of June until the middle of September it is unbearably (for me) hot.

Lots of really good hunting for not unreasonable costs. You can get on a season deer lease for 1000.00 a year (more or less), which usually allows you to also hunt turkey and wild hogs (lots of those here). Deer season lasts from Nov. 1st until Jan 3rd. Continuously. There are Whitetails over most of the state, but you begin to run into Mule Deer as you go west toward the Caprock area of the state. Dove hunting is a blast in September, and very reasonable as well.

Good news: I'm not aware of any sort of firearm restrictions here. Get a carry permit. They're called a CHL here. It'll make your life easier.
Lots of gun ranges, gun shows (2 or 3 big ones at Dallas Market Hall a year, smaller ones in Mesquite and at Big Town.

Some of the friendliest people anywhere. And once you get here you're an instant Texan.
Welcome.
 
As TexasSIGMan said, it isn't actually downtown Dallas. My employer is in Addison, which is something like 13mi north of downtown. Of course, people call everything with 70 miles of Los Angeles "LA" so I figure I'm going to get a little of my own back and call anything from Denton to Corsicana "Dallas". :p Sorry Ft. Worth. ;)

Actually, I drove out to Ft. Worth this morning. Things can get a bit boring when everything is flat and grass-covered, but when you start sprinkling in some rolling hills, trees, and water it gets downright beautiful. I'm used to mountains and deserts so it's very different but in a good way. Stopped in at Cabela's just because I've never been to a Cabela's store. :) I could be happy around here... especially if I could find some land... but it seems like there isn't much land for sale around here. At least not in parcels I can afford.

I have, over the last couple of years, spent perhaps two months in this area... a week here, a two weeks there... and I've enjoyed every visit. I'm looking forward to staying longer. I'm just not exactly sure where I'll enjoy it most. I like areas where the houses aren't built right on top of each other... in CA I bought in an area zoned for 2 acre minimum lot size even though it meant a 50-100 mile (yes, mile -- each way) commute to a decent job when I bought. For a while I was spending $5 on tolls every morning to keep the morning commute down to 1.5 hours... in the evening I'd skip the toll roads and stop for dinner, but it wasn't unusual to spend 2.5-3 hours in traffic to get home. $15-20/day in fuel and tolls. Of course, I haven't had to do that in a couple of years, but even today I drive quite a bit... to scale it, I put over 12,000 miles on my motorcycle from 3/1/06 to 9/30/2006, and I didn't ride every day. I don't think I'm willing to go that extreme again. No, that's wrong... after 12 years of that I'm totally burned out by it and want something closer.

I'm not your typical politically correct Californian... I'm more the gun-collecting, would-be-hunting (I planned to go hunting for the first time this year but now those plans are on hold), Freedom-loving Libertarian Californian. Maybe not an exact match for Texas either but it's better than your basic Santa Monica Liberal if I do say so myself. I scratch my head at things like the fact that grocery stores in Texas don't seem to sell alcohol, or seeing products in stores covered up on Sundays because of the blue laws, but I can deal with that. :)
 
SO will you be flying in or driving in. If you drive in on I-10 you will end up in my fair city then enter 300 plus miles of desert and small towns. Lots of room to shoot. BTW if you are not used to open spaces you probably shouldn't make the drive alone. It's overwhelming for many.

BTW

Welcome to Texas.
 
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