Moving to AZ (residents, please read!)

[kingpin008]

Hey ya'll. I'm looking for info from Arizonans here. My fiancee and I will be taking a trip to AZ sometime in the next 2 years, to scout out a few areas, and see if it's a place that we could call home. If what we find out fits our criteria, then we'll be heading back home (currently living in MD) to pack our gear, and then moving to AZ in (hopefully) short order.

Now, for the questions -

First, I know that CCW is legal there. Let's assume we do decide to move to AZ - is there a certain amount of time that we need to be residents of AZ, before we can apply for and be approved for a permit? If so, how long of a time frame are we looking at? And what kind of costs are involved? How long is the permit good for?

Also - when we're on our initial visit, we'll be staying with friends. Our friends are not gunnies, but they're not opposed to guns either. They've just never shot or owned them. I've talked to them, and brought up the issue of carrying a pistol while I'm down there. They don't mind, as long as it's legal for me to do so. So what I'm wondering, is: Since open carry is legal in AZ, am I allowed to do so if I choose, even though I'm not an AZ resident? And if so, is there anything that I need to do differently when I'm carrying, due to the fact that I'm a non-resident? They're in the Scottsdale area, if that makes a difference. We (the fiancee and I) will be all over the place checking out jobs and housing though, so don't limit your reply to just the Scottsdale area - if the laws are different in different parts of the state, I'm all ears.

Hm. Let's see - other than that - I might be bringing a few of my pistols with me, so that I can take them out shooting one day while we're visiting. Is there anything I need to know about shooting in the desert? Or can we just go out until we find a suitably deserted spot, and have at it? I really, really don't want to step on anyone's toes while out there blasting away, so if I need to be on BLM land, let me know (and if you have some spots to recommend I'd love to hear 'em. Don't worry - I believe in packing out more than I brought in, and will absolutely NOT leave any shooting area a mess.)

Thanks so much!

 

[OMGWTFBBQ]

is there a certain amount of time that we need to be residents of AZ, before we can apply for and be approved for a permit?

Nope.

And what kind of costs are involved?

First you need to take a training class, the cost of that can vary depending on the instructor, but the permit itself costs $60.

How long is the permit good for?

5 years.

am I allowed to do so if I choose, even though I'm not an AZ resident?

Open carry is legal without a permit, resident or not, and Arizona has full preemption.

so if I need to be on BLM land, let me know

I would assume so, as the use of private property without the owner's permission is quite rude, if not illegal, though being a western state there isn't exactly a lack of public land to shoot on(which is more or less all of it aside from state and national parks).

 

[Old Fuff]

Carry permits: Non-residents can get them by taking the same course of instruction, background check, etc. as residents. If you visit long enough to do this you will have your permit long before you move.

Open carry: As explained, visitors have the same rights as residents.

Handguns: Handguns as well as EBR's are not restricted or even registered in Arizona, In fact registration is against the law! No waiting period, no approved list to comply with, no restrictions on private sales, between residents. Any number of shooting ranges around Scottsdale where you can shoot.

Come and enjoy...

 

[Poper]

really, really don't want to step on anyone's toes while out there blasting away, so if I need to be on BLM land, let me know (and if you have some spots to recommend I'd love to hear 'em.

Just be darn sure you are not on any reservation land. The tribal Police frown on the white man with guns on the reservation. Big time.

Also, if you will be near north Scottsdale, Ben Avery Shooting Range (a world class facility) will be about 20 minutes away. Which is probably closer than outside the city limits desert. You're coming into the 5th largest metro area in the US.

Try to leave any preconceptions and attitudes behind you. Don't be in a big rush. Spend some time here and get to know the local longtime residents. Go slow and be casual.

And welcome to the Valley of the (intense) Sun!


Poper

 

[armoredman]

Laws don't change in any part of AZ, other than the reservations, as mentioned above. We do have that pre-emption law, plus Castle Doctrine, no civil liabilty for justified conduct, no registration, waiting period, FOID, license to purchase, license to open carry, etc.
If you drive through the res, and stay on the road, OK, but don't even try to hit the casinos. Also no place that serves open alcohol, including resteraunts. Get the great book AZ Gun Owners Guide.
If you come down to Casa Grande, anout 50 miles south of the Phoenix "area", that's a nice little town, with a free maintained public range...no good gunshops, but a nice range, and everything is within 5 minutes. Big plus in high gas prices time.

 

[30 cal slob]

i love AZ.

i'd move there in a heartbeat.

as long as California doesn't infect it.

 

[Poper]

really, really don't want to step on anyone's toes while out there blasting away, so if I need to be on BLM land, let me know (and if you have some spots to recommend I'd love to hear 'em.

Lots of California license plates around. And the transplants tend to bring their attitudes with them.

Other than that, it has been a pretty good place to be for the last 30 years, IMHO.

Poper

 

[Dahwg]

All good answers, just one more thing to keep in mind: you can't carry- open or concealed in any establishment that serves alcohol to be consumed on premises. That includes family restaurants.

Also, in a vehicle-you should not be open carrying- because it's on your body some courts have ruled that you are carrying concealed. You can have the weapon in a holster in any of the interior compartments (including map pockets) to be legal.

Arizona honors ALL CCW permits, so you may CCW if you have a permit from your home state. Once you move here, you will not be able to use your MD permit, you'll have to get an AZ CCW.

 

[WayneConrad]

Welcome. You'll love it here!

You might like the Arizona Gun Owner's Guide by Alan Korwin.

And please consider supporting AzCDL. If all you do is sign up for the free, low-volume mailing list to get the alerts and bug your new state legislators, AzCDL will be happy. Joining is the second most important thing you can do. Being in the fight is more important than sending them your money. Not that joining hurts, if you've a mind to.

 

[Poper]

BTW,
To be an Az resident, all you need to do is get your Az driver's license and register your vehicle here. Then you are officially an Az resident with all the perks. (You can register to vote at DMV, too.)


Poper

 

[hrgrisso]

Work and Living

I don't know your plans for employment here in the Valley of the (S)Gun but as far as home prices and still being close to the valley I can't help but recommend Maricopa. Had some friends last month bought a home 3k sq ft, for 160k. Plus your close to Casa Grande and has been already mentioned a very nice maintained free out door range.

Welcome to Az may your visit be fruitful.

BTW: We should have a THR shoot the weekend your here! Who's interested? When will you be here?

 

[nwilliams]

Check out Prescott Arizona while you're there. I lived in Prescott for a number of years and moved to NM a few months ago for work. I'd love to move back to Prescott if I could find decent work there and who knows maybe I will move back someday. Still if you want guns than that's one of the prime areas to look into. J&G is located there and there are about five other great gun stores on top of that in the area. Also you have Gunsite Academy not too far away and Insight Training in Prescott Valley. If you plan on getting your AZ ccw I suggest taking the class at Insight and take all their other classes also, I did. They offer quality training at a reasonable cost, a whole lot less than taking classes at Gunsite.

 

[Thernlund]

The foreclosures and short sales in Phoenix (north and west) are many. You can find a great deal on a house in those areas.

As for ranges... Ben Avery is awesome. Largest State-owned taxpayer-funded range in the nation. Truly world class. $5 to shoot all day. http://www.basfaz.com/

There's also Phoenix Rod & Gun Club. It's a non-profit club. Weekends they are open to the public. I've never been but I've heard good things. http://www.phoenixrodandgun.org/

There are also indoor ranges.

Scottsdale Gun Club in north Scottsdale in nice. It's a classy place, but can be spendy if you're not a member. Largest indoor range, lane count-wise, in the world purportedly. http://www.scottsdalegunclub.com/

There's Shooters World. It's ok. Not too expensive. http://www.azshootersworld.com/

As for laws, well... others have answered suffciently. I'll add to those recommending Alan Korwin's book, Arizona Gun Owner's Guide. Other than that I'll only add: welcome to (relative) freedom.


-T.

EDIT: As far as shooting out in the desert, go for it. But get a map of BLM land and go there. DO NOT shoot on private land. Bad juju.

 

[kingpin008]

Wow - thanks for all the replies! I very much appreciate it.

I will most definitely check out the AZ Gun Owners Guide. I've heard it mentioned before, but it slipped my mind.

I appreciate all the recommendations of places to shoot - I assure you that the last thing I want to do is go shooting on land that isn't mine, so I'll be absolutely sure I'm not on Tribal land when/if I go shooting in the desert.

Thanks to everyone for explaining the ccw laws and regulations - I'll keep them in mind.

As far as the folks who were asking when we'll be down - honestly, that's still very much up in the air. We'll be visiting once I finish school (about a year, year and a half hence) so either way, we've got awhile. I'll make a point to post again when we're closer to our trip, so maybe we all can coordinate some shooting time.

And as far as employment - I'm in school to become a baker right now, and depending on how far along I am after school, I may be looking to open my own business. If that's the case, one option I've considered is running a small custom bake shop out of our home, but I'm not sure where to start looking for the rules and regs concerning that. I know it's not gun related, but if anyone has any idea where I should look, I'd appreciate a heads-up.

Housing isn't certain for us yet - obviously if we like the state, we'll be looking to settle down, which means buying a house. But I have no idea whether or not that'll happen right away or not. I hate the idea of renting, so if the housing market is still the way it is now, we might see about taking the plunge and buying a house.

I will most certainly check out Prescott (pronounced Press-kit, right? ) when we're there. I really have no idea what different areas there are to live in AZ, and as much as I'd love to live out in the boonies, I will have to be close enough to a town to be able to work. I'm sure we'll find out more as we research.

So, long story short - thanks a ton! I'll definitely have a look at all the things you all have mentioned, and add them to the info we're gathering.

 

[Thernlund]

pronounced Press-kit, right?

"Press-scott". But some folks pronounce it "Press-kt" (not really a pronounced vowel in "kt").


-T.

 

[Zoogster]

AZ is getting a lot more expensive lately, primarily due to the large number of CA residents moving or retiring there, and paying near CA prices for landlocked desert realestate in AZ, and wanting the same then paid to them to part with it.

Some areas where a lot of CA residents are moving are also becoming quite liberal and leftist, I almost felt like I was in CA in some. I don't know how long it will be before that starts effecting the freedoms and politics of the state in a negative way.


Be sure to visit at different times of the year.
The summer is the most miserable, with most days in the triple digits and some going near 120. Air conditioning for half to 3/4 of the year is almost essential to live. It is also the primary electrical expense in AZ, most of your power bill is in just keeping your home at a temperature you can live.
It is not just uncomfortable heat like in some parts of the south, but deadly heat, the kind that would give a person heat stroke eventualy without artificial climate control.

Open carry is legal without a permit, resident or not, and Arizona has full preemption

Except on the Indian reservations which cover a large portion of the state. They choose what they will and will not allow.

 

[kingpin008]

I've heard a lot about the continuing infiltration of folks from Cali. If ya'll were to recommend areas to check out (and to stay away from) what would they be?

Obviously, we're looking for a decent sized area - I'll be working foodservice (either in a bakery, or owning a bakery of my own) and my fiancee is a court reporter, but may be switching to a career in a photo lab or similar business. As I said earlier, we'd love to live out in the boonies, but we'd also need to be able to make a (reasonable) commute to work, at the same time.

Gun rights are important - I'll most certainly be joining the AZCDL. We're looking forward to the freedoms ya'll have there already - just the ability to buy what we want when we want will be a great improvement, to tell ya the truth. Carry is a huge plus, even if there are restrictions on where you can and can't carry.

 

[metallic]

I absolutely loved Phoenix when I was there visiting. I think you'll fall in love with it just as much as I did. I can't wait to move there eventually.

 

[Poper]

As I said earlier, we'd love to live out in the boonies, but we'd also need to be able to make a (reasonable) commute to work, at the same time.

I definitely don't live anywhere near the boonies and my commute to work is 1hr+ EACH WAY, EVERYDAY. And that is without a wreck between me and my destination.
Forget about living out away from the big city and having a "reasonable" commute. To the best of my knowledge, such a place does not exist near Phoenix. Developers own nearly all the privately held property within 50 miles of the metro area. With the cost of fuel, you would be wise to reside near your work. If that happens to be close to Ben Avery or other range, so much the better.

one option I've considered is running a small custom bake shop out of our home, but I'm not sure where to start looking for the rules and regs concerning that.

The County Health Department will have all the regulations you will need to abide by. They are not very lax, either. I've designed a couple food service facilities and the regulations are pretty intimidating for the most part. There are som State regs, too, as well as city fire codes and ordinances that vary considerably between municpalities.

You may want to consider Sedona as a location for a specialty bakery. Check it out closely. Very uppity and very expensive place for the beautiful people. However, Camp Verde is still fairly affordable place to live and the commute between Sedona and CV easy and reasonable. Just a suggestion for consideration.
I hope this is helpful.

Best regards,

Poper

 

[Thernlund]

To the best of my knowledge, such a place does not exist near Phoenix.

I live in West Phoenix (near Avondale) and commute to Central and Washington. Takes about 15 minutes. 30 during rush hour.

North Phoenix is much trickier. I-17 isn't as big as I-10 and gets REALLY bad during rush hour. If you live in Anthem, forget it.

Same with the 51 (Squaw Peak Parkway) and the 202 (Red Mountain) where they meet I-10. Three freeways all converging into one. That bit is a nightmare during ruch hour.

But I-10 west of the tunnel is usually just fine in both directions. It does slow right about where I-17 crosses it, but it still moves.


Kingpin... grab a Google map of central and west Phoenix and this should make a bit more sense.


-T.

 

[JesseL]

I'll second the motion to check out Prescott (pronounced to rhyme with biscuit). I've lived here for 30 years (since the day I was born) and it's still a great place to be, despite continuing attempts at California. It's very gunnie around here.

PM me if you'd like directions to a couple public land shooting spots around here.

If you can bake a wedding cake that tastes as good as it looks, you'll do well.

 

[tank mechanic]

You may want to consider Sedona

The awesome shooting aspect of living in Sedona is the fact that there are three ranges within 15 minutes of any where in town. It is seriously too easy to go shooting there. It is pretty expensive to live in Sedona, but you can live in Cottonwood and commute(no more than 15 minutes) and Cottonwood has a pretty big range about 5 minutes south of town.

 

[belus]

My girlfriend's mother and partner just moved to a small community 10 minutes south of Flagstaff from Dallas. It's a really nice area (has seasons) in the middle of a National Forest. I introduced her brother to shooting there a couple weekends ago.

I've occasionally seen open carry in the area and on one occasion noticed someone CCWing. I'm also amused by your and your finance's occupations because my girlfriend's mom is currently studying for the Arizona bar exam and her partner manages the local hospital's food service.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...5.112607,-111.663666&spn=0.19603,0.32135&z=12
http://www.tucsonguns.com/Areas_Public.php

 

[Dahwg]

Well don't forget to consider Tucson. It's the second largest city in AZ so you have many of the advantages of a big city without some of the problems that they do up north.

Downside to Tucson is that there are elements in this town that would like to try to drive this great city to the left <cough>Gabrielle <cough>Giffords<cough>. Thankfully we have some very vigorous defenders of our way of life down here and we won't be pushed in that direction.