>>So, please tell me about North Carolina's gun laws and political climate! <<
NC is a state where many in the capital and the ivory towers in RTP are very liberal. The Dems and Rep go back and forth there election-wise.
The average Tarheel is usually a pretty clear thinking person and on the conservative side of moderate.
>>A brief look over at
http://www.packing.org shows that they have shall-issue CCW, but they might have some other goofy laws. For the CCW, are certain areas verboten? What are the restrictions on buying guns -- waiting periods, other garbage?<<
From a RKBA POV it's a typical nanny state. The politicos know best and restrict what thay can and only begrudging let people exercise their RKBA and then in a more restricted manner than needed. Expect many liberals/anti RKBA on the Duke campus.
I don't know if it's still normal but buying handguns used to require that you go get a pistol permit from the local head LE agent in your area. While you could get up to five at one time it was a PITA. In some places it is breeze to get one... in WS, Greensboro and Raleigh it's a pain. I'm not sure if having a CHL will let you buy and walk in NC w/o a permit. Long guns are less restricted, no permits required there.
I think you have some residency requirements to get a pistol permit in NC. There is a residency req. for CCCW, and NC is just now looking a legislation to recognize and CHLs from other states. Carry is prohibited at certain kinds of business/specified locations. I don't believe a local gov. can prohibit CCW totally just because they don't like it.
Considering how restrictive gun laws are in some places, NC will seem wide open. Of all the southern states I've lived in, I consider NC the biggest PITA law-wise of them all. I hated going to the extra effort to get a permit(s) and the process where I lived at the time required you to come back at a later time and pick them up and pay for them. So a defacto waiting period. I hope they dropped all this foolishness but I doubt they have. In some areas of the state you can walk in a get the permits much nore easily.
OTOH you can carry a pistol in your car as long as it's NOT CONCEALED w/o a permit or, at least that used to be the case.
>>Any good shops in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area I should poke into next fall?<<
There are some pretty well equipped shops in those areas but I find them a bit high priced. I always did better at gunshows $$$-wise. I also did better is some of the shops in small towns here and there around the state.
>>What's good to hunt there?<<
More like what's not good. NC is blessed with a fair amont of public hunting land referred to generically as Gamelands. Hunting in the National Forests is part of this. The department of Wildlife Resources has a special announcement outlining special hunts on the net. Some of these are exceptional opportunities. Resident hunting and fishing Lics. are not too expensive.
It's a pretty great place for deer. Hunts on leased land are better than public but not always so. Turkey hunting is spring only. They have bear and wild boar and small game. Ducks are poor to ok in places and excellent in places. Quail are hit and miss, mostly miss.....its a land use thing. Dove is excellent in eastern NC on some of the big farms.
They have trout fishing at one end of the state, surf and blue water salt at the other and all kinds of assorted fishing in-between.
Spring and fall there are beautiful. Humid summers.
Good luck with Duke. Some of the best graduate classes I ever took were taught at Duke. Spend some time between Raleigh and Morehead off the Interstate. Nice country and some great hunting, but you have to ask permission.
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