Thinking of moving to NC coast, best areas for a gun owner?

[DMK]

I live all the way at the west side of the state and enjoy a quite gun friendly area. Lots of gun owners among the population. CCW doesn't raise eyebrows. The local police and sherriff are supportive to gun owners. There's a good outdoor range nearby that doesn't have any nazi rules against rapid fire, black rifles, drawing from holsters or steel cored ammo.

Are there any areas along the coast as friendly and enjoyable to the gun owner? Any that are not? I'd like to live near a decent range.

 

[ScottsGT]

Hmm....Almost 24 hours and no good honest responses.

Better stay where your at! Besides, the coast is too close to all the research areas. (read: Libs)

 

[Rob1035]

ALthough I've never lived there, I hear that the coast is one of the better places fo gun owners. Lots of open space makes for good ranges, the military bases are near there, and of course Blackwater for training. Check out the Carolinas club on Glocktalk, there's a few threads just like this one.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Far more golf courses than rifle ranges along the coast, but most areas are pretty gun friendly. It would depend on where you wanted to be, lots of differences from place to place of course. C'mon over and play with the hurricanes, you've been missing out on them in the western part of the state.

lpl/nc (not on the coast, 60 mi. inland and 20 mi. N of SC)

 

[Smurfslayer]

not being sure what your preferences are, but VA's laws are a little more gun friendly, have you looked into the Virginia shore?

 

[Kitt]

I live right on the coast near Wilmington N.C. but I've never been to a shootin range...I live in the sticks and have my own range in my backyard. We have two rules in Pender County...you can't shoot after 11pm and you can't shoot within 100 yards of someones home. We also have a state gameland that is over 50,000 acres if you hunt. I live 1.5 miles from the ocean and have lost trees from the hurricanes and had to live off my generator for a week before we got the power turned back on but I can be on the beach or fishing pier in no time...life is good.

 

[JohnBT]

www.outerbanksgunclub.com/index.html

 

[DMK]

Kitt, Actually Wilmington was one of the areas I'm thinking about. You make it sound very attractive.

Smurfslayer, yes Virginia is very beautiful, and I wouldn't mind visiting there at all, but I want to stay in NC.

 

[Travis McGee]

Try to make a friend with a boat that can go out on the ocean. It's the best range in the world! Once you have a clear horizon, the range is open. Your bullets, and your noise, don't go that far. Plus, you get to see your splashes so you get a nice feel for offhand longer range shooting. Balloons are great targets, they stick to the water, and as you go along, they get further and further away.

 

[JohnBT]

One Sunday morning nine or ten years ago I was driving the beach up near Corolla and ran up on a dozen or so 4x4 trucks parked near the water. No they weren't surf casting - they were shooting clays over the ocean. They had the machine mounted in the bed of a truck.

John

 

[Moondoggie]

I lived in Havelock from 86-91. It's about 20 mi inland.

B&R Guns has (had?) a nice range right outside their store. The rates were reasonable. Rick could be a little odd at times...for instance he thought that every piece of brass that hit the ground was HIS; Yeah, right! I always took mine home and he never confronted me.

There's also the Croatan Nat'l Forrest...lots of hunting and places to shoot along power line clearings.

 

[Odessa]

DMK,
I have been a sales rep "down east" for the past 26 years, and travel the area extensively. While there is not an overabundance of public ranges there are enough to satisfy the need. You have been linked to the Dare County (Outer Banks) range above, moving south there is a nice range with a small but well stocked gun shop near Havelock (B&R) that is also referenced above.

A little further inland there is the Pitt County Wildlife Club, in Pitt County, just off of NC43 west of Greenville (they have a website) - the PCWC is open to members and their guests. 13 miles south of Greenville (on NC43) is a new public range operated by Paradise Outdoors that is open 7 days per week offering annual and daily memberships.

My favorite public range near the coast is Flatwoods Outfitters in Hubert NC (just off of NC24 between Jacksonville and Swansboro) - it is owned and operated by Mike Stroff, Lt Col, USMC (RET) - terrific gun shop and range. In Rocky Mount there is the Old Hickory Gun Club (I am a member of that club) it offers both daily shooting ($10.00 per day) or annual memberships ($100.00 per year). OHGC is open WED & FRI afternoons, Saturday and Sunday afternoons - it is primarily a Skeet shooting club, but has a nice rifle/pistol range and a very good CAS club/range.

There is a public range near Southport, I have seen the sign but have never turned in and cannot remember the name of the range; same story between Spring Lake and Lillington on NC210 - nice sign but I have never turned in to look. The very old and established Buccaneer Gun Club is off of US 17, south of Wilmington, I have not been there but a friend of mine goes there occasionally to shoot in skeet tournaments. There are more (one near Burgaw, off of US117 that I have forgotten the name of also). If you search you will find a few more. The gun shops often can lead you to a range.

As to permitting, it depends on counties (as it does in the rest of the state). My sheriff will issue permits on the spot at gunshows and overnight in his office. I know Wake (Raleigh) can take weeks and I have heard that Durham and Orange (Chapel Hill) can take months. A friend of mine from Washington (Beaufort) obtained permits there a few weeks ago in 4 days. Another friend in Fayetteville always has plenty of permits for gunshows, trading, etc. CCW, as you know, is "shall issue" in NC, and I have heard of no Sheriffs in our area (central part of eastern NC) attempting to subvert the process, but I don't know what happens in each and everyone of the 40 counties on and east of I-95.

Odessa
http://www.pittcountywildlifeclub.20fr.com/index.html
www.oldhickorygunclub.com
www.paradisehuntingpreserve.com
http://www.ncrpa.org/ranges.htm
http://www.n-ssa.org/CAROLINA/MapJacksonville.jpg

 

[beaucoup ammo]

Learn The Mile Markers On The OBX

Makes it easier to know where you are. Am I in Kill Devil Hills? Kitty Hawk? NagsHead?

Dare County, a little inland, does have a nice range..and, yea..that's a looong causeway!

If you find a group of lost folks wandering among the bears in the Dismal Swamp..tell 'em they're a few 100 years late for dinner! :O)

Great Neck Of The Woods! Enjoy!

Take Care

 

[beaucoup ammo]

Not Ready For Prime Time

Barely College Grade composition..but, who knows down the line...she could improve. The young lady isn't going to get paid for this caliber of writing in the real world.. be she Pro or Con.

It shouldn't go in her resume. Regardless of stance, making a strong, viable argument is the main thing. There isn't one in this academic petri dish.

Take Care

 

[beaucoup ammo]

Wrong Thread..Sorry For The Screw-Up!

Below should have appeared in thread dealing with the Student Paper!

Take Care