Where to Live in NW OR/SW WA To Freely Shoot In Your Backyard/Close To Your Home?

[4Freedom]

Hi, I am wondering if there is in rural areas that are not too far away from civilization and high speed cable internet that would also have areas wher eyou can shoot your guns, preferably near your own house. I am really sick and tired of where I am live, since the closet place to shoot my guns would bel like a 40 minute drive; that really sucks. I have a home type business and as long as I have high speed internet, I am rather flexible where I can live. Does anyone know any good semi-rural areas in Northern Western Oregon or Southwestern Washington where you can be close to areas where you can shoot? I want to avoid living in real far rural areas as I need acccess to the city, but I know there is lot of forest area outside Portland and Vancouver. However, I have heard there is a lot of roughnecks in some areas around here and I want to totally avoid them.

I would like to be in a place where i Can just go and shoot my guns, the American dream. LOL.. I feel like a prisoner as of now. I think in my situaiton I have some advantages and I hope I can take advantage of those. I lived for 4 years on the Oregon coast, where shooting your gun in your backyward wasn't a big deal; unforunately, back when I lived there I was the only guy on the block who was not into guns. However, where I lived was so far from civilizawtion and the weather sucked so much, that I just don't want to live there again.

I am thinking in the next few months relocating somewhere out a ways but within driveable distance to the Portland/Vancouver area, say within 1 hour or so. I maybe can consider living in Seattle area, but I think that is even more urbanized, expensive and shooting your guns in western washington, I don't know if it is an easy task. I think Idaho is a bit rural for me, but I am sure there is lot more places to shoot out there.

I really think the best way to get good is to have areas where you can shoot all the time. I think being confined to crappy indoor shooting ranges or driving a long journey to a crowded shooting range will usually set me back from wanting to go out every day and shoot.

I appreciate your suggestions. I know its a bizarre question.

P.S. I think this post really would be for the northwest members on the board. Anyone can contribute, but I am stuck living in Pacific NOrthwest, so don't tell me to move to Alaska. Thanks

 

[krs]

Sure. I'm on 12 acres 15 miles from Vancouver and shoot as I like on my own property and I'm a roughneck and you want to totally avoid me.

Buy an airgun and shoot in your little apartment at little targets.

 

[45Badger]

I'm on 4 acres in south (like a mile from MD) central PA. I'm an hour and small change from BWI airport. 2 gun clubs are 10 minutes away, another is 25. I have a few neighbors (closest is 700 ft or so) and back onto farmland. Hunt deer out back and shoot woodchucks from the porch, and assorted second story windows. I will occasionally test a handgun load in the field behind my place.

Out of courtesy to my my neighbors, I save my blasting for the range. Almost all of us hunt and shoot, but listening to some fool blast away for an hour while you're trying to sleep or eat is annoying at best. I don't like the racket (unles I'm creating it) and don't inflict it on others.

 

[4Freedom]

Well , an old friend in Silverton had an armed confrontation with some local boys who decided to show up at his house with guns. Luckily for him, he had a good arsenal of guns, some gun saavy roommates, lot of dogs and was a good shot, seeing he was an avid hunter who lived in the area his whole life. To put it blunt he answers his door sometimes for strangers with a shotgun. When I say roughneck, I don't mean your average country person. I lived deep in the forest for long time and liked the local people; they had good manners and were respectful folks. But a few rats always can make life difficult, especially in an area lacking any good community or law enforcement.

As for using an airgun in my apartment, assuming I live in one, I much rather use my ARs and AKs. But don't think the apartment manager would appreciate it. Thanks

Out of courtesy to my my neighbors, I save my blasting for the range. Almost all of us hunt and shoot, but listening to some fool blast away for an hour while you're trying to sleep or eat is annoying at best. I don't like the racket (unles I'm creating it) and don't inflict it on others.

Well I agree with you, thats why I don't live in an overcrowded state like Pennsylvania. Thanks but no thanks. Yeah , I had a neighbor where I use to live who shot his guns outside time to time and also harvested pigs in his frontyard with a shotgun. He really could piss me off at times, seeing he was like just like 500 feet away from me. Thats why I am wondering if there is a place I can live in Northwestern Oregon/Southwestern Washington that is either close by or has enough space for shooting that the neighbors would not hear.

The only downside is I need to find a place with internet access, I know many places way out there I can move and not have neighbors, but many don't have internet setup.

 

[MaterDei]

I'm not familiar with your neck of the woods but I strongly encourage you to go through with it. I work in downtown Houston (which is the 4th largest U.S. city) and am still able to live on enough land to shoot whatever I want safely on my property.

In addition to all the other benefits living in the 'county' has to offer, free and readily available range time is great.

I envy your ability to telecommute. I telecommute one day a week but that is all.

Just do it!

 

[Glockman17366]

I have...
Got 2½ acres (mostly wooded) in a rural areal south of York PA. I only shoot .22, .38 Spl (standard), or 9mm (standard) on my property.
There's others in this area shoot higher powered firearms, but those are the three calibers I shoot.

 

[senior]

Years ago, lived in YAKIMA Wash. plenty of open land around among the hills to shoot and not near as wet as Seattle. Only problem was, and a big one, was limited employment oppurtunities! Now that retired, i'd move back in a heartbeat except family, home, relatives are here in Tex. and moving back would mean issolation to some extent, but the folks there were very friendly and open.

 

[bonza]

We had friends living in Battleground, WA a few years ago. Semi-rural, internet service, all the modern conveniences, & a pretty easy commute to Vancouver/Portland.

 

[76shuvlinoff]

11 acres in corn country Michigan, I use a railroad tie backstop for plinking. It works well for my pistols, plus the 22lr, 357 carbine and 30-30 but I'd be leary of anything more powerful than that around home.

 

[krs]

I usually won't fire anything on weekends or after about three in the afternoon, and of course I don't shoot early in the morning.

There's some people living about 800 feet from one of my borders and they asked about the shooting when I first decided to go ahead and do it. Once they knew I wasn't killing my wife they were fine with it.

I do try to be polite about it and shoot pistols only almost completely. I'll fire a clip through a Garand or a magful in an AR or other rifle when I've worked on it just to check function but I'd have to get to logging to make a real rifle range with any distance.

I've got DSL service here although it's only been the last two years. Before that I used a satellite dish on my roof. It sucked to have to go up and get the snow from screwing up my connection.

 

[statelineblues]

Posted by 4Freedom:
thats why I don't live in an overcrowded state like Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania? Overcrowded? Since when??!!

 

[4Freedom]

What do people think about outside Hood River or Mt. Hood National Forest for good places to freely shoot whatever you wish? I know the Mt. Hood National Forest area is pretty rural, but I don't know the laws in that area. I know the forests outside Vancouver a bit towards Mt St. Helens also looks pretty rural.

Of course finding any type of place to rent in these areas , especially internet enabled is not easy.

I suppose Estacada may have lot of good shooting areas outside, but I am not sure of the area or the people who inhabit the woods around there and what its like to just go out and start shooting on your own. I heard some people have had trouble with some locals going plinking in areas near Estacada.

 

[SASS#23149]

I think you are asking the impossible.I have lived here for years and have seen all the good shooting spots become houseing developments,or being posted NO SHOOTING just because some one complained about it.
If you contact the Clark county sherriff's office,a LOT of Clark county is NOT open to shooting except for varmint control.The fact that it's not enforced is due to lack of manpower I'm sure.Before you buy a place,be sure you can legally shoot there.
I think around Yacollt or Chalatchie prairie might be the only place to move to where you could drive a little bit to shoot,but that is not 'close' to pdx in my view.
I drove over an hour to shoot,and I can see hills and forest out my back window....covered with houses !!

pm me for info about a club I shoot at near BG if you like.

 

[4Freedom]

Anyone know if shooting in Mt Hood National Forest has any restrictions? Many have said it is a good area to find timber roads and desolate spots where you can shoot. I am sorry to hear the bad news about shooting in Clark county. It seems like its just getting to built up and liberalized around here. The amount of Obama posters I ssee in Vancouver these days is shocking enough for me.

 

[Ergoman]

michigan

Its my understanding that you can target shoot on your own property (outside of the town, city, village limits) in most areas. Some townships have ordinances but most dont to my knowledge, (outside of the detroit suburbs).
Its the shooters responsibility to have a safe backstop. You have to be 450 feet from a nieghbors home to hunt, target shooting has no boundry requirement other than being on your own land.

 

[PBinWA]

If you go far enough into the outskirts of Clark County beyond the city limits of Camas and Washougal then you are probably OK.

Skamania County would also be good with lower property taxes.

You could also try to find a place close to Clarke Rifles: http://www.clarkrifles.org/

Just don't pick a place on the top of a mountain with a nice view (and no natural backstops). Doh! Doh! Doh!

 

[Mr_Rogers]

Basically, in Oregon, as far as the State is concerned, you simply need to be safe. Local ordinances in places such as Eugene are another matter, there the police do not get to discharge a firearm for training and BB guns are restricted. I do not think that noise complaints from neighbors even are a valid reason to not have a private range (I did not dig into the law to say this, it is what I was told during the construction of my range).

Clearly, there are going to be some situations where locating a range will be easier, a large property well away from town would be an obvious benefit.

A consideration, Oregon is suppressor friendly. You would still need to meet the safety requirements but since most neighbors are annoyed or frightened more by noise than anything else a suppressor would make your life a lot easier.

 

[SCMtns]

As my username suggests, I live in the Santa Cruz Mountains, which border the southern and western edges of the SF Bay Area. I don't like to admit that I live in the Bay Area, but I do.

My place is on a steep forested hillside, on one side of the canyon formed by one of the biggest waterways in the area. We're in the unincorporated part of town here, so the law is that you have to be 150 feet from the nearest dwelling or road and on private property to shoot. That puts me just barely out of reach of being able to do target practice at home-- got the guns, got the nice natural berm with no hard rocks, but got neighbors just within that range. They all own guns and we're on great terms, but it wouldn't be cool. I've gotten away with firing the occasional shot to do away with a pest, but I wouldn't want to subject my neighbors to anything more than that.

Some lucky SOB on the other side of the canyon, though, where there's far fewer houses, frequently opens up what sounds like a nice collection of weaponry. The Sheriff's deputies I've met out here have told me that he always calls in beforehand to let them know he's going to do some target shooting, even though the law doesn't require that. Me, I enjoy hearing it. Sounds like freedom to me.

So, anyway, 4Freedom, as sort of an answer to your question, there are a great many places in this country where you can shoot. As we've seen from some of the posts in this thread, it's more about your willingness to subject your neighbors to that kind of racket than about what you can do legally. I mean, if you can do hours' worth of target practice just 25 minutes south of San Jose in gun-hating California, then you oughta be all right just about anywhere.

The best option, given where you are, might be to buy out an "inholder" in one of the National Forests up there. In any NF, there's still islands of private property. If you want to shoot without disturbing whatever neighbors you may have, just head up the forest road a few minutes, farther in the NF, until you're a good ways from the nearest house, but only minutes from your own. That always sounded like heaven to me...

 

[PBinWA]

Mr Rogers makes a good point. You can have much "cooler" toys in Oregon. Washington does not allow full auto or silenced shooting.