NY'er looking to move to Portland - good for gun owner?

You'll do just fine in seattle, or portland.


The majority of both states are gun friendly... when you get in the cities you get a bunch of the same liberal b.s. you and california are suffering.. but for the most part the rest of both states would be happy to have you.


Come on over.

Considering where you're moving from, it's a goddamned gun paradise in Oregon!

Unlike NYC, you don't have to travel too far out of Portland to get out in the woods. Plenty of areas that are hunting and/or target shooting friendly.

Yeah, you'll feel like you're in heaven compared to NY. And you'll wonder why so many of us ***** about the restrictions we have.

But my suggestion is (if you can afford it) come to Portland for a couple weeks and see if you like it. Do the same for Seattle.

Compared to Long Island, the weather is less extreme here. Our summers don't get quite as hot and our winters don't get anywhere near as cold. I'd say the PNW has 3 seasons: extended spring, summer, extended fall. Our winters are super wimpy compared to what you get there -- that's why we have the rep for "it always rains". It's because we don't get a crap ton of snow like other states get. Our winters are typically low to mid 40's with the occasional drop below freezing and maybe a bit of snow. Portland is similar.

Depending on where you are in relation to the cities, you can hop in a car and drive "out" to find a place to shoot, without even having to go to a range. But there are ranges (indoor & outdoor) in Portland/Seattle that are easily accessible.

No salt on the roads. Cars you would consider classics we drive to the grocery store.

Full auto (with all the federal hoops of course)
SBR (with all the federal hoops of course)
SBS (with all the federal hoops of course)

40rd mags
will issue CHL State (meet the requirements and you get a permit)
Lots of ranges indoor and out public and private
lots of State and National Forest and BLM land to hunt and fish on.
THE WHOLE FRECKIN BEACH IS PUBLIC PROPERTY AND OPEN TO ANYONE
In an hour you can go from a great beach to the mountains where you can hike and hunt
In three hours you can get from the Beach to edge of The Great Basin Desert
To buy a handgun takes filling out one form (fed 4473) a $10 BGC fee and usually less then a 20min wait for approval and your out the door.
To buy a long gun the same. (actual wait can be as little as 5-10 min)
Local gunshops with prices as good as on line dealers
Gas is as low as $2.99 a gallon here $3.25 average
A 1 hour commute here usually means you had at least 40 miles to go. Some times it means you had 70 miles to go.

But then you will have to put up with a lot of Californians while your here in Oregon LOL

Mark W said:

But then you will have to put up with a lot of Californians while your here in Oregon LOL

Click to expand...

Haha.... our only drawback.

If you like the island feel, check out the Puget Sound area. I would avoid Seattle or Portland cities, but some of the surrounding metro areas are great.

In WA, we can't have class 3 weapons, so there is a plus for OR, but other than that they are about the same. WA allows OC of CC, but some OR municipalities have somehow twisted the state laws to allow them to ban OC unless you have your CC license. Stupid and unconstitutional, but the courts seem to be allowing it.

I personally don't think so. I recently moved to the Portland area, West Linn, from Florida. Although it is easy and quick to get a permit to conceal carry, and the number of gun free zones is limited, by comparison to some other states, the big negative for me is the lack of a viable Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground law.

So, even in a home invasion scenario, or attempted car jacking of an occupied vehicle , you use deadly force at great risk of having to go before a grand jury, and getting sued civilly. There is no legal presumption in Oregon in a home invasion or attempted car jacking that the use of deadly force was reasonable, nor are you protected from civil liability, as your are in Florida and other states with a meaningful Castle Doctrine.

In addition, the Portland area is very Liberal politically and my impression is that it is not very gun friendly.

I do carry and have a loaded gun by my bedside at night , but frankly do so with some concern about the legal consequences if I ever had to use deadly force to protect myself or family. Even in a justified shooting.

It's pretty unusual for something like a home invasion or car jacking here in Portland, in the 25 yrs I've been here, i can only remember one or two cases where a homeowner was hassled for shooting someone breaking into a house or garage, And the only one I know of that went to jail (a couple years ago now), was a guy in Seattle with a Mosin, who shot some kid that was breaking into his car, from a second or third story apartment window. Not sure I'd do the same, but several witnesses said after the initial yelling back and forth, the kid made a move like he was reaching for a gun instead of dropping the stereo and running, and got shot for it. Probably wouldn't have been an issue if the car owner had a pistol and he and the perp were face to face, but even in a "stand your ground" state, they probably won't let you shoot someone in the street, from your apartment window. As far as ownership goes, cost of the weapon plus a $9.00 background check gets you out the door usually in 15-20 minutes, sometimes maybe a half hour if it's busy at a gunshow. Face to face sales between private owners require no background check, transfer fees, or other paperwork, and no "special" requirements for owning handguns. The Californicators are here, come on out and help us preserve our freedom before it's gone!

Well, it may be rare, but if it happens you are not protected from criminal and/or civil liability by a castle doctrine law if you use deadly force to protect yourself and family. i am not talking about shooting someone outside your house, from your window, or someone who was on his or her way out of your house, etc. I fully understand what the limits are.

I am only suggesting that, given the Liberal political climate here in the Portland area, you are at much greater risk then, perhaps, in other parts of the State, and in other states, such as Florida or Texas.

Well, the OP was asking if Portland is a good place for gun owners, and just about everyone I know, male and female, is either a shooter, or is at least hands on familiar with firearms. I work in a call center with a fairly young crowd, and am continually hearing people I would mot expect, including a couple lesbians, talking about going out shooting, so yeah, there isn't a castle doctrine, but then again, there hasn't really been much of a push for one, the liberals haven't really been able to get the few things they have been pushing for, it's easy to buy and sell guns, relatively easy to get a concealed weapons permit, great places to go shooting, plus hunting, fishing, camping, etc., all in all, I'd say it's a good place to be a gun owner. At least, I'm quite happy being a gun owner here. It is certainly not as restrictive as New York, or a great many of its close neighbors, whereas other than CA, OR,WA,ID,MT,WY,CO,NV,AZ are all pretty gun tolerant. Been many years since I been to TX, I hear the wild hog hunting is good, never been to FL, so I got nothing to compare to, but I like it here. I have known people who went back to the east coast because they thought it was to laid back out here,

I have no argument with anything you wrote. I like it here, as well, although I am surprised that there has been no push for a Castle Doctrine. It can really spare a gun owner a lot of potential grief