May be moving to WA soon!

[B3dlam]

You're more likely to fit in if you move to the eastern part of the state and by eastern just anything east of the mountains tends to be a bit more sane and far less demand for rain coats. I know there is a nice shooting complex outside the tri-cities. Best of luck with your move hopefully it works out well for you!

 

[ageingstudent]

Are there some good Public Land areas to do some target shooting? I am used to having a lot of public land that I goto each Sunday for my version of church. The wife and I like to let the brass fly on the weekends.

I usually end up cleaning up a bunch of lazy idiots trash, but, its worth it to be able to setup my own targets and run my own drills or mini course of fire for practice and fun. I like IDPA, GSSF and I want to see about getting into 3 gun.

There are some to the west of the cascades but the west side is more populated to a large extent. Public places to shoot can get crowded and have more trash and knuckleheads. I actually got a club membership a couple years ago for this reason. I still shoot in public areas some, but not as much as I used to.

 

[Brutus57]

Welcome. Just remember, it's WASH-ington not WARSH-ington.
And you say WallaWallaWashingon fast so you smush it into 1 word

Yes,

Washington, only tarheels call it Warshington.

Brutus out

 

[etrain16]

Welcome to the forum

As others have already stated, our gun rights here on the left coast are under full scale assault. Of the 3 states at the moment, I would say Oregon is the least restricted (though that's likely to get worse soon), Washington is 2nd, but the idiots in the Seattle area, which drive the decisions for the rest of the state have no interest in gun rights for anyone.

That said, OR and WA are great places to live, if you can stomach the government's attempts to control you in every way possible. The NW is beautiful with so many options for recreation, etc. I love it here.

 

[wired]

The gun rights/California-esque thing about Washington is a bunch of BS. You can't own machine guns and you have to go through a dealer. Other than that its got the most liberal gun laws on the West Coast . Easiest to get CPL just about anywhere .

East side of the mountains. Seriously. MUCH better living. Weather similar to Utah. If you like 9% income tax and truly crappy governance move to Oregon. Moving back to Washington from Oregon got me $10K more a year from the same salary amount. No income tax.

I can off the top of my head without thinking about it think of a dozen or more truly excellent places to shoot on public land on the East side. The Puget sound area on the other hand a a hellhole. No good shooting spots anywhere unless you are a private range member $$$$.

 

[GOG]

Welcome from the great State of Jefferson.

 

[EPS]

Stanwood Anacortes Burlington MT Vernon all North of EVERRET AND SOUTH OF BELLINGHAM Bellingham is good too but lots of hippies lol I travel for work from ANACORTES to Sumner 108 miles one way granted I do it twice a week but worth every mile I lived in TACOMA FOR 17 YEARS don't go there any more useless I have too WELCOME TO THE SITE

 

[fredball]

Welcome Aboard

 

[BlindedByScience]

Move to OR instead. King county sucks if you have to go there. The traffic blows in both cities though, Portland a bit better.

Negative. OR will tax your retirement income, that's not helpful. As a Vancouver WA resident, I can tell you that our quadrant of the state is wonderful and we do our best to ignore the loonies to the north (which means voting against them every chance we get).....

And, welcome to the forums...!!

 

[Tony617]

Thanks!



Thanks!



We haven't decided yet, my company allows me to work from home as my office, however I have a lot of driving usually. So I am open to most of the state. The wife likes Everett.



Yeah, I am hoping it stays that way. I saw a bunch of garbage that they want to introduce and it made me really wonder what is going on out there.



Hah!



Unfortunately, it work and family related

I-5 and I-405 southbound get a huge amounts of traffic in the morning and northbound in the evening so be warned. I have driven on I-405 southbound in the morning sometimes and at 6:30AM totally backed up with traffic. You can purchase an express lane pass for I-405 north and south for weekdays and then weekend are free for everyone. I do drive I-5 north and south on the weekends and you need two or more people to use the HOV lane. The HOV lane ends just after the city Everett in both directions.

If you conceal carry permit from Utah it is honored by Washington State so you are good to go. Just read up on the carry laws here until you are eligible for CPL for Washington state. Not sure how long you need to be resident for you apply for a CPL

 

[benchmark]

Negative. OR will tax your retirement income, that's not helpful. As a Vancouver WA resident, I can tell you that our quadrant of the state is wonderful and we do our best to ignore the loonies to the north (which means voting against them every chance we get).....

And, welcome to the forums...!!

Whoops, yeah what he said. bahabaha!

 

[kalison]

There are some to the west of the cascades but the west side is more populated to a large extent. Public places to shoot can get crowded and have more trash and knuckleheads. I actually got a club membership a couple years ago for this reason. I still shoot in public areas some, but not as much as I used to.

If that's the case, do you know any ranges that aren't incredibly strict on being able to draw from holster? Seems many ranges everywhere don't like that, and frankly I get bored of shooting off a bench unless its 500+ yards with my precision rifle. I like to setup multiple targets and run a timer on myself or drills for malfunctions. My wife gets incredibly bored at normal shooting ranges lol.

I am a little spoiled here, may just have to suck it up... but its my favorite hobby next to reloading and casting boolits.

Welcome to the forum

As others have already stated, our gun rights here on the left coast are under full scale assault. Of the 3 states at the moment, I would say Oregon is the least restricted (though that's likely to get worse soon), Washington is 2nd, but the idiots in the Seattle area, which drive the decisions for the rest of the state have no interest in gun rights for anyone.

That said, OR and WA are great places to live, if you can stomach the government's attempts to control you in every way possible. The NW is beautiful with so many options for recreation, etc. I love it here.

Thanks for the welcome. I do enjoy visiting every year, its a beautiful place. I know I will like it, I just want to make sure I enjoy my favorite hobbies as well.

It does bother me that I have to keep my head on a swivel and my ear to ground constantly to make sure I am voting and fighting the good fight.

The gun rights/California-esque thing about Washington is a bunch of BS. You can't own machine guns and you have to go through a dealer. Other than that its got the most liberal gun laws on the West Coast . Easiest to get CPL just about anywhere .

East side of the mountains. Seriously. MUCH better living. Weather similar to Utah. If you like 9% income tax and truly crappy governance move to Oregon. Moving back to Washington from Oregon got me $10K more a year from the same salary amount. No income tax.

I can off the top of my head without thinking about it think of a dozen or more truly excellent places to shoot on public land on the East side. The Puget sound area on the other hand a a hellhole. No good shooting spots anywhere unless you are a private range member $$$$.

Yeah, it sounds like the East side of the state is more where I would want to park myself, however as I get closer to moving I will probably have to find myself on the West.

I have noticed in my times visiting (my parents live on Whidbey in Freeland) that almost every range requires some high priced membership that actually blows my mind.... and I mean that because I am used to shooting on some really nice ranges that don't require membership fees, and were miles above what I have seen so far... especially for the buy in and monthly/yearly fees.

Now, that's my limited knowledge, I am sure I will be able to scope out more places once I am actually living there... but, it does look like the west side is going to be a little more slim pickins.

Thank you

Welcome from the great State of Jefferson.

Thanks!

Stanwood Anacortes Burlington MT Vernon all North of EVERRET AND SOUTH OF BELLINGHAM Bellingham is good too but lots of hippies lol I travel for work from ANACORTES to Sumner 108 miles one way granted I do it twice a week but worth every mile I lived in TACOMA FOR 17 YEARS don't go there any more useless I have too WELCOME TO THE SITE

lol thanks! I am all in all looking forward to living in WA

Welcome Aboard

Thanks!

Negative. OR will tax your retirement income, that's not helpful. As a Vancouver WA resident, I can tell you that our quadrant of the state is wonderful and we do our best to ignore the loonies to the north (which means voting against them every chance we get).....

And, welcome to the forums...!!

Thank you!

I-5 and I-405 southbound get a huge amounts of traffic in the morning and northbound in the evening so be warned. I have driven on I-405 southbound in the morning sometimes and at 6:30AM totally backed up with traffic. You can purchase an express lane pass for I-405 north and south for weekdays and then weekend are free for everyone. I do drive I-5 north and south on the weekends and you need two or more people to use the HOV lane. The HOV lane ends just after the city Everett in both directions.

If you conceal carry permit from Utah it is honored by Washington State so you are good to go. Just read up on the carry laws here until you are eligible for CPL for Washington state. Not sure how long you need to be resident for you apply for a CPL

Thanks for that very good information on travel! Yeah, I have a feeling its going to take a lot of getting used to as far as traffic is concerned.

Yeah, my Utah permit expires on Christmas, so I am hoping I will be able to get into the WA one asap.

 

[ageingstudent]

The east would be more like what you are used to. There are good public places in the west they just require more looking. If you must live west like me you're in luck joining this site. Lots of us here are good responsible folks and I'm willing to bet that no matter where you settle someone nearby will help you out. There's a forum here with public shooting area info and also private range info and reviews. @Cogs does a lot of public range work he's a good man I've met him in person as well as several other folks here.

 

[Cogs]

@Cogs does a lot of public range work he's a good man I've met him in person as well as several other folks here.

Why, Thank you, Mr. Aging Student! The feeling is mutual!

Looking forward to meeting you Kalison! You'll have a good time!

 

[wired]

Theres plenty of good shooting place in the West. Theyre just not in King County. a little north, a little west, a little south and up into the mountains and your fine. Really good shooting spots down near the Oregon border on timber land. If you end up in the King County/Tacoma area just don't expect to walk out the door into something good. You might have to drive an hour or more. You could always go to the Seattle PD range. No mags in the gun and one round at a time.

The East can't be beat though.

 

[EPS]

When you get north south east or west if King County you will find Hunter's shooters or whatever but king county revolves around Seattle witch is liberal snowflakes lol BUT THE CRIME IN SEATTLE PROVES THE POINT THE SNOWFLAKES ARE VICTIMS TO THERE OWN LAWS AND REGULATIONS

 

[EPS]

Go to a ATM IN DOWN TOWN SEATTLE AT 22:00 OR LATER LOL your taking your life in your own hands and if your hands are empty your a victim lol CARRY ON MY FRIEND

 

[Cogs]

Welcome to beautiful Warrrrshougal, Warrrrshington!

​

Pull up yer Jacks and C'mon down! Put yer rig up on blocks in the front yard and kick it with some Merle and JD! Shoot your heart out in our own background playground Yacolt Burn State Forest. Float the Warrrrshougal River and scoop up a Salmon or two. You'll be livin 'High on the redneck hog' right hear in Warrrrshougal!

(some restrictions may apply. see your local dealer for details)​

 

[Mainsail]

If you can telework I would strongly suggest looking in Kitsap County. It's just a ferry ride to Seattle and has none of the traffic on that side of the water. Kitsap is much quieter and more rural than Everett. A traffic jam in Silverdale or Poulsbo is six cars stopped because the lead car is trying to turn left.

The Olympic Mountain range is nearby (about an hour) where you can hike, shoot, or camp all you want in the National Forest and you don't need to pay for a permit or anything like that. Build a campfire, shoot, whatever, with only a few restrictions on where. If you actually come to WA PM me for directions to a nice shooting pit up there.

If you have the scratch Bainbridge Island is nice, but when the ferry pulls in the one road out gets jammed up.

Some differences that jump out to me with regard to WA gun laws and UT's:

Open carry is lawful without a permit, but WA does not have the silly two-step thing. You may open carry with a round in the chamber even if you don't have a concealed pistol license (CPL) BUT...

WA requires you to get a CPL if you desire to carry loaded in your car. Without a CPL you need to unload when you're in (or in the case of a motorcycle- on) a vehicle. You may keep the magazine or cartridges on the seat next to the gun if you wish, but it cannot be loaded in the car, truck, bus, motorcycle, or train unless you have a CPL. NOTE that the ferry is not considered a vehicle, but an extension of the highway system.

"Loaded" in WA seems to mean cartridges in the gun, whether or not one of them is actually in the chamber. I'm not 100% on that only because I don't remember reading a definition for WA. UT defines it as one in the chamber.

To get your WA CPL you do NOT need a Weapon Familiarity Certification or any of that nonsense. You fill out the form and pay the man, then wait about 30 days and it'll show up in the mail.

Other:

You may carry concealed without a CPL IF you are on your way to or from (and during) an 'outdoor activity'. Fishing, hunting, hiking, backpacking are outdoor activities.

You may not carry a loaded long gun (rifle or shotgun) in a vehicle.

 

[EPS]

If you can telework I would strongly suggest looking in Kitsap County. It's just a ferry ride to Seattle and has none of the traffic on that side of the water. Kitsap is much quieter and more rural than Everett. A traffic jam in Silverdale or Poulsbo is six cars stopped because the lead car is trying to turn left.

The Olympic Mountain range is nearby (about an hour) where you can hike or camp all you want in the National Forest and you don't need to pay for a permit or anything like that. Build a campfire, shoot, whatever. If you actually come to WA PM me for directions to a nice shooting pit up there.

If you have the scratch Bainbridge Island is nice, but when the ferry pulls in the one road out gets jammed up.

Some differences that jump out to me with regard to WA gun laws and UT's:

Open carry is lawful without a permit, but WA does not have the silly two-step thing. You may open carry with a round in the chamber even if you don't have a concealed pistol license (CPL) BUT...

WA requires you to get a CPL if you desire to carry loaded in your car. Without a CPL you need to unload when you're in (or in the case of a motorcycle- on) a vehicle. You may keep the magazine or cartridges on the seat next to the gun if you wish, but it cannot be loaded in the car, truck, bus, motorcycle, or train unless you have a CPL. NOTE that the ferry is not considered a vehicle, but an extension of the highway system.

"Loaded" in WA seems to mean cartridges in the gun, whether or not one of them is actually in the chamber. I'm not 100% on that only because I don't remember reading a definition for WA. UT defines it as one in the chamber.

To get your WA CPL you do NOT need a Weapon Familiarity Certification or any of that nonsense. You fill out the form and pay the man, then wait about 30 days and it'll show up in the mail.

Other:

You may carry concealed without a CPL IF you are on your way to or from (and during) an 'outdoor activity'. Fishing, hunting, hiking, backpacking are outdoor activities.

You may not carry a loaded long gun (rifle or shotgun) in a vehicle.

Yes if you have to be close to Seattle like he said Kitsap is good I used to live in Paulsbo ferry ride from Seattle and a car ride from Tacoma