Is Portland, OR gun friendly?

P

Phill

Inactive
Hi,
The wife and I are thinking of relocating to Portland, OR from Kalifornia. At the moment I shoot IDPA and 3-gun twice a month and I would like to find out what Portland is like from an RKBA and tactical competition viewpoint. Yeah, I know it's got to be better than the Republic of Kalifornia
wink.gif
.

TIA,
Phill
 
Well, Oregon is a "shall issue" CHL state. Takes about 90 days. Portland (all of Oregon for that matter) is quite liberal, however, so be forwarned.

Also, their tax system is horrid. They have one of the highest income tax rates in the whole country. That was a major reason I left. That and the enormous influx of ex-Californians who came up there to live.

Fifteen years ago, you could just "go" to a campground. Today, if you don't call to 800 reservation number, you're screwed. Traffic in Portland is hell (up nearly 100% from 10 years ago), the gangs are bad, and the roads have gone to sh*t.

I used to avoid west Portland (Beaverton, the "Silicon Forest" area) like the plague. Traffic there is vapor-locked all day.

I miss Oregon tremendously. I'll never go back though. You really can't "go home again"....
 
I lived there till 1994 and had a CCW permit. It was easy to get.

When I was there, there was a decent indoor range - called the Place to Shoot.

A good gun store - Three Bears but they were busted by the ATF.

Gun shows were decent.

I hear now that Northwest Armory is a good place and that the Insights crew teaches in town pretty often.

I think Portland is a pretty place to live and OR is a good state for gun owners.

Taxes are fierce though.
 
By the way, the populace is truly hateful to folks from California. It is not the most friendly state.

Interestingly, OR thinks it is the greatest state and rude about if you move in.

TX feels the same way but is a pretty friendly place to move to.
 
Three Bears was busted? Bummer, they had GREAT prices! Any details?

Yes, there IS antipathy toward Californains. For those of us who are natives, we know that it started in the days of Governor Tom McCall (1968), the last politician I ever trusted or believed in.

He was quoted as saying "Come on, visit us. Enjoy the beauty of Oregon. Then go HOME!" This was back in '68. The overcrowding in Oregon has reached epidemic proportions, with all the associated "problems".

We started resenting Californians after they moved into Hood River (a windsurfing mecca), with their boutiques and espresso bars. They caused the property values (and the associated tax rates) to skyrocket, and forced most of the elderly population to sell their homes, as they could no longer afford the taxes.

In their rush to abandon Silicon Valley in the early 90's, they flooded in, and drove housing prices into the stratosphere. This has gotten to the point where a "working class" family can no longer afford to buy a home in most populated areas of the state. (How about $200,000+ for a modest 1500 sq ft 3 BR, 2 BA ranch on a city lot?)

The Californians moved right on in without so much as a "thank you", and took over. This was repeated over and over again through the years. We resent it. If you are a Californian, have a BMW, Mercedes or Lexus, and want to live peacefully in Oregon, SELL your flashy car before you move there. And get rid of your CA plates at your earliest possible opportunity. And don't tell anyone you're from CA. Trust me.
 
We lived in Kalifornia in the 1980s, when it was still spelled with a "C".

Took a trip up to Oregon and enjoyed the terrific state park system and the coastal scenery. Dropped a lot of tourist bucks there deep sea fishing, etc.

The following year, "Don't Californicate Oregon" bumper stickers were popping up everywhere. When we went to the state parks, we were hit a $2 surcharge because we were out of state. The money was immaterial, the attitude was not. I told the sweet young thing at the gate that I thought Oregon was part of the Union, so why the Hell are they
charging "outsiders" extra. She said that their RV owners paid extra tag fees to support the tags and all the out of staters were crowding in. I mentioned that maybe the Oregonians could afford to have RV because of all the money the tourists spent there. I got a shrug.

Next day we tanked up, headed for Washington state and spent our time and money there. I wrote the governor that because of their attitude, Oregon was just a refueling place from now on as we were heading up to Washington.

My wife made the perceptive observation that all the new cars were from out of state -- the rusted hulks belonged to the natives.

It seemed to us that Oregon survived on commercial fishing, logging, and tourism. A few years later the fishing and logging tanked because of environmental reasons and the tourism had dried up because of their attitude. Gee, too bad. We never visited that state again. Let 'em wallow in their provincialism.

I DO sympathize with them being Californicated though - that infection spread to Idaho and I understand Colorado is getting there share also. They're also screwing up Nevada with the same liberal attitude that messed up Kali.

You can check out the Portland Oregonian on line at http://www.oregonian.com/

Reading it will give you some feel for the area.

------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.

[This message has been edited by Oatka (edited April 21, 2000).]
 
I am an Oregon native and lifelong resident (less four years in the military). We are blessed with a shall issue CHL, but the forces of stupidity are present here as they are everywhere. Open carry is banned or otherwise "regulated", ie: disturbing the peace charges, etc.. Political vigilance is the order of the day. Wherever there is television, there are those willing to be programmed by the Clinton News Network.

Weather...5 months of sun and rain, 7 months of just rain. Sure is green and beautiful, though.

If you want specifics or any help on anything, I'd be glad to see what I can do.

------------------
NRA/GOA/SAF/USMC

"Is your church BATF approved?"

Oregon residents please support the Oregon Firearms Federation, our only "No compromise" gun lobby. www.oregonfirearms.org

[This message has been edited by Longshot (edited April 22, 2000).]
 
Rain, surly (liberal) people; rain; showers, sprinkles; 'liquid sunshine', drizzle; downpours; slugs; poor roads, high taxes, poor drivers, more f***ing rain. Only way to view PDX is in the rear view mirror, a brown smudge getting smaller.

------------------
 
Slugs or scorpions - wherever I live, the backyard has interesting invertebrate life.

Just whacked a big old scorpion with a shovel.

However, that's better than my Arizona friend
who 12 gauged a tarantula through the hardwood
living room floor. She was scared of it.

One problem with Oregon was truly frightening white racists. Portland cops when I was there, couldn't shoot for s**t and all were in danger when they opened up. The guilty, the innocent and probably anyone in range.
 
Lived on the coast most of my life, in Coos Bay. Moved to Texas in "71. Man talk about
the opposite spectrum of the universe!
Would'nt ever consider going back to live in
Orygun,ever.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dennis Olson:
In their rush to abandon Silicon Valley in the early 90's, they flooded in, and drove housing prices into the stratosphere. This has gotten to the point where a "working class" family can no longer afford to buy a home in most populated areas of the state. (How about $200,000+ for a modest 1500 sq ft 3 BR, 2 BA ranch on a city lot?)

The Californians moved right on in without so much as a "thank you", and took over. This was repeated over and over again through the years. We resent it. If you are a Californian, have a BMW, Mercedes or Lexus, and want to live peacefully in Oregon, SELL your flashy car before you move there. And get rid of your CA plates at your earliest possible opportunity. And don't tell anyone you're from CA. Trust me.[/quote]

Been to Austin lately?
wink.gif
 
Phill-I live on the central Oregon coast. If you want rain, cultural clashing, and a place that's behind the times, come here. I moved here from Arizona for a break from a divorce and for a change of scenery. I can't wait to move back. The statements about 'outsiders' is very true. I don't get it. If you have to work in Portland, find a place in Vancouver, WA just across the river and don't mention that you're from another state.

Steve
 
Moved here (house in Beaverton) from CA in Jan. '99. Negatives: income and property taxes, high utility costs, the weather, tailgaters and traffic in the Portland Metro area. Positives: open spaces and the scenery, no sales tax, very low vehicle registration fees, my neighborhood, friendly folks, courteous drivers, CHL shall issue, the premiere indoor shooting range in the NW (Clackamas Public Safety Training Center where you can rent and shoot an MP-5), Class III ownership, the monthly last Saturday 3-gun matches at Tri-County Gun Club between Tualatin and Sherwood.

[This message has been edited by SKN (edited April 23, 2000).]
 
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