Moving from TN to WA

A

amprecon

New member
I returned from A'stan in March and was blessed with a job offer from a company in WA. I was just curious as to the differences in the "gun culture" between the two states.
I have a CCW in TN, I imagine it is not transferrable.
TN has some good hunting, but I hear its even better in WA.
 
Tennessee to Wash State? What part of Tennessee? I lived there for 13 years.

Anyway, get ready for a culture shock. And I do mean culture and shock.
 
I enjoyed my time in Washington, and the shock you are being warned about probably won't be a huge deal - at least not as far as state laws go.

Culturally, Washington is probably less gun-friendly than Tennessee along the Puget Sound, from Bellingham down to Olympia and up toward Bremerton, but the areas immediately surrounding NAS Whidbey Island, NS Everett, NS Bremerton, and the Fort Lewis / McChord AFB / Gray AAF complex are more gun-friendly. North of Bellingham, west of Bremerton, sout of Olympia, and east of the Cascades, the state is quite gun-friendly, and should be similar in many respects to Tennessee.

Note that Firearms Academy of Seattle, where Pax and Marty Hayes instruct, is not too far south/southeast of Olympia, near Chehalis and Centralia.
 
I've pulled 2 assignments in WA: Fairchild and McChord. Liberal political atmosphere along the I5 corridor from Olympia north to Bellingham. There are some good shops in the area, however, and Olympic Arms is located right next to Ft Lewis.

For hunting, there are white tails, black tails, and muleys as well as moose, bear, elk, and sheep. And the salmon fishing isn't too bad either!
 
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My wife is from Memphis and we've lived the last nine years here after years of living in various states around the country.

I visited Whidbey a couple times while I was in the military and was impressed.

When I came home for R&R last October, I took my wife there for a mini-vacation for five days. We did enjoy our short stay and both our consensus was favorable.

I'm from Eastern Shore MD originally.

The job will be near Everett, WA.

We are very looking forward to it, she a little more anxious about it than me though.
 
Washington doe have preemption, so more liberal urban areas cannot pass local legislation that limits gun rights to a greater extent than the rest of the state; as much as the libs hate it, open carry is as legal in downtown Seattle as it is in the boonies.
The greater Seattle area is a hotbed of competition shooting; Washington ranks fourth or fifth for USPSA membership, and there are practical pistol and rifle matches, somewhere, almost every weekend,
Concealed Pistol Licenses are relatively easy to get; apply, give up your fingerprints, and you should be good to go.
Use of silencers was just recently made legal (previously, you could own a silencencer, but not use it).
Absolutely no full-auto or SBR, not no way, not no how, unless you're LEO or dealer.
 
^^^

Or have one grandfathered in when they were obtainable Rick...SBR's that is. Full auto is IN no way possible in WA State except for LE or Military.
 
I would encourage you to have a look at and even join the Pacific Northwest equivalent to this forum http://www.northwestfirearms.com/forum.php

It's sort of the same thing as this place, but focusing on Oregon and Washington (they pay lip service to Idaho as well, but it seems there are very few Idahoans there). There's reviews of local gun-related businesses, a classifieds section, a section to ask questions about and discuss local (as well as national) gun laws and gun politics, a hunting section, and of course the usual places to discuss firearms specifically as in "Handgun section" "Rifle Section" and so on. On the whole, it's a great way to connect with Pacific Northwest's gun community.
 
your lucky, the laws are pretty much the same. your TN permit has reciprocity in WA. I believe they allow open carry similar to TN but they discourage it for obvious reasons.
 
Welcome!

There are some great things about Washington, I've lived on the "dry side" for 33 years. Wet side is, well, wet. There are some really fine days, just not a lot of them all together.;) The dry side isn't as wet, and some parts are just short of desert (high plains). Hot dry summers here, warm moist ones there.

Winters on the coast are milder than inland, but our winters here are generally milder than many of the other northern states.

Gun laws are pretty good, compared to a lot of places and much better than the NE or California. There was a state waiting period for handguns purchase (I don't know if it went away with the national instant check or not) but getting a WA CPL (Concealed Pistol License) does away with the state waiting period requirement.

Outside of the metro areas on the wet side, general attitude about guns, shooting, and all outdoor sports is good.
AND (so far,) we still don't have a state income tax!:D
 
Short Barreled Rifle. Requires a tax stamp.

And state law that allows it, which WA does not. Used to but it was changed to outlaw them in state some time ago...
 
Hey, I think WA is a beautiful state, and wish I could afford to live there. (I could, if I wanted to give up the horse acreage and lifestyle we can afford in MO, which I don't want to do.)

But with regard to the lack of state income tax, that's offset just a wee bit by a sales tax that's close to 10%, and some of the higher vehicle registration fees I've ever encountered. I'm not sure what the property tax rates are, but property costs are well above national median, at least on the Puget Sound side.

(Everett shouldn't be so bad, but then again Everett has a Naval Station and a sawmill... and is about a 40 minute drive to Seattle. I used to commute from Queen Anne Hill to NS Everett.)

Look at it another way - government has to pay the bills somehow. If they don't get you with income tax, they'll do it with property tax, sales tax, licensing fees, etc.

Of course, you could move to a state with poor public school systems... Washington has some pretty good schools. Roads are pretty well maintained, too.
 
Roads are pretty well maintained, too
Click to expand...

I'd have to disagree with yout there, at least in the areas in and near Seattle. The farther from Seattle you get, the better the roads are, but urban and suburban streets, and high-traffic areas of I-5 are pretty awful.
 
Amprecon: Welcome to WA. It's a great place to live. Your TN permit is ok, but you really don't need a permit most of the time. Unlicensed OC is ok, and fairly well accepted...yea, even in Seattle, but especially over here on the dry side. When it comes time, WA CPL is shall issue, $52.25 for 5 years, no training or extra other stuff required. Put in your app, they take your fingerprints, mail you the CPL in a couple days. You do not need to notify anyone you are carrying, but remeber, when they run your drivers license, they will see your CPL too. Personally, I have never been asked about my carry when stopped, even though I normally OC...I don't get stopped often, but I have been stopped a couple times in the last 40 or so years.

The law is the same everywhere in the state, little local gotya's are not a problem. Law is RCW 9.41. Local gov's can regulate discharge and that is about it. Read Read the Law...especially 9.41.300, it is very simple.

If you are going to Everett you will probably want to live north, or northeast of the city. The closer to Seattle, the higher the price of houses, but even there the price has come down a bit in the last little while...not as much as some places, but a bit. Looking for land, or just a house in the city? Look for land North and east, just a house? You should be able to find that closer to Everett. Roads and traffic? From Marysville (next town north of Everett) south the traffic is pretty bad (IMO), north of Marysville, not so much.
 
20 years in the military. During that time, I was in Memphis for duty, twice. Ended my 20 in Wa. Liked it so much I stayed. Been here now for a total of 44 years. I live on Camano Island, about 60 mile drive south to Seattle. Gun friendly area, nice people, great recreation BUT It does get wet. :D
 
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