The "gun-friendly" United States

N

Nordeste

New member
First off, I haven't ever been to the US, nor to the American continent in general. I have done my bit of travelling, though. Quite a few countries in Europe, three in Africa, two in Asia, Australia, etc. I'd love to visit the US but it looks like it won't be possible in the short term.

ALL of my friends who have been to America, with just a couple of exceptions, headed straight for New York. The current Euro-US Dollar exchange rate makes the city attractive for both visiting and shopping. Not that I have anything against NYC. It's just that I don't like HUGE cities and prefer the countryside. I have found out that, wherever you are, people is usually friendlier in the countryside. And I am myself a countryside man by origin. Besides, from reading and participating here, I learnt that places like NYC, California, Illinois, New Jersey, etc, are quite gun-unfriendly... and I am a gun person. I carry guns at work, I like shooting, enjoy them as a hobby. It's just another part of me. BTW, this "two exceptions" are a couple of friends of mine who got married and went there on their honeymoon. They rented a Mustang and did the Route 66. I was quite jealous reading their Facebook updates and watching the pics. I happen to like cars too, and that Mustang was a piece of cake. That sounds like a good idea to me. Would love to do that.

A good friend mine with whom I served in the Balkans used to be a Chicago cop, retired and moved down to Kentucky. He says he's much happier there, explained why thoroughly. That, and the things I read about friendly, and not that gun-friendly States, made me think what States of the US I'd like to visit. I think that I might head south :D. It appears to me that I'd feel more comfortable there, and, perhaps, I'd get more chances of going to a range and rent firearms that, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to shoot over here :rolleyes:.

You guys have probably discussed this before, but, please, educate me. Which are those gun friendly/unfriendly states/cities?.
 
Generally, states in the South are more gun friendly. States in the West are more gun friendly. California is a notable exception. The Midwest is pretty good, too, but Illinois is another exception.

This book is a good resource on firearms laws in the US.

http://www.gunlaws.com/travel.htm
 
Visiting USA

If you are visiting the USA you might want to visit some of our National Parks. I highly recommend Glacier in Montana (you can carry a gun in the park if you want ) Yellowstone, especially the Lamar Valley and Yosemite in California. The Grand canyon is spectacular but only if you have the time to either hike down into the canyon or better yet take a boat ride down the Colorado river through the canyon ( Min. 8 days on a motor rig or 16 days by raft. You can do 1/2 trip either taking out or putting in at Phantom Ranch. IMHO driving to the rim and looking down is fun for about an hour.
I live in Northern Ca. It is not a gun friendly state but we do have the Sierra Nevada mountains and that's pretty hard to beat IMHO. It is legal to Loaded open carry on BLM or National Forest land. It is legal to Loaded concealed carry going to/coming from and while fishing.

Ricky
 
Mostly you can either hunt or go to a range to rent and shoot a gun there. Many states have ranges where you can rent weapons. I would look at where I wanted to go and then rent there.

If you have a strong interest in firearms the NRA museum in Fairfax, VA (outside of Washington DC) is an excellent place to go. They have a large indoor range and a number of other facilities. DC itself is a popular tourist destination but guns are impossible there for most people, let alone a foreign visitor. Plenty to do there though. I would not stay in Maryland. They are almost as bad as New Jersey.

Austin and San Antonio in Texas have a number of ranges with weapons for rent and lots of touristy things to do. There are ranches in that area where you can rent full auto weapons.
 
If you like gambling and come to the Indian casinos in Connecticut, let me know in advance and we can go to the range at the gun club I'm a member of. If you like "Old School" guns I have several older Curio & Relic rifles and two "Antique non-firearm" rifles, the oldest of which is a 117 year old Mauser. Where are you living? With a name like Nordeste I would think Scandinavia somewhere. My grandfather came here from Denmark.
 
Florida is another very gun friendly state, not to mention a popular tourist destination. I've lived in the Central Florida area for over 15yrs; and after wanting to move out to California or NY and finding out their strict gun laws, I decide to stay here in FL .

We do not have snow, and there are plenty of beautiful beaches and lakes (you can open carry in some locations if its a public park).
 
Come on over; everyone here speaks Spanish anymore. Of course, it's American Spanish, so it'd sound funny.

Seriously, though, there are all sorts of museums full of guns all over the place, even including Washington, DC. Can't speak for New York, though. But it's a big country, too. It would take five days to drive from New York to L.A. If you made it to Wyoming, go to Cody. Probably the best museum of Western frontier and Indian life in the world. Oh, yeah--wait until summer.
 
GENERAL rules of thumb (there are LOTS of exceptions).

1. Large cities are not as gun friendly as smaller cities.

2. The farther north you go in the country, the less gun friendly things tend to be.

3. Large southern cities are far more gun friendly than their large northern counterparts.
 
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina - very gun friendly. I'm sure other southern states are also just as or maybe more gun friendly, but those are the ones I am most familiar with.

There are lots of places to rent guns and shoot them in Florida. Most shooting ranges have guns for rent; many of them have some sub-machine guns and machine guns to rent as well.
 
Colorado is one of the most beautiful states in the US, with plenty of outdoor activities all times of the year.

Very gun-friendly as well, though keep in mind that as a tourist, you won't be able to carry. There are plenty of indoor ranges that rent guns to shoot on-premise if you get the shooting bug.
 
The farther north you go in the country, the less gun friendly things tend to be.

"North" is pretty vague in a country the size of the US. If we're counting the Pacific northwest and New England, then yes (except Vermont which is very gun-friendly).
If we're looking at Montana, the Dakotas, Idaho, Alaska - all very gun-friendly.
 
Head out west. Las Vegas might be worth a stop. Then head up through UT and Wyoming and hit the National Parks along the way. (Zion, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, etc.) Pretty scenery the whole way. All are pretty gun friendly.
 
Well, I assume that, as a tourist, I wouldn't be allowed to carry. It absolutely makes sense. I even would be surprised that I would be allowed to hunt.

When I visited Oz, I stayed there for a whole month, visited three states and an interesting bunch of places. My thought is that if you're paying something like 1500USD for a plane ticket, you gotta stay there as much as you can and see as much as you can. Tickets to the US are a bit cheaper, but my plan would be similar. I am more interested in nature and in the traditional way of living than in crowded cities or flashy places, so, yes, I'd feel more comfortable visiting places like the ones you have suggested. And as internet research is important, I'm already having a look at them :D. Thank you! ;).
 
I assume that, as a tourist, I wouldn't be allowed to carry.
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Come to Arizona -- most gun-friendly state in the US. You would be able to carry here -- no license required for either concealed or open carry! :D:D:D:cool:

Just bring your boots, as you'll undoubtedly have to wade through the rivers of blood flowing in all of our streets! :eek::rolleyes:
 
Nordeste said:
I learnt that places like NYC, California, Illinois, New Jersey, etc, are quite gun-unfriendly... and I am a gun person.
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I'd just like to point out that you have listed there 3 states and one city. There is a state called "New York" that is very much a different place from the city that taints it's name.

I understand your confusion, 75% of America seems to make no distinction between New York City and New York State, I wouldn't expect a visitor to know any better.

"Gun Rights" are a much different thing in "Upstate New York" than in New York City. Room for improvement, to be sure, but much, much different than NYC. There's not much here gun related for foreign visitors (or in most other places either) but the area itself is beautiful.

Moving to New York permanently is one thing (I'd discourage for a variety of reasons) visiting is quite another.
 
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