Topic: Thinking about Moving to Boise Area or Idaho from Oregon

[Evergreen]

Greetings to all my fellow Idaho neighbors..   I am shocked that a Boise Shooters website exists, but I am very glad it does.   I live in the beautiful Columbia Gorge in Oregon, but I have been thinking of relocating.  Even though I love the scenery and enjoy the good gun laws of Oregon, the price of living here is starting to kill me.  I was looking at the housing prices in the Boise area and was astonished by how much cheaper houses are in Boise than in Portland, and even more by how much cheaper are the surrounding areas outside of Boise.   I've got a home internet based business, so finding employment won't be an issue.  Right now I am renting an 1800 sq ft home for $1400 and was looking to cut my expenses down hopefully $500 /$600 a mo.

Also, there are some other factors that have made me considered Idaho, besides it being cheaper.  For one, it is bit more conservative, although Oregon, despite liberalism, has good gun laws.  Maybe, the liberal hipster Bohemian vibe of Portland just gets to me after awhile.  Not that Portland is a bad city, but there is a liberal element that does leave a bad feeling in my stomach.  Especially, the mayor is a fruitcake and 2A-haters lurk and have attempted to do away with the precious freedoms we have enjoyed here in this state for many generations.  

Another issue is places to shoot.  Oregon really is limited in shooting areas.  Yes, I know I can move out to some real remote place in Oregon where vultures outnumber humans, but I need to be near some civilization.  I was told that BLM land abounds in Idaho and that there are many great places to shoot not far from Boise city limits.  I'm looking to live in a place that has a decent number of shooting ranges, but also hosts options to do some outdoor shooting in safe spots.  There are some places to go outdoor shooting in the Gorge, but the jagged cliffs don't make great backstops and there are a lot of people around.  National Forest is very sketchy as far as outdoor shooting in Oregon.    

I am currently a member of the Tri-County Gun Club in the Portland area, but it is over 1 hour driver for me and I cannot practice action-style rifle.  I'm limited to pistol at our action range.  So, basically , if I want to try to do in a tactical rifle or switching between pistol/rifle, I am out of luck.  Tri County is nice, with a friendly group of people, but it gets crowded and some of the range officers can be quite nazi-like at times.  The place has so many rules it can drive you mad. Rules are good, but, I think theirs are a bit excessive compared to any other place I have been.


Anyway, I am happy to meet people here and would like to here people's opinions about living in Boise or other parts of Idaho and their opinions about different shooting facilities and other places to shoot in the countryside.

[Bill, Idaho]

Welcome, but could you elaborate on your statement  "......good gun laws...."?

[zona5101]

we have better gun laws.
we have some very nice gun ranges and they are cheap to join ($25-50/yr)
We have plenty of blm land to shoot on too
liberals are a minority and they are fun to agitate by open carry or wearing Reagan t-shirts
We have action battle rifle matches

[jelo45110]

There are plenty of  affordable houses available in the Treasure valley. I know in Middleton where I live there are nice places in town and just outside town for sale. Boise is 25 miles away, and the Gem county rod and gun club is about 25 miles away too. Great place to shoot.

[2big2fail]

 I was looking at the housing prices in the Boise area and was astonished by how much cheaper houses are in Boise than in Portland, and even more by how much cheaper are the surrounding areas outside of Boise.  

Not cheaper, necessarily, less expensive.  I moved here from Bend and although gun "restrictions" aren't too intrusive in Oregon now, every piece of legislation coming up is.  Oregon just recently released all cc permit holders names as a state court ruling following a request for that information by an Ashland (liberal) newspaper.  That was my final straw.  Check these out!

http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=1406

http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2010/04/idaho-legislature-passes-the-firearms-freedom-act/

[scoob]

IMHO, the only good gun laws are the ones requiring gun ownership 

[Evergreen]

Thanks for everyone's responses..

Yeah, the liberals in Oregon come from all the worst places and I do worry about the future of this state.  I do know about the release of the CCL holder's names and I was hearing there was some conservative Sheriff's fighting the legislation.

Welcome, but could you elaborate on your statement  "......good gun laws...."?

Well, I guess I should use different terminology, but so many people around use the term "good gun laws", or shall I say lack of gun regulations backed up by written decree, law.. Pardon me, I am not an expert on politics or legal jargon.  Anyway, what I mean is, Oregon basically as of now, has some of the most "lax" gun laws in the country.  You can own any type of weapon, including all Class III, switchblades, etc, as well as carry into restaurants and bars.  Getting a carry permit is easy for a resident, as well.  It's nice being able to have a beer and enjoy my constituional freedoms which I cannot do in Washington over the border.    However, there is a very liberal, anti-gun element in the state that is constantly striving to eradicate all the freedoms we currently enjoy in this beautiful state.  I do fear for the future of the state and Portland is literally run by a bunch of liberal quacks who are turning the city into a haven of illegals and welfare recipients.  Sam Adams just recently imposed more unconstituaional gun free zones in Portland..  I don't like that type of terminology, "gun free zone."


I hear Idaho is the best place for gun owners, although that's just what I've been hearing.


I'd be interested to hear about some of the ranges.  I was looking for a range where I can practice tactical rifle shooting without the 22LR-conversion kit, like at my beloved Tri-County  .  Also, those chamber flags are nice, but when I am on the action range and having a range officer yell at me cause there is not a chamber flag in each and every handgun, it just drives me mad.   I guess I'd like a place where I had a bit more freedom to do the kind of shooting I want and not always worry about breaking this or that little rule.  Like, I have a flash hider on my AR and the range officer said I couldn't shoot it on the normal benches, but could only use one of the few benches at the end, because it looks like a muzzle break.  I told him it is not a muzzle break and is no louder than any other gun, but he said that is the policy.  So, I was stuck waiting for a bench and shooting next to people using muzzle breaks.  

Don't get me wrong though, I respect rules and wouldn't want to be in a place shooting where people are shooting while getting plastered and acting stupid.   I guess I just feel a bit limitedf with the ranges here.  Also, the $125 yearly fee isn't so wonderful, especially after I paid like over $350 to join the range.

It would be nice to find a range that offers options for tactical shooting, but also longer range shooting like out to 300+ yards.

So, what range do most people in the Boise area use?  How far do you have to drive to get to places where there is safe areas to shoot outside the city?

Here's another question unrelated, I'm not sure if anyone can answer.  But, does anyone think cities like Caldwell and Nampa should be avoided?  I heard both are not so far from Boise and there are some decent gun ranges nearby, but I also hear that these cities have a little bit of a crime problem.  I'm just going by what I read from posts on the web and it would be nice to hear from people here.  One of these days I will have to take a trip out there and see everything for myself.

[ekuo]

Evergreen,
If you're looking for a place that has organized shooting sports, such as USPSA, IDPA, Steel Challenge, 3-Gun, CMP, LRTR, Precision Rifle, and probably a few others... Boise/Nampa/Caldwell/Emmett/Parma are good places to be.  Just about every weekend there is a match of some sort, and although the weather doesn't always cooperate we try to shoot year-round.  Come visit us over in the Shooting Sports sub-forum. 

As far as gun ranges there are about 4 or 5 in the valley, but the big 3 are Nampa Rod and Gun Club's outdoor range, Parma Rod and Gun Club, and Gem County's in Emmett.  Membership for those clubs ranges from $25 to $50/person/year and all offer the usual accommodations such as benches, covered firing lines, pistol pits, classes, matches, events, websites...  Or some people head out into the desert to plink, shoot whistlepigs, or train by themselves. 

Boise is a mixed bag of people, and the laws in Idaho have so far not inhibited me from purchasing/owning anything that I might want so not much to complain about there.  The one thing about Idaho and Boise is the large number of gun/shooting industry related businesses that reside here.  MGM Targets, TacSol, PWS, GemTech, COM... and much more.  Plus through the auspices of MGM Targets, PRGC hosts some major matches that really help promote shooting sports (MGM Ironman, MGM Grand Nationals, and in Oct 2011 the Area 1 Multi-gun Championships). 

Good luck on your search. 

[Nealio]

Oregon gun laws worry me.  If your laws are so vague that you need an independent website to explain the laws to the people then that seems like a troublesome situation.

Idaho is gun friendly, and there is tons of stuff to do here as far as shooting goes.  In the past I shot frequently in the desert with my dad before I knew about the clubs and competitions.  I learned of all the cool stuff to do around here last year.  Now I feel like there is too much to do.  I can never find the time to hit all the events going on, and sometimes there are several on the same day, so it would be impossible to do them all.
Only guys like Jaggy who have all the time in the world can hit all the events that this area offers..

Also (since you mentioned you have a home, internet based business) there are several subdivisions in Meridian and offer FTTH (Fiber to the home) connections.  I had that at my last house and it was awesome.  I ran servers at home that gave better ping times than the ones at the local ISP (to my friends, not me...).

I personally would recommend Meridian over Nampa or Caldwell.  You are more centrally located (to the ranges, desert, lakes, Boise, etc), housing is still priced well, and there are less of the "issues" you spoke of.

[Bill, Idaho]

I would argue Nampa/Caldwell is cheaper to live in than Meridian (or darn-near anywhere else in Ada County), less liberal (than Ada County), and still "centrally located". 
 But, compared to Oregon, me thinks we be splittin' hairs.

[Nealio]

But, compared to Oregon, me thinks we be splittin' hairs.

[liberty2009]

You could take a 3-day weekend and come visit - it is about 6 hours from Portland - pick a weekend with something going on (Gun Show July 9th and 10th) and see if you like it.

You can check home prices/rental on the internet - it must not be too bad they started to build houses again after 2-3 years of not building houses.

Wish I had an internet home business that made an income I could live on.  

[Evergreen]

I'm thankful for all the information in the posts here.  The Meridian area sounds very interesting and I will definitely keep my eyes on that area.   Meridian certainly looks a lot closer to Boise.  After living in Portland for, oh so many years, I guess no place will really seem too liberal to me anymore.    It would also be nice to be in a place with a dedicated fiber line, such as Verizion FiOS service.  I had that service in Beaverton and it was definitely superior.  I need at least a 10MBPS down and 2MBPS up anywhere I live.  That has been a great limiting factor about where I can live.  I always wanted to live out in the country, but my business has always kept me in the burbs due to internet requirements.


I'd certainly be interested in coming up for a weekend trip.  I guess I will have to check the calendar.  When is the next big gun show?  I don't realy go to gun shows much, but it would be fun to check one out in Idaho and just see how things are around there.   It's been about 20 years since I crossed the Idaho border.  Does anyone know if my Oregon CHL is recognized in Idaho?  I'd like to know if I could visit Idaho and conceal carry while I am there.  I thought I read somewhere that Oregon CHL's are recognized by Idaho.  I also have a Washington CHL too, but I am not a WA resident.

I guess I will look over the various gun ranges mentioned as well and see what the story is with them.  The membership fees sound wonderful, cheaper than anything I've seen in Oregon/Washington.  Washington really is crap for gun ranges out West.  


I'm glad to hear about the healthy supply of firearm related businesses in the state of Idaho.  I know we here in Oregon boast of Noveske rifles, which is a proud name, but there isn't many others I know of.  


Another off-topic question, but how far is good mountain hiking from Boise?  Also, is there any problem hiking with a handgun that is openly visible?  I generally carry my S&W 629 with me on trails around here in a chest holster, but have to conceal it.  There is just too many gun phobic people here in the Gorge.  I was wondering if it is more acceptable to open carry your guns on public trails in Idaho?

I have always wanted to go hiking in the Sawtooth mountains.  Growing up in Oregon, I do have an attachment to the mountains. Due to my busy job, I cannot go hiking much anymore, but would like to do weekend trips in the Summer.  Are Sawtooths or other nice mountain ranges far from Boise area?  Idaho really does have some of the most unique scenery I've seen from the pictures and my vivid memories of going to Couer d'Alene.  

[Shade OGrey]

Idaho recognizes all valid permits from other states.
There are also circumstances in Idaho that a license is not required to conceal carry. Idaho Statutes 18-3302
(12) The requirement to secure a license to carry a concealed weapon under this section shall not apply to the following persons:
(d) Any person outside the limits of or confines of any city while engaged in lawful hunting, fishing, trapping or other lawful outdoor activity;

Open carry is legal in Idaho. http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3837&d=1283965352[/url]
Check out http://forum.opencarry.org
Idaho is a great place with  widely diverse recreational areas ranging from desert to high mountains, lots of open land with lots of places to shoot, public and private.



{edited more than once  }

[tgibson]

I'm glad to hear about the healthy supply of firearm related businesses in the state of Idaho.  I know we here in Oregon boast of Noveske rifles, which is a proud name, but there isn't many others I know of.  

    WHAT ABOUT LEUPOLD?  WHAT ABOUT WARNE SCOPE MOUNTS?  WHAT ABOUT SPRINGER PRECISION?  WHAT ABOUT POWDER RIVER?  DANNER?  STS ARMS? COLUMBIA RIVER KNIFE AND TOOL?   
Adios,
TG

[GrayWolf]

The next gun show is July 9-10.

You can open carry any weapon on Idaho trails, as far as I know.

Yes, the Sawtooths are fabulous!  The south end of the range (in the Atlanta area) is roughly 80 miles from Boise.  The north end, depending on where you want to start hiking, is about 100 miles (plus or minus 20), again depending on where you start your hike (Grandjean area on the west side, or Stanley on the east side).  The Sawtooths are somewhat overcrowded in the summer - a lot of people go there because of its reputation. Kalifornians, for ex.   

What's nice about Idaho is that there are over a dozen mountain ranges you can hike in, many where you see few, if any people on some of the more remote trails. They may not have the sheer beauty of the Sawtooths, but are very scenic nonetheless.

Enjoy your visit!

[Evergreen]

   WHAT ABOUT LEUPOLD?  WHAT ABOUT WARNE SCOPE MOUNTS?  WHAT ABOUT SPRINGER PRECISION?  WHAT ABOUT POWDER RIVER?  DANNER?  STS ARMS? COLUMBIA RIVER KNIFE AND TOOL?  
Adios,
TG

   DANG... Shame on me.. How could I forget good ol Leupold.. I just about bought a Leupold scope, but instead bought a Nightforce located in, umm.. Idahoo..    I remember once Leupold said you could go bring your scope into the factory and pick up their for repairs.  They seem to offer top-notch customer service.

Oh yeah, shame on me for forgetting Nosler!!!  Some of best match grade ammo on the planet I assume.  I actually visited their factory before it blew up, when I was living in Bend.  That is where I bought mY Nosler reloading book, I hope I can use one day.  There are a few smaller outfits around here that I am not familiar with, but they are around.

The irony about gun companies is that some of the most famous are in anti-gun states. Nonetheless, the more the merrier.

Yes, the Sawtooths are fabulous!  The south end of the range (in the Atlanta area) is roughly 80 miles from Boise.  The north end, depending on where you want to start hiking, is about 100 miles (plus or minus 20), again depending on where you start your hike (Grandjean area on the west side, or Stanley on the east side).  The Sawtooths are somewhat overcrowded in the summer - a lot of people go there because of its reputation. Kalifornians, for ex.  

What's nice about Idaho is that there are over a dozen mountain ranges you can hike in, many where you see few, if any people on some of the more remote trails. They may not have the sheer beauty of the Sawtooths, but are very scenic nonetheless.

Thanks for this information.  Well, I don't know what you think of crowded, but the Columbia Gorge and almost all trails around Mt Hood are just jam-packed with not only Kalifornians, but people from all over the place.  It makes for open carry a very difficult situation.  Basically, cell phones work on many trails and many of the  freaked-out liberal gun-hating tourists or even some Portlanders of the same mindset will call 911 or go to a park ranger and say there is a crazy guy with a gun.  So, I just keep it concealed, regardless of the inconvenience.  I don't want to stir up trouble in the woods.  However, maybe the Sawtooths, with all the tourists would result in the same situation.  It seems its hard to find a place these days were you can truly utilize your constitutional freedoms.  Of course, I know National Parks are off limits for open-carry.      

I lived on the Oregon Coast for 4 years and there was many amazing trails where you would not see another person for an entire day or two.  It would be nice to find trails like that again. Mt Hood NF and the Gorge are very overcrowded.  It takes away some of the experience for me, not that I am anti-social and not like people.  But, I do like the feeling of solitude when in the wilderness.

I am happy to hear that the Sawtooths are only 80 miles away.  It must be an amazing experience.  In ORegon it rains all the time, so hiking is hard, even in the Summer sometime.  I'd really love to do some hiking there and maybe I can put that on my agenda for my trip out to Idaho.  I guess I will have to do some research about all the hiking and scenic places around the Boise area.  I was thinking of living in Couer d'Alene or some more remote place, but I think it would not be easy. Also, I hear CDA area doesn't have so much as far as outdoor shooting, since it is mostly National Forest.  I do hear there is a nice gun range right next to CDA though.  Another thing about CDA, I hear it is a lot more money.

[ekuo]

I think you're confusing National Forest with National Parks.  No restrictions on shooting in National Forests that I know of -other than near houses, campgrounds, guard stations etc...  There may be restrictions placed at certain times of year due to fire danger.  Just find a good backstop, use common sense, and pick up after yourself. 

[2big2fail]

    WHAT ABOUT LEUPOLD?  WHAT ABOUT WARNE SCOPE MOUNTS?  WHAT ABOUT SPRINGER PRECISION?  WHAT ABOUT POWDER RIVER?  DANNER?  STS ARMS? COLUMBIA RIVER KNIFE AND TOOL?   
Adios,
TG

"Nosler"!

[agunforeachhand]

How come Oregon is so anti gun but a bong shop and porn shop is alright on every corner? My wife is from Salem and I always wondered this when I lived there?

Evergreen you will love it in Idaho.

[Nealio]

I need at least a 10MBPS down and 2MBPS up anywhere I live.  That has been a great limiting factor about where I can live.  
----
I have always wanted to go hiking in the Sawtooth mountains.  Growing up in Oregon, I do have an attachment to the mountains. Due to my busy job, I cannot go hiking much anymore, but would like to do weekend trips in the Summer.  Are Sawtooths or other nice mountain ranges far from Boise area?  Idaho really does have some of the most unique scenery I've seen from the pictures and my vivid memories of going to Couer d'Alene.  

So my fiber line was 14M/4M at my old place.  You could get it as fast as you wallet would allow (at least back then)..

There are tons of areas to hike and explore.  Basically North, South, and East of Boise there are mountains ranges.  There are also a lot of old towns to go check out; Idaho City, Silver City, etc.  Plus Baker city is about an hour and a half (they way I drive), so you can always go over there if you feel like you've hiked around Idaho enough..

[SNAFU]

Oregon gun laws worry me.  If your laws are so vague that you need an independent website to explain the laws to the people then that seems like a troublesome situation.

Beats Commiefornia where they Actually have a book titled "How to Own a Gun in California and Stay Out of Jail!"

[crj]

Evergreen,
I moved here from Portland. I couldn't stand Portland (people, traffic, rain) any longer and an opportunity came up for me so I moved here about 8 years ago. Glad I did. 

That said, if I had a business from my home, I probably would look at some other options, away from the main population.   There are some cool small mountain towns just an hour or less out of Boise- places like Cascade, Garden Valley, etc... or northern Idaho would be awesome. That's just me though, I like the mountains more than the sagebrush.   

[Brother dan]

Don't forget...just "across the road" from the Sawtooths (think north, not east) is the start of the Frank Church Wilderness area...the largest wilderness area in the lower 48...I've backpacked in certain areas and never seen a soul. Boise is a great place to live, been there most of my life...Meridian isn't bad either. I live between the two out in the county.  Portland is a nice place to visit though. 

Dan

[Evergreen]

I haven't been here in a while, but I enjoyed a lot of these posts. I  am very excited to explore idea and see all its amazing, beautiful and untouched wilderness.  We've had some rotten weather here in Oregon lately and it keeps clouding up and getting cold even in July now..     Not sure if you still reading this crj, but I am with you 100% on Portland.  The place is becoming so overcrowded and the weather seems to get gloomier by the year.  It use to be droughts would kill off the crops, but now its the cold and rain.  We had one of the worst harvest seasons in history.  Thank God for California or we would all have had no veggies or fruit until July this year. 

Maybe, I will post this in a new thread, but I am thinking of planning a trip to Idaho in a few weeks and would like to see if I could check out some of the ranges.  I suppose you would have to come in as a guest.  I just got my Acog back from Trijicon and thought it be nice to sight in my AR on my trip to Idaho.  I just don't have a good range where I live or any time to shoot.  Also, was thinking about hiking in the Sawtooth mountains.  Maybe, I am being overzealous, but I was hoping to check out the State and see how things are there.  Maybe, I will see if any of the ranges in the area will allow me to come in with a day fee or if I can find somebody in the area who can get me in as a guest.  I am looking for a range where I can do tactical rifle/pistol or 3-gun style at a range of 10-100 (or more) yards.  FOr all its glory, the large shooting range in Portland, Tri-County, only allows for bench rifle shooting, which is nice, but impractical for the style of shooting I would like to do, especially with my ARs.  Another stupid thing about Tri-County is that all the action pistol bays are totally uncovered from the weather.  Considering it rains like 80% of the time here, the action range is usually unusable.  And, in the summer, with the lack of shade, and 90F sun beaming on you, it is not so comfortable shooting as you are drenched with sweat and your skin is burning up.

[RGinIdaho]

in the summer, with the lack of shade, and 90F sun beaming on you, it is not so comfortable shooting as you are drenched with sweat and your skin is burning up.

The best range in the area is at Parma. In the summer, the Parma Powder helps to keep the sweat under control. 

[Kyverik]

I need at least a 10MBPS down and 2MBPS up anywhere I live.  That has been a great limiting factor about where I can live.  I always wanted to live out in the country, but my business has always kept me in the burbs due to internet requirements.

As far as internet speeds go, CableOne has a 50M/5M plan for under $50 right now.  Not sure how rural you can go with that tho...