New to FSW

[z169135]

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are considering joining and have so many questions. Would relocating to Crook county be most beneficial to the movement? Is land reasonably priced there? Much of my job is done online so we are very flexible in terms of locales. We plan on raising a large family, learning to grow our own food, learn about guns, and homeschool our children. I've always wanted to shoot at targets on my own land, is this possible in Wyoming?

I can't wait to learn more about FSW!

Izzy and family

[jubal]

   G'mornin

   I don't know where just to begin for you, and I did read your other post. But yes to most of your questions so far. You can shoot on your own property if you have enough land. Many towns in Wyo. have gun or sportsmans clubs that have ranges to shoot on whether rifle, pistol or shotgun. There are wooded areas all over Wyo such as we have here in NE Wyo which much of it is situated in the black hills area. As far as growing seasons I'll defer to others who have more experience in this area. I'm sure as the day wakes up you shall recieve numerous posts to your enquiries.

                                     All the best
                                     Welcome

[z169135]

Good Morning,

It is so hard for me to imagine target practicing out my backdoor, how cool. The midwestern town I live in now won't even let people fire a BB gun on their property.

How many acres do you think would be sufficient to set up my own targets? Are there any lands in the Black Hills area that are public and allow hunting? Maybe we could find a parcel that backs up to the public land, that seems like an ideal scenario, but we're not rich, so hopefully their exist some parcels of 5 acres or less, any ideas?

Thanks for the reply,

Izzy

[Big Ugly]

Good Morning, Zee!
The way I understand it .....
As long as you are on your own property and 'in the county' as opposed to city, town, municipality you can shoot on your own property. You just need to be 'responsible'! Construct a berm to shoot into and make sure that your 'down-range' is clear for some distance in case of ricochet (sp?). Be courteous as regards noise - perfect excuse for a Class III - and no one will be sending lead back to you. There are, also, many other options to reduce the 'noise' factor - sub-sonic, silenced, supressed, sound traps, etc. I, or many others here, would be willing (glad) to discuss methods and procedures - just ask.

Where from?

[z169135]

Dear Big Ugly,

You hit on the area of expertise where I can assure you I am a "newbie," that is weapons.

My wife, son, and I live in Dekalb, IL; which is kind of like a rural city with Northern Illinois University having 20,000-25,000 students. I currently am a student of political theory, with an intense interest in individual rights and liberty. I do love my studies and my professors are encouraging me to apply for graduate school since I'm heading into my senior year in the Fall, the political theory department at NIU is perhaps surprisingly a blend between libertarian and conservative so it is a good fit for me. Even if I do pursue my master's degree or doctorate I still should be able to get out to Wyoming within the 7 year time frame, but I could just as well get tired of "college" life and be out there within a year when I receive my bachelor's degree.

When we get there and even on this forum in the interim I'm sure I will have many inquiries regarding weaponry; I think this is a vital subject for anyone who truly wants to be a citizen and sadly one that I am lacking. Your expertise on these matters is greatly appreciated.

In regards to being aware of my neighbors and their safety, harmony, and well-being when shooting on my land, I would always be conscience of them; in fact, I would probably need their assistance in weapons usage since "hands-on" learning is the best way to go anyway and I would consider my neighbors nearest to me practically my own kin.

It seems like my main challenge is to find a piece of land that is big enough to shoot on, yet not too big to bankrupt us.

If you could go back to before you ever owned your own firearm and purchase your first piece now, which would it be? Let's say your primary immediate need would be for self-defense/home protection?

Thanks for all your input,

Izzy

[wyomiles]

Howdy Izzy welcome to FSW, lots of threads here on all sorts of things. Dig in .
Sounds like you might like to attend an appleseed get together.

http://www.appleseedinfo.org/

They will help you get started with your firearms questions and they have events all over the country. We also have many threads on the subject here.
I never worried so much about being able to shoot off of the back porch. There is lots of wide open spaces in Wyoming to do so.  Just be sure your down range is clear. But if you want that nice piece of land to do so ,there are still some out there. Try looking here..     http://www.wyodex.com/   or here...    http://www.landwatch.com/.

For home protection a shotgun is nice and for an easy way to get started with a rifle try a mosin nagant ...    http://www.mosinnagant.net/  you can get them for under a hundred bucks if you look around. If you have a sporting goods store called "Big 5" in your area, ask them about them.

[z169135]

Wow, thanks for the wealth of information Wyomiles. I would have never been able to find these helpful websites.

[Paul Bonneau]

Every newbie should start out with a revolver. "Police turn-in", typically 4" barrel (no snubbies please), typically Smith & Wesson k-frame, .38 Special. I'm sure some folks will give me hell for this advice, but pay them no mind. 

The main thing about shooting is a decent backstop and ideally little past it. There are many places with low hills nearby, with open range, with BLM land, etc. It's not all that difficult to find a place to shoot off the back porch, although the back porch may be attached to a run-down single-wide trailer. 

The house we still own back in western Oregon, just outside the Portland Metro area (in Oregon's second-most populated county), surrounded by other 10-acre parcels? I hear more gunfire there than I hear even in Wyoming! And I ain't talking gang-bangers, either. I have a hundred yard range set up in a gully there.

One thing to keep in mind. Wyoming (and Oregon, for that matter) is nothing like Illinois. 

[z169135]

Thank you for the advice Mr. Bonneau. 

I wish I could move tomorrow.