Is Missoula Anti-Gun? Too Liberal For Right-Winger? Will I Be Hated? (Bozeman: fit in, crime)

[Reactionary]

OP - I don't know why you think you can only shoot at a friend's or friend of friend's place in the South, you can always buy enough of your own land to shoot on (usually outside city limits). There are plenty of State Parks that either have gun ranges or allow shooting (although you may have to buy a State hunting license to use them). Some Counties (like mine) have their own shooting ranges. Most cities also have commercial gun ranges.

[DangrussDan]

I moved to Missoula a year ago in October. I am also more conservative who enjoys firearm freedom and other things as you have listed. I feel some of the things you are dealing with over here but nowhere to the degree you're going through.

Gun laws are very lenient in Montana, go into a gun store and pick one up. The council is indeed trying to pass the background checks, but I don't think it will go through as it is against the Montana constitution. One unfortunate misconception people have is that you can buy guns from a firearm store without background checks. The bill is for private sales which are unenforceable and/or can head to outskirts of town. Next thing is firearm friendliness in the city. I have a friend or two that will open carry, and they seem to not have any problems. I have seen them at my job and they don't get flak for them. It is liberal here but not as bad as many other areas.

There are two shooting ranges in Missoula area. The first one is Deer Creek Shooting Range, it is in East Missoula, only 6 miles away from the University. It's very nice, membership owned, $50 a year to shoot there. There are 300 yard ranges, shotgun, handgun and other things there. A lot of BLM land around here to enjoy shooting also. There is another one to the West of Missoula, that one I don't know much about. It has a 1000 yard range to boot!

Crime here is pretty safe, I have never felt unsafe here in the city. The city is liberal but if you move just 20 minutes from here to say the Bitterroot Valley. You will find conservatives, anywhere outside the city really. Even inside the city you can find people who are likeminded, I have several friends that are conservative. It is more Atheist here for sure but places like Zootown Church (where I go) are great and have several people. Zootown is actually pretty big and is growing rapidly, they just had to add more services.

All said, I do plan on moving out of the city when I get my college degree. Most likely to Frenchtown or the Bitterroot Valley etc My recommendation is to visit and see if it is ok. It definitely is not as bad as Seattle that's for sure. I can say I think guns are awesome and open carry. Can't do that in Seattle.

[Susan551]

I live in the Kalispell area now. We wanted to be somewhere with low crime and that was conservative. It is about to drive me crazy because I came from a city. There is nothing open late, hardly any restaurants, and the people are not the brightest - by that I only mean that it is difficult to work with them and hard to meet people to have intellectual discussions with. We have to hide our political views because the places we work have a lot of liberals and they would probably discriminate. Everyone "young" and "hip" seems to be a liberal nut-job, whereas in the city we knew lots of people our age who were conservative.

We are now considering moving to Missoula, Bozeman or another state. There is also a meth problem in the Flathead Valley that causes a lot of crime, but it's still much safer than cities.

[DangrussDan]

If you feel that way about Kalispell, especially given that it is pretty conservative. Your best bet is to get out of the state. BTW just because people didn't go to college or agree with your opinions doesn't make them stupid.

[Watts87]

Oh man. The world we live in.

[sky1949]

Let's just cut to the chase, folks. OP belongs in Ravalli County..

[katfzl]

Move over the water to Kitsap County, WA

[robcat33]

Originally Posted by RotseCherut

Thanks for the information Redraven. After reading this thread I am seriously going to reconsider living in Missoula. I am trying to escape a radically left-wing communist/fascist type society, like here in Seattle. The last thing I want to do is be stuck in a remote area surrounded by more left-wing communist/fascists.


Billings does sound intriguing . I guess being a guy who grew up in the forests and mountains in Oregon, it may be hard for me to adjust being in a barren , dry and flat place like Billings. I do know there are some mountains a couple hours away, but I also hear they are not all that acessible most of the year due to snow, etc. However, having all the open spaces I can bet will mean lots of great places to shoot your guns. That is definitely a nice benefit to have. Finding a place to shoot here in the Puget Sound is a real chore and even the guys who run the gun ranges here can be anti-gun. Lot of ranges have funny gun control regulations, like round limits in your mags, no silhouettte targets, no conceal carry on the range and other BS.

I may consider Billings, although I am wondering if I can handle the extreme cold and the lack of trees and mountains around. That is what was attracting me to Missoula, the environment which reminds me a bit more of Oregon, where I grew up. I was told Kalispell is not the greatest or safest town to live, that is has crime issues. It also seems fairly isolated, although I really admired the scenery of the area. However, I cannot find anything for rentals in Kalispell, it seems very expensive and the places in my price range are old and dumpy. Missoula was actually cheaper than Kalispell, I have found.

How bad is the smell from the refineries in Billings? I was told Laurel ahs some serious fume problems.

Being that I need high speed cable internet because of my business, I probably won't be able to find any country property in Montana that will work for me. That sucks, because I want to live in the countryside.

In my experience Missoula wasnt near as annoyingly liberal as Seattle or Portland. Even the left wingers there tended to have a more center view on guns, marijuana control, etc. Atleast compared to a lot of other places Ive been. Definitely not the pea brain hipsters I was surrounded by in Austin. Someone mentioned they now have stricter gun regulations in Missoula but that certainly wont have much influence. Most Montanans are packin and proud of it. And so am I for that matter

[DangrussDan]

The stiffer gun laws in Missoula are referring to an ordinance to require background checks on Private sales. And perhaps a requirement for a permit to conceal carry but most cities in MT if not all have that anyways.

I agree about Missoulians not being too bad. While the college (which I am currently enrolled at) is extremely left-wing, (rainbow lights on main hall for a night, PPH support events etc); I have met many more right leaning Missoulians - especially if they're native.

[robcat33]

Originally Posted by Susan551

I live in the Kalispell area now. We wanted to be somewhere with low crime and that was conservative. It is about to drive me crazy because I came from a city. There is nothing open late, hardly any restaurants, and the people are not the brightest - by that I only mean that it is difficult to work with them and hard to meet people to have intellectual discussions with. We have to hide our political views because the places we work have a lot of liberals and they would probably discriminate. Everyone "young" and "hip" seems to be a liberal nut-job, whereas in the city we knew lots of people our age who were conservative.

We are now considering moving to Missoula, Bozeman or another state. There is also a meth problem in the Flathead Valley that causes a lot of crime, but it's still much safer than cities.

Most of the people I met in Montana dont go to snazzy restaurants or stay out late for that matter but thats just my experience. I know I met some very kind, and intelligent, locals when I was in Kalispell this summer. And I personally didnt find it all that conservative, atleast not if you compared it to some of the areas on the Southwest side of the state. People these days just make that all too common mistake of moving somewhere without doing their homework. Even if you moved for a job that doesn't mean everything else is going to come together for you. You have to do research and lots of it. Just remember that the biggest mistake you can make in a place like Montana is whining about Montana.