Considering western WA from central Montana. Am I nuts? (Seattle: home, school)

[Cody01]

Hello, spent most of my life in central Montana where its winter 6 months of the year and the wind blow s and blows. I am a gun owner and I like to target practice mainly. I would like a semi rural property where I can shoot but it would be suppressed so quiet. I lean a little more right but not to the extreme. I am mainly looking for milder winters so I can spend more time outside is my motivation for a change. I have a budget of about $600k. Would like to be no more than a 15-20 min drive to semi metro areas. I know Wa has way more rules and regulation than Montana but I am tired of being stuck inside for half a year at a time.

[MechAndy]

One of my neighbors down the road has 5 acres that is nice and secluded he is building a home on.
Same 600k budget.
It backs up to public land.
It’s less than a mile to salt water.
He plans on moving some dirt around to build a pistol range.
This is a hunting area so no one really cares but he does prefer to use suppressors.
Most people lean slightly to the right in our area and we all get along with those that don’t.
Our area is not about politics.
People live here for privacy.
I don’t think you are nuts.

[Cody01]

Originally Posted by MechAndy

One of my neighbors down the road has 5 acres that is nice and secluded he is building a home on.
Same 600k budget.
It backs up to public land.
It’s less than a mile to salt water.
He plans on moving some dirt around to build a pistol range.
This is a hunting area so no one really cares but he does prefer to use suppressors.
Most people lean slightly to the right in our area and we all get along with those that don’t.
Our area is not about politics.
People live here for privacy.
I don’t think you are nuts.

Nice. What area?

[Diana Holbrook]

Washington actually has pretty good (from a 2A perspective) gun law overall and is a shall-issue state for concealed carry.

I live in rural Thurston County in an area that is mostly 5+acre properties, and I have to say it's becoming increasingly unpopular to shoot frequently on your own property any more. There's just too many neighbors in earshot now who won't like it. I'm actually one of those, and I like to shoot. Reality is though, that it upsets the dogs and general peace and quiet for others and there's better places to do that. Nobody gets upset about a shot or two, most generally assume you had a varmint or a coyote to shoot at or scare off... but if you're going to sit and shoot off a box or more of ammo at a sitting, go to a gun club or a range if you don't want to be really unpopular with the neighbors.

There are, within 10 miles of us, two private gun clubs with skeet, rifle and pistol ranges, and an open gravel pit on state land that is used for free shooting and has been for years. There's also an indoor pistol range at the police dept that civilians can use once they pass a safety test, and up the road a ways in Tacoma, there's a big indoor gun range connected to a gun store.

I would avoid urban areas, and probably avoid King and Pierce Counties just for population and politics, but rural parts are pretty gun friendly.

(This should really be in the Washington general forum, not the Seattle area, I would not try to move to Seattle for this purpose!)

[Cody01]

I guess I chose the seattle page because its the one in western Wa which is where I am looking. If I put in the in the general people would be suggesting the eastern part of the state which doesn't interest me.

[mayfair]

You might like Skagit County in the Sedro Woolley area. Your nearest big town is Burlington/Mt. Vernon which has everything. You have milder winters here and it's rural and tends to be conservative. You have to watch out for flooding in any rural area in WA near rivers and that's no exception.

The river flooding does keep the area rural since much it can't be built on.

[jabogitlu]

I'd look over in the Shelton-Belfair-Bremerton area. Lots of centrist folks in that area and not far to Olympia or Tacoma (and a ferry ride to Seattle). Personally I would try to avoid the east side of Puget Sound (rural Pierce, etc.) because those folks can get a bit nutty on the right, just like some folks in central Seattle can get a bit nutty on the left. I'm from the old school style of people and politics and to me that's what Mason/Kitsap Counties are, just laid back and relaxed people looking to live and let live.

[MechAndy]

I’m in unincorporated Clallam county.

[Arcos]

If it’s just winter weather that you are concerned about, there are a lot of places across the west with significantly milder winters than Montana. Like… all of the places (ok, I’m kidding a bit but…)
Moving west will not help with the short days during winter and you would be trading cold for gloom, to some extent. Why not move southwest? New Mexico, southern Colorado?

There’s a place just off I40 in between Albuquerque and the Route 66 Casino that has a ravine with a long rise behind it across which people would go out and practice. I’m sure there are many other informal places like that across the southwest.

[Cody01]

I am ok with short days of winter. I am just done with high winds on a daily basis. New mexico/Colorado would probably be dry and/or windy.