The 1st of  July I spent about a week visiting my brother who moved to Oregon over a decade ago. The weather was nice IMO even though they claimed it was a hot spell at the time. While in Salem,  I decided to submit my resume with a couple of employers. When I returned to Oklahoma, an employer called me for a couple of phone interviews and I ended up being offered employment. The job is pretty decent pay/ benefit wise, and I start work on the 31st. Can anyone give me some pointers about ranges, places to hunt , etc etc in the Salem area ?  

Of course any other advice is welcome.

Thanks so much  

Check around town quite a bit. There are some nice areas in Salem but definitely some bad ones. As for shooting spots I'm actually interested to see what people chime in with. I lived in Roseburg most of my life so I'm learning as I go up here in Portland.

If you are around you should come up to the HTF shoot next month.

When I see "tell me about Salem" I want to scream "RUN" because there is something in the water down there. But I probably feel that way about most state capitals.

There is one shooting range in Salem: http://tritacshooting.com/
It's a standard indoor range, they sell and rent guns. You can rent machine guns there too, but that gets expensive quick.
There's also a new gun store: http://ticklickerfirearms.com/
The cheapest local price I've found for ammo is: http://www.nwammo.com/
The State Fairgrounds are in Salem, where they hold gun shows a couple of times per year.

Overall Salem is cheap, safe, and convenient. It is not exciting.

Technically, Salem is considered a "city," but if you've ever lived in a real city, you'll see Salem as a big suburb.

Gresham is the asshole of the area, and Salem is a close t'aintal neighbor.

This is actually one of the reasons I opted to accept the employment offer.  After having worked in and around OKC for the last several years, Salem had an almost small town feel by comparison.  Everything was close by and very convenient, and I like the fact that it seems easy to walk or bike if you choose to work assuming that you are close enough to do so.

If I get the chance I will, thanks for the invite.

Ill buy you a beer in Corvallis if you make it down for a visit. A little too far for a commute, but its a nice little small town non the less. I passed through McMinnville a week or two ago and downtown seemed pleasant. My advice to yo is to take some drives and soak in the countryside.

That's like 2,500 square miles of area. Im sure there are a few places to pick in between that aren't awful.
That being said I wouldn't live in downtown of either of em. But there are some nice surrounding areas. West Salem seems to be a good area. And if you are looking for property there are rural areas not too far out that will fit nicely.

I've lived just outside of Salem my whole life.  

Salem is exactly what a poster above stated, not exciting.  That's not necessarily a bad thing.  

Most people around here when they go shooting will just find a spot within an hour's drive on BLM or Forest Service land.  Most people have their own spot, the location of which is protected with varying degrees of secrecy from person to person.  

There are some shit areas of Salem, but it's not like you'll get yourself shot or stabbed there.  The worst parts of Salem might see you getting your car broken into or having shitty music foisted upon you by the local degenerates.  

Salem takes a lot of shit from the rest of the state because it's the capital.  They vote in the most amazing retards to public office, send them to Salem, then say, "what the hell is wrong with Salem."  Well, we have all your fucking idiots, sir.  Kindly take them back.  

What Salem has going for it is that it's close to anything you want to do.  I realize that "close" is a relative term, but most things you'd like to do or see are within 1-2 hours drive.  The coast is less than an hour, roughly.  The mountains are roughly an hour.  If you want something more culturally adventurous, whether food, art, or fascists, Portland is less than an hour.  The high desert in eastern Oregon is a couple of hours away.  Some really cool hiking areas are all over the fucking place.  Historic Oregon Trail locations are within a few minutes drive.  We also have some of the best local produce in the fucking world.  On top of that we have actual seasons that change.  People from California come here and can't handle the fact that it rains a little.  

I work in real estate in Salem and have for more than two decades (not in sales, not a realtor, not looking to make anything off of you).  PM if you have any specific questions about specific neighborhoods or anything else about getting a place to live in.  

Four Corners Gun Club is still open as far as I know, but it's always been kind of a Fudd place.  A lot of guys in Salem have memberships to the Albany Rifle and Pistol Club.  It's about an hour's drive south, but the consensus is that if you want to shoot at a range, it's worth it.  

Salem, like almost all of Oregon (fuck you, Portland) is pretty gun-friendly.  Mom and pop gun stores have always done okay, though within the last two years we've seen several close for lots of different reasons.  Before you decide to do any business with any of the existing stores, ask around on here.  Not everyone who runs a gun shop in Salem is worth giving money to.

crazytuco is spot on with his post. I will add some additional information about Albany Rifle and Pistol Club.

Albany Rifle and Pistol Club (ARPC) is a 35 minute drive from I-5 and Market Street (not 1 hour) and it is well worth the drive. The main rifle range is a 50-100-200 yard range, it is 1 long enclosed bay with plenty of shooting benches and a couple handgun areas at the south end with metal plate racks installed, there is a metal dueling tree about 150-175 yards out and a 2' round metal plate at 200 yards. There is a shotgun range next to the main range.

The North side and North West side of the range have 10-15 enclosed handgun bays where members can shoot handguns and .22 caliber rifles including .223/5.56 AR15's. About 1/2 of the handgun bays have cement floors which is great for collecting your brass and the enclosed bays are nice especially when it rains and during the cold weather months.

Personal metal targets are allowed which are typically not approved at most other Oregon gun ranges. ARPC is in the process of planning/adding a 300-600-1000 yard range on the West side of the range, but these are more of a long term plan and not immediate. I think the 300 yard range was approved and may be in the planning stages and the 600 and 1000 yard ranges will take some more time (years) for permits and approval.

^^^^^^^ DING, DING, DING ^^^^^^^^

Im West of Salem in Polk County but work in Salem daily.  I'd also be happy to offer any word of advice on neighborhoods, shooting (Tritac, ARPC, BLM) etc.  Feel free to PM me.

Chris

Drive at or near the speed limit on i5 and other major highways in Marion county.  If you see any orange cones drive even slower, even if there is no active road construction.

Well shit, welcome to Oregon!

Seems like there are a few of us here in Salem, HTF (Salem) lunch sometime?

As for the noob (joined arf.com in 2001 - been wasting a lot of time here;) Salem has its bad and good just like any other place. As far as housing there are some nice places in town as well as driving a few miles and getting "out of town." Don't forget some of the surround towns (Keizer, Silverton, Dallas, Aumsville, Stayton, etc.)

ETA: The Albany Rifle and Pistol Club is indeed awesome! Very affordable and as mentioned 35 to 40-minutes away.

Thanks to everyone for all the help and advice.  I definitely learned on my trip out to meet my brother about the differences in speed limits, it will take a little getting used to driving 55 and 60 when you are used to driving 70 and 75.  Other than that I am excited for the move , just working like a crazy man to find a rental and get settled in before the 31st.  

Yes, sounds good to me.

+1 for ARPC, my wife and I are members as well.

Like it was said above, Salem isn't exciting but it is pretty centrally located to a lot of what Oregon has to offer.  I've lived here for my entire life so far, but I like it well enough.  South East Salem is generally pretty nice, the city gets less so as you go north, but none of it is bad.

Looking for a home or an apartment?  What kind of price range?

I would prefer a house with a fenced yard around 1000 sq ft,  and I would really love to keep it at $1200 or less. I already know I am shooting for the moon here, but I have a mortgage I am paying here in Oklahoma until my home sells ( she is doing the same).

My girlfriend and I have two dogs a papillon and a red healer, both are house and potty trained, they do not bite and are both very people friendly.

Thanks so much

I grew up in the Salem area. Areas in South Salem are okay as well as West Salem. My brother lives in West Salem and in a nice area. I would stay away from almost all the other areas. Keizer isn't bad either (I have a co-worker who lives there. All that being said, I wouldn't move back for anything. I can't take living in town anymore. I moved way out in the country towards Mt. Hood so I can hunt and shoot on my property any time I want. Good luck and welcome to Oregon.

We looked into buying a house in West Salem, but decided we didn't want to deal with the bridge every day.

Seriously.  That bridge traffic is a motherfucker and it's only gotten worse.  

And there are areas of Keizer that are a total shithole.  McKay is one of the worse high schools in the Salem/Keizer district for crime and discipline problems.

Update.

Ok place in West Salem secured, and what a mother fucker that was to do. The rental market in Salem is like diving into a tank full of hungry caiman.  Century Link called with service install on the 28th.

Gotta call the power company now and get service in my name.   Pod sitting in the drive way ready to be filled, I have two lumpers coming on Sunday to deal with the loading of the heavy stuff. I just dont want to do it myself. Damn furniture is getting heavier the older I get.  

I gotta pack my stash of beer for the POD ...   Yeah I know Oregon has a lot of great beers , but I am not leaving all my 1554 for the neighbors to enjoy.

Next task is a recon of the area after arrival and before I start work.

gonna break out the bicycle for that task

Glad you were able to find something.  Everything I've heard is that the rental market is brutal right now if you're on the renting side.

I lived in West Salem about 20 years ago when the wife and I were first married.  At that time all of West Salem got its electricity from Salem Electric, which was a co-op.  Once a year the co-op would send us a check if they made too much money.  Anyone know if power is still handled that way in West Salem?

New Belgium is plentiful in Oregon, fear not!

This is good to hear, I am a NBB fan.  1554 is my favorite beer, we have to goto Texas to get it .  I feel like I am upgrading now at least in some respects.

There's a Mexican restaurant in West Salem, Hacienda Real - they have the best shredded beef you'll find anywhere. Next time I go I'm going to try the cheesecake chimichanga too.

I work with a great FFL in West Salem; he works out of his house and doesn't have a web site. Let me know if/when you need his contact info.

La Hacienda Real has a south location as well.  One of the best mexican restaurants in Salem.

Ok settled in and completed my first week on the job .Pod got lost and did not show up yet I'm being told the 8th sometime maybe.!other than that all is well . Loving the weather