It’s been just shy of a year since I left Phoenix after living my entire life there.  I moved to Nashville for my job and things are much different here.

Things I miss and took for granted:

1.  Matches.  There was a match for all styles of shooting, specifically 2 gun, rifle, pistol, or PCC.  I live in the heart of Nashville and there is nothing relatively close and also not what I want.  Lots of clays and shotgun here and I get the general impression things aren’t as competitive.

2.  Transactions.  FTF transactions are a pain here because everyone is spread apart versus generally living in centralized locations.  Three out of four trades/purchases all required a 40 min drive to meet halfway.  One guy came to me.  Oh, and all of them wanted to see my license (yes, I had TN plates and a local number).

3.  Laws.  I need a permit to carry- open or concealed.  They passed “guns in trunks” in 2015, which is idiotic.  Background checks on all purchases, permit or not.  The “TBI” (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation) runs the checks and is inconsistent.  I was “conditionally approved” aka “DENIED” on gun purchases for 6+ months because a stupid arrest in 2007 in a bar scuffle with no injuries didn’t have a victim listed, so the burden of proof was on me to prove it wasn’t domestic violence.  Red flag laws coming soon.  Lots of Fudds and shotguns and it seems like this is “Zumbo” country.  “As long as it doesn’t affect me...”

4.  Roads and general infastructure.  Arizona roads are amazing and simple to understand.  Everything is 5 minutes away there.  Here- 20 min, then parking is a challenge.

5.  Hiking trails.  I’m sure there are plenty of trails here, but I definitely didn’t get out as much as I should have there.  Same with mountain biking.

The only shooting I’m doing now is at a Scottsdale Gun Club-like range, where I am a member.  I have always preferred shooting pistol, in general, and having an indoor range really close is nice.  They have some GSSF stuff, which I need to read up on.

I do like many things about Tennessee, but the above were taken for granted when I was there.  I admittedly complained about some of the matches there and how they were run, but right now, I would take any of them.

Not sure who is on here now that AZS is over, but I also miss the camaraderie with fellow shooters and forum members.  I joined a Tennessee forum and paid for a membership for classifieds access and it’s pretty rough compared to AZS was.  I’m also realizing I’m more like minded with the people I used to argue with than I thought.

Long post.  Saw some posts on a the 2 gun matches and thought I would check in and say hello.  My family left AZ after I did, so I’m likely not going back there unless it would be to move to a different company and got lucky in AZ.

Merry Christmas or holiday of your choice and happy shooting.

Merry Christmas ASU!

These are the replacements for the old site,

http://www.azshootingzone.com/forums/

https://www.arizonashooting.org/forum/

Merry Christmas Andy

What he said.

Andy - Merry Christmas. AKA "Storage_man" from AZS

I wondered what happened.  I believe you said you had surgery and couldn't shoot anymore and was selling your guns, reloading, etc.

But Moving anywhere else other than Arizona (maybe not in 1 or 2 other states) is culture change as far as gun ownership goes.  I lived for a number of years (direct north of you - Ohio) and when I move to AZ, everybody was carrying a gun !

Good luck in your new environment.  Maybe start a Tennessee Citizens Defense League and restore everybody's rights back there.

Roger

I never appreciated the Phoenix/AZ freeway system until I started traveling a lot for work.  Seattle, Reno, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Louisville, Kansas City, North & South Carolina, Tennessee...it's all a cluster fuck.  Using 5 different highways to go 25 miles, constantly using different exits, detours, roads, etc.  Here, it's just 'take the 101 North, take the 4th exit."  And no one is in a hurry to go ANYWHERE.  65 mph speed limits on the damn freeway makes me feel like I'm in a residential zone.  I'm pretty amazed I haven't been pulled over for speeding, since I'm used to going 80 on a freeway.

Love AZ freeways.

Hate CA freeways and surface streets.

Also hate Texas freeways and their damn frontage roads,

With that said, we took I-37 south out of San Antonio to Port Aransas TX.

I looked at my speedometer and we were going 93 mph.  Just like everyone else, flow of traffic was crazy fast.

Merry Christmas, you are always welcome back!

Forgot about this thread.  Merry Christmas to you guys too!  Was just thinking about how I would be at Ben Avery today if I was there.

I had to take a year off from the surgery- torn extensor tendon from shooting.  Arm is not the same and I won’t be competitive again, not that it matters.  Matches are non-existent here.  I’m still sore from shooting on Saturday (today is Thurs) and it looks like I have two right elbows.  I can only handle 9MM or lower in pistol and my stance is really weird.

I’ve re-purchased a ton of ammo here, but all pistol.  No need to reload 9MM when it’s 16 cents.  :)  5.7 is a fun round, but not cheap and I wouldn’t reload that stuff.

Anything you like more about Nashville over PHX?

1.  Music.  Not just country.  There are shows all the time and we bought in the city, so we just Lyft back and forth.

2.  Seasons.  I do like the cold weather and the snow is minimal.
3.  More non-chain restaurants.  I’m vegan, so that’s really nice, but you carnivores would love the BBQ and hot chicken places here.  
4.  Weekend driving when traffic isn’t awful.  Going for a weekend drive is gorgeous.  It’s really green.  
5.  People.  They are generally nicer here.....except for when you want to get into the lane they are in.
6.  History.  I drive past the last official Civil War (sorry, “War Between the States”) site on my way to work.  Lots of cool stuff to see.

As of right now, I prefer Phoenix still, but I’m a creature of habit.  Wife likes it in Nashville better.

We miss you too Princess.

Loose Nutz!
Behind the Trigger.

LOL, me and Russell where talking about you the other day(all good and only slightly gay).

You'll be back, I thought I'd never come back but here I am...

And you just blew up your facebook page??

Whiskey Tango buddy.

Facebook sucks.

We'll leave the light on for you.

M

Obviously I don't check the hometown forum enough.

We'll take you back anytime dude.