With more conservative votes, nfa items and non fudd approved stuff in general.

What's the skinny on "stuff" in the state? Gun laws, taxes, politics, hunting (pigs at night would be awesome), fishing, gardening, places to avoid, ect.

I was cruising some real estate sites and found an interesting property outside of poplar bluff, how is that area?

My only experience in Missouri has been a couple of weeks at Leonard Wood for work and a couple of days in a campground in Mansfield.


We like hills and trees and my wife and daughters will want horses, if that helps with any suggestions.

Wa has gotten too crazy, so we're looking at having an adventure and starting somewhere new.

Thanks!

Permitless carry in state.  You can also get regular permits.  A lot.of state recip with us too.  There are multiple good 2a bills going through the state government too.

Nfa other than aow is gtg, personal, llc, or trust.

As for hunting, I am not a hunter so I can't say much on that side.  I know there are the standard mag limits and such.  Silencers are cool too.  As for nuance animals, there are different reg.  I know at one point the state was saying no to hunting pigs for some reason that to me made no sense.  Others will be along that can say more about that.

Taxes, we have personal property but our sales taxes are lower due to this.

Is there an income tax?

Yes.  City of KS city and stl both have a separate 1% income tax.  If you live or do work in the city (just part of work done on the city) you will owe it.  Most people live on suburbs due to this.

Fwiw the state has a balanced budget amendment so state budget has to balance ever year unlike most states.

Eta, state get income, county and local city get most of personal property.  A few years ago I sat down with a friend from a west coast state.  I had more items taxes but the amounts were similar (mine was still lower).  

Cost of living is decent here too.  Today I saw gas around 2.  I have seen new 3 bedroom houses for around 300k with decent sq.

We don't want you .

Hunting is good. It's not like western hunting though. There are a lot that consider this the mecca for waterfowl. Northwest, North Central mostly are awesome waterfowl spots. We have a great Turkey population, it has seemed to be on the decline over the past few years however. We just had our first Elk season and a Black Bear season is being considered as well. Numerous small game seasons, and I believe you can hunt coyote at night. Hog hunting is not allowed for some asinine reason right now though.

For hunting there is limit of 10 in magazine w/one in chamber for total of 11 for semiauto that use detachable mags.

We have lots of Conservation land to hunt on if you don't have the property to do so. Don't know how the Popular Bluff area is.

One can purchase long guns face 2 face, but pistols do have to go through the FFL.

You can make all the unserialized guns you want, but you can't sell them. You can put them in a trust and (legal gun owning) family members can inherit them, if I remember the law about this.

If you're over 60, and you live in the State for at least 6 months I believe, you can get a "lifetime permit" from the Mo Dept of Conservation where you can hunt small game and fish for rest of your life without needing to stand at counter to get yearly licenses every January. I've had mine since 2015. There is a small fee for paperwork and getting card. One still has to get seasonal permits for deer, certain fish season(spoonbill, trout) ducks. Soon elk can be hunted with restrictions in certain areas, but you need to enter the lottery for it. Deer permits are also free if you have a certain amount of land, but you have to also hunt your land to be legal.

We have lots of outdoor ranges, with many being free.

If you have a ATV, you can get a permit and ride them on some dedicated trails.

You like fishing, Missouri has some of the best trout, bass, catfish lakes and rivers in the country. Some of the trout rivers you can purchase a permit at the general store by the river if it's private. Only thing Missouri doesn't have is a good game fish like salmon, but you can smoke trout.

Missouri being a "red state", the taxes are lower than I'm sure Washington is with all the nonsense up making the people pay for all their bullshit.

Don't know about Washington, but Missouri has a very lax motor vehicle inspection. Check one brake and ball joints and your're good. No engine look for leaks, or exhaust tests like a few States do.

Missouri has some of the best gun laws in country. We recognize all the States if one carries concealed. We are now permitless to carry. Don't need to tell cops if pulled over and gun in vehicle, or on you. Just be careful of course, on how you carry and billfold is, when getting insurance card. You can also get a CCW(conceal carry weapon) for more priviledges when carrying, so do study up on those laws if you do carry concealed permitless.

If you're coming here to score some ammo, better bring your own as the LGS and large outdoors stores don't have any either and it's a treasure hunt to find it. Some have hit a small lottery when ammo is found. Most are buying it, even if they don't have that caliber for trading for ammo they do need. You know the routine if you're on GD about ammo.

We have termites down here, so get a good inspection when buying that house.

We need more gun enthouists like you, so come on down. One less left-winger with ability to live here.

Not true. FTF in-state sales of pistols and revolvers is fine.

Poplar bluff is right where the Ozarks meets the bootheel. Stay north or west of PB and you'll enjoy it. The bootheel is a different world, more like the Mississippi delta than Missouri.

Not a lot of good job opportunities and out side of PB the schools are very poorly funded, that may not matter to you though.

We have just started having hogs in our area, they are starting to become a problem.  We have lots of hills, and millions of acres of trees, and are very close to some of the most popular trail riding areas around. We also happen to be in the Elk restoration zone, which means lots of elk to look at, and if your a land owner in the zone, a separate pool to draw a from (about 1 in 40 chance).  

We live in Reynolds county.  I think there about five counties here in which there is not a single traffic light.  We only have stop signs....

I think it’s DD’s not AOW’s. At least I hope it is as I’ve got some AOW’s.

Yep no DDs.

That's kind of embarrassing. We need to fix this.

How are things trending politics wise?

I'm looking at this as a once in a lifetime,jump and can't go back kind of situation.

I don't want to do it and be right back in the same situation in 10-15 years.

In Washington, we had been pretty solid red outside of Seattle/king county for a long time. Now king and Pierce county are solid blue, which is enough of the population to control the state.

It sucks. Even in Pierce county where I live, most people you run into are reasonably conservative.  There are the "guns and coffee" Starbucks rip-off stickers on vehicles everywhere, Trump flags and stickers everywhere. It doesn't seem "blue" unless you're in the thick of Seattle or Olympia.

Yep so I can have a 40mm flare launcher instead of a 37mm.

Not disputing that you did that, but pretty sure state statute says otherwise...

Wait, is this true?  I always thought those were cool but never really looked into them.  If I can legally have one, why not get one?

Oops, ya my bad on that one

Destructive Devices: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=571.020&bid=33624&hl=

571.020.  Possession--manufacture--transport--repair--sale of certain weapons a crime--exceptions--penalties. — 1.  A person commits an offense if such person knowingly possesses, manufactures, transports, repairs, or sells:

(1)  An explosive weapon;

 (2)  An explosive, incendiary or poison substance or material with the purpose to possess, manufacture or sell an explosive weapon;

 (3)  A gas gun;

(4)  A bullet or projectile which explodes or detonates upon impact because of an independent explosive charge after having been shot from a firearm; or

 (5)  Knuckles; or

 (6)  Any of the following in violation of federal law:

 (a)  A machine gun;

 (b)  A short-barreled rifle or shotgun;

 (c)  A firearm silencer; or

 (d)  A switchblade knife.

 2.  A person does not commit an offense pursuant to this section if his or her conduct involved any of the items in subdivisions (1) to (5) of subsection 1, the item was possessed in conformity with any applicable federal law, and the conduct:

(1)  Was incident to the performance of official duty by the Armed Forces, National Guard, a governmental law enforcement agency, or a penal institution; or

 (2)  Was incident to engaging in a lawful commercial or business transaction with an organization enumerated in subdivision (1) of this section; or

 (3)  Was incident to using an explosive weapon in a manner reasonably related to a lawful industrial or commercial enterprise; or

 (4)  Was incident to displaying the weapon in a public museum or exhibition; or

 (5)  Was incident to using the weapon in a manner reasonably related to a lawful dramatic performance.

 3.  An offense pursuant to subdivision (1), (2), (3) or (6) of subsection 1 of this section is a class D felony; a crime pursuant to subdivision (4) or (5) of subsection 1 of this section is a class A misdemeanor.


Me, " Life is a dramatic performance".

First, the weather sucks.

No, it's not 120 in the summer like Arizona, and we don't get foot-deep daily snowfalls like Michigan. What we have is four months of brutal, stifling humidity and near 100 degree temperatures in the summer. Winters aren't extreme, but just kind of dreary. With "climate change" we don't get nearly as much snow as we used to, but we do get some . . . but not enough to make any sort of winter sports like X-country skiing or snow mobiles at all practical or predictable. We're just as likely to get ice. Have you ever experienced a prolonged ice storm? It sucks. Temperatures aren't too bad. We have some winters when 40s and 50s are just as common as 20s or 30s. But we can also have prolonged periods of zero degree weather. We're also the tail end of tornado alley, so there's that . . . depending on where you live.

So, no, the weather's not extreme, but there's nothing to recommend it either. We have about six to eight weeks each year that are glorious.

Now, the people . . .

Missourians are great people. They're honest, hard-working and decent. Most of them would do anything for somebody in need. You could start a country with Missourians and do just fine.

They're also stupid. Sorry, but it's true.

Oh sure, we have some great colleges and universities. We have art museums. We have concert halls. We have libraries. But those are the exceptions, rather than the rule. Your average Missouri is fairly close-minded and set in their ways. That old "stubborn as a Missouri mule" thing is real. "I'm from Missouri, you have to show me," doesn't just mean we're skeptical. It also means we're a bit slow to learn. If you're looking for culture, intellectual stimulation and enlightenment, you may want to keep driving.

It's not just that Missouri is not intellectual. Well, let's just put it this way . . . Have you seen "Winter's Bone"? Hillbillies, rednecks, meth heads . . . Some of these folks will be your neighbors.

We tend to be more overweight than the average American. We smoke more. Our food tastes tend toward fried breading, sugar and fat. We do barbecue well. We make good regional wines  (a storied history in wine making).

Which brings me to religion. Yep. We've got it. Pro-life. Anti-gay. Bible beating preachers. Fire and brimstone. Judgment and end times prophecies. Baptisms down by the river. Tent revivals. Summer Bible camp. Speaking in tongues. Probably even a few snake handlers. We've also got sanctimonious feminist, woke protestant chuches with lesbian pastors, and hard-core Latin-speaking Catholics (and also abortion protest rosary bead counting Catholics). If you want to find a religious home that's center-right to crazy backwoods cult far-right, you've come to the right place.

Jobs. We'll that's complicated. If you listen to the governor, jobs are plentiful and everyone wants to move to Missouri for our low-taxes, strong work-ethic and central location. All true, but most of the good jobs are in the cities. There's not many opportunities in rural areas. Sure, if you want to butcher hogs or pluck turkeys, there's plenty of jobs, but Mexicans are probably already doing that work. Oh, did they mention that one of the reasons companies want to move here is that wages are low. Don't expect to earn a decent living if you move to the country.

So, why would anyone move here?

Well, there's guns. We're great on guns. We essentially have no gun laws. Follow federal law. That's it. We have CCW permits but you don't actually need one to carry concealed. Super gun friendly state. Midway USA is here. So is Sierra Bullets. So is Fiocchi. The Bianchi Cup pistol tournament is here. We like guns, and you'll find a lot of folks in small towns and rural areas that share your passion. In cities, not so much, but you're not talking about moving to the city.

Politics are liberal in the cities, conservative everywhere else. Trump carried the state by double digits. The Republicans rule state government. Five of six statewide offices are held by Republicans. Republican super majorities in both chambers of the legislature. Of course, we see how quickly that's flipped in other states, but Missouri seems securely red for quite some time. With term limits for legislators, nobody is there long enough to build a true power base, so the legislature is largely ineffective. It's just a bunch of politicians trying to get to their next office and making a name for themselves. Consequently, no serious problems or issues are ever truly addressed. If you're the type that believes politicians cause more harm than good and that when it comes to legislative accomplishments less is more, you should love Missouri. Politics is largely irrelevant.

Hunting/fishing/recreation are great here. The Missouri Conservation Department is considered one of the best in the nation. They should be. We give them a tenth of a cent on every dollar we spend in the state. There are high quality, well-maintained public conservation areas all across the state. Deer and turkey hunting are superb. We have a huge range of fish species and great waters to fish in. We have several large man-made lakes that are well-known for good fishing. The real gem is the rivers though. The Ozarks are home to a bunch of clear, spring-fed streams that are great for fishing, but even better for "floating." Floating is the thing in Missouri. The rivers run at 2-4 miles per hour through dense unspoiled forests. The bottoms and banks are gravel so you can see clear to the bottom. You can load up canoes with friends and beer and just soak up the sun all day. Or, you bring your rod and reel and fish all day. It's hard to describe the joys of an Ozarks float trip, but it's a truly wonderful thing. Almost reason enough to live here.

Cost of living is low. Housing is cheap. Food is reasonable. We have like the seventh lowest gas tax in the country and the lowest tobacco tax (and one of the highest rates of smoking). We do have an income tax, state and local sales taxes and a personal property tax. So, they're going to get their money, but overall we're not too bad. I think we rate about in the middle nationwide for total tax burden.

Convenience. We're centrally located. You can be anywhere in the 48 states in a day and a half's drive. Several of the nation's major interstates cross the state. But, you're actually close to nothing. If you live in a rural area in Missouri, you'll be several hours from an airport and you'll have to travel to find anything that Walmart doesn't carry. We underfund our state highway department and the condition of the roads show it.

Places to avoid: The cities. As long as you stay at least 40 miles from the outer perimeter of Kansas City and St. Louis, you should be OK..

All 40mm ammo is a DD.

Stag sells a 37mm which is a non nfa non firearm. The use of  "non-signaling rounds" such as smoke in them is a grey area though. More atf

Looks like what I couldnt be bothered looking up... grey area.

Thanks.

I'm really not that familiar with that area of the country at all. My Mississippi experience is about 5 days at camp Shelby.

What is the delta like, and why is it a place to avoid?





This is a ton of great information. I appreciate you taking the time to write it down for me.

I will admit to enjoying some of the things a bigger, more ethnically diverse area brings. Well, one thing anyways and that's food. Lol. I spent a couple of months in Alabama years ago and they also seem to live on a diet of fried stuff and sweet tea.  At the end of the trip, well, let's just say that I was getting the idea that my digestive system wasn't a fan of the grease and tea. Lol

I think that it's easy for me to say this now, because I don't have any actual experience in it, but I seem to be built for social distancing and staying at home.  I've had my normal work schedule, save for a few short days during all of this covid bs and I've been jealous of the people who got to spend a bunch of time at home. I even volunteered at work to give my work to people who wanted it vs staying home because they were short on jobs(nobody took me up on it though.)

The wages aren't a giant deal, as getting a job for someone else is an alternate or contingency plan in case we can't figure out a business to support ourselves.  A big part of making the move is being debt free and trying to homestead/side hustle our way into more freedom in life.


How does the personal property tax work?  Do you have to catalog all of your crap and give a value of it to the tax office and pay a tax on crap you've owned for years?  That just seems weird.

Our tax situation in Washington isn't complicated.  We don't have a state income tax but we have property tax on land/homes, i think we're at the highest gas tax in the nation (and it looks like another ~$0.30 a gallon is getting passed right now, bringing us to something like $1.10 a gallon in tax), and a ~10% sales tax.  Statewide vehicle inspections aren't a thing either. Some areas do smog testing but it's only for a certain window in age. Brand new and ~15-20 year old vehicles are exempt.  We'll probably end up with an income tax on top of all of this BS sooner than later too.

Thanks again for any info!

Other than barbecue, Missouri isn't known for much in the way of food. St. Louis's claims to fame are toasted (fried) ravioli, a sickening sweet dessert concoction known as "gooey butter cake" and a variety of thin/cracker crust pizza topped with mystery cheese (you either love it or hate it). Kansas City has good barbecue but they often ruin it by slathering it with sweet sauce. Outside the cities, it's mostly blue-plate special, diner-type food. Bonus points for gravy. Buffets are popular. Olive Garden and Red Lobster are fancy restaurants to many Missourians.  Every small town has at least one Mexican restaurant and every damn one of them seems to have the same menu. We do fried catfish reasonably well.

Again, outside the cities, Missouri is not the place Foodies go to for culinary adventure. (Fortunately, "cities" include Columbia, Springfield and a few other places not St. Louis or Kansas City). There are a lot of places where you can get a decent meal, but usually small towns aren't one of them.

Has anyone mentioned Branson yet? In hindsight, Branson may be all you need to know about Missouri.



Mostly just real estate and vehicles. Last year, I think I paid a little over $600 total on three vehicles. It goes down as the vehicle ages. Most of my tax was on my wife's  2019 Camry. My two vehicles are both 15+ years old so the tax is fairly minimal on those. I think the tax on my house was about $1,500. (Relatively modest home, worth less than many, more than quite a few)

And we rank something like No. 7 in total miles of road under state maintenance. Is there any wonder the state government has to issue bonds just to be able to FIX bridges?

The I-70 Missouri River bridge at Rocheport is a huge weak link in the interstate highway system. If that bridge fails, America is screwed. The thing is a mess and desperately needs to be replaced. Missouri got a federal grant to start the work and planning is in the works, but it's going to be a fucked up deal before it's all said and done. There simply isn't a viable detour around it. Let's hope they get moving and build a parallel bridge before the current one falls down.

That would be why they confiscated chalk practice rounds (M781), and why if they're sold assembled they consider them explosive rounds.

https://txmgo.com/index.php/shop/ammunition/product/104-individual-40mm-m781-chalk-rounds

Here's one example, Cole County (the state capital);

https://www.colecounty.org/285/Personal-Property

Not much to add to what's already been covered, but once you get settled in, I'll swap you a turkey hunt for one of those awesome knives you make!

There are some hidden gems for food in the country but they are few and far between.  To me the most notable was the pear tree near Macon.  3 star food in a place you'd never expect it.  People would drive from Kirksville and Columbia for it though.  The previously mentioned 40 mile perimeter around KC and STL will have to be breached if fine eating is on ones mind.  Poplar Bluff is quite a drive from either so that probably wouldn't be a concern too often.  My aunt and uncle that live in Alton talk about a BBQ place in Dexter that's not far from poplar bluff.

As far as property taxes go, yeah it's dumb but I wouldn't sweat it, in a non zoned county it should be cheap.  It frankly amazes me how cheap real estate taxes are on land.  Now once you put houses and buildings on it, it goes up a bunch.  My only real thing to add to this is do not move to a zoned county.  The ability to build let's say a shop on your property and not have to get a permit, inspections etc is glorious.

I actually enjoyed Bladeswitcher's description of our people, as it reminds me of why I love it here.

We are stubborn, mind-your-own-damn-business types, and I'll take that over the sissified, pseudo-intellectual, made-up gender, government is great, let's pack everyone into cities mentality that a lot of places seem to be inundated with.

I haven’t been to the Pear Tree since the Bevier location burned. Glad to hear it’s still good. Is the old man still alive or does the son run it?

And yes, there are decent restaurants here and there. Columbia has some, and Springfield does, too.

There are actually two famous barbecue places in Dexter. It’s been a few years so the names escape me. I want to say Hickory Log and Dexter Ribs but that may not be right. Strawberry’s in Holcomb is amazing and there’s a place in HAyti that’s good (chubby’s?).

Honestly, though, there’s no restaurant that screams Missouri quite like Lamberts. Sorry, that’s just who we are. Throwed rolls and heaping endless piles of starchy food.

Well yes, i meant it all as a compliment

I haven't been since it was in Bevier either.  Nearly the same food was at the potted steer and the blue heron at the lake of the ozarks.  I think Al Abadessa worked there and opened the pear tree.  There's now a place in St louis called twisted tree that's a copy of the pear tree.  The onion rings and fried lobster tail were awesome.

The whole Pear Tree, Blue Heron thing is a bit dated, don't you think? I enjoy a good steak as much as the next guy, but restaurants have gotten a lot more adventurous in the past 20 years.

Twisted Tree does however make good food... though I cant imagine wasting a lobster tail by frying it.

As for the Pear Tree connection... https://m.riverfronttimes.com/stlouis/review-twisted-tree-steakhouse-is-a-new-classic/Content?oid=3131516

I grew up in Dexter.
Dexter has the Hickory Log. Also has Dexter Bar-B-Que. it was really good but the owner died recently. Don't know how that will affect the food. The Dexter Queen had good bar-b-q when I was a kid but the last couple of times I was there it sucked. I'm not going back.

Tooties 225 package store had great bar-b-q but she sold the place around Christmas.
She is my cousin. Don't know how it is now.

I haven't lived there in 40 years but I do get back there 3 or 4 times a year usually when I'm headed to Eminence.

Lol, sure it is.  But they're not in the central west end or downtown KC either.  For the amount of money and city folk at the lake, I really couldn't point anyone toward an outstanding restaurant.

OP asks about guns and taxes. Gets fried lobster.

Bring lawyers, guns and money(for fried food. Lol)

Any info is good info, and I appreciate it so far.

Looking at a move like this is turning out to be much more terrifying than I thought it would be before I realized that I could actually do it. Lol

I would suggest taking a trip down and visiting the area.  Its vastly different to me from county to county, the terrain varies, as well as views of the outside world.  Not to mention some folks cant handle the remoteness of our area.  I have had friends visit and get antsy after more than a day or two without a walmart or starbucks in sight ????.

Have you seen the movie “Deliverance?”

I don't take canoe trips or play a guitar or banjo.

I dont know about Deliverance, but that Winter's Bone movie really felt like rural MO.

You can be excused for the banjo, but if you don’t canoe you have no business moving to the Ozarks. Sorry, that’s unacceptable.