Finally got orders and hit the lottery. We'll be headed to Aurora at the end of August.

I heard y'all have the same problem with kali type invaders as Texas, so if I have to leave Texas it's at least good I'll be bolstering the deplorable ranks in CO.

So, I'll be in Aurora, and as I understand it, that means Arapahoe County. Can someone confirm that I won't have to deal with the ridiculous Denver/Denver County AWB rules? Any mags I have were purchased prior to 2013.

Also, we're still looking for housing in Aurora. Anyone have suggestions for a rental agent, or a house for rent [at least 1500 sqft with fenced yard]? I'd rather rent from one of us, than some random property management company.

Big high five to the knife rights legislative efforts recently. Getting autos taken off the naughty list is a huge accomplishment. Will we be able to carry sub 3.5" OTF autos, or is CO still a patchwork hell, with anti-knife laws still on the Aurora books? I'll just assume anything fun or useful is banned in Denver/Denver County.

Do we have off road folks here? As soon as I learned we were headed to CO, I threw a bunch of parts and money at my 4Runner. So now I'm pretty well set with 33's on a ~4" lift, and front and rear bumpers + sliders waiting for me at Addicted Offroad in Fort Collins. I know better than to wheel alone, especially in a new area, so I'd love to start making friends in off road groups that actually get out and play.

What do y'all do for shooting matches and plinking? Back in central TX it was generally carbine and pistol matches with IDPA-ish rules. Are there ranges in the Denver area that do run and gun type matches? Are there informal ranges or places out in the middle of nowhere to go and just blast away with buddies?

Hunting. One of the things I miss about Michigan is the abundance of public land, which was one of the big disappointments in TX, which is almost all private land. We're set up for dove, pheasant/upland, hogs, and deer [rifle, muzzleloader, bow]. Is any of that fairly accessible within an hour of Denver? Suggestions for maximizing ROI for hunting in CO?

Lastly, fishing! I'm set up for 15lb+ big river salmon, and small river trout, along with surf and flats salt water. Looks like kokanee salmon are a big thing. What's the most fun available for CO fishermen?

I know that's a lot, I appreciate any and all bits of info y'all can throw my way. We're excited to get settled in, and start exploring such an awesome state.

Hit me up if you want to go offroading.  My current rig is a Lexus.

Nice. I looked at LCs and LX/GXs, but a clean 4runner with the rare AWD + rear locker popped up locally and I jumped on it.

Definitely will get in touch after we're settled.

What's your favorite trail?

Favorite trail?  Snort.  Boy are you in for a shock out here.  I haven't even been on all the trails yet.  Why would I shoot to do them over?  And I have been 4wheeling for years out here.


My rig is a stock GX470 right now that does surprisingly well.  Needs tires and I can't decide on suspension.  I have to decide what I am going to load it with first.  I want a rear bumper, front bumper, sliders and maybe skids (more weight less fuel economy and I use this for road trips).  I don't really want a lift since I like the ride quality and stability with my RTT on it as is.

He speaks the truth....there are tons of trails and roads and places to see out here.  I was just out in the Mancos/Dolores area this past week and saw a ton of new forest access roads that I need to check out.

As far as the GX...I had one and put the OME heavy suspension on it with the ARB bumper upfront.  Mine had the KDSS so that and the suspension I felt firmly planted.  Granted, I didn't have a RTT though.  Got rid of it in a moment of weakness for a 2016 Tacoma.

I know you are a mechanic so you obviously have experience with this stuff but I found the OME set up to be a good mix of performance and affordability.  I went with the same setup on the Taco. Never did get rid of the rear airbags as mine worked but that would be something to look at when you do the suspension.

If you guys get over the west slope let me know and i'll run a trail with you.

I am trying not to lift it.  And I am trying to keep the air ride actually.  I really like it.  I was going to do bilstiens and good tires.

I can get places like this on stock height.  All it takes is a little more thought in my lines.

And here:


And here:

West slope?

So we've been busy. Bought a house in south Aurora. Made sure to avoid Denver and Denver county.

Holy balls, dispensaries on every corner.

Anybody running a trail, shooting or hunting this weekend?

Check im

West slope is the western side of CO.  It's a bit of a drive.  

What type of trail are you looking to do?  There is an upper limit on difficulty of about 5 that I am willing to do with no sliders and stock ride height on a daily driver.  And there are 5s put here (scale from 1-10) that can be pretty gnarly in sections.  

Where is this?  I feel like I should know, but can't put my finger on it.

Northern NV southwest of Ely.  About 10 miles away from the closest pavement.

You'll see a ton of bro dozers and lifted jeeps out here. Most of them don't even know what a gravel road is. Best off road vehicle I ever owned was a 93 Cherokee with BFG all terrains. That little jeep probably is 25k miles of off pavement driving on it.

I run a basically stock Silverado (2" lift with rear air shocks) and BFG all terrains and I go all over CO. Never have problems with getting there or finding new places to go.

Head over the divide to get away from crowds.

Same thing goes for hunting. Go three hours west and be prepared to walk 1+ mile in rough terrain and bad weather. Most hunters are lazy. If you work for it, you'll get it.

Shootin? Well almost anywhere that's a nat forest. But clean up and don't be stupid. I belong to Colorado rifle club. Just a skip and a just no from aurora, I suggest you look it up.

Fishing? Tons of good fishing if you understand what your fishing for. I grew up in MO catching huge bass, cats, crappie, etc... out here a 10" cutthroat in a stream you could piss across on 2lb line is a trophy. Stocker rainbows In a reservoir are a trophy. Don't expect a cooler full of filets a job well done. Enough to feed yourself and your kiddos is probably gonna be a great day.

My .02. Welcome, please register to vote

Thanks for the info so far, fellas.

I helped a new friend buy his first rifle, and we're looking for an informal range, or place to shoot where we can shoot more than 1 round per 3 seconds.

I heard something about a potential place in Nederland, magnolia something or other?

Can we just go out to the closest national park land?

There was a place in Nederland that I used to go to if I wanted to drive less than an hour to shoot. If memory serves correctly you could only shoot out to around 75 yards if we're thinking about the same place. I just normally drive out to pawnee national grasslands.

Yeah, I think I just read about that place. Baker draw designated shooting area?

Go to Baker in the middle of the week, there's also a couple nice ranges around Ault that go out past 300yds. You have to pay but it's not to spending and probably safer than Baker Draw on any given Sunday...