Legend has it that the US federal government once went on the attack against Wyoming over its highly sought after dynasty trust. The dynasty trust (if I’m not mistaken) lasts for 1,000 years. That’s 1,000 years of money that the federal government can’t touch. The government went after Wyoming, but Wyoming won and got to keep their dynasty trust. This is part of the story of how the West was won. A land where cowboys, outlaws and explorers went to stake out a plot of land and find a new life free from the overreaching governments of their native countries.

Today, people still go to Wyoming to find a new life and escape ruthless taxation. Many movie stars have settled on ranches (for tax purposes) in towns like Jackson…a far cry from the noisy bustle of the city. On top of that, Wyoming is as American as it gets when it comes to gun laws, and gun owners enjoy a plethora of firearms that some states restrict.

This past summer I traveled to Wyoming for the first time in ten years. Naturally, one of the first things I wanted to do was shoot. So when I found some BLM land the paranoid Californian in me came out, and I called the local Sheriffs department to ask about legalities before shooting. The friendly female officer had a chuckle and related to me by telling me she was originally from the gun-free utopia of Illinois. “Yup, 30 rounders are fine. Yup, just go find a spot but don’t shoot across the road.”

The beauty of the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone was incredible. Sometimes I didn’t even want to take pictures, but rather just sit and watch the sun set behind the bison.