§ 18.2-308. Personal protection; carrying concealed weapons; when lawful to carry.
A. If any person carries about his person, hidden from common observation, (i) any pistol, revolver, or other weapon designed or intended to propel a missile of any kind by action of an explosion of any combustible material; (ii) any dirk, bowie knife, switchblade knife, ballistic knife, machete, razor, slingshot, spring stick, metal knucks, or blackjack; (iii) any flailing instrument consisting of two or more rigid parts connected in such a manner as to allow them to swing freely, which may be known as a nun chahka, nun chuck, nunchaku, shuriken, or fighting chain; (iv) any disc, of whatever configuration, having at least two points or pointed blades which is designed to be thrown or propelled and which may be known as a throwing star or oriental dart; or (v) any weapon of like kind as those enumerated in this subsection, he shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. A second violation of this section or a conviction under this section subsequent to any conviction under any substantially similar ordinance of any county, city, or town shall be punishable as a Class 6 felony, and a third or subsequent such violation shall be punishable as a Class 5 felony. For the purpose of this section, a weapon shall be deemed to be hidden from common observation when it is observable but is of such deceptive appearance as to disguise the weapon's true nature.
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1. Is it "hidden from common observation"?
2. Is it "observable but is of such deceptive appearance as to disguise the weapon's true nature"?
If you can truthfully answer "no" to each of those questions then at least in VA it is considered open carry.
Will any given judge consider half the grip exposed to be commonly observable and not disguising its true nature?
Regarding "the VA tuck"... Let me preface this by saying that I rarely use an IWB holster, I used the term when I was wearing a coat, jacket, shirt, or other outer garment draped over the gun to conceal the gun. Just prior to walking into an establishment that served adult beverages, I would take the tail of said coat, jacket, shirt, or other and pull it up and "tuck" it behind the handle of the gun and holster to expose the gun to common observation.
I would not have associated the term VA tuck with the normal wearing of an IWB holster.