• We are now running on a new, and hopefully much-improved, server. In addition we are also on new forum software. Any move entails a lot of technical details and I suspect we will encounter a few issues as the new server goes live. Please be patient with us. It will be worth it! :) Please help by posting all issues here.
  • The forum will be down for about an hour this weekend for maintenance. I apologize for the inconvenience.
  • If you are having trouble seeing the forum then you may need to clear your browser's DNS cache. Click here for instructions on how to do that
  • Please review the Forum Rules frequently as we are constantly trying to improve the forum for our members and visitors.

New Trooper

DarthBrute

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2013
Messages
20
Location
VA Beach
Well, I have been a visitor for a little while now. And I have just signed up. I have handled handguns and rifles all my life but I haven't really owned any until the last few years.

A friend of mine got me really thinking after Sandy Hook. He always open carries. If he isn't headed to base or will be going to base then he has it on him. We had talked and talked about recent events and how it was all going to affect gun laws. I have never been one for restrictions on guns and I never will be. But after seeing the knee jerk reactions and seeing people talk about gun control instead of criminal control I decided to do something about it.

I bought my first handgun. The first one I have ever owned. I do have a mossberg for home protection. But what about when I go out? What can I do to protect myself and others if another nut job pops up.

I don't know if its the media, I don't know if it is an increase in idiots giving lawful gun owners a bad name, I don't know why there seems to be a lot of shootings at a time. Or if there really is.

I will say it again. I bought my first handgun. I traded in my Ruger Carbine .40 S&W for a Sig Sauer P229 .40 S&W. I use a 9mm S&W M9 in the navy and it it just doesn't seem to have the punch and weight that I am looking for. Thats why I stuck with the .40 caliber.

I have open carried for the last two weeks on several occasions. I have started out small and quite honestly I am still a little nervous. Not about the weapon itself, I am very comfortable when it comes to firearms. I am nervous about peoples reactions and what they will do. For the most part I have seen little fear from people. I got a direct question from a young man getting out of his car on whether I was going to shoot him. I calmly stated that I wasn't and that I had it for my protection as well as his. I shook his hand and left. I did that to hopefully teach at least him and his friends that those with guns are nothing to fear.

I bought my first handgun. I open carry.

I thought I would just get a few thoughts out there (as jumbled as they may be).
 
Last edited:

mpguy

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2012
Messages
689
Location
Suffolk Virginia
Well, I have been a visitor for a little while now. And I have just signed up. I have handled handguns and rifles all my life but I haven't really owned any until the last few years.

A friend of mine got me really thinking after Sandy Hook. He always open carries. If he isn't headed to base or will be going to base then he has it on him. We had talked and talked about recent events and how it was all going to affect gun laws. I have never been one for restrictions on guns and I never will be. But after seeing the knee jerk reactions and seeing people talk about gun control instead of criminal control I decided to do something about it.

I bought my first handgun. The first one I have ever owned. I do have a mossberg for home protection. But what about when I go out? What can I do to protect myself and others if another nut job pops up.

I don't know if its the media, I don't know if it is an increase in idiots giving lawful gun owners a bad name, I don't know why there seems to be a lot of shootings at a time. Or if there really is.

I will say it again. I bought my first handgun. I traded in my Ruger Carbine .40 S&W for a Sig Sauer P229 .40 S&W. I use a 9mm S&W M9 in the navy and it it just doesn't seem to have the punch and weight that I am looking for. Thats why I stuck with the .40 caliber.

I have open carried for the last two weeks on several occasions. I have started out small and quite honestly I am still a little nervous. Not about the weapon itself, I am very comfortable when it comes to firearms. I am nervous about peoples reactions and what they will do. For the most part I have seen little fear from people. I got a direct question from a young man getting out of his car on whether I was going to shoot him. I calmly stated that I wasn't and that I had it for my protection as well as his. I shook his hand and left. I did that to hopefully teach at least him and his friends that those with guns are nothing to fear.

I bought my first handgun. I open carry.

I thought I would just get a few thoughts out there (as jumbled as they may be).

My advice, act like you don't even have it on. You'll be surprised how many don't even notice. Always be polite, as everyone will have a difference of opinion. ALWAYS have a voice recorder.

Welcome to the forums!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
 

Grapeshot

Legendary Warrior
Joined
May 21, 2006
Messages
35,317
Location
Valhalla
Welcome to OCDO DarthBrute - lots of good people here, quite a few in the Va. Beach area.

Look for meet n' greets and get some valuable face time.

Don't forget to sign up for the free Va-Alerts and do consider VCDL membership.
http://www.vcdl.org/
 

XDS45

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2013
Messages
43
Location
Virginia Beach
Welcome DarthBrute! I am in the VA BCH area and have had no problems OC'ing aside from have to go on base unarmed... I'd be more than happy to meet up if you would like.
 

DarthBrute

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2013
Messages
20
Location
VA Beach
Welcome DarthBrute! I am in the VA BCH area and have had no problems OC'ing aside from have to go on base unarmed... I'd be more than happy to meet up if you would like.

Well some shipmates and me will be meeting up for breakfast on the 20th. It's turning into an Open Carry Breakfast. We did a "Man's Breakfast" for fun once before. No wives just a bunch of sailors eatin' pancakes and shooting scuttlebutt. We did it at Bubba's and my buddy has open carried there before with no issue.
 

Citizen

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2006
Messages
18,269
Location
Fairfax Co., VA
Well some shipmates and me will be meeting up for breakfast on the 20th. It's turning into an Open Carry Breakfast. We did a "Man's Breakfast" for fun once before. No wives just a bunch of sailors eatin' pancakes and shooting scuttlebutt. We did it at Bubba's and my buddy has open carried there before with no issue.

<chuckle>

What restaurant lets you shoot while eating pancakes?
 

wrearick

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2013
Messages
650
Location
Virginia Beach, Va.
Welcome,
I also live in Virginia Beach and offer my assistance in any way. My story is similar to yours except we (wife and I both) brought our first guns in January. She normally carries in her purse but I prefer to open carry. Working on the base does limit my opportunities to have my weapon with me but it is normally on my hip now whenever possible. I have found VA Beach reseidents to either be totally unaware of their surroundings or to not bat an eye much at an open carry weapon. (still not sure which).

The one thing, sorry two things I would recommend -
1. make sure your holster has some form of retention -if you are not sure what I mean, ask, there are no stupid questions on this forum
2. Practice with your weapon, at the range and later as time and finances permit, some tactical courses.

again welcome.
 

lil_shawn1990

Regular Member
Joined
May 14, 2013
Messages
80
Location
MCB Quantico, Va
Welcome,
I also live in Virginia Beach and offer my assistance in any way. My story is similar to yours except we (wife and I both) brought our first guns in January. She normally carries in her purse but I prefer to open carry. Working on the base does limit my opportunities to have my weapon with me but it is normally on my hip now whenever possible. I have found VA Beach reseidents to either be totally unaware of their surroundings or to not bat an eye much at an open carry weapon. (still not sure which).

The one thing, sorry two things I would recommend -
1. make sure your holster has some form of retention -if you are not sure what I mean, ask, there are no stupid questions on this forum
2. Practice with your weapon, at the range and later as time and finances permit, some tactical courses.

again welcome.

like said above, some form of retention is good. However it does not have to be thumb break or any kind of strap over your gun. It can be as simple as friction rentention, something so that if you bend over the wrong way the gun does not fall out of your holster and hit the deck. I use a friction rentention, tight enough just to keep it in place, but to not pull my holster off when drawing my weapon. If you practice good situational awareness then there is no need for a thumb break or similiar item.
 

HearseGuy

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
172
Location
VA
<chuckle>

What restaurant lets you shoot while eating pancakes?

Firstly, lol at this!!

Secondly, welcome to OCDO, and thank you for your service. I was very nervous when I first started OCing too. Like you, it wasn't about the gun. I spent a good amount of time with my firearm and studying the laws and dos and donts of open carry to protect my a$$!

Crazy as it sounds, I acclimated myself to open carry in walmart. OC is accepted and there's lots of people going about their business. I realized that *79% or people didn't even notice it, and the other *21% didn't care. After awhile I didn't notice it was there either and that helped me to be more comfortable. Of course I'm always highly aware of my surroundings and people around me, as every OCer should be. So Walmart helped me get over my nervousness, your results may vary tho.

Good choice of firearms too. I will be looking for a Sig 226 chambered in 9mm in the near future. Maybe I'll see ya around the VB area some time!

And like wrearick said, there are no stupid questions here. And retention is a good thing. Welcome again!



*like 92% of all statistics, these are made up too...
 

Lyndsy Simon

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2011
Messages
209
Location
Charlottesville, VA
like said above, some form of retention is good. However it does not have to be thumb break or any kind of strap over your gun. It can be as simple as friction rentention, something so that if you bend over the wrong way the gun does not fall out of your holster and hit the deck. I use a friction rentention, tight enough just to keep it in place, but to not pull my holster off when drawing my weapon. If you practice good situational awareness then there is no need for a thumb break or similiar item.

There are some that don't believe retention features are necessary on a holster, and even some who believe them to be counterproductive. As long as you're comfortable with what you're carrying and that you're not going to end up conducting an ad-hoc drop test of your handgun, you're fine.

I carry either a Browning Hi-Power or a Glock 31, in a Serpa CQC holster. I've heard lots of bad things about the Serpas, especially w/r/t Glocks - apparently, it's easy to snag the trigger when re-holstering. I don't tend to make a habit of handling my carry gun and I've never been in a huge hurry to reholster at the range, so I don't worry about it much. As long as you're safe, I recommend them.
 

user

Accomplished Advocate
Joined
Feb 12, 2009
Messages
2,516
Location
Northern Piedmont
Welcome, and to follow up with my own opinion ("...everybody's got one.") on retention mechanisms, I agree that it's a good idea for OC, but not because it's going to keep anyone from taking your gun out. What it does do is provide an "early warning", because it will slow down someone who's trying to grab your gun enough for you to react violently. As to the inconvenience because it slows down your Queek-Draw McGraw style, let me talk you out of any notions of being able to draw the gun faster than Badguy. If you get into that kind of contest, you're already losing. What you need to be able to do, above all else, is stay alive, and you don't do that by standing there tugging on a gun. Find cover, and if there is none, at least find concealment; then you can think about tugging on the gun. I don't think a retention mechanism is as necessary for concealed carry, because the clothing or whatever you're concealing it in, provides the same early warning system.
 

DarthBrute

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2013
Messages
20
Location
VA Beach
Not to be argumentative, but the M9 is a Beretta. And its pretty big and heavy.

You're right. Just had S&W on the brain.

I picked up the serpa holster. I like it. I wanted some kind of retention. I don't want anyone trying a gun grab.
 

Jimmy12

New member
Joined
Jul 8, 2013
Messages
6
Location
Va Beach
Hi DarthBute and welcome, I too am new to the gun ownership, but I am yet to open carry mine. I am surprised someone would ask you if you would shoot them or not.? I guess its just a part of the OC lifestyle..:uhoh: I have not OC yet becuse I am still new to guns in genral I want to get some tranaing frist before I carry around mine. Not saying you but some of us feel now we have a gun on our side we are totally safe.. I don't feel this way as my life, furture, and crimminal recored is on the line as others lives are on the line if I pull that trigger. Diffirent sitwations will come up hopefully very few!! But you have to a damn sure you are justfied before you pull that gun out.
 
Last edited:

vt357

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2006
Messages
490
Location
Richmond, Virginia, USA
When worlds collide! Welcome to OCDO from a fellow trooper! I see you also buy into Solo's belief that hokie religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at you side. ;)

I too carry a 229 in .40. I've been OCing for years now and have never had an issue. Again, welcome and I'll see you around the GT forum.


Sent from my banthaphone.
 

DarthBrute

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2013
Messages
20
Location
VA Beach
When worlds collide! Welcome to OCDO from a fellow trooper! I see you also buy into Solo's belief that hokie religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at you side. ;)

I too carry a 229 in .40. I've been OCing for years now and have never had an issue. Again, welcome and I'll see you around the GT forum.


Sent from my banthaphone.

Whats up brother! Ha ha ha!
 
Top