Hi Folks,
I'm new to this forum and to the state of Washington. I moved here from Los Angeles, CA a little over a month ago. I have been a firearms enthusiast for about 10 years now but never was able to truly practice my rights in California. I am overjoyed to be a resident of this beautiful state.
Although I am required to be a resident for at least 90 days before I can apply for my CPL, there appears to be no waiting period required to open carry. Well, this weekend was my first time carrying openly and it felt great. My girlfriend and I went for a hike on Sunday at Wallace Falls off of Highway 2. I was hesitant at first to carry, but a gentleman who parked in front of me changed my mind. The first thing he did was attach his holstered pistol to his side.
Walking around and hiking felt as natural as all of the other times I've hiked, although this time I was very aware of my surroundings and the people I passed on the trail. My girlfriend said she was a little embarassed and said she thought I was trying to be macho. I did get a few looks from other hikers and I felt like people went silent as they passed me. One guy said "I was going to wear mine, man, but I didn't want to scare any kids or anything". I smiled and told him that he definitely should next time.
Not everything went so smoothly, though. I did have a little 'incident' that I was pretty embarassed about. You see, it was unexpectedly hot and humid on Sunday so I was constantly adjusting my shirt. This sort of caused my holster to move around a bit requiring that I move it back to my side (it's a cheap cloth holster and it kept wandering towards my rear. I'm upgrading soon). Anyway, I guess one of the times I moved my holster I must have hit the mag release because we were walking and out of nowhere I hear a thud. I looked back and my loaded magazine was lying on the trail. Surprisingly my girlfriend just pointed it out and kept going. I thought she would freak or give me a hard time about it. Luckily nobody was around but man I was embarassed. Oh well, lesson learned.
So yeah that was my first time carrying and overall I would say it was a major success and boost to confidence. I'll be lurking the forums looking for tips and just get a better understanding of methods more experienced carriers use. I look forward to becoming a member of this great community!
I'm new to this forum and to the state of Washington. I moved here from Los Angeles, CA a little over a month ago. I have been a firearms enthusiast for about 10 years now but never was able to truly practice my rights in California. I am overjoyed to be a resident of this beautiful state.
Although I am required to be a resident for at least 90 days before I can apply for my CPL, there appears to be no waiting period required to open carry. Well, this weekend was my first time carrying openly and it felt great. My girlfriend and I went for a hike on Sunday at Wallace Falls off of Highway 2. I was hesitant at first to carry, but a gentleman who parked in front of me changed my mind. The first thing he did was attach his holstered pistol to his side.
Walking around and hiking felt as natural as all of the other times I've hiked, although this time I was very aware of my surroundings and the people I passed on the trail. My girlfriend said she was a little embarassed and said she thought I was trying to be macho. I did get a few looks from other hikers and I felt like people went silent as they passed me. One guy said "I was going to wear mine, man, but I didn't want to scare any kids or anything". I smiled and told him that he definitely should next time.
Not everything went so smoothly, though. I did have a little 'incident' that I was pretty embarassed about. You see, it was unexpectedly hot and humid on Sunday so I was constantly adjusting my shirt. This sort of caused my holster to move around a bit requiring that I move it back to my side (it's a cheap cloth holster and it kept wandering towards my rear. I'm upgrading soon). Anyway, I guess one of the times I moved my holster I must have hit the mag release because we were walking and out of nowhere I hear a thud. I looked back and my loaded magazine was lying on the trail. Surprisingly my girlfriend just pointed it out and kept going. I thought she would freak or give me a hard time about it. Luckily nobody was around but man I was embarassed. Oh well, lesson learned.
So yeah that was my first time carrying and overall I would say it was a major success and boost to confidence. I'll be lurking the forums looking for tips and just get a better understanding of methods more experienced carriers use. I look forward to becoming a member of this great community!