First Day Open Carrying

Today was my first day open carrying. I've been concealed carrying all over Southwest Virginia and the surrounding states for a little over a year now and finally decided to "take the plunge" into OC.

As I was told to expect, nobody really seemed to care about my sidearm in rural Virginia. First I went to get some work done on my vehicle at my local Ford dealership. While there, a Virginia State Trooper walked in and sat down across from me. He was getting his patrol car serviced, and never said a word to me the entire time. After I left the car dealership, I went to the local Dairy Queen for a blizzard. Again, it was a non-event. Moms and children were all around, but nobody seemed to care.

I just wanted to post to share my experience and reassure anyone thinking of starting open carrying that there aren't as many issues as many concealed carriers would have us believe. Can anyone else who has made the transition to OC tell me how long it takes to get used to it? Even though nobody said a word, I felt like the whole world must've been staring at me and my .45. Of course, I had the same feeling when I started cc'ing. I guess it just takes a while to get used to it.

Just OC everyday, every where you go (that you legally can). You'll be used to it in no time. I actually feel naked without mine. And... it's not just in rural areas that people don't care. I'm in Hampton Roads and no one cares that I open carry. Welcome to the fold, my friend! :lol:

May I suggest learning the laws inside and out get a recording device. At some point you will have a run in with a leo

All American Nightmare said:

May I suggest learning the laws inside and out get a recording device. At some point you will have a run in with a leo

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Yep - might be just standing in your own front yard smoking a cigarette.

Record from the time you leave the house until you return - cheap investment.

I'm curious to know how many months I can expect to pass before my first experience with a LEO.

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Get some dice

The odds of winning/getting personal attention are better than the odds that the lottery offers.

Some people have never had an "incident" - others take up the slack. :lol:

It is very sharp learning curve in how to handle encounters with leos ianal. Please take the advice you are given. we will never win with any Leo on the street even when they are in the wrong. Study and learn the tactics that are used against you in a encounter. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. OC'ing is not a plunge but a right.

ianal said:

Today was my first day open carrying. I've been concealed carrying all over Southwest Virginia and the surrounding states for a little over a year now and finally decided to "take the plunge" into OC.

As I was told to expect, nobody really seemed to care about my sidearm in rural Virginia.

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Welcome to OCDO and greetings from sunny, dry Arizona ianal!
Glad to hear your first OC was uneventful (as it should be). Hope you continue to experience more of the same.

ianal said:

Can anyone else who has made the transition to OC tell me how long it takes to get used to it? Even though nobody said a word, I felt like the whole world must've been staring at me and my .45. Of course, I had the same feeling when I started cc'ing. I guess it just takes a while to get used to it.

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I'm not a CCer, but I can say that the feeling of having all eyes on you is only in your imagination. Unless you decided to wear a horribly unfashionable outfit that didn't coordinate with your holster and pistol grips, that is.

Just carry often, and carry a recorder of some sort, and you should be alright.

In all seriousness though, a $40 voice recorder can prove invaluable as an impartial witness should any antis (who've been known to make politicians look honest) decide to spin a tale of a length rivaling that of Homer's Odyssey.

Aren't we all?

Liberty-or-Death said:

I'm curious to know how many months I can expect to pass before my first experience with a LEO.

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I'd say right about the same amount of time you could expect to pass before your first experience with a criminal…, sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.

sidestreet

Jeremiah 29 v. 11-13

we are not equal, we will never be equal, but we must be relentless.

sidestreet said:

I'd say right about the same amount of time you could expect to pass before your first experience with a criminal…, sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.

sidestreet

Jeremiah 29 v. 11-13

we are not equal, we will never be equal, but we must be relentless.

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It also depends on what you call an experience. If you mean have one look at you...any time. If you mean a really bad experience like is in one of the Ferry Tales, you may never have one.

Welcome to OCDO ianal! When I started carrying it was exclusively OC for over a year before I bothered to get a concealed weapon permit (that is the permit available to me in Arizona) and then I had to get used to CCing. Arizona was similar to Virginia in many ways with the acceptance of OC, so it was just a matter of getting myself comfortable with knowing when and where I could carry and becoming appropriately aware of my surroundings.

Upon moving to Virginia I found myself OCing more because of the restriction on carrying concealed in places that served alcohol at the time. Now except for a few places, I OC all over. Whether it be in the cities or in the rural areas, OC generally isn't even noticed, or if noticed, is of no consequence to anyone.

Welcome to the light!

I've been carrying openly for about 10 years now with nary an issue. I've been asked to leave two places, quietly and without incident, and both were private property. I've been verbally assaulted once - within 40 feet of a police officer who seemed not to care - but have had no problems.

I'm wishing you the same experiences I've had.

Welcome to the light side. Be sure to ask for your cookie - we have chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin.

Also, welcome to what may be the most disappointing adventure of your life. Certainly hope it is. Yes, most folks don't even notice you are OCing, and of those that do the majority say nice things about your choice of handgun and/or holster.

From the few reports from SW VA there are few to no screaming liberal hoplophobes so you may never be the center of attention at a MWAG call. Don't be disappointed - it's not a pleasant experience. In spite of the low odds, invest (as others have already recommended) in a digital voice recorder and trn it on when you leave the house and (probably most times) eras it at night after you get home from a day of nothing exciting or noteworthy happening. Better to have it and not need it - ask me how I know that.

In spite of that, here are a few suggestions in random order: join VCDL www.vcdl.org Look up OCDO member ED and send hin a SASE (maybe with a contribution) for some of his Open Carry Cards. If there's an OC meet&greet near you, go to it. If there's not one go ahead and create one and then announce it in a separate thread here on OCDO. (Do it over and over again until omeone starts showing up.) Go to the gun shows - maybe even volunteer to sit at the VCDL table to pass out literature, recruit new members, and generally show the flag.

Again - welcome!

stay safe.

Liberty, in response to when you'll have your first LEO encounter, it may never happen. I've been OCing since '06. Lurked here a looong time before joining. I've had multiple encounters with LEOs with no problems. The FFX cop standing in line behind me at a 7-11 with his coffee in his strong hand who said nothing. A prince william cop told me he wished more people carried while we were doing paperwork on the side of the road for a fender bender. A state LEO who's only comment was "well, it's not concealed so your ok" with that look of disapproval on his face. An airport duo, the male ignored me while his female partner looked like she was going to jump over the coffee pots at me but did nothing. One evening while walking the dog I had a helo briefly look at me as well as a cruiser, they were looking for someone else. Several others not worth mentioning. Then one particular evening after whitenessing a drug deal gone bad I wanted to tell a FFX cop what I saw, he gave me grief for carrying so I told him to ef off in no uncertain terms and walked away. But knock on wood, I've never had a problem. It appears I'm one of the lucky ones. I still use the voice recorder though and am seriously considering a dash cam. I've had too many close calls with people who just can't drive. The biggest thing I've found is to just act/walk around like you know what you are doing and people don't question you. This worked well for me before I turned 21 but that was a long time ago and laws weren't enforced like they are now.

Liberty-or-Death said:

I'm curious to know how many months I can expect to pass before my first experience with a LEO.

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I don't know. As far as carrying is concerned, after 19 years of doing this on a regular basis, the last seven of which openly, I have yet to have a negative encounter with an LEO in Virginia.

Welcome!

As others have said, it's mostly a non-issue. I've been carrying daily for a year now, and haven't had any issue at all. For that matter, I even traveled through TN and AR a couple of times without much of a second glance. TN is a permitted carry state, and AR's laws are so new LEOs aren't enforcing them uniformly yet. Still, nary an issue.

SouthernBoy said:

I don't know. As far as carrying is concerned, after 19 years of doing this on a regular basis, the last seven of which openly, I have yet to have a negative encounter with an LEO in Virginia.

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Pretty much this. As a personal example, I was in the Wawa at Midlothian and 288 after getting off of work the other night. It was 2:30 a.m. or so, and the only people in there were myself, a VA state trooper, and a Chesterfield County police officer. I was OCing my 1911, standing right next to the both of them, as we all waited on our food to be finished. Neither of them even so much as made a comment about it, even though I could see acknowledgement of it, by both, out of the corner of my eye.

I would imagine if those particular cops wanted to hassle me about it, that would have been the perfect time and place to do so.