Cross State Open experience

Decided to take the 5 hour drive yesterday to visit Bass Pro Shops in Tacoma. On the way there stopping at Spud's in Royal City & nothing was said, also stopped at Snoqualmie Summit at the Traveler's Rest & saw who I believe was a King County Sheriff's Plain-Clothes Detective but didn't say hi or had anyone notice. When got to Bass Pro Shops , walked in and asked for verification about store policies, & the associate stated as long as no one handles sidearm, no safety check required. I mentioned at that time that I was planning to go bowling at Uncle Buck's FishBowl & Grill & mentioned all I was gonna do was remove holstered firearm from hip & place holstered firearm in my bowling bag. No problems whatsoever going bowling, even when placing back on hip when done bowling.

After browsing Bass Pro Shops, went to have lunch at Popeye's Louisiana Chicken & just a few looks but nothing more. On the way home, made stops at both Emerald Queen Casino in Fife & Snoqualmie Casino in Snoqualmie (both staunch Gun-Free Zones :cuss, so placed holstered firearm in storage compartment in car. On a sidenote while checking on Emerald Queen Casino, I was mistaken as a employee, cause of how I was dressed . Made a quick restroom stop at the Mount Si Chevron in North Bend & placed holstered firearm back on hip after was done in store. Had to make a gas stop in Cle Elum at Warrior Quick Stop & both times I went in, nothing was said.

The trip was pretty uneventful except for the construction in Vantage & Snoqualmie Pass.

"When got to Bass Pro Shops , walked in and asked for verification about store policies, "
Why??
Never ask, because most of the time you will get an answer you don't want to hear.
$35 an hour for bowling,,,,,,,,No.

I understand you're new to carrying but you've made a couple of errors. One of which I consider dangerous.

First it is widely accepted in the carry community that you should never ask a business what their carry policy is. We seek to normalize the carry if firearms. We prefer not to draw the spotlight.

The second issue I have is removing your firearm to bowl. Your hip is the safest place for it. If the holster limits your movements to where you can't move quickly and efficiently then you need a new holster.

Handling your firearm in public is also considered by many to be ill-advised.

I have carried while bowling, no issues with my comfort, movement or score (I average 200+). I wore a OWB thumb-break holster for retention and comfort.

It never stops

Mnrobitaille,
You did an absolutely fabulous job. Don't get too upset with others telling you that you made a few mistakes. You did NOT!!!!. Never ask this, never ask that. It seems as if everyone has a specific way you should react. Don't change. I admire you. You have, in my opinion, advanced the cause more than they.

fjpro2a said:

Mnrobitaille,
You did an absolutely fabulous job. Don't get too upset with others telling you that you made a few mistakes. You did NOT!!!!. Never ask this, never ask that. It seems as if everyone has a specific way you should react. Don't change. I admire you. You have, in my opinion, advanced the cause more than they.

Click to expand...

Do you make a habit of asking permission to conduct legal activities? I don't.

Give Mnrobitaille some slack

decklin said:

Do you make a habit of asking permission to conduct legal activities? I don't.

Click to expand...

Decklin, I don't make it a habit of asking permission to conduct legal activities unless it concerns my wife, get it?
Listen, all I am trying to do is encourage people to "grow and evolve." Most of us will make a few mistakes now and then. But, that is part of life. As an old professor told me, it is also wise to let Mnrobitaille know what he did right as well as criticize.

fjpro2a said:

Decklin, I don't make it a habit of asking permission to conduct legal activities unless it concerns my wife, get it?
Listen, all I am trying to do is encourage people to "grow and evolve." Most of us will make a few mistakes now and then. But, that is part of life. As an old professor told me, it is also wise to let Mnrobitaille know what he did right as well as criticize.

Click to expand...

good advice FJ, but a suggestion...instead of using the word criticize...how does the positive sound to you such as ~ teach, guide, mentor, ad nauseam which i knows sounds cliche, but I hope everyone remember here is an individual who just (within months actually) gotten into the OC arena and as such is still on the cusp of the knowledge base some of us olde pharts learnt from our own life foibles.

just saying...

M keep doing whatcha are doing and keep asking the questions...tis how you learn...look for your smile soon...

ipse

decklin said:

I understand you're new to carrying but you've made a couple of errors. One of which I consider dangerous.

First it is widely accepted in the carry community that you should never ask a business what their carry policy is. We seek to normalize the carry if firearms. We prefer not to draw the spotlight.

The second issue I have is removing your firearm to bowl. Your hip is the safest place for it. If the holster limits your movements to where you can't move quickly and efficiently then you need a new holster.

Handling your firearm in public is also considered by many to be ill-advised.

Click to expand...

+1

mnrobitaille said:

When got to Bass Pro Shops , walked in and asked for verification about store policies, & the associate stated as long as no one handles sidearm, no safety check required.

Click to expand...

decklin said:

First it is widely accepted in the carry community that you should never ask a business what their carry policy is. We seek to normalize the carry if firearms. We prefer not to draw the spotlight.

Click to expand...

Do you call the Department of Transportation before driving your properly licensed car on the road? No. Do you ask permission of a librarian before reading a book at the library? Of course not. Do you ask for a judge's permission to have a lawyer with you when you go to court? That would be absurd.

So why ask permission before exercising other rights? If someone has a problem with you exercising your rights in obedience to the law, it's their job to notify you, not yours to seek their permission.

In a lot of cases, whether from malice or ignorance, store employees will refuse permission even if corporate or the business owner's policy grants it.

Asking can open you up to a trespassing charge -- Even if you have a note written and signed by the owner in your pocket granting you permission, the police will go by what the store clerk tells them. If that clerk tells them he refused you permission and you came in armed anyway, your conviction on trespassing charges will be a slam dunk.

You caught me!

solus said:

good advice FJ, but a suggestion...instead of using the word criticize...how does the positive sound to you such as ~ teach, guide, mentor, ad nauseam which i knows sounds cliche, but I hope everyone remember here is an individual who just (within months actually) gotten into the OC arena and as such is still on the cusp of the knowledge base some of us olde pharts learnt from our own life foibles.

just saying...

M keep doing whatcha are doing and keep asking the questions...tis how you learn...look for your smile soon...

ipse

Click to expand...

A positive sounding word such as "teach" or "guide" would have been much better. I actually used the word "criticize" because I was MAD at decklin. Sorry, my bad. decklin, I apologize.