carterbeauford
New member
imported post
Hi guys, been lurking here for some time, you might know me from THR. I have been carrying concealedfor a while and finally worked up enough nerve to try carrying open.
I took a weekend trip to Charlottesvillefor thebig DMB concert Friday and Saturday.My PA CCW is no good there so it was open carry or no carry. My girl and I ate at the C'ville IHOP about midnight Friday night. We were both dressed nice, I was wearing jeans, brown loafers and an untucked polo shirt. I was carrying my Taurus PT145 in a sidekick on my right hip. We ate without issue, the place wasn't really crowded but started to fill up with concertgoers as we were leaving. I noticed no strange looks and no one bothered me.
As I was standing in line, someone started yelling "sir, sir!" from about25' across the lobby.I generally do not talk to strangers, but when I realized he apparently had an immediate need to talk to me, I nodded in his direction. Male aged 18-20, unmistakeable college student complete with Mac laptop, most likely from nearby UVA. Conversation went like this:
"Do you have apermit to carry?"
"No permit is needed to open carry a firearm in VA."
"Are you a police officer?"
"No."
"OKthen do you have a permit to carry?"
"I have a license to carry concealed weapons in PA, where I live, would you like to see it?"
The kid was obviously frustrated at this point, my last retort shut him up for a couple seconds, but he was not finished. I thought I was clear in my explanation, but this is not what he wanted to hear. I explained to him the difference between open carry and concealed carry and again,that no permit was needed to open carry in the great State of Virginia. My final words were "you learn something new every day" as I paid my bill and left.
Since he engaged me from across the room, it was clear he did not want to learn about open carry, rather he wanted to make a scene.At this point half thepeople in the place werewatching. According to my girl, a guy in the next booth muttered something to the effect of "leave the guy alone" then "that shut him up" ...glad someone had my back.
If I could have done it again I would have answered his first two questions with "unless you are a law enforcement officer, you don't need to know what I have or who I am" but his intentions were not immediately clear, and I admit, I was tired. His barrage of questions didn't exactly wake me up like a SD situation would have.
At any rate, I urge you to open carry in C'ville and maybe a couple more college students can learn something.
Hi guys, been lurking here for some time, you might know me from THR. I have been carrying concealedfor a while and finally worked up enough nerve to try carrying open.
I took a weekend trip to Charlottesvillefor thebig DMB concert Friday and Saturday.My PA CCW is no good there so it was open carry or no carry. My girl and I ate at the C'ville IHOP about midnight Friday night. We were both dressed nice, I was wearing jeans, brown loafers and an untucked polo shirt. I was carrying my Taurus PT145 in a sidekick on my right hip. We ate without issue, the place wasn't really crowded but started to fill up with concertgoers as we were leaving. I noticed no strange looks and no one bothered me.
As I was standing in line, someone started yelling "sir, sir!" from about25' across the lobby.I generally do not talk to strangers, but when I realized he apparently had an immediate need to talk to me, I nodded in his direction. Male aged 18-20, unmistakeable college student complete with Mac laptop, most likely from nearby UVA. Conversation went like this:
"Do you have apermit to carry?"
"No permit is needed to open carry a firearm in VA."
"Are you a police officer?"
"No."
"OKthen do you have a permit to carry?"
"I have a license to carry concealed weapons in PA, where I live, would you like to see it?"
The kid was obviously frustrated at this point, my last retort shut him up for a couple seconds, but he was not finished. I thought I was clear in my explanation, but this is not what he wanted to hear. I explained to him the difference between open carry and concealed carry and again,that no permit was needed to open carry in the great State of Virginia. My final words were "you learn something new every day" as I paid my bill and left.
Since he engaged me from across the room, it was clear he did not want to learn about open carry, rather he wanted to make a scene.At this point half thepeople in the place werewatching. According to my girl, a guy in the next booth muttered something to the effect of "leave the guy alone" then "that shut him up" ...glad someone had my back.
If I could have done it again I would have answered his first two questions with "unless you are a law enforcement officer, you don't need to know what I have or who I am" but his intentions were not immediately clear, and I admit, I was tired. His barrage of questions didn't exactly wake me up like a SD situation would have.
At any rate, I urge you to open carry in C'ville and maybe a couple more college students can learn something.