CaliforniaCarry
Regular Member
imported post
As with the other "OC in ___" threads, the purpose of this thread is to log my OC experiences and allow others to comment. Most of my OC experiences will take place in the city of Santa Clarita, which is where I currently live.
1/11/08
The Situation
My wife and I are in the process of moving to a bigger apartment that's in the same complex as our current one. I decided this would be the perfect time for my first OC experience. The two apartments are on opposite ends of the complex. While we made use of several cars to transport our stuff from one unit to the other, several walking trips between the apartments were neccessary to transport light objects that were too big for any of the cars.
The Carry Set-up
I carried my new, all-black Springfield XD-40 tactical. I only have two magazines for it, so I thought it prudent to carry both of them loaded while carrying the gun without a mag inserted. Just the previous night I had read an article by Massad Ayoob about carrying spare magazines, and I didn't want to be caught with only 10 rounds if I happened to need them.
I don't have a good holster yet, so I used the cheap XD-gear holster that comes with the gun. It doesn't have the best retention, but I tightened it up to the point where the gun could not be removed except with very deliberate force. Since we weren't really out in "public" I decided that carrying without a real retention holster would be OK (I will definitely get a real retention holster if I decide to OC anywhere but around the complex). I also didn't have any kind of recording device handy, which I will also need to acquire before carrying anywhere else.
I also printed out a copy of MudCamper's CA OC Flyer and kept it in my wallet.
They Carry Experience
One of the first things we moved was our queen size mattress. As we were loading it into our friend's van, two of our neighbors exited their unit from a door that was about 15 feet from where I was standing. They passed us as they walked to their car, and stopped to ask us where we were moving and if we needed any help. The entire conversation lasted about 1 minute. As far as I could tell, neither of them noticed I was armed.
Most of the day was spent moving furniture and boxes in and out of the vehicles. My car was parked in my reserved spot, which is grouped together with the spots of about 10 of our neighbors. I noticed people getting out of or into their cars several times while I was loading boxes into my car. As far as I can tell, only one of them might have noticed I was armed. This particular lady stopped as she was walking away from her car, stared at me for a few seconds, and then continued on her way.
Several of the people helping us move also noticed I was armed. At one point I noticed one of our friends staring at my right hip, and asked her if the gun was making her uncomfortable. She replied that she was simply shocked that I was carrying it outside with me, but that she was personally fine with it. It turns out she had never handled a handgun before (although she had some experience shotguns and rifles), so while we were inside I removed it from the holster, ensured that it was unloaded, and allowed her to handle it. She noticed that I was carrying it unloaded, and inquired as to whether that was a legal requirement or a personal preference. I briefly summarized the relevant laws, and told her that I would be glad to give her more specific information if she wanted it. Without assuming that an unloaded gun is useless, she asked me how long it would take me to load it and fire the first shot. Since I had been practicing my draw that very morning, I was able to tell her that during practice I can insert a magazine, rack the slide, and acquire a sight picture in around 3 seconds. She agreed that carrying an unloaded gun with readily-available loaded magazines was much more useful than having a loaded gun sitting at home.
Throughout the course of the day several people walked past me or near me, some even briefly greeted me or waved. I don't think any of them (except the one lady I mentioned above) noticed I was armed. Or, if they did, they must have assumed I was LEO or otherwise legal. In any event, nobody panicked, nobody ran away screaming, SWAT was not called, I did not get proned out on the ground while several cops pointed their guns at me, and I will live to carry another day.
Altogether, I was OCing for about 7 hours. Around half of that was outside.
As with the other "OC in ___" threads, the purpose of this thread is to log my OC experiences and allow others to comment. Most of my OC experiences will take place in the city of Santa Clarita, which is where I currently live.
1/11/08
The Situation
My wife and I are in the process of moving to a bigger apartment that's in the same complex as our current one. I decided this would be the perfect time for my first OC experience. The two apartments are on opposite ends of the complex. While we made use of several cars to transport our stuff from one unit to the other, several walking trips between the apartments were neccessary to transport light objects that were too big for any of the cars.
The Carry Set-up
I carried my new, all-black Springfield XD-40 tactical. I only have two magazines for it, so I thought it prudent to carry both of them loaded while carrying the gun without a mag inserted. Just the previous night I had read an article by Massad Ayoob about carrying spare magazines, and I didn't want to be caught with only 10 rounds if I happened to need them.
I don't have a good holster yet, so I used the cheap XD-gear holster that comes with the gun. It doesn't have the best retention, but I tightened it up to the point where the gun could not be removed except with very deliberate force. Since we weren't really out in "public" I decided that carrying without a real retention holster would be OK (I will definitely get a real retention holster if I decide to OC anywhere but around the complex). I also didn't have any kind of recording device handy, which I will also need to acquire before carrying anywhere else.
I also printed out a copy of MudCamper's CA OC Flyer and kept it in my wallet.
They Carry Experience
One of the first things we moved was our queen size mattress. As we were loading it into our friend's van, two of our neighbors exited their unit from a door that was about 15 feet from where I was standing. They passed us as they walked to their car, and stopped to ask us where we were moving and if we needed any help. The entire conversation lasted about 1 minute. As far as I could tell, neither of them noticed I was armed.
Most of the day was spent moving furniture and boxes in and out of the vehicles. My car was parked in my reserved spot, which is grouped together with the spots of about 10 of our neighbors. I noticed people getting out of or into their cars several times while I was loading boxes into my car. As far as I can tell, only one of them might have noticed I was armed. This particular lady stopped as she was walking away from her car, stared at me for a few seconds, and then continued on her way.
Several of the people helping us move also noticed I was armed. At one point I noticed one of our friends staring at my right hip, and asked her if the gun was making her uncomfortable. She replied that she was simply shocked that I was carrying it outside with me, but that she was personally fine with it. It turns out she had never handled a handgun before (although she had some experience shotguns and rifles), so while we were inside I removed it from the holster, ensured that it was unloaded, and allowed her to handle it. She noticed that I was carrying it unloaded, and inquired as to whether that was a legal requirement or a personal preference. I briefly summarized the relevant laws, and told her that I would be glad to give her more specific information if she wanted it. Without assuming that an unloaded gun is useless, she asked me how long it would take me to load it and fire the first shot. Since I had been practicing my draw that very morning, I was able to tell her that during practice I can insert a magazine, rack the slide, and acquire a sight picture in around 3 seconds. She agreed that carrying an unloaded gun with readily-available loaded magazines was much more useful than having a loaded gun sitting at home.
Throughout the course of the day several people walked past me or near me, some even briefly greeted me or waved. I don't think any of them (except the one lady I mentioned above) noticed I was armed. Or, if they did, they must have assumed I was LEO or otherwise legal. In any event, nobody panicked, nobody ran away screaming, SWAT was not called, I did not get proned out on the ground while several cops pointed their guns at me, and I will live to carry another day.
Altogether, I was OCing for about 7 hours. Around half of that was outside.