curtiswr
Regular Member
imported post
Beretta M9 in a Blackhawk Serpa
It was nice. It felt like I was doing the right thing. I was in the Richmond area, all throughout the Fan and down near VCU (near the Kroger closest to Monroe Park). Places I visited:
EB Games: no one said anything other than a kid in the store pointing it out to a friend. When leaving there were two homeless people panhandling that smiled/laughed and said "DAMN"
Barber Shop: the barbers liked it and supported it. I knew they would from previous conversations in the past. The family of four (dad, mom, two sons) didn't say anything, nor did the father and son pair; but they didn't gawk, point it out, or look away nervously either.
Jersey Mike's Subs: the clerks all looked at it and I would periodically catch them looking me up and down it seemed, but on the whole they didn't have any problems it seemed. They didn't say anything. There was a young couple from VCU, all tattooed up, and they disapproved, although they didn't say anything to me. They would give me glares and whisper to each other. When they left they stared at me the whole time, with the guy holding the girl's hand and giving what seemed to be a "you're an idiot" look directed at me. I didn't let it phase me however as my experiences throughout the day thus far had been excellent and nowhere near as bad as all the nervousness I had before going out would have led anyone to believe they would be. And I figure I shouldn't let them bug me because it's probably something that will happen plenty more as I carry to more and more places.
7-11 on corner of W. Cary & Thompson: the clerk saw me walking in with it and seemed to get a sort of nervous appearance about himself, but when I was kind and politely asked if he would take a 50 or if that was too large a bill his worries seemed to go away and he just started the usual banter I accustom with the 7-11 clerks in the area.... ( I frequent 7-11 a lot
)
CVS beside Ukrop's at end of Carytown: I went in looking for shoe laces and a trainee, shadowing the manager, that wasn't watching where he was going nearly bumped into me. The manager noticing me, then my handgun, said "watch out!" and stopped him from running into me. I asked them where there shoe laces were and the manager showed me to them. A few minutes later, after figuring out which length I needed, I ventured to the pen/paper aisle. While looking at the pen selection the manager and trainee walked by. The manager stopped and asked if I had a permit; I explained that for open carry in Virginia a permit was not necessary. He seemed shocked, but also excited in a way to find this out. The trainee just kind of looked on in disbelief/worry. They then disappeared into the back. I checked out, and the cashier didn't say anything.
7-11 on Nansemond, between Ellwood and Cary: I wanted to see if a different 7-11 would have a different reaction, but it didn't. This one was more crowded and no one even stopped to give a second look. The only person that seemed interested was the cashier. A younger male. He seemed more curious about the gun itself and what kind it was rather than the fact that I had just walked into his store with it on my hip. He didn't start any conversation around it, but when I went to buy my Gatorade he leaned over the counter to get a look at it.
All in all, pretty uneventful and a nice ice breaker to open carrying for me. I am relieved to find out it wasn't a big deal to most of the people I encountered and the places I went. I look forward to continuing to OC. To be honest, if it weren't for finding this forum I probably wouldn't have even wanted to do it. I was researching carry laws in Virginia and trying to find if there were any Richmond specific laws, and I stumbled upon this place. After reading accounts in the Richmond thread, and having a few questions answered via my first posts made here, I was made comfortable enough to give it a whirl. Glad I did. Thanks everybody!
:celebrate
I also posted this in the VA forum. If crossposting/double posting is a problem, feel free to remove this thread.
Beretta M9 in a Blackhawk Serpa
It was nice. It felt like I was doing the right thing. I was in the Richmond area, all throughout the Fan and down near VCU (near the Kroger closest to Monroe Park). Places I visited:
EB Games: no one said anything other than a kid in the store pointing it out to a friend. When leaving there were two homeless people panhandling that smiled/laughed and said "DAMN"
Barber Shop: the barbers liked it and supported it. I knew they would from previous conversations in the past. The family of four (dad, mom, two sons) didn't say anything, nor did the father and son pair; but they didn't gawk, point it out, or look away nervously either.
Jersey Mike's Subs: the clerks all looked at it and I would periodically catch them looking me up and down it seemed, but on the whole they didn't have any problems it seemed. They didn't say anything. There was a young couple from VCU, all tattooed up, and they disapproved, although they didn't say anything to me. They would give me glares and whisper to each other. When they left they stared at me the whole time, with the guy holding the girl's hand and giving what seemed to be a "you're an idiot" look directed at me. I didn't let it phase me however as my experiences throughout the day thus far had been excellent and nowhere near as bad as all the nervousness I had before going out would have led anyone to believe they would be. And I figure I shouldn't let them bug me because it's probably something that will happen plenty more as I carry to more and more places.
7-11 on corner of W. Cary & Thompson: the clerk saw me walking in with it and seemed to get a sort of nervous appearance about himself, but when I was kind and politely asked if he would take a 50 or if that was too large a bill his worries seemed to go away and he just started the usual banter I accustom with the 7-11 clerks in the area.... ( I frequent 7-11 a lot
)CVS beside Ukrop's at end of Carytown: I went in looking for shoe laces and a trainee, shadowing the manager, that wasn't watching where he was going nearly bumped into me. The manager noticing me, then my handgun, said "watch out!" and stopped him from running into me. I asked them where there shoe laces were and the manager showed me to them. A few minutes later, after figuring out which length I needed, I ventured to the pen/paper aisle. While looking at the pen selection the manager and trainee walked by. The manager stopped and asked if I had a permit; I explained that for open carry in Virginia a permit was not necessary. He seemed shocked, but also excited in a way to find this out. The trainee just kind of looked on in disbelief/worry. They then disappeared into the back. I checked out, and the cashier didn't say anything.
7-11 on Nansemond, between Ellwood and Cary: I wanted to see if a different 7-11 would have a different reaction, but it didn't. This one was more crowded and no one even stopped to give a second look. The only person that seemed interested was the cashier. A younger male. He seemed more curious about the gun itself and what kind it was rather than the fact that I had just walked into his store with it on my hip. He didn't start any conversation around it, but when I went to buy my Gatorade he leaned over the counter to get a look at it.
All in all, pretty uneventful and a nice ice breaker to open carrying for me. I am relieved to find out it wasn't a big deal to most of the people I encountered and the places I went. I look forward to continuing to OC. To be honest, if it weren't for finding this forum I probably wouldn't have even wanted to do it. I was researching carry laws in Virginia and trying to find if there were any Richmond specific laws, and I stumbled upon this place. After reading accounts in the Richmond thread, and having a few questions answered via my first posts made here, I was made comfortable enough to give it a whirl. Glad I did. Thanks everybody!
:celebrate
I also posted this in the VA forum. If crossposting/double posting is a problem, feel free to remove this thread.
