New to the Forum and New to OC

imported post

Hello all.

I just started perusing the forums a few days ago. I've lived in Arizona a number of times over the last 20 years and I've always had an appreciation for the very Libertarian gun laws here.

In my previous times of residence I always wanted to OC, but for whatever reason I never did. Oh, I'd OC on hikes, and days when I went out into the desert to shoot, or when I went to the range, but I didn't do it around town.

That changed today.

For the first time ever I carried my Springfield 1911 in an older Uncle Mike's Kydex hip holster while I was out looking for something better and more suited to motorcycling while OC'ing.

After going to Freedom Surplus (where the owner kept looking at my holster and was actually making me self-concious) and being informed that they didn't have the holster I was looking for, I went to Sportsman's Warehouse, then on to Bass Pro Shops, where I finally located the holster I was looking for. Bass Pro Shops did something a bit strange though. They made me put a trigger lock on my 1911 while I was in the store, which made it not fit in the holster, so they had me put my pistol in a double plastic bag (effectively concealing it, oddly enough) while I was in the store.

I also picked up a new Sig-Sauer P232 while I was at Bass. I used to have a P230, but I gave it to my ex-wife for her protection when we divorced 10 years ago.

Long story short, I got a lot of stares. I mean a LOT of stares. Almost makes a guy feel like an alien.

Won't change things though. I'm still going to OC from now on when I can.

imported post

Congratulations on OCing. In terms of stares and confrontations it usually just depends on where you go. Stores that sell guns, ammo, or gun accessories actually tend to have restrictions on carrying. I believe this is mainly due to their insurance policy and to avoid accidents where one might confuse a loaded and unloaded handgun while the person is looking at different guns. Every gun shop I've been to either requires you to case the weapon (and they provide temporary cases), carry without one in the chamber, or carry completely unloaded while in the store. I'm not sure what kind of stares you received but if you were in stores that sell guns, people were probably looking at your gun more out of interest than out of fear. I get some stares in restaurants and stores but only the occasional wacko reaction. The only place that tends to make me more uneasy about OCing is in banks because they do seem to be more "sensitive" environments. Anyway, good luck.