oc with wife

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One of the most common questions I get asked about oc is why do I need to carry. I can't believe how many people are happy to put their head in the sand and walk around the pasture in some sort of blissful slumber. My need to carry is because once you take off the rose colored glasses reality has a sharper edge to it than most realize.

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OC'd for the first time on the walk with the dogs this afternoon. my wife's been giving me looks as i wear my new XDm .40 around the house, i thought she'd make me take it off. but, i walked out with our dogs and she didn't say a thing. never mentioned it the entire walk. got one interesting look from a guy in the neighborhood, but when i greeted him and said hi he waved back and went back to whatever he was doing. nobody seemed obviously/outwardly uncomfortable by it, which surprised me. i live in kenosha, just off of hwy 31 and washington. i'll keep doing it and we'll see if the wife becomes more comfortable.

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Delta_RT wrote:

OC'd for the first time on the walk with the dogs this afternoon. my wife's been giving me looks as i wear my new XDm .40 around the house, i thought she'd make me take it off. but, i walked out with our dogs and she didn't say a thing. never mentioned it the entire walk. got one interesting look from a guy in the neighborhood, but when i greeted him and said hi he waved back and went back to whatever he was doing. nobody seemed obviously/outwardly uncomfortable by it, which surprised me. i live in kenosha, just off of hwy 31 and washington. i'll keep doing it and we'll see if the wife becomes more comfortable.

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Most people never will never notice that you have a sidearm. It is not uncommon to wear cell phones, pagers, blackberrys etc...Your sidearm will just blend in. Most people that I encounter while oc respond with curriosity, they are unfamiliar with the laws regarding oc andappreciate when I take the time to talk to them about it. You truly have nothing to worry about. Carry on.

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yea, i'm not worried so much about the public....just want my wife to be a bit more on board. i was really impressed with her today.

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If you can take her to one of the oc picnics. The event in West Salem had several dozen women ocing.

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yea, i'll need to make sure i know about the next one.

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Delta_RT wrote:

yea, i'll need to make sure i know about the next one.

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Eau Claire area June 13, 2010

Carry On

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I guess you can call this progress. The other day in the apartment complex where I live, not only were there roofers using the only roof access ladder that is conveniently located across the hall from me, there were also some people down the hall having a rather loud, angry sounding, heated discussion. (what about I could not decipher) Still being new to the complex and not knowing how often people fight or how common strangers roaming the hallways are, I had my holstered gun on my desk next to me to calm my nerves.

Well I forgot about my gun being on my desk long after the roofers had finished for the day and the heated discussion had stopped. My girlfriend arrived home after work and it took her most of the night to discover it. When she did she didn't really react, except to pick it up and say, "It's a lot heavier than I imagined it would be." I felt this was a perfect opportunity to try and educate her about guns. Having a Springfield Armory XD .40, I pulled the mag out and handed her the gun again to show her how light it was without a loaded mag in it. I told her that most guns are made entirely of metal, and without the polymer frame, it would weigh twice as much. We talked for a few minutes more about why I bought it in the first place and why I plan on OC'ing once I get comfortable with my knowledge of gun laws here in WI.

I'm quite excited to see how openly she accepted my gun being out in the open. She seems quite adamant on not firing it or learning how my gun works, so this came as quite a shock.

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Sounds like you are doing the right thing with your girlfriend. Patience should gain you more than being pushy, slow and steady wins the race. Carry on.

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johnny amish wrote:

Sounds like you are doing the right thing with your girlfriend. Patience should gain you more than being pushy, slow and steady wins the race. Carry on.

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+1

Only caveat is to make sure to show her how to pick it up. If you had the safety off and she picked it up the way the TV/movies show, it could go off.

My wife is slowly getting warmer to the whole OC thing but is not quite there yet.

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My gun was never removed from it's holster. I should have made that more clear in my last post. Once she comes around to wanting to either learn or shoot it, I will instruct her on the proper handling of firearms.

I have a personal rule as well. Unless I feel the need to unholster my gun at home, the chamber is always empty. This is because Springfield Armory's XD series is a service weapon, meaning there is no manual thumb lever safety. There is a trigger safety similar to the Glocks, a grip or beaver-tail safety, as well as a passive drop safety that prevents the firing pin from moving unless both the trigger and grip safety are properly activated.

Rest assured, I plan on making all 4 rules for handling a firearm well learned.

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i too carry my XDm .40 without a chambered round. especially at home around the family. it's either on my hip or locked up to ensure no accidents or foolishness. when i go out (depending on location) i chamber a round, but i have yet to pull it from my holster - as doing so means i have no other choice.

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Delta_RT wrote:

i too carry my XDm .40 without a chambered round. especially at home around the family. it's either on my hip or locked up to ensure no accidents or foolishness. when i go out (depending on location) i chamber a round, but i have yet to pull it from my holster - as doing so means i have no other choice.

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I should not be posting under this thread cuz I don't have a wife. I do get alot less friendly smiles from women since I started to OC so the chances of that chaging are slimmer.

When out in public, I may or may not have a round in the chamber. It all depends. I assess every situation and make that decisioncase by case.

At home, I most definitely have one in the chamber. I may be safer at home than out in public, but it is also WHERE I let my guard down. Damn, I wish I had a dog.My house has been robbed before, but all they took was food. They left jars full of coins and all the guns or anything else of value. . So, I did not report it. But it still makes me edgey pulling in the driveway. When I come home at night, I have one in the chamber before I get out of the car.


My XD45, never get locked up, cuz it is always with me. Wait, it does get locked up in the trunk when I cannot carry it.

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i can understand that. our neighborhood is a "good neighborhood," and with kids around the house and visiting family members i just like to be sure. altho, i did chamber the other night when my dog got on guard around 3:30am. good thing about the dogs is that they have their guards up when mine is down.

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Delta_RT wrote:

i can understand that. our neighborhood is a "good neighborhood," and with kids around the house and visiting family members i just like to be sure. altho, i did chamber the other night when my dog got on guard around 3:30am. good thing about the dogs is that they have their guards up when mine is down.

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You can't ever underestimate the value of a good dog.