OC in the OBX?

I've been searching and it looks like there's just not a lot of people on OCDO with direct experience OCing in the OBX, so I'm going to start this topic up again. After all, it IS beach season, and many of us will be headed out that way this summer, and with the change in National Parks laws, this topic needs to be addressed--not just for NC residents, but for out-of-state visitors too...

My sister and nephew are in town this week, and we were planning to go out to Jockey Ridge to fly kites and maybe up to Kitty Hawk to see the Wright Brothers National Memorial.

I know that Jockey Ridge is a State Park, and therefore carry of any type is prohibited under NC State law. So although I'm not happy about that, I think I'm clear on the law, and the applicable restrictions...

Kitty Hawk, however, is a National Park. I'm assuming that OC and CC (with a permit) are legal there now, due to the new firearms laws that went into effect earlier this year. Is this correct?

Has anyone had any experience OCing out there on the Outer Banks? I know that a lot of the parks (state and federal) are interlaced with NC Wildlife Refuge Lands, and carry on those places is sort of dicey, depending on the time of year (hunting seasons, etc). But I'm pretty sure WBNM is completely OC-OK. I guess I'll find out first-hand when we get there...

I will be posting pics when we get back from our trip--I live close enough that it's an easy day-trip...

On the way to the beach this morning, I called the WBNM and asked them what their firearms policy was and they told me that per the new law it was legal to carry a firearm, openly, or concealed if I had a permit. (I was VERY happy to hear them say specifically that Open Carry was good-to-go).

So, we started ou rday at the Wright Brothers National Memorial. Hiked up to the monument, poked around on the grounds--all the while OCing. Had a few rangers walk by with not so much as a second glance, but I did get some funny looks from a group of students who sounded like they were speaking German...

Next, we went to Jockey Ridge to fly some kites. Since that is a State Park, I had to leave the Para locked up and secured in my vehicle.

Then we went across the road to Kitty Hawk Kites, and to the little sandwich shop beside that shop for a snack. OC'ed the whole time, with not a single double-take. I even chatted with the checkout girl at Kitty Hawk Kites, because she had an odd accent (which I actually pegged as Birmingham England), and she said nothing about me OCing. I was actually a little disappointed, because I had a few of my NC Gun Rights brochures in my pocket.

Then we went down to Nags head for a few hours on the beach. I didn't OC, because I wasn't sure who actually has jurisdiction over the beach, so I left the Para secured in my vehicle again.

Then we drove home.

We stopped at WalMart to get a pizza and some groceries fro tomorrow. Standing in line, a guy commented on the grips on my Para. We talked a little about it, and he said he wanted to carry, but didn't have a CHP. I handing him a brochure, and proceeded to tell him (quickly) that NC was an OC state, and all he needed to know was in that brochure.

I put over 200 miles on the car today, traveled to a National Park, a State Park, and a public beach on the OBX, shopped in a few tourist traps, and had several encounters with foreign tourists, and the ONLY person who says "boo" about my OC'd pistol is a guy in the checkout line at WalMart in my hometown...

Funny how that works sometimes...

Sounds like it was a nice trip. Glad it went well

Dreamer said:

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Next, we went to Jockey Ridge to fly some kites. Since that is a State Park, I had to leave the Para locked up and secured in my vehicle.

Then we went across the road to Kitty Hawk Kites, and to the little sandwich shop beside that shop for a snack. OC'ed the whole time, with not a single double-take. I even chatted with the checkout girl at Kitty Hawk Kites, because she had an odd accent (which I actually pegged as Birmingham England), and she said nothing about me OCing. I was actually a little disappointed, because I had a few of my NC Gun Rights brochures in my pocket.
...

Click to expand...

I'm planning to visit the OBX in the next month or so and want to go to Jockey's Ridge. Obviously I can't carry, but according to the way I read the law and based on this other post http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/showthread.php?68245-NC-State-Parks&highlight=state+park you cannot even have it locked in the trunk.

Do you think the best course of action to stay legal would be to leave it locked up parked at the Jockey's Ridge Crossing where the kite shop is located and walk across the street to the dunes? Thanks.

vt357 said:

I'm planning to visit the OBX in the next month or so and want to go to Jockey's Ridge. Obviously I can't carry, but according to the way I read the law and based on this other post http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/showthread.php?68245-NC-State-Parks&highlight=state+park you cannot even have it locked in the trunk.

Do you think the best course of action to stay legal would be to leave it locked up parked at the Jockey's Ridge Crossing where the kite shop is located and walk across the street to the dunes? Thanks.

Click to expand...

You are correct. Thats the way I read it too. However, I had two other people with me on that trip, and didn't want to make them hoof it across the road...

I locked mine in a portable gunsafe and then put it in the back of my SUV, cable-locked to the tie-downs. I had my sister and nephew with me, and didn't want to make them walk across the road. If I were by myself, I probably would have parked at the kite shop and walked, to be 100% compliant with NC law...