Brass
Regular Member
Well, it's been a bit of a long haul for me. I lost my right to carry for two years due to a misdemeanor traffic violation and finally got them and my drivers license back. I mention the driver's license because I live within 1000' of a school and was not going to open carry the couple of months I was on foot where walking out of my yard would be a federal beef. I have been following you guys since the start of OC.org and have had my eyes opened about rights, privileges, and the differences thereof. Nothing like losing them to focus the mind.
With that stated, I open carried for the last 2 days I was off work. The first day was a day at the range where my friends and I brought out quite a bit of firepower and changed money into noise. On the way home I carried my USP Compact .45 in a Serpa 2 rig, we stopped at NAPA where no one even seemed to notice, Home Depot where a couple of people glanced but said not a word, and Heidi's Deli where I struck up a friendly conversation with the 3 people working there about everything but firearms (if you go, get the Hell's Kitchen sandwich, you won't regret it).
Day two saw me running to the grocery store, City Market in Avon, and shopping for about 30 minutes. None of the other patrons seemed to notice or care but at the checkout I noticed a couple extra employees in the area. Coincidence? Probably. Although, when my chicken wouldn't ring up at the self check-out and I asked for help, two of the clerks seemed to debate who was going to come over and help me. On the way back I swung by the liquor store to pick up beer for the BBQ. This store is a two minute walk from my condo so the owner and other employees know me on sight. I brought my beer up to the counter and chatted while he rang me up, then he noticed my sidearm. He paused for a second, looked from the gun to me, then we finished the transaction, wished eachother well and I was on my way, him never having said anything about me being armed.
I've only seen a couple of people open carry in Eagle County and, after hearing a few things, I'm a little worried about carrying in Vail proper, but I think (hope) there shouldn't be to many issues up here as both local papers have done fairly positive articles on open carry within the last 8-10 months. I'll keep you informed, especially about Vail, as I rack up open carry mileage.
Brass.
With that stated, I open carried for the last 2 days I was off work. The first day was a day at the range where my friends and I brought out quite a bit of firepower and changed money into noise. On the way home I carried my USP Compact .45 in a Serpa 2 rig, we stopped at NAPA where no one even seemed to notice, Home Depot where a couple of people glanced but said not a word, and Heidi's Deli where I struck up a friendly conversation with the 3 people working there about everything but firearms (if you go, get the Hell's Kitchen sandwich, you won't regret it).
Day two saw me running to the grocery store, City Market in Avon, and shopping for about 30 minutes. None of the other patrons seemed to notice or care but at the checkout I noticed a couple extra employees in the area. Coincidence? Probably. Although, when my chicken wouldn't ring up at the self check-out and I asked for help, two of the clerks seemed to debate who was going to come over and help me. On the way back I swung by the liquor store to pick up beer for the BBQ. This store is a two minute walk from my condo so the owner and other employees know me on sight. I brought my beer up to the counter and chatted while he rang me up, then he noticed my sidearm. He paused for a second, looked from the gun to me, then we finished the transaction, wished eachother well and I was on my way, him never having said anything about me being armed.
I've only seen a couple of people open carry in Eagle County and, after hearing a few things, I'm a little worried about carrying in Vail proper, but I think (hope) there shouldn't be to many issues up here as both local papers have done fairly positive articles on open carry within the last 8-10 months. I'll keep you informed, especially about Vail, as I rack up open carry mileage.
Brass.