OCing in Woodbridge - Dale City area

Hey everybody I'm new to the forum I live in woodbridge I've been readng some post and iam intrested in learning more about handguns iam in the national guard but I haven't worked with handguns to much so what's a good starting handgun that's not to expensive iam a college student haha but iam also black but I don't dress like a thug I wear american eagle jeans or levis a polo or just a basic white tee no baggy red shirt pants to my ankles lol but anyways does anybody open carry around this area?

Sentence, paragraph, PLEASE!

I have OC'ed in Woodbridge. No problems.

Rich11b said:

Hey everybody I'm new to the forum I live in woodbridge I've been readng some post and iam intrested in learning more about handguns iam in the national guard but I haven't worked with handguns to much so what's a good starting handgun that's not to expensive iam a college student haha but iam also black but I don't dress like a thug I wear american eagle jeans or levis a polo or just a basic white tee no baggy red shirt pants to my ankles lol but anyways does anybody open carry around this area?

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I carry in Woodbridge frequently. There are several others on the forum who live in the area.

There are as many opinions on starting handguns as there are people. Head to the gun shows (there's one in Dale City at the VFW, but not until June) in Fredericksburg or Chantilly and look. Or head to your local gun store and let them give you some advice.

Hef said:

Sentence, paragraph, PLEASE!

I have OC'ed in Woodbridge. No problems.

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Iam on my cellphone so I didn't bother with correct grammar sorry if it offended you

Rich11b said:

Iam on my cellphone so I didn't bother with correct grammar sorry if it offended you

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It doesn't offend; its just hard to read.

When reading a quick, down and dirty text message on a phone screen, we all understand the limitations and difficulty for the sender, thus make an exception for absent grammar, punctuation, etc.

Here, at least on this forum, members will be thinking they will be reading posts written with a genuine full-sized keyboard.

WELCOME Rich11B

Welcome to OCDO rich11b. Sorry for your not-so-friendly welcome from my neighbors up north. Some of us tend to be "Grammar-Nazis". I'm actually the worst of them. I was a military marksmanship instructor for over 20 years. If you don't mind making a "road trip" a couple hours south, I don't mind spending a day with you looking at different pistols and even getting some range time in. If you find one, we'll "break in" your new one; if not, I'll have you shoot mine.

I don't know much about the NG. Are you authorized to shop at the military exchanges? The Marine Corps Exchange down here has pretty good prices on pistols and as you also know... NO TAX. I think the Quantico Exchange also sells firearms.

We have a few black members on OCDO. Two of whom are rather famous. We can talk about them later.

You can send me a PM if you want to get together to talk about guns and 2A and stuff...

Thank you for your service!

Mike

MSC 45ACP said:

Welcome to OCDO rich11b.

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Jeez! Where's my manners? Thanks, MSC.

WELCOME TO OCDO!!

Welcome

I have OC'd in Woodbridge many times with no problems save Fridays asking us to leave. Picking your first gun is going to be a personal decision. Take some time, go to ranges and test out different calibers and sizes. Find something you are comfortable with. And then of course, come to an OC dinner

Welcome aboard!!

There's a bunch of us in the immediate area. You'll find our experiences for the most part chronicled in the "OC in NoVA" thread.

Rich11b said:

iam also black but I don't dress like a thug I wear american eagle jeans or levis a polo or just a basic white tee no baggy red shirt pants to my ankles

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HA! thats awesome, BUT you will notice how you look will dictate peoples response to the gun on your hip. Not Race but how you dress. Since you dress on the preppy side I wouldn't worry about it.

MSC 45ACP said:

If you don't mind making a "road trip" a couple hours south, I don't mind spending a day with you looking at different pistols and even getting some range time in. If you find one, we'll "break in" your new one; if not, I'll have you shoot mine.

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Cheers to you Mike. I was just saying to a newbe in the AZ forum how he might want to find a mentor and I come to the VA forum and here you are being a great example.

yay for diversity! any other half breed Koreans on here as well? haha

Welcome to the site!

No Problems

Rich11b said:

Hey everybody I'm new to the forum I live in woodbridge I've been readng some post and iam intrested in learning more about handguns iam in the national guard but I haven't worked with handguns to much so what's a good starting handgun that's not to expensive iam a college student haha but iam also black but I don't dress like a thug I wear american eagle jeans or levis a polo or just a basic white tee no baggy red shirt pants to my ankles lol but anyways does anybody open carry around this area?

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I live in the Lake Ridge area of Woodbridge and have no problems with OC. In the winter it is kind of hard to Open Carry so I conceal.

The only comments I ever get are positive; some people question the legality and then say it is a good idea.

The owner of Pitkins - Ace Hardware was very happy to see me OCing in the store and wanted to know how to get a CC permit...said it was getting to the point that being armed was always a good idea.

I have OCed when collecting $ for the Knights of Columbus KOVAR campaign; standing outside stores. Once I did so with one of our County Commissioners, who is also a Knight in my Council.

All those on the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, except one, are VERY pro-gun. They believe having the right people open carry keeps the crime rate down.

What college do you go to? I think many of them restrict students from carrying.

I hope you are not majoring in English! Ha...Ha...just kidding! You have already explained the joke about your grammar.

Have fun picking a gun. My recommendation would be a revolver - Ruger GP100 with a 4" barrel; but you will have to make the choice.

Woodbridge

I live in the Dale City area, I open carry everywhere I go and have never had a problem. Every now and then I get a question or two, but for the most part I do not have any issues. I have even encountered several local LEO's while out having lunch or dinner somewhere and have never been questioned. If you would like to send me a private message on here I would be more than happy to give you my contact information, I would love to help you pick out a new gun, and even go to a range with you, or just talk about guns in general.

I live in Dale City, and OC from time to time without any problems. The few encounters I've had have all been very positive. Now that it is warming up, plan to do a bit more OC.

Welcome to OCDO, "Rich11b".

I live in NC, but travel through VA frequently (family in WV and MD). I stop in the Woodbridge area every time I drive through there on I-95 for fuel and snack breaks, and I almost always OC (depending on weather). I have never had a single issue with the citizens, or business owners, or LEOs.

Most of VA is very OC-friendly, with a few exceptions, and even the exceptions are coming into line, due to lawsuits, pressure from groups like VCDL, and the overall public acceptance of OC.

Carry on, I say!

And keep us posted as to your experiences.

Think twice

I say this as someone who adamantly supports the 2nd amendment.

If you are a young black male you should probably not open carry as you are inviting your own economic ruin and bodily harm.

Since you are in college it probably means 1) you're young and dumb 2) your family has a little money so you've been insulated from how unfair this society really is when it comes to young black males.

Police Officers don't mind middle aged white males open carrying so much. However, when it comes to young black males, they'd love to get your mugshot and prints into their system on some trumped up charges. After that, they will pull you over, frisk you, harass you for the rest of your life.

They will give you a criminal record that will economically cripple you for the rest of your life.

As a young black male you are already economically crippled for life. Don't be stupid and compound your problems. In this economic environment, you cannot afford to have a criminal record when applying for a job, any job.

Someday you will have kids. They will pay the price in diminished futures because of your stupidity. Don't listen to anything these middle aged white males who post here tell you. Their understanding of modern day racism is infantile. They don't know because they don't need to know and, possibly, don't want to know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX6G0ICwJ1Q

mpolo79 said:

I say this as someone who adamantly supports the 2nd amendment.

If you are a young black male you should probably not open carry as you are inviting your own economic ruin and bodily harm.

Since you are in college it probably means 1) you're young and dumb 2) your family has a little money so you've been insulated from how unfair this society really is when it comes to young black males.

Police Officers don't mind middle aged white males open carrying so much. However, when it comes to young black males, they'd love to get your mugshot and prints into their system on some trumped up charges. After that, they will pull you over, frisk you, harass you for the rest of your life.

They will give you a criminal record that will economically cripple you for the rest of your life.

As a young black male you are already economically crippled for life. Don't be stupid and compound your problems. In this economic environment, you cannot afford to have a criminal record when applying for a job, any job.

Someday you will have kids. They will pay the price in diminished futures because of your stupidity. Don't listen to anything these middle aged white males who post here tell you. Their understanding of modern day racism is infantile. They don't know because they don't need to know and, possibly, don't want to know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX6G0ICwJ1Q

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Ladies and gentlemen, the race card has been played...... :banghead:

Dear mpolo79 -

First - thanks for being in Afghanistan and not here in the USA. While your service may be honorable, your thoughts that a young black man ought to give up his rights out of fear that he may some day suffer some inconvenience and/or indignity are anathema to the ideals you are supposedly supporting, defending and assigned to Afghanistan in the hopes of bringing to the people of that country.

Second - if you have some specific information to share, be it personal experiences or documented accounts of current conditions, please feel free to share both the information and citations/references where we can go and verify for ourselves te accuracy and currency of the data.

Rich11b -

Welcome (belatedly) to OCDO and the community of firearms owners/users. I encourage you to accept every offer you get to go shooting, try out different handguns, and get training. It is your responsibility to determine for yourself if the person is trustworthy and safe. For what it's worth, I can vouch for MSC 45acp and Paramedic as "good guys".

Also for what it's worth the NG will most likely not give you training in/on/about handguns unless you turn out to be a good shot worthy of getting on one of the marksmanship teams. That's not to say anything bad about the NG - just that they are looking for folks who can/will get by on basic instruction once and retain it for the rest of their service career. Unless you use a handgun as part of your duties you will probably not even get a chance to qualify with one. Just the ay things work out.

As for being black and OCing - it should not have any impact on you or on the rest of the world. As you probably already know, that's unfortunately not the reality of the world. On the other hand, actions speak much louder than words - behaving politely and being assertive as opposed to being aggressive, as well as not dressing/acting as a negative stereotype, will take you a long way towards creating acceptance. That goes double for folks who carry.

There are a couple of OC dining events coming up in the NoVa area. I encourage you to go - there is nothing that says you have to OC, CC, or even own a handgun in order to go and meet folks who share what sounds like values similar to yours. Another advantage of getting to meet folks is you might get to take them up on offers to try out their handguns before you finalize your thoughts on your first purchase.

Go forth, young man, and OC with your head held high.

stay safe.

Sigh.....

mpolo79 said:

I say this as someone who adamantly supports the 2nd amendment.

If you are a young black male you should probably not open carry as you are inviting your own economic ruin and bodily harm.

Since you are in college it probably means 1) you're young and dumb 2) your family has a little money so you've been insulated from how unfair this society really is when it comes to young black males.

Police Officers don't mind middle aged white males open carrying so much. However, when it comes to young black males, they'd love to get your mugshot and prints into their system on some trumped up charges. After that, they will pull you over, frisk you, harass you for the rest of your life.

They will give you a criminal record that will economically cripple you for the rest of your life.

As a young black male you are already economically crippled for life. Don't be stupid and compound your problems. In this economic environment, you cannot afford to have a criminal record when applying for a job, any job.

Someday you will have kids. They will pay the price in diminished futures because of your stupidity. Don't listen to anything these middle aged white males who post here tell you. Their understanding of modern day racism is infantile. They don't know because they don't need to know and, possibly, don't want to know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX6G0ICwJ1Q

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1. this has to be one of the most UNINFORMED opinions/posts that I have ever read on OCDO (and "uninformed" was my way of using an "inside voice" so as to not violate the rules of conduct for posting).

2. I've been to 3-4 OCDO events (guilty - need to get to more); I've OC'd throughout VA - from NOVA all the way to NC.

3. I've NEVER had an issue with my OC'g that involved LEO's; some managers of establishments, but NEVER a LEO experience - other than a nod or general greeting.

4. how you carrry (as in one's self, your side-arm, etc) - determines MORE about how folks interact and receive you.

5. I've been "pulled over" more times than I care to remember; but what I do remember, is that I've only been given two (2) tickets (1984 and 2008).

6. quite sure that I'm in someone's files - as I've held clearances at points in life - but nothing on a "black mark" (no pun, intended) on record.

7. Oh, by the way - forgot to mention - I'm a Black Male..... !!
*Guess I'm part of that slim majority that hasn't been "attacked" because of OC'g....

*to the OP; learn and acquire a sidearm that you are comfortable with and that will allow to become proficient/safe in carrying.

Carry said sidearm with the same intelligence/maturity that guides your strength of convictions to take proper responsibility of your actions and life.

Learn to ignore the "BS" that will undoubtedly be tossed your way - in attempts to steer you wrong.

And most of all - Welcome to OCDO - as Tess, and other's mentioned - look for events to get more involved and increase your awareness and education of your rights.