M-Taliesin
Regular Member
Howdy Folks!
I just got home from a trip to Hastings Nebraska for a competition metal detecting hunt. Actually, we had two days with multiple hunts each day.
My XDm .40 was holstered on my strong side as we packed up the car for the trip from Aurora Colorado to Hastings Nebraska. Both Colorado and Nebraska are open carry states. I also called Hastings police department to advise that I'd be visiting their town and would be open carrying. I know this was not necessary, but figured it wouldn't hurt to make known that I'd be around their city with a gun. Maybe save myself a bit of grief.
Anyhow, we headed easterly on I-76 and stopped at a little gas station/store near Sterling so my wife could use their restroom. I picked up some munchie items and was amused when the woman behind the counter asked "What's the gun for?" And I answered her saying, "To shoot criminals who try any criminal shenannigans." She didn't appear much comforted by my statement so I just paid for my goodies and got back in the car to continue our trip.
After crossing the border into Nebraska, we merged onto I-80 and kept rolling. We stopped at a rest area (for potty issues again) and nobody mentioned my weapon. We stopped again to refuel, and I walked into a Bossleman's and looked around for something that might seem tasty to eat. I never got dinner before leaving, and now most places were closed. Food seemed unusually difficult to locate and lock down! After finding nothing that looked good, I went back to the car and we were on the road again. We got into Hastings around 5:00am.
Over two days in Hastings, I never heard any comment on my sidearm. We ate at a nice restaurant on Saturday morning, and the place was packed. After that, we went to the hunt site still carrying. Never got any comments over two days of hunting either. Back in town, we visited the local grocery store several times, had breakfast at Mc Donald's, and visited several other local establishments. No reaction from anybody I met over the weekend. I did observe several folks looking at my handgun, but nobody said squat.
The return trip was equally uneventful and we visited several service station/convenience stores and restaurants along the way. Everybody we encountered had either no reaction at all or just glanced at my weapon.
Looking back in retrospect, the only comment I got was from somebody in Colorado. That seems odd, all things considered.
This was my first open carry trip out of state.
So far as I know, nobody made that MWAG call to local LEO's, because I never encountered one over the course of the entire weekend.
Oh, and my competition hunt in Hastings? I did poorly. Brought home some silver and one prize, but mostly, didn't come close to my best hunt ever.
Blessings,
M-Taliesin
I just got home from a trip to Hastings Nebraska for a competition metal detecting hunt. Actually, we had two days with multiple hunts each day.
My XDm .40 was holstered on my strong side as we packed up the car for the trip from Aurora Colorado to Hastings Nebraska. Both Colorado and Nebraska are open carry states. I also called Hastings police department to advise that I'd be visiting their town and would be open carrying. I know this was not necessary, but figured it wouldn't hurt to make known that I'd be around their city with a gun. Maybe save myself a bit of grief.
Anyhow, we headed easterly on I-76 and stopped at a little gas station/store near Sterling so my wife could use their restroom. I picked up some munchie items and was amused when the woman behind the counter asked "What's the gun for?" And I answered her saying, "To shoot criminals who try any criminal shenannigans." She didn't appear much comforted by my statement so I just paid for my goodies and got back in the car to continue our trip.
After crossing the border into Nebraska, we merged onto I-80 and kept rolling. We stopped at a rest area (for potty issues again) and nobody mentioned my weapon. We stopped again to refuel, and I walked into a Bossleman's and looked around for something that might seem tasty to eat. I never got dinner before leaving, and now most places were closed. Food seemed unusually difficult to locate and lock down! After finding nothing that looked good, I went back to the car and we were on the road again. We got into Hastings around 5:00am.
Over two days in Hastings, I never heard any comment on my sidearm. We ate at a nice restaurant on Saturday morning, and the place was packed. After that, we went to the hunt site still carrying. Never got any comments over two days of hunting either. Back in town, we visited the local grocery store several times, had breakfast at Mc Donald's, and visited several other local establishments. No reaction from anybody I met over the weekend. I did observe several folks looking at my handgun, but nobody said squat.
The return trip was equally uneventful and we visited several service station/convenience stores and restaurants along the way. Everybody we encountered had either no reaction at all or just glanced at my weapon.
Looking back in retrospect, the only comment I got was from somebody in Colorado. That seems odd, all things considered.
This was my first open carry trip out of state.
So far as I know, nobody made that MWAG call to local LEO's, because I never encountered one over the course of the entire weekend.
Oh, and my competition hunt in Hastings? I did poorly. Brought home some silver and one prize, but mostly, didn't come close to my best hunt ever.
Blessings,
M-Taliesin
