Getting ready to OC around Reidsville soon

Hey guys.

So I finally broke down at the end of last year and got my pistol purchase permit, and then proceeded to buy a brand Smith & Wesson M&P 9 (the 17 round version). I finally got to the range with it on Tuesday and broke it in, and now have my defense ammo coming on Monday. On Tuesday (this upcoming Tuesday), I'll be carrying the gun elsewhere besides around the house or around the yard. So I'm here now to ask a few questions about carrying my gun so I don't run afoul of any of NC"s OC laws. The questions I have are:

1. Does anyone know if Reidsville has any laws prohibiting open carry? I was in City Hall to pay the water bill and saw something about the carry of weapons, open or concealed, being prohibited, but I think that only applies to City Hall.

2. I have a BLACKHAWK! Serpa CQC Level 2 OWB holster, and I bought the Quick Disconnect Kit for it, that allows me to take the holster with the gun inside off the Serpa's paddle interface using just my thumb and my finger and pressing 2 buttons and twisting to take it off. To put it back on, all I have to do is align the teeth and twist the holster, and it locks in place again. Again, the gun never leaves the holster. The only issue is that while I'm taking my holster off the paddle, my fingers are touching the holster and the top of the gun near the extractor. I'm wondering if that could lead to legal issues, and if I would just be better off taking the gun out of it's holster and leaving it on the seat or the dash while it's being transported (I don't have a CHP). Here's a picture so you can see what I'm talking about:

3. Where is the best place to put the gun at when transporting, on the seat or on the dash? I know either place is acceptable under NC State Law, but I want to know the best location. Also, how should I lay the gun (meaning what direction should I have the muzzle point, since in this situation, it may be a bit tricky)?

4. Do you guys have any good advice for someone just starting to OC?

As I said before, I've only carried my M&P 9 around the house and out in the yard. I went outside yesterday with it and was picking up trash in the yard, and out of like 30 or 40 cars that passed the house, only 1 person gave me a funny look. Thank you for the help

1. Go to the city website to see if ordinances are posted there. If not, google 'city ordinances of Reidsville NC'; this should take you to the municode site if the city has posted on-line. You would be safe to assume that carrying is prohibited in all city buildings. At the same time OC at the Sheriff Office is allowed.
2. Get real familiar with Chapter 14 (Criminal Law) of the NC General Statutes.
3. I would do all off/on belt transfers in the vehicle, and not while there was a crowd around me.
4. Keep the muzzle in a safe direction. Do NOT carry in on the dash without a good means of keeping it in place. The same goes for keeping it on the seat. A way of carrying it on the seat would be to jam the barrel into the crevice between the seat back and the cushion (unless, of course, someone is sitting there :lol. That way you don't have to remove the holster.

5. Carrying while picking up yard trash? They probably thought you had a bad rodent problem!:banana:

6. Welcome to the wonderful, and often confusing, world of being an armed citizen!

Hey bc.cruiser, thanks for the quick reply.

I'm going to number the replies to the points you made in your posts, just to avoid confusion.

1. I went to Municode, and looked up Reidsville. All I found were that there's no discharging of firearms except during duck season, some points about hunting, and that you can't carry to parades and "special events". Yeah, I had figured that the no weapons thing applied to City Hall and all other city run/owned buildings. Because of this, can is it same to assume I can carry in the City of Reidsville? At the Rockingham County Courthouse, there's no weapons allowed beyond a certain point. (It's posted when you get ready to leave the parking lot and enter the sidewalk, "No weapons beyond this point!")
2. Alright, I will definitely do that before Tuesday (which will be the first day I will carry).
3. So basically, put it on before I get out of the truck at the place I want to carry at, and take it off in the truck again when I'm done carrying at that place, but also make there that there's no one around, or not a lot of people around when I reholster/unholster my weapon?
4. That doesn't sound like a bad idea, and I would have never thought of that.
5. Maybe so ...I was doing that so I could get used to carrying my gun before I went off my own property to carry it (or, actually my stepfather's since I live with my mom and stepfather (I'm 22 and in school, + the economy sucks).
6. Thank you . It feels good I must say. My stepfather says I'm paranoid for wanting to carry when I go out. He says it's unnecessary because "it's not like your going to get robbed or something". My mom, on the other hand, wants to get her purchase permit and then her concealed carry permit as well. She doesn't feel safe going out by herself, so I'll go with her just to make her feel safe, and she said she'd feel even safer if I was carrying my M&P 9 with me.

1. From what I read, carry is okay in the city other than in city building and 'appurtenant premises' (parking lots, patios, etc.). They have not yet updated the parks laws to conform to state law, but that won't affect OC.

Reading further about not discharging firearms to kill pests: You can get traps from the city. I wonder if you return them once they are full:lol:.

Registered sex offenders are not allowed in city parks or recreation areas. I wonder how you tell who they are.

6. Good for your mother! Before she buys a gun, get her to a range that rents guns. Put her in touch with any women who regularly carry, and with a good instructor. This way she'll be better able to decide whether to go revolver or semi-auto, and what size and caliber. She will probably like yours.

Awesome, thanks for the additional info. Good to know I'm safe to carry .

I'm sure that people do try to return them. It wouldn't surprise me one bit .

I don't know how you'd tell. Lucky guess?

Yeah, that's what I told her. The range I shoot at (Caliber's Indoor Range in Greensboro) rents all kinds of guns, ranging from 9 to 40 to 45 all the up to .44 Magnum. She wants to try a .38 Special at the range when I go back next month, and I'm going to try to either get her to try my M&P 9 FS or the range's M&P9c. I think she'd like the M&P 9, just might have to put the small grip insert on instead of the medium .

M&P Owner,
I am from Reidsville and just recently got out of the military and while I have waited to get my CCW in I have been open carrying on a regular basis. I do so almost daily. I can run down a few things with you, I carry in Walmart, grocery stores, Ive carried in some other stores as well. The main thing about open carrying that you have to remember is this: if you see a sign that says no guns then that goes for CCW or open, if there is alcohol can be bought AND consumed you cannot carry in the business. If at anytime someone that works in the establishment ask you to take it off or says that you cannot carry in there then take it out and put it in your car then come back and respectfully attempt to make the manager aware of the situation the laws. And this should go without saying but people still like confrontation, but if a police officer approaches you and questions you about the weapon be respectful and answer any questions they have for you. Remember as long as you are within your rights their not going to do anything and cannot do anything they are more than likely just talking to you to get a feel for the type of person you are and the type of person that is walking around carrying a weapon in the open. And also use it as an opportunity to educate people who will ask you about why you're carrying or any other questions they ask, and ALWAYS be polite and respectful when carrying if not you're asking for people to go to the manager or the police and complain at which time you get into issues. It is against the law to open carry if your actions are scaring people, I cant remember the verbiage but if people are being scared by you or your actions it can become one of those gray area situations where problems can arise. If you have any questions PM and Ill shoot you my email and try and help you out. But probably the best thing I can advise you is to become familiar with the law around town because I am in no way a lawyer or pretend to know all the laws. Also you really should consider getting your CCW not because you should have to conceal your weapon but you learn a lot of great information in those classes.

SquareJeeper88,

Thank you for your reply, and your military service. I used to work for Wal-Mart, so I don't go there . Have you ever carried in any of the Food Lion's, the Dollar Tree, Saunders Hardware, or the KMart in Reidsville? I've never seen any "No guns/No Weapons" postings on any of their doors. I don't really go any place that sells AND consumes alcohol that often, so I'm covered there. I've also been checking doors for any places I go to around Reidsville to be sure that they are not posted, so I know not to carry there when I start carrying. Yeah, I knew about the one where if they ask you to leave/take the gun off and come back, and you don't do it, you could be arrested for trespassing. Yeah, whenever there's confrontation (not just when I would be carrying), I always try to diffuse the situation if possible or de-escalate it. Yeah, I would be respectful with the police and cooperate. I've heard the cops aren't too bad around here (my mom used to deal with them quite a bit when she was working for Wal-Mart, when they caught shoplifters). Oh I already do use it as an educational experience. I'll go to the door with my gun in my holster, and people will ask me why I'm answering the door with a gun in my holster, am I a cop, is it legal, what kind of gun do I have, and so on. I think that one is Going Armed To The Terror Of The Public (GATTTOTP), but I always try never to act any differently than I do when I'm not carrying. I actually took a look over Reidsville's ordinances earlier, and really didn't find anything out of the ordinary. Yeah I'm going to get my CHP soon, I'm trying to talk my mom into it as well, that way I figure we can both go take it at once, and file for our permits at the same time. Three more questions I have for you guys:

1. How do you guys recommend me moving my gun from the seat to my holster so as not to cause a panic or get myself arrested? (the vehicle is a Ford Ranger XLT, if that helps at all)
2. This one is for Square. How long did it take you to receive your CHP (if you've gotten it)? I know when I was down at Sheriff Page's office last month near the end of the year, there was a sign up in the Records Office saying that the permits were taking longer than normal to process due to a problem at the Rockingham County Mental Health Department.
3. How do you guys recommend I lock the gun in the truck if I have to disarm? I don't have a CHP and the glove compartment doesn't lock, so I think technically that could count as concealed under NC law...

To answer your questions yes i have carried in the Food Lions, mainly the one beside Walmart cause its close to where i live and never any problems, same for Dollar Tree. Couldn't tell you the last time i was in Kmart but i wouldn't think twice about carrying and I've carried in Saunders before too. Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on how to handle yourself when you're carrying your weapon which is good. A lot of it really boils down to common sense once you ave a decent understanding of the laws, like other people have posted on here about NC, alot the laws are very open to interpretation so that common sense goes along way, and their are ones that are very clear cut so obviously there is no problem following those. As far as getting your permit its going to take a while I can tell you that. I submitted for mine the first week of Dec. There used to a max 90 day waiting period, most of that waiting period was due to the mental background checks (which is done at the state level not the county level) takings so long to come back. Well Dec. 1 the law changed and the Sheriffs Office now has 45 from the time they receive all the information back to approve/deny your request which means is the mental health check takes 90 days to come they have 45 more days to sign off on it which sucks for us because it gives them a way to stretch that waiting period out some. The Sheriff can sign off on a temporary permit but thats usually reserved for people that have a reason to feel that they may need the weapon on their person for safety reasons. And as far as removing and re-holstering the weapon when you get in and out of your vehicle here is how I do it. When I get to where Im going I get out of my truck and stand between my door and truck and pull the door slightly turning my holster side into the V of the truck and the door and holster my weapon so that Im somewhat covered so nobody sees me doing it and freaks out. Same for when I get in my truck. And locking it up, there is a lot of alternatives, you can get a lock box to put under your seat or just put it down in your door out of sight or under your seat. Remember if your not in the truck and its out of sight its not concealed in the sense that you need the permit, its just like if its in your house but when you get back to your truck you need to put it back in plane sight. The law states that if your IN the vehicle it must be in plain sight by a person approaching from the rear of the vehicle i.e. a police officer. And if you cannot or do not want to keep it out in the open while driving you can actually conceal it as long it is out of reach while you in the vehicle i.e. in a toolbox, in a lockbox and LOCKED under the rear seat and again OUT OF REACH. That last part can be a bit vague so just be careful, again if I was going to conceal it my vehicle without a permit I would buy something like a little metal money box and put it under my backseat and lock it up. Again man PM if you have any question.

Hey bc.cruiser, just had this idea come to me. What if I were to buy a cheap paddle or belt holster, then wedge it down between the seat and the console? I think the truck has a space where I could do that. That way the gun is secure, but also open so as not to violate any open carry law.

SquareJeeper88 said:

and ALWAYS be polite and respectful when carrying if not you're asking for people to go to the manager or the police and complain at which time you get into issues. It is against the law to open carry if your actions are scaring people, I cant remember the verbiage but if people are being scared by you or your actions it can become one of those gray area situations where problems can arise.

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I also recently got discharge from the military about 2 months ago i have been in ks for almost 3 1/2 yrs so i havent been in nc for awhile so im not sure on reidsvilles oc laws. It would be nice to have an OC event in reidsville. also to the quote above you can only be legitimately charged with gatttotp (going armed to the terror of the people) if you are threating someone with you firearm ie brandishing or holding while in holster or also verbal threats.

any added info would be nice

I leave my sidearm in the holster and on my hip while i drive. From what I have heard, technically that is still OC.

Alright, so I know I haven't updated this thread for a while, so here we go. Let's start by answering xrayz540's questions:

xrayz540: I've carried all over Reidsville so far. Name a place, I've probably carried in it. bc.cruiser up above found the places you can't carry in Reidsville, so I'll copy and paste those here.

From Municode: "1. From what I read, carry is okay in the city other than in city building and 'appurtenant premises' (parking lots, patios, etc.). They have not yet updated the parks laws to conform to state law, but that won't affect OC.

Reading further about not discharging firearms to kill pests: You can get traps from the city. I wonder if you return them once they are full "

So far, I've had no problems for any civilian or LEO. I actually had a kid once (he was probably about 6 or 7) while I was at Food Lion say to me "Hey Mister, Nice Gun! Are You A Cop?", and I said "No, just an armed civilian", and the mother had absolutely no problem. One day I was out mowing the yard while OC'ing my M&P 9, and I had 2 Reidsville cops go by the house. They both saw the gun, gave me a "How's it going" nod, and kept on going and no problem. On another occasion, 3 Rockingham County Sheriff's Deputies went by the house. All 3 saw the gun, all 3 gave me that "How's it going" nod, and wen ton their way, no problem there. Another occasion (these were all this past summer), a North Carolina State Trooper went by the house (I don't think I mentioned it earlier, but I live near Wentworth, and there's a stop sign right on the corner of the road), and he gave me that same nod, and kept going, no problems. From what my stepfather says, Reidsville Police and Rockingham County Sheriff's Office are very supportive of OC'ers, even though CC is more common in Rockingham County. I even OC'ed at the Kmart on Way St. with a Reidsville cop going through there, and he didn't even give me a second look. Also left Wal-Mart one day with a cop walking in, saw the gun, and not a second look.

Now I said I had never had a problem with non-employees of stores or civilians. Employees of stores on the other hand...well, not so much. I once went to the Wendy's on Freeway Drive, and the girl at the counter just kept staring at me like I was a criminal or something. Needless to say, I haven't been back there since. (The service there sucks anyway). At the local Sears Outlet Store (which I later found out is independently owned, so they can apply their own rules about firearms in their stores, Sears' official policy is to follow state law), I was informed by an employee while trying to buy some fuel stabilizer and some 2-stroke oil for my lawn equipment at the beginning of the season that, and I quote "This is supposed to be a no carry zone, but our sign got ripped so we can't enforce it" , then he laughs. I was not amused to say the least. Whether or not they got that fixed, I have no idea, haven't been back there since that incident. The last (and most recent) incident happened at a store in Wentworth (whose name I won't mention since the issue has since been resolved), I went into the store to pick up a few things, and the assistant manager asked me to cover up my gun. I told her I couldn't do that and she asked me why. I told her I didn't have a concealed carry permit and that I would be breaking the law by doing so. She wasn't very happy and just walked away, and I quickly picked up what I needed and left, so as to avoid anymore possible issues. I haven't been back there since.

Overall, really good experiences OC'ing here. I've also OC'ed in Greensboro, Kernersville, and Eden as well. No problems there either.

As for as the GATTTOTP thing, I'm definitely not going any of the things you posted . Actually around here, most people don't even give you a second look. I think the only time someone really gave me any kind of odd stare was in the Wal-Mart parking lot. I had just gotten out of the truck and this guy and I'm guessing his girlfriend got out of their car, and I started walking toward the store, and I just saw him staring at me out of the corner of my eye, and I just turned, looked at him, and said "How's it going?" and kept on walking.

Frogfish: I read somewhere that what you described is legal, as long as the LEO can walk over to the other side of the vehicle and plainly see it. I could be wrong of course.