Miss Black Rifle Disease
Regular Member
Hello all, first post for me. Thanks for a very informative forum.
Through my own research I have found there to be a very large vortex of "no one knows for sure" when it comes to the question of open carry in a National Forest in Virginia. I have contacted my local Ranger district and spoken to a law enforcement officer. There answer is this: Only concealed carry is legal with a CCP. When I ask about the hunting season exception they seem to not want to provide an answer. I also asked him straight up as to what his action would be if he encountered me in his jurisdiction open carrying, his response: I would have to research that.
Basically as anyone who has tried to figure this out in Virginia knows, this whole topic is ridiculously convoluted. So because the laws are unclear it seems this really comes down to what a National Forest LEO or DGIF officer would do if they came across you practicing open carry regardless of what the law actually is. Even if someone can make a case that it's legal, if the LEO perceives a violation you may very well wind up with a summons or even a weapon confiscation or potentially an arrest.
So my question: Has anyone had an encounter with a LEO while open carrying in a National Forest in Virgina?
Through my own research I have found there to be a very large vortex of "no one knows for sure" when it comes to the question of open carry in a National Forest in Virginia. I have contacted my local Ranger district and spoken to a law enforcement officer. There answer is this: Only concealed carry is legal with a CCP. When I ask about the hunting season exception they seem to not want to provide an answer. I also asked him straight up as to what his action would be if he encountered me in his jurisdiction open carrying, his response: I would have to research that.
Basically as anyone who has tried to figure this out in Virginia knows, this whole topic is ridiculously convoluted. So because the laws are unclear it seems this really comes down to what a National Forest LEO or DGIF officer would do if they came across you practicing open carry regardless of what the law actually is. Even if someone can make a case that it's legal, if the LEO perceives a violation you may very well wind up with a summons or even a weapon confiscation or potentially an arrest.
So my question: Has anyone had an encounter with a LEO while open carrying in a National Forest in Virgina?