Flintlock Tom goes UOC in San Diego

[flintlock tom]

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"See, I told you they were too immature to carry guns!"

Sarah Brady :cuss:

 

[Theseus]

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Just to let you guys in on a little hint about me...I am like Chandler in Friends...to deal with stressful situations or times I commonly resort to comedy and general nastyness..

Please excuse it....I am a little stressed lately.

 

[flintlock tom]

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Theseus wrote:

Just to let you guys in on a little hint about me...I am like Chandler in Friends...to deal with stressful situations or times I commonly resort to comedy and general nastyness..

Please excuse it....I am a little stressed lately.

Theseus,
We know about your problems. At least the ones you've shared here.

Don't sweat the small stuff.
And if you call your posts on this thread "nastyness", well, you're a rooky!

 

[Theseus]

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Believe me I have been filtering myself...there is much more on this end. . Haha.

I really look forward to hanging with you guys. . . I thought myself of getting a Kilt, but we don't know the family colors... Maybe we can design a line of OC Kilts.



flintlock tom wrote:

Theseus wrote:

Just to let you guys in on a little hint about me...I am like Chandler in Friends...to deal with stressful situations or times I commonly resort to comedy and general nastyness..

Please excuse it....I am a little stressed lately.

Theseus,
We know about your problems. At least the ones you've shared here.

Don't sweat the small stuff.
And if you call your posts on this thread "nastyness", well, you're a rooky!

 

[flintlock tom]

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Theseus wrote:

I really look forward to hanging with you guys. . . I thought myself of getting a Kilt, but we don't know the family colors... Maybe we can design a line of OC Kilts.

Hey, look up Utili-kilts or Ameri-kilts online. They make generic kilts in several colors. Also, there are many Tartans that are generic (Royal Stewart) or regimental (Black Watch) that anyone can wear.
Most of the Kilt vendor web sites also have a catalog of Clan Tartans to browse. I trace back to the Fraser Clan but their (our) traditional tartan is a hideous orange/blue so I wear either Black Watch or a plain black Ameri-kilt.

Looking forward to meeting you.

Tom

 

[Theseus]

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I think I might have my wife pull out the sewing machine and make one. . . That ought to be funny. . . A small Asian woman making a kilt! Haha...

Maybe we should make a thread for it!

 

[flintlock tom]

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I wanted to open carry at the NRA Members council meeting last night. The Pres. (Dexter) requested that I check with the management of the restaurant where we meet. Normally I would simple carry and leave it to the management to let me know if they have a problem with it. However, the restaurant is letting us use a banquet room with no requirement to buy food, so I don't want to give them any reason to regret hosting us.
I sent a couple e-mails to the manager, but heard nothing back, so I called. I talked with one of the owners and after I fully explained what I had in mind she said: "no problem". She just asked that I not go in the bar.
So, no problem. I was able to hand out a couple OC Fliers and answer a few questions. A couple other guys were there who were aware of, and passed out information about, the beach meet-up on the 28th.
Over all a positive experience.

 

[CA_Libertarian]

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flintlock tom wrote:

...I fully explained what I had in mind she said: "no problem". She just asked that I not go in the bar.

Word has gotten out that your gun is a mean drunk. Keep it out of the bar!

Seriously though, I'm glad to hear the NRA and the restaurant had no problem with your plans to open carry. We're making progress!

 

[flintlock tom]

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Exciting episode VII -

I have today off from work so I decided to go get my beloved a Valentines Day gift for tomorrow.
I have not carried at a Westfield mall before, so that's where I went.
Hey, Nate, is North County Fair a Westfield mall?
Anyway, I started at one end of Mission Valley Center, at the Target. I walked in the West door and right past a manager giving instructions to their in-house security guard. I listened to them talking as I walked past and they did not pause in their conversation so I assume they did not notice the tall handsome stranger packin' a .45.
I found the ladies department, picked out a pretty new nightgown and headed for the greeting cards. I noticed several people look at my belt but no one seemed alarmed or concerned.
I picked out the perfect Valentine and headed to the cashiers. I walked back and forth to find the shortest line and checked out. The checker did not seem to notice my sidearm.
I put my purchases in the car and went back to the mall. I walked the full length of the mall in a leisurely fashion without causing a riot. I stopped in the See's Candy store, got a nice heart shaped box of chocolates and stood in line for about 10 minutes. The guy behind me in line was very quiet, but I assumed he was just shy.
I walked back to my car and left.
I needed a few things from the grocery store so I stopped into Food-4-Less. Up and down the isles with no gang-bangers grabbing my gun. I did notice an employee, stocking shelves, staring at me but he did not seem alarmed. I gave him a nod and went on.
The manager just happened to be running the register with the shortest line so that's where I checked out.
She was very pleasant and didn't say a word about the gun. I've spoken to her before so she knows I'm a very regular customer.
Loaded the groceries in the car and headed for home.
I got home at the same time my son was arriving with his fiance. They helped me carry in the groceries. My son knows I open carry but I had my over-shirt hanging over my right arm so it covered my gun, I don't think he noticed. They hung out for just a few minutes then they took my younger son and left. Off to play Halo-2 at older-son's apartment.
I usually wear chinos and deck shoes, but today I was wearing blue jeans, hiking boots and a Henley style knit shirt, so I'm hoping that I don't look too much like a LEO.
I still carry my leather folio with OC brochures and the SDPD training bulletin printout. I have my voice recorder clipped to the folio.

Once again I was able to avoid certain death and keep the peace in San Diego. I can hardly wait for the graphic novel to come out.

 

[pullnshoot25]

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flintlock tom wrote:

Exciting episode VII -

I have today off from work so I decided to go get my beloved a Valentines Day gift for tomorrow.
I have not carried at a Westfield mall before, so that's where I went.
Hey, Nate, is North County Fair a Westfield mall?
Anyway, I started at one end of Mission Valley Center, at the Target. I walked in the West door and right past a manager giving instructions to their in-house security guard. I listened to them talking as I walked past and they did not pause in their conversation so I assume they did not notice the tall handsome stranger packin' a .45.
I found the ladies department, picked out a pretty new nightgown and headed for the greeting cards. I noticed several people look at my belt but no one seemed alarmed or concerned.
I picked out the perfect Valentine and headed to the cashiers. I walked back and forth to find the shortest line and checked out. The checker did not seem to notice my sidearm.
I put my purchases in the car and went back to the mall. I walked the full length of the mall in a leisurely fashion without causing a riot. I stopped in the See's Candy store, got a nice heart shaped box of chocolates and stood in line for about 10 minutes. The guy behind me in line was very quiet, but I assumed he was just shy.
I walked back to my car and left.
I needed a few things from the grocery store so I stopped into Food-4-Less. Up and down the isles with no gang-bangers grabbing my gun. I did notice an employee, stocking shelves, staring at me but he did not seem alarmed. I gave him a nod and went on.
The manager just happened to be running the register with the shortest line so that's where I checked out.
She was very pleasant and didn't say a word about the gun. I've spoken to her before so she knows I'm a very regular customer.
Loaded the groceries in the car and headed for home.
I got home at the same time my son was arriving with his fiance. They helped me carry in the groceries. My son knows I open carry but I had my over-shirt hanging over my right arm so it covered my gun, I don't think he noticed. They hung out for just a few minutes then they took my younger son and left. Off to play Halo-2 at older-son's apartment.
I usually wear chinos and deck shoes, but today I was wearing blue jeans, hiking boots and a Henley style knit shirt, so I'm hoping that I don't look too much like a LEO.
I still carry my leather folio with OC brochures and the SDPD training bulletin printout. I have my voice recorder clipped to the folio.

Once again I was able to avoid certain death and keep the peace in San Diego. I can hardly wait for the graphic novel to come out.

Yeah, North County Fair is a Westfield Mall. I got illegally detained there by security guards not too long ago, here is the link to that story:

http://caopencarry.blogspot.com/2008/11/mall-alert-mall-alert.html

Fortunately for us, Westfield UTC doesn't seem too alarmed about it. No signs posted up and there is still no "code of etiquette" displayed at the concierge desk still (went there just yesterday) so OCing there is a go-ahead, HAHA!

 

[giaking70]

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hi everyone,
hello, I'm new to this forum and would like to take this opportunity to share my experiences with OC'ing. First off, I live in San Diego, Ca out in the East County Area of El Cajon. I have been OC'ing for about a week now since I had accidentally stumbled upon the fact you can do this openly. I did LOTS of homework on this subject (reading the forums) and searching for anything I could get my eyeballs on to read and or copy and paste and print out. I had been doing this for quite some time now, I would say a month or two now honestly.
I decided to try it out just to see the reaction from my brother first. He looks at me and says "why you packing heat, expecting to go to war"....lol. I said "no because I simply...can". He just looked at me like I was crazy of course. Now my weapon of choice that I carry is my baby, Glock 37 chambered in .45 GAP with a Blackhawk Serpta Holster (love this holster by the way) and two mags in a Uncle Mikes Universal mag holder in black nylon. I like this mag holder as it kinda has that "low key" look to it and it blends in really well when I am wearing my black knitted sweater for those colder outings.
Anyways, I am reading Flintock Tom's outing at North County Fair and felt compelled to share my outings here as well, hope no one objects to my just adding onto his outings.... I first started off my day making sure all my stuff was with me, pamplets, voice recorder, unloaded firearm and away I went. My first place of business was getting a haircut over at a salon on Broadway in El Cajon. I been going there for a year or two now so the girls there know me and didnt even flintch at what was on my right hip. Hell, after I was done, one of the girls came running out after me because I had unknowingly dropped my bluetooth on the floor inside.
My next stop was the San Diego County Credit Union in Santee. I had to renew my vehicle registration and this bank offers those services. I didnt wear my piece inside of the bank for the mere fact that I didnt wanna alarm anyone thinking I was there to "roll the place over". I locked it up in my SUV before entering and did my business. I am dressed very nicely, wearing a nice pair of blue jeans, black knitted sweater and black workboots, so I wasnt looking like a punkass gangbanger looking for trouble.
After business there was concluded, I was now hungry and went to have lunch over at the In-n-Out Burger in El Cajon/Santee over off Bradley. I walked in strapped on and everything. I waited in line to order my food. There were some teeny boppers in line behind me laughing joking and they were not talking about me. They were with some male friends and not one even to my knowledge, bothered to even make a comment.
The guy at the cashier took my order, not even oblivious to the fact the guy he was taken an order from had a weapon in plain view for all to see. Hell, he didnt even look down at the cash I gave him to pay for my order, just stood there and smiled politely and thanked me. I found a two seater table in a corner and next to that was a man dressed semi business casual, maybe in his late 40's or so talking to a younger guy about my age (I'm 38) about life's ups and downs and real estate markets. The older one saw me coming and made eye contact with me and just nodded approvingly. I am guessing former LEO or some type of military?
I made a couple trips to the fountain drink area and not one person that I could tell, even noticed I was packing....wow. I finished my lunch there and made my way over to the Westfield Shopping Area of Parkway Plaza n El Cajon. Now the fun starts.
I entered on the most west side closest to Walmart and as I was walking, a group of wannabee gangbangers recognized me (am off duty Transit Enforcement) and started to say some shit like "oh hey Trolley cop, bet you aint so tuff now that you aint got yo gu...." and stopped in mid sentence when he saw me packing. Another white guy nearby was on his cellphone talking to someone when I overheard him saying..."oh shit, this cop just walked by and these gangbangers were trying to start shit with him, wish he'd just shoot the motherfuckers". I just kept a vigilance and just walked on by and went my merry way. If they wanted to try something, they were more then happy to "try".
I went inside and walked around for awhile. I was looking for one of the Mall Security folks just to see if he/she would notice, but didnt even see one around. I went over towards the food court area as one of those maps was there and I know usually one of them is always there. I walked right up to the guy and asked where a Hallmark Store was. I already knew where it was, was just testing his vigilance and he failed miseribly. I went to the Hallmark Store to buy my other half a Valentines gift and while in that store, no one even paid me any attention. Even the lady right behind me in line with the huge as hell baby stoller and the little girl with her didnt say anything. My next stop, Walmart La Mesa.
I went into the Walmart there as I have a girl friend that works there and stopped by to say hi. She wasnt there, was told went home early. I went up the escalators to the electronic department to check out the Vizio HDTV 42 inches but they were all out. I spent some time looking through the movies and finally left to head over to the gun store.
I went to the El Cajon Gun Exchange to pick up something, locked my weapon in the car due to the "No Weapons Beyond This Point" sign five feet inside the door. Spent about twenty minutes there and headed home. All in all, not a bad day and it honestly felt rather like business as usual for me. I carry a gun for a living so OC'ing really isnt no different to me other then the fact my weapon is unloaded.
My only hurdle about all this, is that my girlfriend gets very nervous and thinks the police will do something bad to me like arrest me or something like that. She even begs and pleads for me to not do it. I understand her concerns but I simply tell her "Honey, if you think I will rely on the system to protect us, you're seriously mistaken, I would rather depend on myself to do the job right the first time". She wasn't brought up around guns like I was and I showed her many stories online to prove to her that shit can happen at any moment. And when it does, I wanna be prepared. She then says "but honey, your gun isn't even loaded". Right after that, I told her"watch this" and pulled my weapon, dropped the empty mag, put in a live mag, chambered a round and did it very quickly enough for her to say "holy shit honey". I immediately unloaded it and put it all back to "normal" so she wouldn't freak out.
I told her that's why I practice and that's why I carry, simply to protect us from being a statistic. She still doesn't like it regardless. She'll get over it.

Enjoy and god bless everyone....carry on

 

[pullnshoot25]

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DUDE, RIGHT FREAKING ON! The gangbanger part is freaking priceless, LOVE IT!

Are you coming to the OC meet on Feb 28th? Invite is HERE---> http://caopencarry.blogspot.com/2009/01/san-diego-open-carry-meet.html

 

[flintlock tom]

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giaking70 wrote:

My next stop was the San Diego County Credit Union in Santee. I had to renew my vehicle registration and this bank offers those services. I didnt wear my piece inside of the bank for the mere fact that I didnt wanna alarm anyone thinking I was there to "roll the place over".

Outstanding!
Just a couple points: I was at Mission Valley Center, which is a Westfield mall. I asked Pullnshoot25 about North County Fair because he had an "adventure" there.
Also, it's just my opinion, but I've decided to carry everywhere (except the forbidden zones of course) and let the management tell me if they're unhappy about it. I would encourage you to carry in your credit union and let them have the opportunity to acknowledge your rights or ask you not to bring it into the CU.
I don't carry into my credit union because it's only a block from an elementary school and private property within 1000' of a school is still a gray area for me.

Keep us up to date.

Oh, and it's perfectly okay with me to tag your experiences onto this thread, but you would probably get more attention if you start your own thread. People who have already read this thread may not come back for updates.

 

[pullnshoot25]

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flintlock tom wrote:

giaking70 wrote:

My next stop was the San Diego County Credit Union in Santee. I had to renew my vehicle registration and this bank offers those services. I didnt wear my piece inside of the bank for the mere fact that I didnt wanna alarm anyone thinking I was there to "roll the place over".

Outstanding!
Just a couple points: I was at Mission Valley Center, which is a Westfield mall. I asked Pullnshoot25 about North County Fair because he had an "adventure" there.
Also, it's just my opinion, but I've decided to carry everywhere (except the forbidden zones of course) and let the management tell me if they're unhappy about it. I would encourage you to carry in your credit union and let them have the opportunity to acknowledge your rights or ask you not to bring it into the CU.
I don't carry into my credit union because it's only a block from an elementary school and private property within 1000' of a school is still a gray area for me.

Keep us up to date.

Oh, and it's perfectly okay with me to tag your experiences onto this thread, but you would probably get more attention if you start your own thread. People who have already read this thread may not come back for updates.

+1. I have carried into the The SDCCU and multiple banks and no one has batted an eye.

 

[flintlock tom]

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This morning we needed to go to Costco. My wife, Flintlock Virginia, and I took off for Costco.
Since Lowe's shares the parking lot with Costco Virginia decided now would be a good time to buy another Gopher Stake. I know it sounds like something you bar-b-que, but it's really an electronic stake you put in the ground to drive away gophers.
So we parked half way between Lowe's and Costco and went to Lowe's first. It was a little chilly, but if I wear my over-shirt it covers my holster, not good. So I left the shirt in the car. In Lowe's we walked the full length of the store, looked around the nursery area, took a peek at the gas generators and headed for the check-out. We passed many associates, assistant managers and customer service folks without a squeak.
Checked out without a problem and walked back to the car. We passed a mother herding a toddler towards their car. She didn't seem to notice, but I did hear her say "let's catch up with daddy".
We put our gopher stakes (yum) in the car and headed over to Costco. The card checker at the front door made eye contact from about 20 feet away, so he had plenty of time to wonder, "what's on that guy's belt?"
He gave our card the nod and moved on to the next member.
The store was pretty crowded. (Well, Saturday, duh!) We made for the back, admired the hot ribs, picked up a package of carrots, squeezed the avocados and kept moving. We got the stuff we came for, mainly laundry soap, and headed for the checkers. The lines were long, so we waited maybe 10 minutes for our turn. The lady behind us was very quiet so I suspect she was trying to figure it out. As she put her groceries on the conveyor I commented that her roast chicken smelled delicious and wanted it for lunch. She was non-committal. Oh well, just trying to be friendly.
The checker guy rang us up, boxed us up and wished us a nice day. No muss, no fuss, no SWAT on the horizon. They must have the day off.

We loaded up and headed for home.
At home we decided that Quizno's sounded good for lunch so I headed out again to get take-out. Once again I parked up the street and around the corner from the Quizno's store. I walked in a leisurely fashion over to Quizno's, placed my order and stood by the register for my sandwiches to join me. I stood with my back to the dining room with maybe 6 or 8 people sitting at the tables. I didn't hear anyone gasp or change their tone to a whisper or anything.
I got our food and headed home.
It's all good.
In fact it's all so boring that a LEO would have a hard time making a case for "Disturbing the Peace" if he decided to pull out that abused ploy.

 

[flintlock tom]

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I've been thinking about how to respond to questions which may come up while open carrying. Here is some of what I came up with:

Q. Are you a police officer.
A1. No, (look around with a concerned expression) have you tried calling 911?
A2. No, I'm a technical writer. What do you do for a living.

Q. Is that legal?
A1. Of course, this is America isn't it?
A2. Of course, men have been wearing kilts for a thousand years. (use this one only if you're wearing a kilt)
A3. Yes.

Q. Why are you wearing/carrying a gun?
A1. (Points at wife) I'm her body guard.
A2. I carry large sums of cash.
A3. Because if I need it, it's too far to drive home and get it.

More later.

I went shooting at Project 2000 in El Cajon yesterday. I asked the girl at the counter about open carry at the range. She said that "we would prefer that you keep it in a case until you are at your shooting station, then you can put it in the holster."
While the range is cold, there is no gun handling allowed. So, I guess having it in a holster counts as "handling".

 

[MissSmish]

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flintlock tom wrote:

Q. Is that legal?
A1. Of course, this is America isn't it?
A2. Of course, men have been wearing kilts for a thousand years. (use this one only if you're wearing a kilt)
A3. Yes.

But remember, it wasn't always legal to wear a kilt! That is a right for which men and women have given their lives too!

P.S. Yes, I registered just to say that.

 

[flintlock tom]

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MissSmish wrote:

flintlock tom wrote:

Q. Is that legal?
A1. Of course, this is America isn't it?
A2. Of course, men have been wearing kilts for a thousand years. (use this one only if you're wearing a kilt)
A3. Yes.

But remember, it wasn't always legal to wear a kilt! That is a right for which men and women have given their lives too!

P.S. Yes, I registered just to say that.

Have I told you lately how proud I am of you?

 

[AyatollahGondola]

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flintlock tom wrote:

This morning we needed to go to Costco. My wife, Flintlock Virginia, and I took off for Costco.
Since Lowe's shares the parking lot with Costco Virginia decided now would be a good time to buy another Gopher Stake. I know it sounds like something you bar-b-que, but it's really an electronic stake you put in the ground to drive away gophers.

We still use the old fashioned Crucifixion method. Nothing like the sight of several rows of crosses on the front lawn sporting the rotting carcasses of their betheren to keep those little vermin from squatting on our territory.

On the other issue, you have my continued admiration for OC'ing in San Diego.

 

[flintlock tom]

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AyatollahGondola wrote:

flintlock tom wrote:

This morning we needed to go to Costco. My wife, Flintlock Virginia, and I took off for Costco.
Since Lowe's shares the parking lot with Costco Virginia decided now would be a good time to buy another Gopher Stake. I know it sounds like something you bar-b-que, but it's really an electronic stake you put in the ground to drive away gophers.

We still use the old fashioned Crucifixion method. Nothing like the sight of several rows of crosses on the front lawn sporting the rotting carcasses of their betheren to keep those little vermin from squatting on our territory.

On the other issue, you have my continued admiration for OC'ing in San Diego.

I'll have to try that, it might repel Jehovah's Witnesses too.