I've decided to clump together a log of some open carry outings. They are all past posts I've made on www.pafoa.org about my open carry interactions un-editied. Enjoy.
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Interesting story here today. On the way home from Wal-Mart to get a few things I stopped at Sheetz to get a drink, some lunch and some gas on the other side of I-81 here in Chambersburg.
As I was filling up, a truck with a camper pulled up in the vacant spot behind me. I noticed the Ontario tags. The driver proceeded to get out and filled up his tank, all the while watching me. My strong side was facing him. Afterwards I went in to order and pay for my food, he did the same. As I was standing there waiting for my order he struck up a little small talk.
Him: "Interesting you have an exposed pistol like that. Are you a cop"?
Me: "No sir, just a regular citizen"
Him: "I'm from Canada and this is something you don't see up there at all unless you're a cop"
Me: "Well the laws concerning firearms are very different down here".
Him: "Well yes, but out in the open like that"?
Me: "Depends on the state. Here in PA you can. In NY for example you can't".
We continued our conversation about carry laws in America and I gave him a flyer. He told me he had long guns in Canada for hunting, but no handguns as the laws are much more strict up there. He said its not worth the hassle. I told him some states in America are like that, but after the SCOTUS ruling hopefully things will be changing here soon. We talked for a few minutes about guns and hunting before we returned to our vehicles. Overall it was a good OC encounter. He was more curious than anything.
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Well I finally made it to the holy grail of states for all CCers and OCers… Vermont
Actually we just got back from Maine for the week, we just passed thru Vermont. I mostly concealed up in Maine as I was around a lot of family and friends. We we’re in Winthrop just outside of Augusta for the week. We had a cabin on the lake, and we went swimming, fishing, boating on the lake, had bon fires, drank beer… it was a good time. I was pleasantly surprised to find out my uncle had his Maine CCL after telling him I went to Kentucky to the NRA convention. We chatted for a bit about CCL’s and explained to him about Maine non-resident permits which I had because he seemed confused that I was able to carry in Maine.
Besides having to disarm in NY the trip was uneventful. We made it across to Vermont where we stopped for some lunch in Bennington. I open carried my Glock and concealed my Kel-Tec P3AT sterile. It felt liberating not having to have a LTCF on hand in order to carry. No looks, not one stare. We stopped again in Battleboro for a tinkle break and a stretch, and then we headed up 91 to St. Johnburys then across to New Hampshire where I “re-permitted” myself and carried into McDonalds for some dinner. I had a few head turns from New Yorkers and people from Mass… but no police showed up, nothing. We headed over to Maine from there without stopping.
While in Maine I CCed everywhere we went (because of family), the store, gas stations, dinner etc… The only exception was when my wife, kids and I went to Rockport for the day and had some lobster lunch, I OCed with no stares at the restaurant.
When we came back I OCed the whole way to the Vermont/New York border. We stopped at a few gas stations along the way with no stares.
Over all a fun, and uneventful OC/CC vacation.
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So while my mom and sister were here visiting from California I decided I was still going to OC despite their objections, this is a complete list of places that I went to and OCed:
Philly Airport, no issues.
Hotel, nothing.
Ruby Tuesdays in Philly, nothing.
The Philly Diner (Next day for breakfast). I had one question from a patron, but after I explained the law that was it.
I disarmed for the monuments (Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Constitution center, and the US Mint) Irony just sucks huh?
I CCed in the King of Prussia mall... something just told me security would boot my ass out.
Drove home and OCed again at the Bass Pro (Harrisburg mall), not a stare.
Greenvillage Diner for breakfast, nothing.
Sheetz for gas. There was a state trooper parked out front with his window down. My sister made the comment that "you shouldn't do that there’s a cop right there". To which I said I'm doing nothing illegal and got out of the car and went in. Nothing but a few stares. Nothing from the LEO.
Hershey park, left the gun in the car 1. Because I was going to the water park all day and I don't want to CC in the pool and 2. Park security at the gate "for all of our guests safety, please leave all undesirable objects in your vehicle"
Dinner at Casey’s Restaurant in Greencastle... at this point my mom was irritated that I OCed so much and gave me the "can't you leave it at home just this once". I said I'm not going without my firearm and that its going with us. She asked me to cover up, to which I objected again. I OCed without an issue.
Forgot to add: I OCed at Midas and Giant grocery store with my mom. I had to get my car inspection done and picked up a few things from the store (besdes my mom rolling her eyes) I had no issues.
Drove back to Philly, and I OCed at the airport again, no issue.
Got gas in the city somewhere near 1-696 I got a few stares, but nothing.
Rest stop on the turnpike... besides the abundance of Jersey plates and stares, I ate my lunch and was on my way.
Over all it was an uneventful week.
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Here I am in Philly... OCed at the airport, walked past a Philly cop... nothing.
OCed at the hotel check in, nada.
OCed at dinner... not a glance.
Can't carry tomorrow tho because of the "Federal park" bullcrap, and I'll CC at the King of Prussia mall before we head home. I saw a "Welcome to Philly" sign from Mayor Nut-job... I had to point and laugh.
I'll be sure to report more tomorrow.
Edit: I was a little nervous at fisrt, but soon got over the OC in a questionable place jitters.
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Well today is my first day off in god knows how long I got off work at 2:30 yesterday and came home, cleaned up washed the truck and headed off to move my friend. Places that I went to:
Jiffy Lube: My truck needed an oil change and new anti-freeze. I got out and talked to the guys. No one really noticed or cared if they did. The manager was quite friendly when I was talking to him about what needed done.
Beer distributor: Pulled up and bought a case of beer for the evening. No one cared or noticed.
Kmart: Stopped in to get a new pair of sandels and some toiletries for myself. The cashier noticed I was OCing, and asked "Whats that"? I said "A firearm". She glared at me and said "Oh..." and continued to ring me up.
Sheetz: I stopped in to get a few powerball tickets. A group of thug looking mexican kids noticed for sure. One looked right at it and started saying something in Spanish and they all looked down, eyes wide as saucers. After they left I was rung up for my tickets. The cashier neither noticed nor cared.
Friends parents house: They have guns and like them. I got a few "Nice gun" comments while I was there. His family was having a get together or some such thing.
EDIT Added to today:
Ruby Tuesdays: No one noticed except for one man we assumed was out of state. He looked at it and did a double take. Over all a non-eventful experience.
Giant grocery store: Walked around with out a hassle. Cashier glared, but nothing was said. I paid and was off.
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I had yet another positive OC experience last night. My wife and I decided we were going to go out to eat for dinner with the kids. It was a nice evening out so I had a T-shirt on with my Glock 36 in an OWB holster. Not one set of eyes drifted. The only thing is one guy looking down as he walked past. That was it. No one noticed. We went to Moe's over on Gateway Ave. by the Ford dealership. It is privately owned, and the owner was very receptive to the fact of me OCing. I gave him our flyer, and said sometime in the future maybe we could have a meet there. So to everyone in Franklin County, Moe's is a gun-friendly zone After dinner we made our way to Gander to check out a few guns and to see how much ammo has gone up. We left empty handed... there was a nice camo Mossberg Tactical 835 Ulti-Mag I had to play with I set it down and made note of it to purchase elsewhere for cheaper. No one in Gander really noticed or cared. I think a few guys looking at guns saw it, but didn't care.
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