You may start a topic here for an Open Carry Log -- a place to relay places and any events which may occur.
 #104348  by Surface Dragon
 
Yo,

I never wanted to start an OC log because I think its a bit ridiculous but I've had some interesting experiences so I figured I'd share some of them with the you.

I'll start with one that will probably make your ears pirk up then I'll tell you about my other less exciting experiences that I've had and if anything else exciting happens I'll do my utmost to keep you informed.

On March 25 at around 4:45ish I was stopped while walking in Brecknock park in Camden DE by an officer of the law for none other than the open carry of a firearm!

So I was just out for a walk like I frequently do at one of my favorite parks minding my own business. I was actually looking up at the sky totally enamored by watching 2 fighter jets circle around when I hear a loud "Excuse Me Sir" from behind. To my astonishment it was directed at moi or should I say yours truly. The call came from as you already know an officer of the law.

At the time I had my hands in the pockets of my favorite 1980's Members Only black leather jacket, dark sunglasses on, and Glock 19 on my hip. I was dressed like I normally do which most people consider to be hipster or rock 'n roll with dark skinny Levi's, black dress shirt, brown undershirt, black Timberland hiking boots, hair pulled back in a top knot, tigers eye gauges in my ears, dog tags around my neck, and a solid black bandanna ever so slightly sticking out my rear left pocket. I only mention all these pointless details because if someone were to describe me they would probably say "5-9 caucasian male dressed in all black carrying a gun" which sounds pretty scary even without adding the "black leather jacket, dark sunglasses, black bandanna" so I totally understand if someone might think that I look suspicious. I assure you I'm not a suspicious or nefarious character. At least I hope I'm not. I'm just an American musician who enjoys dressing in a way that I consider "attractive" or "cool" and I also happen to OC pretty much 24/7.

So understanding that an officer of the law is attempting to get my attention while also understanding that I probably look suspicious. I calmly turn around then slowly remove my hands from my pockets and with a smile on my face said "Hello Officer" while raising my right hand away from my firearm politely waving in a way that I hoped wouldn't get me gunned down on the spot. The officer with his hand clearly not on his firearm then says something that astounded me - "Hello, your not breaking the law" as we walked towards each other.

Immediately the thought popped into my head "Then why are you stopping me? Oh yeah because I have a gun clearly visible on my hip". Shortly followed by "If I were an officer of the law I would probably want to find out if that guy dressed in all black with a gun is a loon or some kinda violent criminal casing the park for burglary/rape/murder victims or just another good American".

We then engaged in a polite conversation. The officer was friendly and gave off a " You know I've gotta do this because its my job" kind of feel. He asked me a few questions like "What are you carrying?", "Are you a good shot?", and of course "Have you ever shot someone?" all while reassuring me "You are not breaking the law". To which I calmly answered " Glock 19", "Yes I'm a very good shot", and " No I've never shot someone and hope that I never have to".

He even asked me "Do you like it?" after I said "Glock 19" because he obviously didn't have a Glock in his holster but I didn't get a good enough look to see what he was carrying. I think he had a Beretta or CZ and now that I think about it I wish I asked him what he was carrying but I didn't wanna seem weird. Actually all his gear along with his fancy SUV cruiser parked off on the distance behind him looked super cool and I would have loved to hear about his stuff but not as much as my want to be on my way back to enjoying my walk. I also had the minor thought "Dang that looks expensive. I paid for all that with my taxes? Well, if it helps them catch the bad guys".

We went on to talk about a few other things like how I've been held up at gun point multiple times and how I have yet to experience crime and violence like I experienced where I use to live in California and I almost feel out of place carrying because of it. The officer half-joking said "Try visiting Wilmington". I shook his hand and said " Thank you officer" which I honestly meant in a non-sarcastic way.

I then went back to my walk without so much as being asked for my name, license, address, carry permit, if the firearm I was carrying was legal or mine, or even told that I can't carry in Dover without permission. All this without being thrown to the ground or shouted commands at while looking down the barrel of a firearm.

So there you have it my first actual OC log. Being stopped by an officer of the law for no other reason than open carry of a firearm while walking in Brecknock park was quite the experience but I was not arrested and told numerously that "Your not breaking the law". I hope I was articulate enough for your reading enjoyment. I probably missed a few details but I never really intended to actually write about this account and I didn't even get the officer's name, take any audio/video/pics, or even take any notes other than sending a text to a buddy directly after telling him "I just finished a walk @ brecknock. I was stopped by a cop while walking. He told me I was not breaking any laws" at 5:07 March 25 shortly after the encounter to which his response was "Wtf??".

I will absolutely be writing more OC logs with juicy details about my experiences. I've actually been thanked as well asked not to carry or to conceal it by a number of people at places you wouldn't expect. More often thanked or greeted with a positive reaction than asked to disarm or told that what I'm doing is wrong. I feel like I'm a minority or maybe even the only person who OCs in Dover DE as I have yet to spot anyone OCing anywhere in DE other than law enforcement, military guards at the base, or the fine people at the wonderful monthly DELOC meetings.

- Surface Dragon

(Edit- I just realized what the date today is and that I wasn't joking about anything so I thought I'd tell a classic one just for you. I'll try my best to tone it down but originally its a bit more adult even though I learned this joke and use to tell it at a very young age.

So, a guy walks into a bar and asks the bartender "Where's the bathroom at?" The bartender just points to a flight of stairs. The guy barley makes it up the stairs because he has to go so bad but to his dismay he encounters 3 doors. The first one is obviously not the bathroom because when he opens it he finds a couple laying in a bed shouting "Leave us alone!" at the man. Behind the second door is an empty room. He tries to open the third door but can't and pounds on it trying with all his might to break it down but fails. So he goes back to the second room where he found nothing and to his great surprise actually finds toilet paper and a hole in the floor with an red arrow drawn on the ground pointing to the hole. The guy thanks his lucky stars because he can hold it no longer. Finally relived the guy walks back down the stairs to thank the bartender and offer his patronage only to find the bar in utter chaos. Tables, chairs, barstools all flipped over. Broken glass and spilt drinks everywhere. Sheer utter chaos. People screaming and running for their lives. The man asks the bartender "What happened? ". To which the bartender cowering behind the bar simply replied " The SHTF".

If you think this joke is too adult please let me know and I will gladly delete it. No foolies.)
 #104354  by c17loadsmasher
 
Nice. If it was a trooper he had a Sig Sauer P229 in .357, possible the same if it was a Camden cop. Most locals carry a Sig or a Glock.
 #104360  by TexasJay
 
c17loadsmasher wrote:Nice. If it was a trooper he had a Sig Sauer P229 in .357, possible the same if it was a Camden cop. Most locals carry a Sig or a Glock.
Except Wilmington and county who carry M and P in .40
 #104361  by Surface Dragon
 
TexasJay wrote:
c17loadsmasher wrote:Nice. If it was a trooper he had a Sig Sauer P229 in .357, possible the same if it was a Camden cop. Most locals carry a Sig or a Glock.
Except Wilmington and county who carry M and P in .40
It wasn't striker fired so it was probably the Sig.

I don't really want to start a caliber war in my OC log but here it goes.

I have yet to try the 357sig but from what I've heard it gives you nerve damage and slow/poor follow up shot placement while being slightly better at barrier penetration.

I personally like the 9mm because its cheap enough for me to practice a whole bunch with while being good enough for me to think that it might work if I ever really have to use it.

I also enjoy the 45acp but that's just because I'm American. But for something I would carry I think I would rather have 3 rounds of 9mm than 2 rounds of 45acp. Some people might say that if your using 45acp you would only need 1 round but that's just ridiculous.

I've also heard 10mm is for defending yourself from a bear but I'm pretty sure the sound alone from any round would probably scare a bear away and that 10mm is for hunting when you'd rather use an automatic-pistol rather than a revolver.

I've been told that 40 was for people who like the 9mm but want to make a bigger hole but personally when I tried it I felt that it adversely affected my ability to make follow up shots which made me feel like I needed more practice with it but it was too expensive to practice with.

So that leaves you with 2 choices 9mm or 45acp and neither of them work as well as a rifle round.

Which naturally leads to the Five-seveN which is a joke unless its an AP round from what I hear.

Using a 223/556 or any other real rifle round might work but something like a pistol AR would be pretty tricky to carry and it might make you go deaf if you ever had to use it in a defensive situation not to mention the fireball that it would also shoot from all the unburnt powder in a pistol length barrel.

And all those small rounds like 22lr, 25acp, and 380acp only work effectively when applied to the T-zone.

Are all those pistol cartridges playing an April fools joke on us year round?

I guess I'll just have to wait for or invent my own Tesla-ray style firearm.

I can see the can of worms I just opened spilling all over the place.
Last edited by Surface Dragon on Sat Apr 04, 2015 5:14 am, edited 2 times in total.
 #104362  by Surface Dragon
 
I hope you guys/girls realize that I don't really take this whole OC log thing too seriously and that I'm mostly writing it for a way to entertain myself and hopefully you as well.

I will do my best to speak truthfully and supply you with some insight into my thoughts about OCing and firearms in general as well as how I perceive the world and the reactions I sometimes do or do not receive.

The reactions part is what I feel you want to read/hear about but I feel that its kinda what makes an OC log ridiculous.

The comment or reaction I hear most while OCing is "Nice gun" to which I reply "Thanks".

Another reaction that I've noticed is that many people seem to think that the concept of carrying a tool or tools to aid in defending yourself and/or those around you from serious bodily injury and/or death is weird. But surprisingly many of them warm up to it almost to the point where they feel weird when they realize they have been so defenseless or that what they relied on to save them from harm happened to be calling someone with those tools and waiting to be rescued.

The conversation usually goes -

"Why do you think you need to carry a gun?"

to which I reply "Why do you wear a seatbelt?"

they then say "Guns and seatbelts aren't the same thing."

I reply "Different precautions for different dangers but they're both life saving devices."

they say "So you're afraid or something then?"

I say "No, just prepared. Are you afraid you'll get in a car accident when you put on your seatbelt? Or does putting on your seatbelt just remind you that something may happen and the thought of something happening actually make you drive safer so that you don't actually have to rely on your seatbelt to save your life?"

After that we usually stop talking about seatbelts and I usually invite the person to come out to the range with me to learn more about how firearms actually work.

Before they say that they're interested or not they always ask about the legality of firearms. And say "Don't you feel weird carrying a gun?"

to which I reply "Sometimes but I'd rather feel weird and be able to defend my life than be comfortably dead."

they then say "Do you always carry a gun?"

I reply "Do you always wear a seatbelt?"
 #104380  by Surface Dragon
 
I had some time to kill today before Easter dinner so I did the tactical stroll through the Camden Walmart today and saw something pretty awesome -

Image

I've never seen 50 bmg ammo at Walmart before and I was so surprised that I had to take a picture of it. If I had more cash on me I would have bought some even though I don't have a 50 bmg rifle.

For those of you who don't know what a tactical stroll through Walmart is its when you head straight to the ammo section while OCing check out all the gun/camping stuff, maybe buy some ammo, a new knife, or something else in that section then head to the book/magazine section and read/buy the latest gun magazines. Today I read Tactical Weapons. Then maybe walk around a bit and try to think of what else you might need from Walmart.

Today I got at least two reactions from employees who noticed that I was OCing. The first one was from a younger girl who knocked over a large display causing items to go flying everywhere because she was staring at me instead of paying attention to what she was doing but she might have been distracted by my handsome good looks rather than my OC. And the second was an older women who stopped dead in her tracks, looked me up and down while I was flipping through the latest issue of Tactical Weapons, awkwardly smiled and said "Good afternoon Sir" then gave me the nod.

After Easter dinner I went to Bower's beach and walked up and down the beach barefoot. It was surprisingly rough on my feet and it made me want to go to a different beach with better sand but didn't sustain any serious injuries. Got the nod twice during the walk and a couple with their parents laughed as I walked by probably because I looked out of place walking barefoot on the beach alone with skinny jeans, dark sunglasses, Glock on my hip, and a leather jacket on. But I did find a cool piece of sea glass.
 #104607  by Surface Dragon
 
Just today I was taking some trash out and a neighborhood kid was shooting some hoops in the alley near my trash can. As I walked past him I waved and smiled then he did the same.

Then when I turned to throw the trash in the trash can he saw the Glock on my hip. He went pale like he saw a ghost, stopped what he was doing, and probably sh#t his pants thinking I was either a cop or a bad guy. I then walked past him again, smiled, gave him a nod, then went back into my house.

For a few minutes afterwards he just stood there staring at my house probably trying to see if I was up to no good because I don't look like a cop so he probably thought I was a bad guy. I could see him through the window as I walked through my dinning room to my living room then back again through to the kitchen. I was tempted to go back outside to shoot some hoops and make friends with the kid but decided that might make me look even weirder.

Then he went back to playing basketball and didn't go running home like I expected him to do. I hope I didn't ruin the kid's day by accidentally sending his situational awareness from white to OMG! total freakout mode.

Afterwards I thought it was funny imagining that kid telling his parents that he saw a neighbor with a gun on their hip and the parents responding "Uh yeah, you just noticed that today?"
 #104861  by JägerMatthias
 
Nice log, Dragon! :D

Hope you will have many positive entries to come. Especially regarding law enforcement. In the past, some of deloc police encounters haven't exactly been so positive to say the least. And forum discussions of negative/unlawful police behavior has caused some posts/threads to disappear. But I do think that the past 2 or 3 years have seen much more "friendly fuzz" encounters, so you shouldn't have much trouble. But if you do happen to be in a jam, this is the forum to ask for advice.

Stay safe, and carry on!
 #105073  by Surface Dragon
 
I'm at Pat's Pizza in Smyrna DE right now. The general manager just came up to me and asked me to hide my gun. He said some customers complained and said it made them feel uncomfortable.