Page 1 of 17

Kuntryboy816's Open Carry Journal

PostPosted:Tue Feb 12, 2013 1:54 pm
by Kuntryboy816
Saturday Feb 9, 2013:

Spent most of the day running errands. Started out by heading over to Autozone on Rt 40. I've OC'ed in there many times before and as usual no issue with the employees. They all know me from loooong before I ever started OC so I am already on a good relationship with them. When I began OC a few months ago they never batted an eye. I did have one lady point and whisper (unseccessfully) something to her girlfriend. I just turned to them, smiled and said hello. Her reply was rather forced IMO.

After that I stopped in at Wendys @ University Plaza for lunch. As I ate, I looked thru my HF sales paper and generally took in my surroundings. There was an older couple a few tables away and the lady repeatedly kept staring at me and then she would turn and say something to the man who I assume was her hubby. I smiled and waved and said good afternoon to them. They did not reply and seemed to hurry a bit more to get out of there.

Next stop was Harbor Freight. There were a fair amount of patrons in the store and I spent about an hour or so in there walking up and down the aisles. A few people shot a quick glance at my hip but didn't seem alarmed and just said "Hi!" When I got to the checkout line, the guy in front of me noticed my sidearm and asked how long it took to get my CC permit. I informed him I did not yet have a permit for CC and that DE was an OC state where no permit was necessary for OC. He was surprised to hear it so I gave him this site's address and encouraged him to check it out.

As I was walking to my vehicle there were three guys walking past towards the stores. One of them blurted out, "Yo! My n****'s strapped!" Whenever someone feels the need to vocalize the fact that I'm armed I respond in a polite and friendly manner. I did the same in this instance, as you'll see.

I nodded at him and said, "How's it going guys? Mind if I talk to you for a second?" They came over and I introduced myself and they in turn and we shook hands. I then asked Sean why it was that he used the "N" word when he spoke earlier. He said that he uses the word just like he would use "Bro", "My man", etc. and that there was nothing wrong with it. I informed him that to me (I'm white) it was the most offensive word that anyone could ever use regardless of ethnicity. I also explained to him the reason why I felt that way and the origin of the word. All three were a little shocked that a white guy would call out 3 black guys and bring up this subject but they genuinely didn't know why the word is so offensive. They all agreed to try not to use it as best they could.

This all led up to them asking me about my sidearm. I explained to them why I OC and the laws regarding OC. J (didn't get his full name) asked if he could handle my sidearm and I informed him that removing my weapon w/o a justifiable cause could land me in a world of trouble. He understood. All-in-all the conversation was very relaxed and none of us were nervous/edgy during our chat. I gave them the website for DeOC and told them if they hit me up on here that we could arrange to go shooting at the range sometime. Hopefully they will. They were all too young to own a handgun of their own but I love getting others interested in firearms/shooting. :D


Re: Kuntryboy816's Open Carry Journal

PostPosted:Tue Feb 12, 2013 4:22 pm
by Boots
Kuntryboy816 wrote:... J (didn't get his full name) asked if he could handle my sidearm and I informed him that removing my weapon w/o a justifiable cause could land me in a world of trouble. He understood. ....
If he was testing you, you passed with flying colors!

Well done! :applause:

Re: Kuntryboy816's Open Carry Journal

PostPosted:Wed Feb 13, 2013 10:50 am
by ToolOGT92
It's good to see everyone working hard to give gun owners a better name.

Re: Kuntryboy816's Open Carry Journal

PostPosted:Wed Feb 13, 2013 2:28 pm
by Kuntryboy816
Wanted to post a few places that I've been to while OC. They are places I've visited before I started this journal so I'll only list the names/locations instead of a full journal entry for each place. Also, I have not had any negative encounters with any of these places.

1. Autozone - Rt. 40 & Salem Church Rd.
2. Car wash - Rt. 40 & Salem Church Rd. (next to 7-11)
3. Wawa - Rt. 40 & Salem Church Rd.
4. Food Lion - Rt. 40 & Salem Church Rd.
5. Pep Boys - Rt. 40 across from Governors Sq
6. Harbor Freight - University Plaza
7. Wendy's - University Plaza
8. Grottoes Pizza - Rt. 40 across from Governors Sq
9. Red Robin - Glasgow


As I'm new to OC the list is limited at the moment but will most certainly grow. If you haven't noticed the locale similarities above, I live in Glasgow Trailer Court. Hence the dire need of my sidearm.... :banghead:

Re: Kuntryboy816's Open Carry Journal

PostPosted:Wed Feb 13, 2013 11:39 pm
by bluedog46
Great encounter man.

Re: Kuntryboy816's Open Carry Journal

PostPosted:Thu Feb 14, 2013 5:38 pm
by Kuntryboy816
Wednesday, Feb 13th

Met my brother and buddy at the IHOP on Rt 13 across from the NCC Airport. Walked in at about 8:30 and stayed til almost closing. I was OC and my brother CC. There were only 2 other tables occupied but none by the time we left. Staff and other patrons didn't seem to notice or care about my sidearm.

**Edit: ...let's go with didn't care. They definitely saw it!

Re: Kuntryboy816's Open Carry Journal

PostPosted:Thu Feb 14, 2013 9:29 pm
by Kuntryboy816
Needed to run out and get a couple of last minute items. Stopped at Rite Aid at Rt. 40 & Salem Church Rd. One of my neighbors was outside smoking by her car. I'm supposing she was waiting for someone inside. I gave her a quick wave and hello and she managed to blurt out, "OMG Jeremiah! You have a gun?" I nodded and replied, "Sure do! I take it with me pretty much everywhere. Can't wait on the police if something goes south." Now, there was no one else around and I was attempting to make a point with her. Lets just say she has a rep in our "neighborhood" for having sticky fingers and she's well known to County LEO.

After I excused myself I entered the store. Spent about 15-20 mins gathering what I needed. Noticed 3 customers who noticed my sidearm. One lady gave me a pretty wide berth when she walked by. A couple mins later she started to turn down the aisle I was standing in but thought it better to use the next aisle. Walked up and got in line for the register. The young blonde cashier seemed a bit nervous. She kept making direct eye contact with me and I was still 2 customers back. When I finally got to the register she said hi but it seemed a bit forced. I smiled and asked her how the day was going with it being Valentines day and she seemed to relax a bit. Guess she figured I wasn't bent on death and destruction just bc I was OC. It's amazing how much people will relax and mirror body image and emotional state if you just be friendly and calm. Then again I've been in that store countless times as its right across the street from home. All in all no issues.

Re: Kuntryboy816's Open Carry Journal

PostPosted:Sat Feb 16, 2013 4:52 pm
by Kuntryboy816
my brother picked me up and we headed over to the show at the Nur Temple today. I was OC and he was CC. The gentleman at the sign in table asked if I would unload my sidearm. They were ok w/ us retaining our firearms as ling as they were unloaded. I'm fine with that so I pulled the mag w/o unholstering it and my brother stepped into the coat room to unload his while I held my nephew. Seemed like a dumb request but since we were still able to keep our mags on us we decided it wasn't worth making a statement by leaving.

Stopped at Texas Roadhouse for lunch afterwords. Not a word was said about my sidearm butthey seated us in the back corner where there were no other patrons. I got kind of a bad vibe from it at first. After about 10 mins they started seating other patrons in the area. Figured that our waitress had just come on shift and we were just her first table. She confirmed as much when I asked her about it. So we weren't segregated b/c I was OC and none of the staff reacted negatively. Positive experience and good food.

Re: Kuntryboy816's Open Carry Journal

PostPosted:Sun Feb 17, 2013 8:35 am
by CorBon
Kuntryboy816 wrote: I was OC and he was CC. The gentleman at the sign in table asked if I would unload my sidearm. They were ok w/ us retaining our firearms as ling as they were unloaded. I'm fine with that so I pulled the mag w/o unholstering it and my brother stepped into the coat room to unload his while I held my nephew.
Wasn't there a round left in your chamber? Also, I'm not sure how your brother's weapon would have even been brought into the conversation with them.

Re: Kuntryboy816's Open Carry Journal

PostPosted:Sun Feb 17, 2013 9:13 am
by Kuntryboy816
CorBon wrote:
Kuntryboy816 wrote: I was OC and he was CC. The gentleman at the sign in table asked if I would unload my sidearm. They were ok w/ us retaining our firearms as ling as they were unloaded. I'm fine with that so I pulled the mag w/o unholstering it and my brother stepped into the coat room to unload his while I held my nephew.
Wasn't there a round left in your chamber? Also, I'm not sure how your brother's weapon would have even been brought into the conversation with them.
The gentleman at the table asked me the same but I didn't have one chambered. Even though its a DAO I haven't quite gotten comfortable enough to keep one chambered while carrying. They didn't even know my brother had his until he asked to step into the coat room to unload. He only did so bc we had my nephew with us and bending down and picking him up would've revealed his firearm eventually. More of a "good faith" gesture since they were, for the most part, ok with us retaining our firearms and ammo while there. There were a few sellers that were OC and it looked as if they were loaded as well... ammo that is! :roll: