DocNTexas
Regular Member
imported post
Although I open carry regularly where allowed these days, the first few times brought about a degree of apprehension to say the least. Being from Texas, where OC is still not allowed, I was somewhat apprehensive about open carrying when traveling through New Mexico, Colorado and other OC states. Having researched the laws thoroughly I knew it should be alright, but taking that first step was still hard. Tells of hard nosed or uninformed officers kept coming to mind and I expected to worse every minute.
My first time to OC was during a motorcycle trip the wife and I made to Colorado a few years back. By the time we got to Raton, NM, the temperature was warm enough to shed our jackets and I elected to exercise my right to OC from that point on. Crossing into Colorado shortly thereafter, we made a pit stop at a convenience store a few miles south of Trinidad, CO.Nervously,I began to fuel the bike while the wife went inside for a nature call and to get a few snacks. Several people clearly noticed my sidearm but no one seemed toreact negatively to it, which quickly set me at ease. After fueling, I moved the bike across to a parking spot and began tending to some housekeeping items. Suddenly,the sound of a vehicle accelerating hard caught my attention and I glanced back to see a county sheriff vehicle crossing the overpass and turn in the direction of the store. As he turned into the parking lot and accelerated harshly, heading directly toward me, I immediately expected the worst. To my surprise he went past me and parked on the opposite side of the building then went into the store. Still expecting the worst, I went about my business while watching for the deputy's approach. After finishing the task at hand and with no deputy to that point, I decided to go inside.
Inside the store I caught up with my wife in the snack isle but could not see the deputy anywhere. With the anxiety level starting to drop at this point, Ifocused my attention on selecting a few snacks for the road. Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me say "a Sig 229". I turned to find myself face to face with the deputy and I felt a huge lump grow in my throat as I answered "yes Sir". To my relief the next words from him were "what caliber is it?" and "how do you like it?". He explained that he was considering a Sig 226 in .357, so we entered into a 10 minute conversation about how well I liked my 229 .357, the Sig .357 round and Sigs in general. After discussing everything from guns to motorcycles and a few tips on sites to visit around Colorado, we shook hands and he headed out the door. Needless to say, this encounter did more to ease my fears than anything and the rest of the trip went smoothly.
Since that time, I have open carried on numerous occasions in Colorado and to date I have never had the slightest problem. It concerns me that Denver opened the door to local rule laws against OC and I hope Colorado legislators will make the necessary changes to the law to make OC legal statewide.
Although I open carry regularly where allowed these days, the first few times brought about a degree of apprehension to say the least. Being from Texas, where OC is still not allowed, I was somewhat apprehensive about open carrying when traveling through New Mexico, Colorado and other OC states. Having researched the laws thoroughly I knew it should be alright, but taking that first step was still hard. Tells of hard nosed or uninformed officers kept coming to mind and I expected to worse every minute.
My first time to OC was during a motorcycle trip the wife and I made to Colorado a few years back. By the time we got to Raton, NM, the temperature was warm enough to shed our jackets and I elected to exercise my right to OC from that point on. Crossing into Colorado shortly thereafter, we made a pit stop at a convenience store a few miles south of Trinidad, CO.Nervously,I began to fuel the bike while the wife went inside for a nature call and to get a few snacks. Several people clearly noticed my sidearm but no one seemed toreact negatively to it, which quickly set me at ease. After fueling, I moved the bike across to a parking spot and began tending to some housekeeping items. Suddenly,the sound of a vehicle accelerating hard caught my attention and I glanced back to see a county sheriff vehicle crossing the overpass and turn in the direction of the store. As he turned into the parking lot and accelerated harshly, heading directly toward me, I immediately expected the worst. To my surprise he went past me and parked on the opposite side of the building then went into the store. Still expecting the worst, I went about my business while watching for the deputy's approach. After finishing the task at hand and with no deputy to that point, I decided to go inside.
Inside the store I caught up with my wife in the snack isle but could not see the deputy anywhere. With the anxiety level starting to drop at this point, Ifocused my attention on selecting a few snacks for the road. Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me say "a Sig 229". I turned to find myself face to face with the deputy and I felt a huge lump grow in my throat as I answered "yes Sir". To my relief the next words from him were "what caliber is it?" and "how do you like it?". He explained that he was considering a Sig 226 in .357, so we entered into a 10 minute conversation about how well I liked my 229 .357, the Sig .357 round and Sigs in general. After discussing everything from guns to motorcycles and a few tips on sites to visit around Colorado, we shook hands and he headed out the door. Needless to say, this encounter did more to ease my fears than anything and the rest of the trip went smoothly.
Since that time, I have open carried on numerous occasions in Colorado and to date I have never had the slightest problem. It concerns me that Denver opened the door to local rule laws against OC and I hope Colorado legislators will make the necessary changes to the law to make OC legal statewide.