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Open Carry in Prince William County

VAopencarry

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May 9, 2006
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Berryville-ish, VA
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I am starting this thread in hopes that all OCDO'ers in PW county will document their uneventful OC experiences here. It seems if one was to poke their head into OCDO they would be dissuaded from OC being that most post's about OC are about 'incidents'. Also other OCDO members are beginning to think VA is the land of OC harrassment. Perhaps we can have running threads from NOVA type/or any other then the 'central'(already in progress) jurisdictions and the unevenful OC events. Will my fellow Virginian's join me?


Today: OC'd to work, at work and home from work(work doesn't really count but I will include it anyway), stopped at the 7-11 pumped gas and went inside, nothing to report.:dude:
 

longwatch

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This is a good idea. We do need to show that what has happened in the last week is an aberration rather than the norm.
 

vrwmiller

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Virginia, USA
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Those areas should also include the cities and towns within the county limits as well, to include Haymarket, Manassas City, Manassas Park, and Dumfries.

I OC all the time...will have much to add.
 

OC-Glock19

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Jun 13, 2006
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559
Location
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
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vrwmiller wrote:
I OC all the time...will have much to add.
I also open carry a lot in PWC. I've only once been asked to leave an establishment and I've never been confronted by either the police or anti-gun folk. I have posted a few nonevents in the restaurant carry thread, but since I found this site and started open-carrying my gun there's really been nothing to write about.
 

rebfan

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I have posted my past experiences with open carry in PW in a couple of other threads. My most recent experience on Independence day was pretty much non eventful. While I did not open carry the entire time we were in Old Town Manassas, every time I was sitting down, my shirt would ride up on the holster so it would not have been too hard to see I was carrying. I even had the chance to sit next to the Mayor for a partof the evening, and never thought twice about carrying and what he might say if he saw that I was.
 

coltcarrier

Campaign Veteran
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May 15, 2006
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236
Location
, Virginia, USA
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went to a picnic at a friend's house in Montclair for the 4th... we were playing in the yard and people were walking by... no one ran screaming in terror or called the police.

I while back I found a "freedom shirt" (american flag with the Declaration of Independence laced around in a artsy way) and thought it would complement OC very well. I was wearing it and my 1911 Gov in a Blackhawk Serpa (kinda obvious).

We had been at the picnic for around an hour when I hear "oh wow, you have a gun?" My friend's wife had just noticed my sidearm and that started a conversation about rights and laws that educated everyone there.

Only one other guest (that arived hours later) made a noticable guesture as his eyes just about bugged out of his head when he noticed after standing next to me for about 20 min. He got overhimself very quickly and then pretended his freakout never happened. He had mentioned he thought I was an officer when we were talking about what we do.

A true day of no eventful OC in PWC....
 

Hawkflyer

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Feb 21, 2007
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Prince William County, Virginia, USA
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OCed today at the Cracker Barrel on route 234 at I95. I was there from about 11:30 until about 1:30. Walked around, sat in the chairs out front, stood outside talking for about a half hour. Nobody even gave me a second glance that I could see.

A few weeks back I OCed at the CVS on Liberia. Stood in line behind a PWC LEO. He noticed the gun, but never said a word. The clerk saw it too, but was also silent about the gun, and friendly as always.

Regards
 

VAspringer

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May 9, 2006
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Location
Fairfax Station, Virginia, USA
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OC'd today at Witts Harley Davidson in Manassas......picking up my bike from service.
1911 was noticed by most service personell.....a few questions about Va. Laws and OC....all responses were positive. Also OC'd at O'mera's restaurant in Manassas...again a few folks noticed.....no negative responses. While leaving the restaurant and getting the bike ready to ride, two PW LEOs pulled in for lunch ...looked at the Harley ...looked at the 1911....smiled, waved and walked away.:cool:
Positive experience....I live in Fairfax County but spend lots of time in the Manassas area..........Never had a problem.

BTW....O'mera's restaurant is not only biker friendly but very very gun friendly...good food and service 2.
 

possumboy

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Jun 14, 2006
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Dumfries, Virginia, USA
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Hawkflyer wrote:
OCed today at the Cracker Barrel on route 234 at I95. I was there from about 11:30 until about 1:30. Walked around, sat in the chairs out front, stood outside talking for about a half hour. Nobody even gave me a second glance that I could see.

A few weeks back I OCed at the CVS on Liberia. Stood in line behind a PWC LEO. He noticed the gun, but never said a word. The clerk saw it too, but was also silent about the gun, and friendly as always.

Regards
OC all the time at Cracker Barrel. Also OC at Target on 234 often.
 

SouthernBoy

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May 12, 2007
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Western Prince William County, Virginia, USA
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Hawkflyer wrote:
OCed today at the Cracker Barrel on route 234 at I95. I was there from about 11:30 until about 1:30. Walked around, sat in the chairs out front, stood outside talking for about a half hour. Nobody even gave me a second glance that I could see.

A few weeks back I OCed at the CVS on Liberia. Stood in line behind a PWC LEO. He noticed the gun, but never said a word. The clerk saw it too, but was also silent about the gun, and friendly as always.

Regards

I was just down the street a bit from you from about 12:30 to 1:30 this afternoon. Met the wife for lunch at a very fine Indian restaurant called Spice's in Bull Run Plaza just down from Shopper's Food Warehouse.. on the end closest to Ashton. I was not carrying at the time, however.

Ever patronize Casa Chamaya (spelling?)?
 

SouthernBoy

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May 12, 2007
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Western Prince William County, Virginia, USA
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VAopencarry wrote:
I am starting this thread in hopes that all OCDO'ers in PW county will document their uneventful OC experiences here. It seems if one was to poke their head into OCDO they would be dissuaded from OC being that most post's about OC are about 'incidents'. Also other OCDO members are beginning to think VA is the land of OC harrassment. Perhaps we can have running threads from NOVA type/or any other then the 'central'(already in progress) jurisdictions and the unevenful OC events. Will my fellow Virginian's join me?


Today: OC'd to work, at work and home from work(work doesn't really count but I will include it anyway), stopped at the 7-11 pumped gas and went inside, nothing to report.:dude:

Is your "undisclosed location" north, east, south, or west of Manassas?
 

SouthernBoy

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May 12, 2007
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Western Prince William County, Virginia, USA
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Ok, I have to admit it, thruth be known, (and please people.. not too much grief), I have yet to OC other than in the past when hunting (did go into a breakfast restaurant carrying a revolver before a hunt, and at a gas station in Gainesville a year or so ago). Yes, I am a member here and have been lurking around, learning a lot and fully enjoying the posts.. really most all of them. Very informative and interesting as well as helping to alert me to things I normally would not have thought about.

It's just that since I have CC'd for so long, I have not yetquite gotten to the point of OC'ing.. kind of a difficult transition for me, believe it or not. But one day, perhaps sooner than later (maybe try it this weekend), I'm going to go for it and see how it feels. One of the members, I think it was hawkflyer commented on how much better it was in the heat of the summer months than having the gun's frame up against your warm (and maybe sweaty) skin. This is a very good argument for OC'ing during this time of year I should think.

I'm going to get there. I think I'll start small just to see how it feels, then move up from there. Most of the time, my CC gun is either a PM9 Kahr, a very fine K40 Elite '98 Kahr (really a super piece), or a K9 Elite '03 Kahr, also a superb gun that Sandy Garrett currently has in his shop for some alterations. The holster I use for these is a DeSantisBelt-Slide nylon piece which fits all very nicely and from which I long ago removed the thumb break strap. Since the strap is removed, this would most likely not be the one to go with for OC'ing. Which brings up my Glock 23 and its Blackhawk Serpa holster.

Anyway, I'm rambling for which I apologize. Just something I wanted to get off of my chest and reading your input on these forums, particularly this thread for Prince William County, is what I really want to see. For those who live in Western Prince William County, the Gainesville/Haymarket area, I am especially interested in your stories.

Thanks, gentlemen.
 

HankT

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Feb 20, 2007
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Invisible Mode
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SouthernBoy wrote:
Ok, I have to admit it, thuth be known, (and please people.. not too much grief), I have yet to OC other than in the past when hunting (did go into a breakfast restaurant carrying a revolver and a gas station in Gainesville a year or so ago). Yes, I am a member here and have been lurking around, learning a lot and fully enjoying the posts.. really most all of them. Very informative and interesting as well as helping to alert me to things I normally would not have thought about.

It's just that since I have CC'd for so long, I have not yetquite gotten to the point of OC'ing..

It's not a big deal. Although some here have probably noticed that you have never posted a personal report of OCing here (some pay close attention to those kinds of things), this forum does not havea requirement that you OC in order to read or post on OpenCarry.org (OCDC).

There was somediscussion a while back onhaving all OCDC members declare whether they OC, how long, post apicture OCing, etc. But it never got off the ground. I think that what happens now is that if one is a Non-OC suspect, someone just checks out your e-mail addy, your IP,other gun forums for your posts, etc.For security purposes only, of course.

Fact is, most members of the forum, which reallyhas a national scope (not just VA),do not OC on a regular basis. Mostly, not at all.

Many do, of course, especially inVA. VA is the hotbed of the diffusion of OC in the U.S. right now.

You're right about the informative and interestingaspects of the discussions at OCDC. I've learneda lot about what to do and what not to do. It's a good forum and people can usually kick some ideas around and spread knowledge.
 

SouthernBoy

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Western Prince William County, Virginia, USA
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HankT wrote:
SouthernBoy wrote:
Ok, I have to admit it, thuth be known, (and please people.. not too much grief), I have yet to OC other than in the past when hunting (did go into a breakfast restaurant carrying a revolver and a gas station in Gainesville a year or so ago). Yes, I am a member here and have been lurking around, learning a lot and fully enjoying the posts.. really most all of them. Very informative and interesting as well as helping to alert me to things I normally would not have thought about.

It's just that since I have CC'd for so long, I have not yetquite gotten to the point of OC'ing..

It's not a big deal. Although some here have probably noticed that you have never posted a personal report of OCing here (some pay close attention to those kinds of things), this forum does not havea requirement that you OC in order to read or post on OpenCarry.org (OCDC).

There was somediscussion a while back onhaving all OCDC members declare whether they OC, how long, post apicture OCing, etc. But it never got off the ground. I think that what happens now is that if one is a Non-OC suspect, someone just checks out your e-mail addy, your IP,other gun forums for your posts, etc.For security purposes only, of course.

Fact is, most members of the forum, which reallyhas a national scope (not just VA),do not OC on a regular basis. Mostly, not at all.

Many do, of course, especially inVA. VA is the hotbed of the diffusion of OC in the U.S. right now.

You're right about the informative and interestingaspects of the discussions at OCDC. I've learneda lot about what to do and what not to do. It's a good forum and people can usually kick some ideas around and spread knowledge.

Thank you , sir, and how observant.. about me never having posted an experience. I hope to change that at some point here shortly. Suffice it to say, I have been a gun owner and enthusiast for my entire adult life, having purchased my first gun, a Ruger Super Single Six, during the period of a very tumultuous national event. At the time, I was quite liberal but that was slowly starting to change. I read a small pocket book about guns I bought in a drug store (which I still have) and that started the interest. And the interest in firearms led my socio-political evolution to that of a strong Constitutionalist (which would make me a classic liberal as were most of the Founding Fathers).

There's a lot of knowledge and some very interesting experiences being reported on this site and yes, Virginia is in the forefront of the herd. Historically, we Virginians have been a very gun-friendly state. What I fear most is the influx of people coming into Virginia and trying to change that which has been our traditional culture and heritage.I read resently from a Floridian poster on another site who said that there is a saying in Florida (from the native Floridians); "go north if you want to go South". As it relates to Virginia, I would hate to see those from anti-gun states come here and try to turn Virginia into something that resembles what they left behind.

Oh boy.. rambling again. Somebody hit me.
 

BobCav

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Feb 7, 2007
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No longer in Alexandria, Egypt
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possumboy wrote:
Hawkflyer wrote:
OCed today at the Cracker Barrel on route 234 at I95. I was there from about 11:30 until about 1:30. Walked around, sat in the chairs out front, stood outside talking for about a half hour. Nobody even gave me a second glance that I could see.

A few weeks back I OCed at the CVS on Liberia. Stood in line behind a PWC LEO. He noticed the gun, but never said a word. The clerk saw it too, but was also silent about the gun, and friendly as always.

Regards
OC all the time at Cracker Barrel. Also OC at Target on 234 often.
I alwayshave a hard time OC'ing atTarget. Too many of those damn bullseyes!!! The temptation is too great!
 

SouthernBoy

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Joined
May 12, 2007
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Western Prince William County, Virginia, USA
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BobCav wrote:
possumboy wrote:
Hawkflyer wrote:
OCed today at the Cracker Barrel on route 234 at I95. I was there from about 11:30 until about 1:30. Walked around, sat in the chairs out front, stood outside talking for about a half hour. Nobody even gave me a second glance that I could see.

A few weeks back I OCed at the CVS on Liberia. Stood in line behind a PWC LEO. He noticed the gun, but never said a word. The clerk saw it too, but was also silent about the gun, and friendly as always.

Regards
OC all the time at Cracker Barrel. Also OC at Target on 234 often.
I alwayshave a hard time OC'ing atTarget. Too many of those damn bullseyes!!! The temptation is too great!

Hey Fred.. man sighting in on Target symbol in center isle.
 

Hawkflyer

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Feb 21, 2007
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3,309
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Prince William County, Virginia, USA
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HankT wrote:
...SNIP

It's not a big deal. Although some here have probably noticed that you have never posted a personal report of OCing here (some pay close attention to those kinds of things), this forum does not have a requirement that you OC in order to read or post on OpenCarry.org (OCDC).

There was some discussion a while back on having all OCDC members declare whether they OC, how long, post a picture OCing,  etc. But it never got off the ground.  I think that what happens now is that if one is a Non-OC suspect, someone just checks out your e-mail addy, your IP, other gun forums for your posts, etc. For security purposes only, of course. 

Fact is, most members of the forum, which really has a national scope (not just VA), do not OC on a regular basis. Mostly, not at all.

Many do, of course, especially in VA. VA is the hotbed of the diffusion of OC in the U.S. right now.

You're right about the informative and interesting aspects of the discussions at OCDC. I've learned a lot about what to do and what not to do. It's a good forum and people can usually kick some ideas around and spread knowledge.

Can we now assume you are living in Virginia? After all you are posting on a thread specifically designated for PRINCE WILLIAM VIRGINIA OC Experiences.

If not you are off topic, AGAIN.

As for the research part of your post, AFAICT that has been unique to your situation. Prevaricate in every discussion, and that is what gets people looking at YOU.
 

vrwmiller

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2007
Messages
1,043
Location
Virginia, USA
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SouthernBoy wrote:
It's just that since I have CC'd for so long, I have not yetquite gotten to the point of OC'ing.. kind of a difficult transition for me, believe it or not. But one day, perhaps sooner than later (maybe try it this weekend), I'm going to go for it and see how it feels. One of the members, I think it was hawkflyer commented on how much better it was in the heat of the summer months than having the gun's frame up against your warm (and maybe sweaty) skin. This is a very good argument for OC'ing during this time of year I should think.
Send me a PM if you'd like company. I OC around PWC/Manassas every time I walk out of the house.
 
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