[astro_wanabe]

Well I guess it's time to finally make this log

November 1st, 2011
I took a quick trip to the PNC Bank branch on Main Street in Newark, then over to Margarita's to join the family for pizza. And just as I suspected, nobody cared. I don't have the SERPA Quick Disconnect for the van yet so I just put the handgun on a piece of white paper on the passenger seat.

I've been involved with pro-2A advocacy for several years and have never really cared what people thought of me as long as those opinions didn't negatively affect the things I support (ie I'm a function over form dresser, but know when to dress up). I knew that my appearance would reflect on OC as a whole and could dissuade someone from making an unnecessary MWAG call if they thought I was "ok" so I did put on some better cargo pants and a polo. I wasn't afraid of confronting the "norm" by carrying, however, so I don't think that contributed to my "neon sign" feeling. I think it was more just needing to confirm for myself in the real-world that people really don't usually notice or care that you're carrying. I've also been working on having a hightened sense of situational awareness so that may have contributed to the "everyone's looking at me" feeling. The "neon sign" was pretty much gone before my pizza was, but I think I'll always feel a bit different than before simply because of that awareness.

Oh, and one other thing - a loaded, chunky, heavy handgun is, well, HEAVY! My small size and lack of muscles do tend to make things seem heavier to me than other guys, but I was still surprised at just how heavy the thing feels after a couple hours. And I wasn't even carrying a spare mag today (plan too in the future). Oh well, maybe I'll just build some dang muscles and stop whining I'll also look into getting a new belt. The one I was using today is the thickest leather belt I have, and it's barely over 1" wide by ~1/8" thick.

[Condition1]

astro, I am not sure I missed a post, or you didn't post anything about it but, have you fired the gun yet?

[SCUBA9097]

Astro,

Stop on over with it sometime soon.

[bluedog46]

I was wondering if you have taken it to the range yet as well?

[astro_wanabe]

Well I guess I'll update this. I've taken it to the range twice now. First time (after I gave it an initial cleaning) it had an issue with short-cycling (slide slammed back down on the empty cartridge, re-chambering it) about every 4th round. By the end of that day (~140rds) it started doing it EVERY round. I cleaned it very throughly, including using some bore foam to get out the noticeable copper buildup, and took it back out Saturday. No problems this time, until about the 80th round when it started re-chambering spent brass again every third round or so. By the 100th round I needed to leave, but it hadn't started failing to eject every round like it did at the end of the first session. Also at the end I noticed it wasn't locking back on empty mags, but I realized I had shifted my grip from what Ted showed me and was pushing down on the slide lock with my right thumb I thoroughly cleaned it again (with the bore foam too) and noticed that it has started showing definite wear patterns at the expected places. At this point I'm assuming the failures are just a result of needing to be broken in some more and needing to have the accumulated gunk cleaned out.

I didn't have any problems with the sights (first round went straight through the bullseye, that's lucky or something right?). The gun didn't try to "run away" / cook off any rounds, didn't explode, didn't fire without me intending it to, and after the cleaning was able to perform the second time without failing until it got really dirty again. For now I feel OK carrying it. It never failed to fire when a live round was in the chamber so at the least I'll have one shot, and the second outing leads me to believe that it wouldn't fail me atleast until I was through both of my mags. At that point I'd be out of ammo anyways, so I would have bigger issues at hand and I figure a one-shot firearm is still better in a firefight than being disarmed.

I REALLY need to tighten my groups up though. I only managed to keep my shots in a 8" vertical by 6" horizontal group, centered about 2" low and 2" to the right at 15 feet.

Wow, this post really ran long....

[WPCatfish]

I didn't have any problems with the sights (first round went straight through the bullseye, that's lucky or something right?).

No, it means you're just that damn good. That kind of target looks great on your office wall.

[astro_wanabe]

Went out to the IHOP on Main Street in Newark this morning. I don't think either the college students or staff even noticed I was carrying, but if they did they didn't say anything.

[astro_wanabe]

My mother and I stopped by McDonald's, Walgreens, Boscovs, and Five Below, without any negative encounters. This was the first time I OCed w/ my mother, who asked "can you carry that in the stores?" before we left. Thanfully, yes, I could Unfortunately I can't leave my handgun on the dash of my parent's van because it's slick and curved so the firearm would just fall off. We were occupying the 2 front seats and I didn't feel like testing the "clip the holster to your seatbelt" method so I had to put the handgun in a case in the trunk each time we drove somewhere, then re-armed upon arrival. Thankfully we have OC Car Carry, otherwise I'd have to do this EVERY time I drove like in some other states.

I also had my first positive OC "experience". The cashier at McDonald's on Main Street in Newark asked if I was a LEO (he actually asked if I was a Probation Officer) or if it was just legal like one of his friends had claimed, and some questions about at what age he could actually buy a handgun and the requirements for being allowed to carry so maybe in the future he'll look into it. I referred him to this site so maybe he'll stop by some time and read up on the laws.

Then I went to a good restaurant where I found a couple dozen armed citizens. Unfortunately it was just a DELOC meeting. Also stopped by Speedy's but I was the only one there.

[Mirlen]

Then I went to a good restaurant where I found a couple dozen armed citizens. Unfortunately it was just a DELOC meeting. Also stopped by Speedy's but I was the only one there.

Thanks for keeping Kaitlyn and myself company You hung her artwork prominently at your home, right? Maybe next time we'll get there early 'nuff to get in the main clump again!

Oh and no comments or really strange looks from the folks at Crossroads, a few glances but I think by the time we got there they'd already seen the mass of armed people assembling in the back.

[astro_wanabe]

Mirlen, it was nice to sit with you and Kaitlyn at the last meeting!

Yesterday (12/20/2012) I braved the crowds with some family for a couple last-minute gifts. We stopped by PNC bank on Main St in Newark and nobody cared like usual, then to deal$ on Main St, followed by Sears, JC Penny's, CIAO, and Walmart in Price's Corner area, followed finally by the deal$ & AC Moore's on Kirkwood/Rte 2. As usual, some turned heads (mostly from children) but nobody said anything. OCing in the van doesn't really work when there are 2 or more of us because the dash is sloped and slippery, so I had to disarm/rearm at every destination and nobody in the parking lots seemed to care that I was handling a firearm. The one place I did have to leave my firearm in the trunk of our van was at the library in Newark, which lies entirely within the 1000' GFSZ around Newark High School (according to Google Earth the entire parking lot is inside the GFSZ, as are portions of every building on the south side of Main St from Kirkwood/DE2 westward to Tyre Ave).

On a side note I've now found out from a manager that Pathmark / A&P only claim control over a relatively small portion of the parking lot at the College Sq shopping center, so I can just park a little closer to Sears or Kmart and avoid violating my employer's "no guns on A&P property" rule. I certainly don't like the idea of leaving a firearm in my vehicle, however there may be a time when I need to make a quick stop by work or at the library, post office, etc while carrying and I want the option of not going all the way home to secure the weapon first. Thus begins my search for an in-the-vehicle safe to be mounted under the rear seat in my van facing rearward.

I know the GunVault is popular, however I was invisioning something with a lock like a safe would have (where metal rods extend into the edge of the box around the circumference of the door) rather than the little loop of metal the GunVault uses to keep closed. I'm beginning to like the Fort Knox Personal Pistol Box (not found on their website, but you can see it at: http://www.thesafeplace.com/handgun-saf ... l-box.html). The Fort Knox box uses a locking mechanism that looks to be about the same strength (I'm just guessing here) however the box itself is made of 10 gauge steel rather than the 16 gauge steel in the GunVault. Of course you have to pay for that extra thickness, with the FK box costing $50 more than the deluxe version of the GV. A smaller version of the FortKnox personal pistol box - the "auto pistol box" - can be found here, with a video overview: http://www.thesafeplace.com/handgun-saf ... l-box.html Stack-On has a variety of sub-$100 safes, however their lack of details in construction materials (metal thickness, type of lock, etc) & relatively low cost makes me wary.

Whatever I eventually get I'm bolting it down with security screws, not using a cable that can be cut. I don't want someone to break into the van and just grab the safe, it should take some time & tools to get it out or open.