You may start a topic here for an Open Carry Log -- a place to relay places and any events which may occur.
 #86567  by WVisHome
 
Ok....I finally stopped being such a wuss about this today. :lol:


My very first time out...I decided to carry when I went to Total Wine in Claymont. I can't believe just how flippin' nervous I was. I knew what I wanted so I literally walked straight there and straight to the check out. I'm pretty sure I didn't give anyone the opportunity to even see I was carrying, lol. I even went as far as walking to the farthest register so there were no open registers on my strong side. I'm pretty sure the guy at the counter was a little apprehensive, but he didn't show it too bad and didn't say anything. He sure did hurry me through though, lol.

On my way home, I stopped at Wawa on 13 in Claymont to grab gas, some soda and a bite to eat. Since I'd seen someone carry here before, I was much less nervous about it. No patrons seemed to notice/care, but once again the cashier seemed a slight bit uncomfortable.

All in all....much ado about nothing, lol.
 #86570  by sanman9781
 
:applause:
 #86571  by Trapper
 
:applause: ... Way to go, it gets easier. Just remember, the more relaxed and confident you are. The more relaxed the people around you will be. Just go about your business, with your head held high, maintain eye contact and be aware of your surroundings.

After I received my CCW I felt so weird getting into my car without taking my holster off. It gets easier with time. :pbjtime:
 #86744  by WVisHome
 
6-9-13

Went to Home Depot on Naamans Road today. Was a little nervous because I've read a few people have been hassled here.

I didn't notice anyone overly concerned. A few people noticed, but didn't seem to freak out.

I actually made it a point to walk up to a few of the workers and ask where things were. None of them said anything or seemed uncomfortable. Also chatted up the cashier for a minute and there's no way she couldn't have noticed, but didn't react.
 #86752  by WVisHome
 
6-9-13 continued....


Ran out to the Claymont Wawa to grab some food. I get to the door and I see two guys dressed in black with full belts....

For some reason, I nearly panic. My BP hits the roof. I stand there and hold the door for 2 people coming out while I gather myself. I reminded myself that I'm not doing anything wrong (just moved from NJ remember) and entered the store. Go order my food then walk toward them to get a drink. I finally decided to be the one to break the ice instead of potentially the other way around....so I walk up to one and politely ask if he was LEO because I wanted a LEO's opinion on my new car holster. Turns out they were security officers. They were really cool, and both came out and talked to me in the parking lot for a while, discussing OC and the process for getting a CCW.

Considering how high my BP was as I entered the store....it turned out to be a great experience.
 #87607  by WVisHome
 
I've missed a few of my OC days...but they were completely uneventful.


June 22, 2013:

Went to the Macaroni Grill on 202 in Wilmington. One of the managers seemed to notice on our way out, but seemed to overcompensate by being extremely nice. None of the patrons seemed to notice.




July 1, 2013:

Went to Total Wine and Home Depot on Naamans's Road and Wawa at the corner of 13 and Harvey.... As usual, nobody seemed to notice or care.

One encounter to note though....I went to the Claymont Steaks in Claymont to pick up a pizza. EVERYONE behind the counter was staring at me once they noticed I was carrying, which was pretty much as soon as I walked through the door. There were even a couple people in the kitchen that had came to the counter to stare. It was the first time I'd ever felt completely uncomfortable like that. Nobody said anything, but I could sense an aura of panic/concern from the staff. I made sure to act normal and be polite....so maybe they won't be quite as alarmed next time.
 #88380  by WVisHome
 
July 13, 2013

Went to a WVU alumni picnic in Centerville. Strangely enough, more people seemed concerned here than just about anywhere I've ever been.... One girl (I'm guessing 14) initially did a double take as she walked by, then continued to turn her head and stare as she continued past. I thought she was going to walk straight into the pool. Although once I'd been there for a while and everyone realized I wasn't some crazy MWAG, they settled down.

One cool thing....there was a former WVU football player there and he gave me the "nod and smile" as I walked by.

July 14, 2013

Went to IHOP on 202. Other than the waitress's extreme politeness seeming a little forced, didn't notice anyone paying much attention.
 #88865  by WVisHome
 
July 29th, 2013

Went to the local Wawa for a late dinner. As I approached the doors, there were two couples walking out, so I held the door for them. The man of the second couple (black) asked as he passed "Is that a Baretta?" I replied, "No, it's a Glock". In the mean time, his wife said she needed some napkins so they turned around and were walking back into the store as I'm still holding the door for them. He then said "I'm scared of you." I was slightly taken aback since he seemed to know guns. I'm still not sure if he was being serious or facetious. I replied, "You shouldn't be, I'm just a normal guy coming to Wawa to get some food." Then as he was walking away he said something I didn't catch all of, but it sounded like something about 'being prepared everyday'.

It was the first time that anyone has actually said anything to me while carrying.
 #89517  by WVisHome
 
August 11, 2013

I went with my girlfriend to IHop on 202 which has usually been completely uneventful...

Although today it was rather crowded. We walked in and put our names down and as we walked back out, I noticed one lady with her young son on the bench by the door. When I walked by she was smiling and talking to her son and I believe I heard her say "See, he has a gun." She didn't seem alarmed at all, but rather simply either curious or even happy. When we get outside my girlfriend said "EVERYONE noticed this time". As soon as we got out the doors, a man walked out behind us and approached me. He asked the first question everyone asks "Are you LE?" to which I replied "No, why?" He mentioned that he OC's too and just wanted to talk to me. We spent a good 5 minutes chatting and discussing our experiences. He mentioned that he was asked to leave the Concord Mall recently, which was extremely ironic because that is where we'd planned to go after breakfast. We said our goodbyes and my girlfriend and I went in to eat. We sat there for a while and a group of about 5 people (black, and I don't mean to be racist or stereotypical, but I just want to point out that the only people who have shown any concern about me carrying have seemed to be black) were seated at the table next to ours. I thought I overheard them saying some things but I really wasn't paying attention to them, although when my g/f went to the restroom, there was a shuffle at the table. I looked over and noticed the man closest to me had moved to another chair away from me. And then I heard the woman next to him say something like "Are you paranoid or what?" I didn't hear the rest of it, but I could tell the entire group was really unnerved. Right before we left, the entire group was completely silent. When we got up, they all actually physically leaned back slightly while they watched me leave. When we walked by the glass window next to the exit I looked over and the one girl was still staring at me. I simply smiled and shook my head in disbelief.

So, because the man we met when we entered had mentioned he'd been asked to leave the Concord Mall, my girlfriend hadn't been to the Christiana Mall in a while, and I never...and the fact I'd seen on here people have carried there recently with no issues, we decided to go to the Christiana Mall to cash in her VS coupon.

I was there for probably 45 minutes before there was a DSP officer standing outside one of the stores I was in....when I walked out he was engaged in a conversation with someone so I walked past him....a few minutes later I noticed the same officer a short distance off as I left another store....after leaving a third store walking down the hall, I noticed he was standing off to the right and for some reason I just knew he was waiting for me to walk by.

As I walked by, he started walking toward me and actually walked behind my girlfriend whom I was holding hands with and approached me.


He was extremely polite and said that he needed to speak with me for a minute. His first question was that if I was LE, to which I replied "No sir". He mentioned that he knew the DE OC laws and that he was supportive of carrying, but that the mall was private property and that if mall security noticed me carrying they would ask to me leave. He never actually asked me to leave or take my sidearm to the car, but he implied that it would save me the hassle of dealing with the rentacops. The impression I got was that he thought it was stupid, but that he was saving me the embarrassment of being harassed by mall security because he was borderline apologetic about even mentioning it to me.

Now, I know I probably should have directly asked him if he was asking me to leave on behalf of mall security, but because he was so polite and never once got tense or "uppity" with me, and my girlfriend still hadn't made it to VS yet, so I obliged by returning my sidearm to the car (which I wasn't thrilled about) and went back in to get what we'd came for. As I returned I passed the same Trooper and nodded at him as I walked by with my empty holster and he just smiled and gave me a thumbs up.



So today was my most interesting OC day by a mile, lol.
 #89538  by olllloJeepin
 
I'd say that's the politest LEO conversation I've read, haven't had a LE encounter yet, though I have spoken with one off duty LEO as he identified himself, but was very passive on me being civilian.