Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

I see there is a thread on "where did you carry today" but many are concealed carry. I would like to know where folks have open carried. I live in Florida where it is illegal to open carry. I will be retiring soon and Western Virginia is high on my list. So I would like to hear about open carry.

Today, nowhere, yet.

Typically, though, you can find me carrying openly in the laundromat, the grocery store, Wal-Mart, Target, etc.

A while back, I went to Auto-Zone for a diagnostics reading, and the guy saw my gun in the car. He said to me " You know those are welcome in the store, right?"

I spent all day in Williamsburg along Richmond (Tourist ally) and "near" W&M but (hopefully) not on campus. (I can't tell were it starts or stops) I also went to Barns & Noble & Jo-ann fabrics in new Williamsburg. All open carrying and I got a LOT of strange looks & and I even had a few people talk about it loud enough for me to hear.

I felt like a criminal being sized up by a Boss in cheap mirrored aviators all day long. While I didn't have a single encounter with the police, I'm sure it would have been only a matter of time.

I'm very used to open carrying back in Michigan and I did so not as a political statement but is in, "if you see it, I don't care" kind of carry. Since I'm still waiting on my paperwork for my CHL, I did feel like a bit out of place myself so my imagination could be getting the better of me.

Since most of my time is roaming and not doing anything specific, I'm just going to keep my guns in the car for now and pick & choose the right time to carry. ..I know that's a taboo thing but I don't have time to deal with Cops or people right now.

Carried to Home Depot, Lowe's and Arby's in Manassas with offspring #3 in tow. There was a little awkwardness from the Home Depot cashiers, but that went away when I started some small talk and the offspring charmed them with some well-aimed smiles and helpfulness.

I've gone to auto zone for the pass few days working on various car projects. One of the other customers was asking about what I was carrying and I told him it was an M&P, turns out he has an M&P 15 and we talked guns for a while. Then I was Big Lots and an employee was telling me he had an SD-9(step up from S&W's Sigma) so we talked shooting for a while. The next day in the same AutoZone an employee was asking why I felt the need to carry it and the law involved with carrying a firearm. Overall my interactions so far have been positive with only one exception(Chesterfield Towne Center Mall Cop). I've been OCing for about a month now.

Had a jaw-dropping experience today: The office "progressive" came over to ask about the legalities of buying an M4. (Turns out he meant AR-15, but whatever.) He was sure that he would have to get a Federal Firearms License and that even if he did the "high capacity" magazines he was used to in the Army would be illegal. It's fun to watch lefty heads spin.

Short story is that he plans to buy one to keep his kids safe in West Virginia.

Sunday 7/1, I OC'd at the Science Museum of Virginia.....all day long...no problems!

Wolvee wrote:I spent all day in Williamsburg along Richmond (Tourist ally) and "near" W&M but (hopefully) not on campus. (I can't tell were it starts or stops) I also went to Barns & Noble & Jo-ann fabrics in new Williamsburg. All open carrying and I got a LOT of strange looks & and I even had a few people talk about it loud enough for me to hear.

I felt like a criminal being sized up by a Boss in cheap mirrored aviators all day long. While I didn't have a single encounter with the police, I'm sure it would have been only a matter of time.

I'm very used to open carrying back in Michigan and I did so not as a political statement but is in, "if you see it, I don't care" kind of carry. Since I'm still waiting on my paperwork for my CHL, I did feel like a bit out of place myself so my imagination could be getting the better of me.

Since most of my time is roaming and not doing anything specific, I'm just going to keep my guns in the car for now and pick & choose the right time to carry. ..I know that's a taboo thing but I don't have time to deal with Cops or people right now.

I live in Williamsburg and open carry all the time. The only interaction I've had with law-enforcement, in regard to carrying, was an off duty officer commending me for carrying. Just pay attention to the signs when you enter a building.

OC'd today at Wegman's and Target. Everything at Wegman's was cool and at Target an electronics employees eyes bulged out of his head when he saw my Ruger SR40c.

The topper though was the woman who saw me looking for a toy for my daughter in the toy aisle and told her son as he started to walk down the aisle 'Oh...no there's nothing good down that aisle' while looking right at me

Some sheeple

CC'd at Doggone Natural in Ashburn and Wegman's in Leesburg. The had a GREAT OC experience at the Leesburg NAPA Auto Parts Store.

Last week, OCd at "Shave and a Haircut" in P'ville. No worries! And Beth's not hard on the eyes!

I open carried all over Hanover County , Henrico County and Richmond over the last few days and no prolems at all , infact I had a great conversation with a Richmond LEO and he gave a little show and tell of what he carries everyday for work, It was really cool.

sgscaster wrote:
...at Target an electronics employees eyes bulged out of his head when he saw my Ruger SR40c.

I was OC'ing at Target, a couple months ago, and a fellow customer mistook me for an employee because I "looked so official". Probably my most amusing OC experience, to date.

OCing in Paragon Village 12 in Fredericksburg. No problems thus far.

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OC'd all over walmart in culpeper.. love the looks you get.. but know one will say anything.. lol
Movie Theater in culpeper gets the looks also.. hmmmm

CC everyday.. XD SUB compact 9mm

Another good resource for you is opencarry.org. Checkout the Virginia forum...lots of experiences shared.

Yesterday, I went the grocery store to freshen my beer supply. Some girl was sitting out front in a car bearing Massachusetts tags, and she was watching the door, I suspect in anticipation of the return of a companion that she had recently dropped off (either that, or she was casing the joint).

The look on her face was comical when a man dressed in colonial attire came through the door (Here in Williamsburg, this sort of dress is pretty normal, especially this time of year), but not nearly as comical as when she immediately turned her head to see a civilian with a gun on his hip (me) less than 10 feet from her car, and getting closer. She looked as though she thought she had landed in the middle of a Fringe episode.

Being a Frederick, MD resident my OC options are limited, but last Thursday I "OC'ed" this shirt to dinner at il Forno. As we were finishing one of the waiters (I think he's a manager) noticed it and said he liked it was tired of all the arguments he got into with antis about CC & OC. He even offered to buy me a beer.